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8
The last twodays had been horrific. I worked from five in the evening to closing, which, for our center, happened to be ten at night. I wasn’t recovering as quickly from all the cleaning and staying on my feet all shift as fast as I hoped. To make matters worse, I had finally gone on one of the blind dates Shay had set me up on.
It was so bad. The guy who showed up had on Wranglers, cowboy boots, and a dirty Carhartt vest. There was no shirt under the vest…just naked skin and what he maybe considered muscle. There was at least five days’ worth of scruff on his jaw, and he chose to chew his wad while we were inside the restaurant. He opted not to eat to savor it.
I almost puked.
It wasn’t Shay’s fault entirely…she said he cleaned up much nicer while he worked security at the hospital and she didn’t even know about the chewing habit, which she knew was a hard pass for me.
The bad date in addition to the back-to-back shifts at the resort had me running on fumes. I’d thought I had gotten into some kind of routine, but then Ryan Prince and Henna James had shown up to ruin everything.
Since Ryan had requested for me to give him the tour a few days prior, Judy had created an itinerary where I escorted the couple around every single day.
So, I spent my shifts waiting in the cart while the couple played tennis, racquetball, and pickleball. I called and set up paddle boarding lessons for them; although Ryan mentioned growing up around here and not needing them, I set them up regardless. I scheduled spa appointments for Henna, a couples massage for the two of them. I drove them to the market store and the lounge diner for breakfast.
Originally, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Although Ryan was standoffish and a bit cold, he ignored me for the most part and never did anything without Henna, which was fine. I didn’t need to talk to him anyway. He’d mentioned wanting to get coffee, but after that day on the tennis courts, he hadn’t brought it up again.
Everything was starting to feel routine once more; even the kids had gotten used to my late-night shifts and missing dinner. Shay had nearly moved in at this point, but we both knew it was only until school started, as then I’d be working days and home in the evenings. Just when I thought I could ease into my new normal, Ryan had requested that I be there to check him and Henna in to swim. It would be a reserved hour where they had the pool to themselves.
Ryan swam laps, mostly ignoring Henna, who chose to sunbathe, until she didn’t. When she wanted his attention, she slipped off her bathing suit cover, revealing her black Brazilian bikini. It was probably designer and cost almost as much as my house, regardless of the fact that it barely covered her tits and was literally just a string up her ass.
Not that she needed to cover anything. She was perfect. No cellulite, no awkward tan lines, just perfection, and my stupid, donut-loving butt hated her for it. Still, it was nothing compared to the inferno in my chest when she swam over to Ryan and started kissing him.
Their fevered kisses turned into a hot-and-heavy grope session, and before I knew it, they were literally dry-humping in the pool. I couldn’t take it anymore; I stood, leaving them alone, fuming toward the locker room so no one saw the tears lining my eyes.
He could request whatever the fuck he wanted, but I was still a person and I would have never done that to him. There had to be some kind of code that exes lived by, right? I mean, I hadn’t cheated on him, had never left him for another man…I knew he had been hurt all those years ago by me leaving, but it hadn’t been for something as painful as choosing anyone other than myself.
Hours after that, I received another request to drive the two of them to dinner in the resort’s company SUV. They didn’t want to cause a stir by pulling up in their own car or give the illusion that they’d left their villa.
Unfortunately for me, Judy happened to be working late and told me I needed to do it. So, I went, escorting my ex and his fuck-buddy to dinner. They didn’t talk in the back seat, didn’t do anything but look at their phones, which was fine by me; I preferred silence.
Unfortunately, my phone rang, breaking up the loud silence. My phone being connected to the Bluetooth in the car meant it automatically answered the call.
Heaving in a lungful of oxygen, I answered. “Hello, this is Bexley.”
“Mommy?” Bella whined into the phone, permeating the surround sound through the entire freaking car. I could hear Henna mutter “Ow, geez” in the back seat.
I turned down the volume as much as I could while keeping my hands on the wheel.
“Bella, what’s wrong?” I asked, carefully flicking my gaze to the man in the back seat. His eyes were already on me, heavy and severe.
“Cole stole Poppy from me and now I don’t know where she’s at. She could be cold, or hungry…” Bella trailed off, crying into the phone.
For fuck’s sake.
I let out a silent sigh as a tiny flicker of embarrassment slammed into me. “Bella, did you put Poppy in your brother’s fish tank again?”
My daughter went silent.
“Bella, answer me. Did you put Poppy in with Beta Baggins again?”
I could hear a snort from the back seat.
“Poppy woves him. They awe meant to be, Mommy! Cole keeps trying to bweak them up, but I won’t wet him.” She sniffled into the phone, her lisp erasing all her Ls and Rs. I let out a sigh, turning the car toward the lounge.
“Bella Reese Woods, I have told you a million times not to put that troll in the fish tank!” I scolded her tersely, hoping she’d stop acting up.
“But Mommy!” Bella argued, “you weft your pwince and you no know what true wuv is. Even Daddy says you broke his heart and now it’s only half as good at working wight.” My five-year-old daughter spewed the words out, her tiny voice escalating with anger and hurt at me not understanding her.
