Page 16 of Heartbroken Husband
“Yeah, I know the type,” I said dryly. “Fun times.”
“Word has it that he’s been having an affair and that he’s having a baby with someone who isn’t Adeline.”
I drained the new glass without thinking and reached for the bottle before I could reconsider. Jesse didn’t even try to stop me, simply accepting his refilled glass back when I handed it over without looking at him.
“It’s good they’re no longer together, then,” I said, choosing the only safe response I could think of. “He’s a prick.”
Jesse resumed his perch at the edge of Dad’s desk and watched me over the rim of his glass. “She’s in town, though.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Apparently, she came back to ride out the divorce.”
He nodded slowly, dragging in a deep breath and still looking at me like he was trying to develop X-ray vision. “Maybe you could, I don’t know?—”
I barked out a laugh. “What, Jesse? What do you think I should do now that she’s come back to town only because she got a job here and she’s obviously working again because she can’t afford not to?”
He snorted. “Well, you couldtalkto her.”
“Right.” I shook my head and scoffed. “Talking. That’ll fix her husband fucking someone else behind her back and knocking the woman up. Sure. I’ll do that. First thing next century.”
He sighed. “Okay, fair point. Or maybe you could?—”
“Swoop in while she’s down and vulnerable?” I cut in, finally looking back at him. “That’s what you were going to suggest, right? That I take advantage of the fact she needs someone to save her.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Trust me, I tried that once.” I straightened up and moved back toward the door. “Look at where it got the both of us.”
I downed my new drink too, set the glass down hard, and didn’t wait for him to say anything else. All along, I’d known someone would pitch that idea. I just honestly couldn’t do it.
“Zach,” he said, but I ignored him, yanking open the door and walking right back out of the study, not turning even as he called after me. “Hey, come back. Zachary!”
I didn’t respond or slow down. Adeline Morris had fucked up my life and my future once. If they thought I hadn’t already considered going after her again, they were delusional, but the fact of the matter was that I couldn’t go there.
I’d already been down that road once, and returning there just wasn’t an option for me. Never again.
CHAPTER 6
ADELINE
Ipressed a kiss to Lu’s head first. The faintly strawberry scent of her shampoo drifted to my nostrils as I lingered for a moment longer than necessary. She didn’t even stir, one arm flung dramatically across the middle of the bed like she had fought against sleep, put up a brave battle, finally lost, and was annoyed about it.
Jennifer was quieter, lying still and almost mummified on her side of the bed. I brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her temple, careful not to wake her.
“Goodnight, my loves,” I whispered, even though they were already dreaming.
I took a step back, just looking at their small bodies under the blanket, their stuffed animals shoved to the edges of their bed and a nightlight casting a warm glow across the room. Somehow, the queen bed they were sharing now felt too big and not big enough at the same time. I tucked them in and looked at them for another moment, then backed out of the room and softly drew the door halfway shut behind me.
The narrow hallway I stepped into creaked under my feet. The old, run-down condo I’d rented was far from the luxury I used to have, but it was the best I could afford. It was more thanI could easily afford, actually, these three bedrooms in the inner city.
I’d had a meeting with my divorce lawyers today that had ended with me crying in the back of a taxi on my way home. At this point, I doubted even Uncle Clark’s fancy lawyers could help my case, even if I wasn’t asking for anything except that Louis remembered we had two daughters together.
I shoved those thoughts out of my head, choosing to focus on the present instead. For now, we were here. We had a home, albeit not nearly as nice as the one we’d left behind, and that was a good start.
When I got to the kitchen, Amber was at the sink with her sleeves pushed up, finishing dishes I’d fully intended to ignore until tomorrow morning. I sighed and slid in at the counter beside her. “You really didn’t have to do that.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t have anything else going on.”
I flashed a smile and nodded my thanks. She was living in our third bedroom through the end of summer, but she was headed to Utah in the fall for a job she was very much hoping didn’t fall through.
