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She nodded in agreement.
“We could have all of that back. I’ve grown and changed, and you have too. We know each other. We used to like each other. I’m sure we could again.”
“I’m sure we could,” Kim said, not wanting to disagree with him, because he was probably right. Still, she was firm in her conviction. She had no desire to go back down that road.
She was opening her mouth to say so when a voice came from behind her.
“Todd. I didn’t know you were here.”
Kim turned, trying to control her surprise. How had Davis gotten in? He hadn’t come in the front door.
Still, she wouldn’t confront him about that, not while Todd was there. She wasn’t interested in a relationship with anyone, but her loyalty no longer lay with Todd. Between the two men, she was definitely with Davis. He had been the one who had treated her well. So far anyway.
“Good morning,” she said with a genuine smile and took a couple of steps toward him.
She wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but his arms spread out, and somehow she ended up giving him a hug. Her belly between them made it slightly awkward, and she turned to the side so she could fit a little better, a natural thing she didn’t think about, as his arms squeezed her tight, and she felt him drop a kiss on her temple.
“Good morning. You’re looking beautiful as always.”
That was so odd. She looked up into his face, a little confused.
He looked down at her with a comfortable smile, a little bit of adoration in it, if she had to guess. Was that for Todd’s sake? Or maybe hers. Maybe he’d heard what Todd was saying and was offering her his help.
“I can’t believe you’re living with someone,” Todd said, a little bit of the derision that she was more familiar with than his charm creeping back into his voice. “You weren’t even going to let me stay here for a day or two.” He paused. “But that shouldn’t matter if you’re already living with someone. Were you just being mean?”
“Maybe she’s just trying to protect herself from any more bad memories.” Davis’s words were easy, even though there was a hard edge to them. She turned slightly, and he kept his arm around her shoulders, keeping her close.
Maybe it was a show of possessiveness, which she wasn’t sure whether she liked or not, but she allowed it to slide. She actually would prefer to let Todd know that she was not available.
“I thought you said that it was just a one-night stand with her?” Todd asked, looking at the arm around her shoulders and then back to the man who stood beside her.
“I don’t recall talking to you about it at all.” Davis’s words were not friendly.
“All right. I made some assumptions. After all, I didn’t see you with her after that night at all, ever.”
“I guess you and I weren’t together all the time, were we?” Davis asked. “Speaking of, I spoke with my lawyer this morning. He’ll have some papers for you to sign. I’m just going to give you all the things you asked for, and that should be all we need to do to separate the partnership.”
“Really?” Todd’s brows went way up at that admission, and Kim wondered what in the world Todd had demanded that Davis give.
And why had Davis capitulated? Was he going to have anything left after he separated from her ex? She certainly hadn’t.
She felt a little bad and wanted to interject herself into the conversation, wanted to fight on Davis’s behalf. To make sure that he would have something to show for the years they’d been in business together. But she kept her mouth closed. She didn’t know anything about it, and she didn’t want to push in where she wasn’t welcome. Even if she was trying to help.
Todd’s mouth pressed together, and he seemed to be thinking as he looked at the two of them. “Did you guys get married? Why didn’t you tell me?” His brows lowered, and he looked at Kim like she kept her marriage a secret
“Every child should have a mother and father,” Davis said, and Kim noted that he very clearly did not answer Todd’s question. Either affirmative, which would have been lying, or negative. It made her think that he didn’t want Todd to know they weren’t married. Odd.
Maybe she’d been through too much, but that made her suspicious. Was there a reason Davis didn’t want her to get back with Todd? Was there something that she had that Todd wanted, that Davis wanted too?
She racked her brain, trying to think what that could be, but couldn’t think of anything. This cottage was all that was left. The stable and the barn and a few acres. She hadn’t had it assessed, but Strawberry Sands was not exactly a major tourist attraction area, although the way Blueberry Beach was growing... Maybe the ground was worth more than what she thought.
She hated the idea that Davis was only into her for what she owned. She could hardly believe it, because, after all, the one night they’d spent together, he hadn’t known anything of the sort.
Todd, on the other hand, had a long history of being nice to people who could get him what he wanted.
“I’m not sure I understand why you’re here sweet-talking Kim. Where’s your wife?”
Todd’s face hardened before he said, “We’ve mutually agreed to separate.” It was like he deliberately relaxed his face as he smiled at Kim. “After all, it’s hard to find anyone who compares to Kim and what we had together. I was hoping we could work on getting that back. I was actually here discussing that with my wife when you showed up. I take it you’re not married?”
