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The picture is less than an hour old, posted from the black-tie event Rux had told me about, but hadn’t mentioned he’d be taking a date to.
Rux looks amazing in his custom tux, head angled toward hers, like he’s listening intently to whatever she’s saying. And Danika looks like a total bombshell. She’s so put together with her perfect hair and makeup and dress… and a clutch so tiny, my phone wouldn’t even fit in it let alone the rest of the crap from my huge mom purse.
Why wouldn’t he have told me he had a date?
He would never want to hurt me. But maybe he didn’t think it would… because it wouldn’t matter to him. Because he’s already moved on and that crazy possessive side of him just isn’t engaged anymore.
My stomach turns and I push my untouched dinner aside.
God, I need to get over him. I need to put what we shared behind us… because we’re friends. And just like we’d agreed would happen, that’s all we are.
My phone pings with a text from Jeremy letting me know he and Matty are on their way up. I dump my dinner in the trash and wipe down the table. Head over to the front door just as Jeremy knocks.
The man is beyond dedicated to announcing his presence these days. Not that there’s anything to interrupt.
I open the door and am rewarded with my own bit of sunshine when Matty gleefully throws his arms around me, thanking me for letting him stay longer. Then he’s whizzing past me, mouth moving a mile a minute, as he tells me about making eggs with Jeremy and the park where they raced and then finally that he’s going to take a shower and put all his things away on his own.
And then he’s gone and Jeremy and I stand there in stunned silence for a few seconds before shaking our heads with a smile.
“Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have given him the ice cream after dinner.” Walking past me, he holds up Matty’s bag. “Can I drop this in his room?”
“That’s great, thank you. And thanks for bringing him home.”
I hear the shower turn on, accompanied by a series of thuds that make me wonder how one small boy can make so much noise.
Jeremy walks back out. “Least I could do.”
He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans and I can’t help but notice how different he looks doing it from Rux. How it almost makes his shoulders look smaller instead of bigger.
Not that it matters.
“Cam, I really appreciate what you did for me today.” He drops his head and lets out a long breath. “I appreciate every day. I know each one is a gift. That every time I get to see that boy smile or call me Dad, it’s because of you.”
“Jeremy—”
“Let me finish. Because, I’ve been wanting to say this for a while now and it never seems like the right time. But I need to get it out there.”
“Okay. What do you want to say?”
“For seven years, you did it all. You were mother and father—everything our son needed to grow into the incredible kid he is now. I know you didn’t get the breaks that come from having a second parent there with you every night. You didn’t have the shoulder to cry on when you were overwhelmed. And you didn’t have the one person who should have had your back through all the tough times. There’s nothing I can do about the past, no way I can convey how sorry I am. How much I wish I’d done everything different, starting with the day I walked out on you.”
Jeremy has talked about this before. And I appreciate the way he is taking ownership of his mistakes. But tonight it feels different. Like he’s trying to tell me—
“Babe, I never should have left you.” He steps into my space, eyes searching mine. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”
No. I try to step back from what I should have seen coming, but the kiss catches me off guard. I freeze at the press of Jeremy’s mouth against my own, a kiss I haven’t had in more than seven years. One that’s both foreign and familiar.
“Jeremy,” I choke, trying to break the contact with a gentle push. But when my hands meet his chest, his covers mine and the noise he makes is pure misguided relief.
I pull away, shaking my head. “I’m sorry, Jeremy.”
Chapter 27
Rux
The security in my building is top notch. No one gets in without approval. You can’t even get security to call me if you aren’t on a very short list.
Jeremy Levenson is on that list. So when he shows up at the front desk demanding to see me at the ass crack of dawn, they call up… And my world fucking ends because the only scenarios that involve this dickhead coming to my place are worst case.
