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“You love her, and you think it’s a mistake?” Mav asked.
I shook my head. “No, not me. Lindy. I’m a fling. I’m not Mr. Right.”
Bridget stepped back and studied me. “You’re Mr. Right Now.”
I blinked at her. “What?”
“You’re only here temporarily, Dex.”
“Why does everyone keep telling me that?” I shouted.
Mav took Bridget’s hand and tugged her back and onto his lap.
I began to pace some more.
“Yes, I’m not living in Hunter Valley. I have a job, a career that keeps me from that. I travel. A lot.”
“The Silvermines is pretty much your wife, Dex,” Theo said. “You know this.”
“I want Lindy as my wife!” I tugged on my hair.
“You can’t have both,” he added.
I spun about, glared. “Why the hell not? At least half the players on the team are married. A bunch more have girlfriends. They make it work. Why not me?”
“Because you can’t give the woman you actually want everything she needs,” Silas added. All earlier kidding was gone. He was dead serious.
“I’ll give her anything,” I said, dropping into a chair, propping my elbows on my knees and holding my head.
Everyone was quiet for a minute. “You can’t. You literally, and legally, can’t. Not with the Silvermines. Maybe in a few years after you retire. Maybe. The only thing you can give her now, Dex,” Bridget said, her voice soft and cautious, “is a divorce so she can find Mr. Right.”
I had enough money to give Lindy anything she wanted. Anything. A plane. A small island. Except the man she deserved.
45
LINDY
* * *
A week went by and I didn’t leave Mallory’s couch. She made me food, set it on the coffee table, but didn’t say anything other than offered me a shoulder to cry on. I don’t remember showering. Bridget stopped by every day, then left. So did Aspen. Neither mentioned Dex or any of the James brothers.
I didn’t care what happened with the house or that I wasn’t getting updates. I didn’t go to work, calling in sick. I didn’t check my email for the book back from the editor. I didn’t touch my phone or watch TV as I had no interest in anything beyond this living room. I sat and stared at movie after movie on Netflix and the other streaming services Mallory had.
I didn’t even have a list.
In her usual flurry of energy, Mallory came through her front door, Bridget, and Aspen right behind.
“Okay, time’s up,” Mallory said, dropping beside me on the couch.
Aspen went to the front window and opened the blinds, letting the sunlight stream in.
Bridget settled into the chair beside the couch.
Scout, who I hadn’t seen, hopped up beside me and licked my face.
I laughed and gave him a pet.
“Time’s up for what?” I asked.
