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“Does that mean you won’t let me give you the money?”
“That’s exactly what it means.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem,” I look around. “Do you want to go sit somewhere?”
She eyes me for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, sure.”
“Lead the way.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
miranda
My heart pounds against my ribs like a bird stuck in too small of a cage as I take a seat on a very comfortable deep-blue velvet couch, and Tucker sits down next to me. Looking from him to our surroundings, I immediately second-guess my decision to lead him to the back of the club. I should not have chosen a cozy couch hidden in the dark. I should have taken us somewhere with a lot more light, which wouldn’t feel so intimate.
Taking a sip of my drink, I watch him get comfortable, placing his arm on the back of the couch behind me. Then he leans back in the way guys do, with their legs spread wide so they can take up as much space as possible. His eyes meet mine, and that cage in my chest opens up, letting that bird free to take flight in my stomach.
As I study him, I’m at a loss for what to say. It’s weird there is a history between us when we don’t really know each other. I don’t even know what to talk to him about, and I definitely don’t want to talk to him about Bowie or Naomie, which is the only thing I know we have in common.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks after a long moment.
“That it’s weird we have a history when we don’t even know each other.”
“You wanna explain that?”
“Your ex and mine were having an affair, so I feel like we share a connection,” I admit, the alcohol in my system making it easier to be honest. “I just don’t know what to talk to you about without bringing them up.”
“If I were a guy you didn’t know at all, what would you talk to me about?”
“I wouldn’t talk to you,” I blurt, and his head jerks back. “You’re very intense, and add on to that how good-looking you are, I would never have the courage to approach you.”
Oh my god did I just say that? My cheeks heat.
“What if I approached you?”
“Yeah, right.” I snort, but he doesn’t smile at the noise like he did earlier, as if he thought it was cute. Instead … actually, he looks annoyed.
“I didn’t ask you to have a drink with me because of our fucked-up connection.” His eyes bore into mine. “I asked you to have a drink with me, because you’re a beautiful woman.”
My lips part on a silent oh as he holds me hostage with his gaze.
“Tell me about your ex, and I’ll tell you about mine,” he suggests, resting his beer bottle on his knee.
“What?” My stomach drops, and I lean away from him. “I don’t want to talk about them.”
“Me neither, but they’re obviously here with us.” He tugs on a piece of my hair. “So let’s deal with them and go from there.”
Darn. Maybe he’s right. Maybe we need to talk about them, get it out of the way first, so then we can… I don’t even know. Move on? Get to know each other? Actually, I don’t even know what I want from this. I just know there is something about him that tugs at me. Like an invisible string tethering us to one another.
“How did Bowie react when you told him you wanted a divorce?” he asks, and I let out a breath before telling him what happened, and when I finish, he fills me in on Naomie’s reaction. And then he tells me that the day after I saw him over at my apartment complex, they signed their divorce papers. The more we talk, the less weird it feels, and the more I relax.
“They had dinner with Kingston a few nights ago,” I say quietly, pulling my feet up under me and getting more comfortable.
“Did you okay that?”
“No, but I also don’t really have a say either. I mean, I can’t tell Bowie that I don’t want her around my son. I have no reason to do that. I just have to trust that he’s explaining things to Kingston.”
“That’s fucked up, babe,” he mutters, and I don’t bother trying to correct him about the “babe” thing, because I’ve grown kind of fond of hearing him call me that.
“I know, and believe me, it sucked hearing Kingston tell me about it. The good thing is he’s still young, so he doesn’t really understand what’s happening. He just knows that Mom and Dad aren’t living together anymore.”
“How’s he handled that transition?”
“Better than I thought he would. Then again, Bowie only saw him when he had a day off from work, since he would sleep during the day, and most of the time, Kingston would be ready to call it a night by the time Bowie would be going to work. So I think, in his little head, nothing has really changed. Plus, he started daycare, so he’s busy and exhausted by the time he gets home after school.”
