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4
I couldn’t movemy legs. The muscles in my calves and the tendons in my feet protested any kind of functionality, which was a problem because I had kids to take care of, a day job to complete, and another shift to work later that night.
The gym, which I’d had to clean twice the previous night, was massive, with at least fifty pieces of equipment from corner to corner. After that, I’d wiped down and organized the pool chairs—seventy-five, to be exact. Then it was back to the locker rooms to start the rotation over again. I was exhausted…flat-out, plain exhausted.
“Mommy?!” Bella yelled from the top of the stairs.
Her bedroom was up in the loft along with her brother’s, as well as a shared bathroom. When we’d bought the house, it had been put in both our names, and since Logan had wanted to build his new life in Portland, he’d left it to me.
“I’m coming,” I yelled back, gingerly moving out of bed.
“Youarehome!” Bella yelled, like she’d just made a huge discovery. I hadn’t gotten in until nearly ten thirty. Shay had been up watchingGrey’s Anatomyand went home as soon as I hugged her and thanked her for sitting.
Standing and shuffling—nearly crawling—I headed out of my bedroom. “Yes, I’m home.” I blinked against the light streaming through the tall windows on our second story.
“Yay!” Bella ran downstairs with her pink slippers on her feet and her princess pajamas on her little body, golden curls bouncing as she made her way to me.
Near the last step, she jumped into my arms, forcing me to falter backward.
“Whoa…Mommy isn’t so good with being jumped on right now.”
“Sorry.” Bella softened, sliding down to the floor.
“Have fun last night?” I asked, holding her hand while we headed into the kitchen.
“Yeah, Auntie Shay is funny. She kept telling us stories about how once upon a time you loved a prince.”
I nearly choked on the water I had started sipping. “Wha…what?” I sputtered, coughing up a little liquid. I moved toward the Keurig, popping the pod in so I could have this conversation while caffeinated.
“She said you were going to marry him, and he was dashing and handsome, like Prince Stuff-on fromSleeping Beauty.” I held in a laugh at her pronunciation of Stefan.
“Okay…what else did she say?” The coffee gurgled as it filled my mug.
Bella twisted her lips to the side as I poured in my creamer and started sipping my cup of joe while I waited for her to answer. “Hmm, she said you woved our daddy cuz he gave us to you, but you didn’t wove him like you woved Prince Wyan.”
Now I did spit out my coffee. Brown liquid splattered the counters and dribbled down my chin.
“Ewww, Mommy, gwoss. If you act like that, your prince will never come back to save you.” She twisted her head to the side, like that logic made the most sense ever.
“What was the name Auntie Shay told you?” I asked, trying to clarify, because if my best friend had told my daughter about Ryan, I was going to kill her.
“Pwince Wyan…or maybe it was Prince Wy-Wy? I no remember.” She shrugged, smiling up at me from the counter. Her cute little lisp was making everything so much cuter, but it didn’t erase the edge this conversation was cutting through me. “Do you member him, Mommy?” Her sparkling blue eyes glittered in the sunrays that bounced around the room.
Before I could answer, Cole came trudging in.
“Is he coming?” Cole’s eyes were blue like his sister’s, like mine, like Logan’s…but Cole’s were more of a cornflower blue, where his sister’s were like the darkest part of the ocean.
I stared into those eyes and wished so badly that I did have a prince to rescue me…to rescueus. A man to come be a father figure, someone to love these kids the way they deserved, because no matter how much love I had for my son, there was always going to be that part of him that wanted his dad to drive him to football camp.
“Let me check my phone, bud,” I muttered, ruffling his hair on my way past him.
My breath stalled in my lungs as I wished and hoped there’d be a message relaying that Logan would be here to get his son.
I unplugged the device and put in my password, only to see that there were no new messages.
Dammit.
I brought the phone up to my ear and dialed my ex’s number.
