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I give them a forced smile and then lower my voice when I speak to Tyler. “Don’t try to tell everyone how they feel and why. You were lost? That means you were bored, and youwillget bored again. When you do, I hope you’re kinder to Maisie than you were to me.” Despite my attempts, a tear falls down my face, followed by another. I lift my chin and my shaking jaw. Tyler takes a step forward, but I step back and look away. “Go to dinner, Ty.”
He shakes his head, but tightly. “No. I’ll stay and meet the rest of the teachers.”
“Please don’t. You’ll just irritate me, and I want to actually focus on what these people have to say. I’ll fill you in.”
There’s a short curb behind him. He’s careful not to fall as he walks in a small circle and rubs the back of his neck. More families are walking in, many talking with one another as they pass through the doors. A particular one has brought their daughter with them. She’s hammering on to her parents as she walks beside them. The dad laughs at something she says as he holds the door open for his wife and daughter. They walk inside. It’s suddenly very quiet. Too quiet.
Tyler’s stopped pacing. His hands are on his hips as he looks up. “If you think Isabella needs help, I’m all for it.”
“I think we should try it.”
“Great.” His mouth is pinched. “Set up whatever you want. Here or private.”
“I’ll let Izzy decide. She should feel comfortable.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Tyler says he was lost in our marriage. He was, and he still is. He’s just as lost as he was the day we brought Izzy home from the hospital, except it’s no longer my job to help him find his way.
“Where are you going to dinner?”
He seems surprised by my question. “Lin Chun in Greenwood Village.”
I nod, knowing the place well. “They have those spareribs that fall off the bone. So good. They’re a choking hazard though.”
“That’s right. The tiny bone got lodged in my throat that time. Thanks for the reminder.” He hits the unlock button on his car, and the headlights turn on with the familiar beep of the horn. He starts walking toward his car.
“Tyler.”
He pauses with his hand on the handle. “Yeah?”
“Order the ribs.”
A small smile appears on his lips. “Night, Lyss.”
Tyler gets in his car, and my chest clenches with that familiar balance ofI hate himandI remember how much I once loved him, pounding from deep within me.
While I hate my ex-husband, I don’t actually want him to die.
Although a scare with some serious discomfort and a prayer to Jesus for being a prick … that I’d take.
fourteen
“LAVISH EVENTS,” I ANSWERthe phone at the new office and listen to the barking cough on the line.
“Don’t kill me.”
My stomach drops. There’s only one reason someone would make that statement as soon as you pick up the phone. I wait for Samantha, the assistant we hired to work with me today, to finish coughing.
“I can’t work today.”
I fall into my desk chair. Honestly, I have zero business sitting. There are boxes of wedding supplies that have to be loaded into my truck that I need to drive thirty minutes away to the wedding venue my clients are expecting to be transformed intoAMidsummer Night’s Dreambanquet.
“My boyfriend bought me every cold medicine under the sun last night, but I woke up, feeling like crap. I just got back from urgent care. Doctor says it’s a respiratory infection with pneumonia.”
I’m not a cretin. A sick woman needs to rest. It still doesn’t keep me from asking, “Is it contagious? Can you doanywork today? Just a few hours, and I’ll whisk you out of there before the bridal party arrives.”
Samantha makes a sickly groan. “I’m so sorry, Melissa. I feel like I’m about to die. Just going to the doctor was an ordeal. Plus, if people hear my cough, they’re going to freak, thinking it’s something much worse and highly contagious. It would look horrible for the business.”
