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Bexley kept her arms crossed over her body. I relaxed a little, realizing that if she didn’t trust me, there was no way in hell she’d let her kids into my car. Once Bella buckled up, I moved so Bexley could double-check everything. I walked around the vehicle while she murmured something to them both in a soothing tone. They both nodded and smiled at her.
Once I buckled, Bexley joined me in the front, carefully adjusting herself into the plush leather seat. She didn’t say anything as I veered away from the curb, exiting her subdivision.
From the back seat, I could hear a tiny conversation flowing between Bella and her brother. “You okay, Cowe?”
“Yeah, Baby Bell, I’m good,” Cole replied, but I could hear the strain in his voice. He was in pain.
“Did this place get a surgery center within the last ten years?” I asked while turning toward the highway.
“No,” Bexley replied coolly.
Her arms were still crossed, her body oriented toward the door.
“Okay, we’ll head one town over,” I said, heading south, toward the larger city in the area.
Cole started letting out little sounds from the back, indicating he was in pain. I checked the rear-view mirror and found him biting his lip, his head tipped back toward the door, the seat belt awkwardly crossed over his body.
“Hey, Cole, do you like watching HitFlix?” My eyes bounced between the road and watching him.
“Yeah, I do.” He winced.
“Turn on that screen behind my headrest, and you’ll see a HitFlix icon there. It’s already logged in and everything, just choose what you want to watch. Bella, there’s a screen in front of you too, if you want to watch something.”
Bella started making excited little sounds from the back.
Finally, with both kids wearing headphones and watching their shows, I turned my attention to Bexley.
“I didn’t mean to upset you by helping out,” I started, but shit, that must have been the wrong thing to say.
Narrowed eyes met the side of my face. “Help me out? What on earth were you doing in front of my house in the first place?”
If I hadn’t once known this woman really well, her harsh tone would have deterred me from talking any further.
But Ididknow her, and I knew when she was upset like this, it would fizzle out fast.
“I wanted to come and explain…” I tried, but damn, that wasn’t the right thing to say either. “I mean, I wanted to apologize to you.”
Facing me, she scoffed.
“Bex, I’m sorry. Shit, that’s not right, I—”
“Don’t cuss in front of my children please.” She turned to stare out the windshield again.
Her children.
“See, that’s just it…” I regained my steam, not caring if this would hurt her or not. “You have children, and a life…and I’m assuming you once had a husband, or at least someone who gave you not one, but two kids. You have a little yellow house in a subdivision. You named your daughter Bella, for fuck’s sake, and you want me to—what?” I looked over at her, trying to gauge her reaction. “You want me to pretend we’re friends? Or just be nice because you left ten years ago, breaking my heart, and now you want to pretend we aren’t anything to each other?”
“As you’ve made so clear on multiple occasions, you’re with someone. Why do you even care?” Bexley bit out in a hushed tone.
“I’m not withanyone. I haven’t been with anyone like I was with you since you left. Henna is gone. We’re over,” I replied, just as harshly.
“What, so now that you’re suddenly single, I’m supposed to be glad and fall at your feet? You were an asshole to me, Prince. A complete jerk. I would have happily had a conversation with you, gotten coffee, whatever you wanted, but you ruined it.”
I considered that for a second and hated the shame that started to unfurl inside my chest.
“You’re right,” I said softly.
I wanted to apologize, but it felt like she wouldn’t accept it.
“How can I fix this? I would really like a chance to talk to you.”
“You have a chance right now—what is it you want to say?”
“I don’t want to talk to you on the way to the hospital, while your kids are in the back…I’d like to take you somewhere, or get dinner maybe?”
If she noticed that I was upgrading our talk from coffee to dinner, she didn’t say anything about it.
She let out a soft sigh. “I’ll think about it.”
