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That was exactly what he’d thought.
“Just have her call me first thing in the morning.”
“Got it.” He reached up to end the call.
“And G.”
He stilled. “Yeah?”
“I don’t know why you’ve been so stubborn over these years about not dating anyone, but if it has anything to do with me bailing, I’m really sorry.” Tears pooled in the bottom of Zoe’s lids. “It had nothing to do with you. You are an amazing guy. The best really…” she sniffed. “And you deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
She sighed and sniffed again. “You know what I mean. You deserve to have it all. The wife, the kids, the dog, the white picket fence. All of it. And it kills me to think that something I did might make you not want to be in a relationship with anyone.”
He felt bad that she felt bad. Maybe he should tell people what was going on in his mind more, at least the important people in his life. He knew that Zoe carried a ton of guilt over not being there for the first two years of Bree’s life and he hated to think that she was also shouldering any guilt for his decision not to date.
“Thank you for saying that, but it has nothing to do with you or what happened with us. I promise.”
“Okay.” She nodded and took in a shaky breath. “Well in that case, I think you might need to schedule that surgery.”
His brow creased. “I told you, she didn’t break—”
“I’m not talking about Bree. I’m talking about you. You need to go in and get your head removed from your ass because women like Vivien don’t come around every day. And I see the way you look whenever Bree talks about her. You care about her. I know you don’t like the L word but dare I say love"—she whispered— “her. Don’t be stupid and stubborn and dig your heels in just because you made a decision you think it’s set in stone.”
“You mean don’t be myself?” he joked.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean,” she smiled.
“Is the lecture over now?”
“Almost. I know that you always want to set a good example for Bree but seeing her dad happy and in love would be the best example she could ever see. You were the best boyfriend I could have ever had. If she doesn’t get to witness how her dad treats someone he’s with, someone he loves that he’s with, then you are robbing her of knowing how she should be treated by a good man. You would set the bar so high, she’d never settle for someone who wasn’t worth her time.”
Fuck. He’d never thought of that.
“Okay, lecture over. Bye!” She waved and the screen went black.
Was Zoe right? Was him not dating, not being with someone actually not setting a good example for her?
He was putting his phone back in his pocket when Vivien crept out of the room and shut the door quietly. When she turned and saw him at the end of the hall she jumped a little.
“Oh, you scared me,” she whispered. “She’s out like a light. I read her The Glitter Godmother and now I have glitter all over my hands.” She lifted them up. She wasn’t exaggerating, they were covered in tiny, sparkling particles that he was convinced Satan himself had invented. Whoever’s idea it was to put glitter all over the cover of that book should be fired and publicly flogged.
“I’m just gonna wash them off real quick and then I’ll be out of your hair.” She ducked into the bathroom and he felt his feet moving in that direction.
The last thing he wanted right now was for her to get out of his hair.
