AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s a weekday, Holly. I’m on my way to work already. I know you live in a fantasy realm where everyone is magically wealthy, but try to consider the rest of us who exist on the planet and have these things called jobs that we go to–.”
“Very funny!” she snaps. “I’ll text you the dates that I’m coming in. Let your parents know to have a room ready for me.”
“You’re not staying at my parents’ house, Holly. We broke up. You can pay for a hotel.”
“I’ve stayed down there several times, Cole. I know that there are no hotels even remotely near the standards of excellence I require. I'm not staying at the Southern Hospitality Inn; they don’t even have a spa!”
“I don’t care. Figure it out. This is how grown-ups live.”
“I can just take you to court, you know. I can ask a judge for full custody.”
A bleat of laughter escapes me.
“If I thought you were interested in custody, this would be a different conversation. But be honest. You like living like a childfree woman. It suits you. Don’t demand custody changes just to make my life difficult. Think of your kid and what he needs.”
Holly glares at me.
“We can talk about this in two weeks. Goodbye, Cole.”
She disconnects the call. I clench the wheel in both hands as I pull up outside the South Shore courthouse. Holly has successfully dragged me down out of the clouds and into the muck.
A knock comes on my window, startling me. I look up into Savannah’s smiling face. She’s wearing the baby pink cape I got her, which makes a hot bloom of pride rise in my chest.
A tiny knot of tension eases within my chest. Not all women are horrible harpies. Here is proof.
I climb out of my car. Sav holds two cups, grinning as she offers one to me.
“You look like someone pissed you off. Hopefully coffee will make it better.”
“Will it?”
She holds up her hand. “The largest Americano they had, with a splash of almond milk.”
The fact that she remembered my coffee order lightens my terrible mood.
“Thanks. I assume that you’re having a big ole hot chocolate?”
“Close!” She winks. “It’s a mocha with whipped cream.”
“Gross.” My lips turn up as I taste my coffee. “Thanks for bringing this for me.”
Her smile grows. “Of course. Besides, we have a long day of meetings with potential vendors. I don’t want you snapping at them.”
“We’ll see.”
She beams at me. We walk along in silence. Things between us are so effortless and upbeat. The opposite of trying to deal with Holly. How could two people make me feel such diametrically opposite things?
I hold the door for her as we head inside. She flounces into our office, setting her coffee down, and spinning on her heels. She closes the office door behind me and leans against the door.
“Well?”
I set my Americano down and arch a brow.
“What’s on your mind?”
Sav looks at me like I asked her what one plus one is. She fidgets.
“Do you want to talk about the night before last? Or is that just something that never happened?”
