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I had trusted him, and the worst part of it all was that my heart was still pining for him. Still telling me, even in its pain, that it just couldn’t be true. That he wouldn’t do that to me. Well, my heart could jolly well do one.
“Why did you do it?”
“What?” He placed two cups of coffee on my desk and looked at me completely befuddled, like I was insane. “What are you talking about?”
“Why did you kiss her, Jamie?”
It was then the teary dam decided to burst. Like the words leaving my lips pushed the tears out with them.
“Wha—kissed who? What the fuck are you on about, Quincy?”
“Jenna.” I spat at him. Her name souring my mouth. “You kissed her. Why?”
“Jenna. Jenna? I didn’t. Why would you think that?” He breathed out, hurt evident on his face. “Quincy, I have no idea where this has come from, but if you think that I’d do that to you…”
“If you didn’t, then why does Richard think you did?”
“He told you that? He told you I kissed Jenna?”
“He told me to ask you why you’d kissed her in front of Molly.” I twisted the sapphire ring on my middle finger unable to look at him.
“I didn’t, Quincy.” He crouched down in front of my seat and tilted his head so that our eyes met. “I could never hurt you like that.”
The sadness and austerity in his voice was heartening.
“Why does he think that you did?” I sniffed as he held my hands in his.
“I don’t know, but he’s wrong. I wouldn’t go near her in that way with a ten-foot barge-pole. Not again and not after everything,” he said as he wiped my tears with his thumb. “Besides, you’re the only one I want to be kissing. I’m not playing around. We’ve been edging this a long time, too long.”
I looked up at his face. He was so calm, and his relaxed gentleness was like a soothing balm to my wounded heart…not so much for my pride.
“Also, doesn’t it seem strange that I’d do it in front of Molly?”
“I guess so.”
“You guess so?” He quirked his brow up at me. “Be reasonable about this.”
“Yes.” I mumbled as embarrassment started to colour my sadness.
“I’m done with all the shit.” He stood pulling me out of my chair with him. “We’re together. Most of the hospital knows and you need to know, because this isn’t happening again. If I ever become unhappy with us, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He kissed me hard and then handed me one of the coffees. “That is for you. I figured you’d need the pick me up after our long night.”
He winked at me and caressed my warming cheek.
“Thank you,” I smiled up at him feeling sheepish. “And I’m sorry I listened to him.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, just find me and talk to me next time. I’ll never lie to you. Understand?”
“Yes.” I nodded in tandem with my words.
“Right, well I have to go and sort out other heads.”
It was that simple. Maybe I should’ve dug further. Maybe I did the right thing and trusted Jamie like I always had. Whichever of those were true, I knew that I should never have believed Richard of all people. The man who never knew faithful until he left me. The man who made me feel inadequate in so many ways.
I never wanted for there to be a them and an us, even when I didn’t think that Jamie would ever want an us. I just wanted to keep the peace for my daughter. I never wanted her to feel unloved. I never wanted her to feel like she had to pick between me or her father, but the more I thought about him and all the vindictive and ill-meaning things he’d spewed at me the more I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to feel what it was like to wake up and realise that the person you thought you could count on was selfish, demanding and unyielding.
