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30
It was Wednesday;the kids were going to their dad’s for two weeks, and Bexley had to work. So, I offered to stay with them until Logan came. It wasn’t that I even cared about the fact that Logan would be coming here, to where Bexley lived…where he’d once lived with her. What bothered me about today was the unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach concerning my relationship with the Bexley and, by extension, her kids. It felt like with one false move, I’d lose them all forever. Regardless of how gentle Bexley had been with me the night before, how soft and smooth she’d been under my hands as I feasted on her and moved inside her, each stroke had been full of fear. She’s promised we would talk and figure it out tonight after the kids left.
Still, deep down, I was worried.
I knew I had no right to have Bexley’s assurances or her understanding regarding this Shelly Cambria thing. It was shitty no matter how it broke down, no matter what I did or what I said at the end of the day. If I weren’t an actor, me kissing another woman would be considered cheating. I’d never cared before how that made my flings feel, especially since I usually broke it off with whoever I was with if I started filming somewhere…but now that I had Bexley in the mix, it was all different. I cared more than I could afford to. If I wanted to keep my career and just get through this, I needed to push those reservations away and stay focused.
Cole and Bella were all packed and ready to go, so we played football in the front yard while we waited for Logan. I’d spent the morning making breakfast with them, explaining about my big trip coming up and how I wanted to fly them out to visit me, how fun it would be to try out some of the resorts in Brazil. They got excited as I showed them a few pictures and videos of all the things we could do there.
I tossed the ball underhand toward little Bella, and she rushed forward to catch it right as a dual cab pickup pulled up. It was navy blue and looked nearly brand new. I considered what Bexley drove compared to this asshole and shook my head in disbelief. What kind of man was comfortable with the mother of his children carting them around in a broken-down vehicle? Her minivan was hanging on by a thread, and that was after I had secretly had it serviced without her knowledge. If she’d let me, I’d buy her a brand-new one, but that wasn’t how Bexley operated…at least not with me.
Opening the door, Logan strode out in all confidence and what I considered fake charisma. Who the hell was he trying to impress? I clenched my molars together as I gripped the ball Bella had dropped. She’d abandoned it to run into her daddy’s arms, just like Cole had done. Fucking hell, it was like a knife to the chest to see them in his arms. He knew it too, the prick.
He gave me a smarmy smile as his kids talked a million miles a minute about how excited they were to go to his house. I wanted to punch the smug look off his face.
Grimacing, I forced a smile for the sake of the kids and for Bexley. I had promised her that no matter what Logan said or did, I’d be civil.
“Logan, nice to see you,” I said, walking up and holding my hand out to the man.
He didn’t take it, just dipped down to grab his kids’ luggage. He told them to get into the truck while he loaded things up, but they both turned and walked toward me first.
Bending down, I scooped them up in a big hug, returning the same asshole smile to Logan that he’d delivered to me.Fucker.
“Have fun you guys. I’ll FaceTime you as soon as you’re back with your mom.”
Bella started crying, which tugged at my heart so hard I feared it would plop out on the ground in front of me. With one last kiss to my cheek, she slid down and ambled toward the open back door of the truck.
Once both kids were in the vehicle, Logan began to load their things into the bed in the back.
I stood watching, biting back all the things I wanted to say to this prick. I had strong opinions on how he had been talking to Bexley over the past few weeks, how frequently he’d been texting her and calling, the strange pictures he’d been sending about his new haircut and a new hat he’d bought—shit he didn’t need to talk to his ex about. I also had opinions on the fact that he’d cheated on Bexley, and that it felt like he was doing it again with his girlfriend. Dude was a total shitbag. Remembering my promise to Bexley, I ground my molars together, shutting down all the things I wanted to say.
Finished with settling the kids’ things, Logan turned toward me, giving me an odd look, like he was confused about something.
“Look, Ryan…no hard feelings.” He opened his arms, like he was surrendering to me.
I quirked a brow in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know…I saw the news article about you and Shelly Cambria…” He whistled, looking off to the side. “I guess I’m just confused as to why you’re here with my kids when you left their mother for another woman.”
What the fuck? My publicist promised me it wouldn’t release for another few weeks.
He stalked closer, shoving his hands into his jeans, but all I could focus on was how this would devastate Bexley. Shit, she’d be humiliated. Even after I left, she would be, but how would it look if this broke while I was still in Oregon?
“Tough break for Bex, but I’m sure she’ll bounce back. I mean…” He laughed, shaking his head while kicking at something near his foot. “We never really finished what we started a few weeks ago—might be nice to see where that leads once you take off and go make your movie with your new actress girlfriend.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I could barely contain the anger rattling through me. It was like a live wire, ready to shut everything the fuck down.
He stalked closer, narrowing his eyes. “The kiss Bexley and I shared that morning you showed up with coffee. Once you left, we headed inside and started talking…and well, one thing led to another, and she ended up on the counter, and I ended up between her legs.”
My chest constricted as my fears and insecurities tangled in my head like a web. Anyone else and I wouldn’t care; anyone else and I’d walk away because I got the girl in the end. But he currently had my girl’s kids in his truck…he would forever have total access to Bexley. He’d always be in her life, and I’d always wonder if they could possibly work things out for their kids. This was what she’d been keeping from me every time I asked. This was what she’d lied to me about.
Too distracted by my vision blurring, I missed how much closer Logan had stepped. He’d closed the gap between us, now a mere foot away. He was testing me. He knew he could tempt me to punch him in front of the kids.
“While you’re off filming in Brazil or wherever the fuck you’re going, I’ll be here, repairing the damage with the mother of my children and letting her be the shoulder I cry on as I explain that my relationship with Dana didn’t work out.”
I was going to kill him. Fucking murder him.
Right as I stepped toward him, the back passenger door opened and Cole hopped out, asking if everything was okay.
Logan smiled broadly and turned to leave. Cole’s gaze flitted from me to his dad, an uneasy look crossing his features. I smiled to put him at ease and watched as Logan helped his son back into the truck.
Once they pulled away from the curb, I sank to the grass and took a few shallow breaths.
She’d ripped my heart out without even being here to do it. She’d hinted at ending us the other day when things with Shelly came up, and I should have known this was the real reason behind herunderstanding, her acceptance regarding me kissing Shelly. Anyone else would have yelled or screamed their frustration, but she just went along with it.
Now I knew why.
