Page 23 of Falling for the Unexpected

Chapter 7

Simone

Having lunch with Kyle had been extremely confusing. I wasn’t confused about my decision to divorce Brad; that was a long time coming. The confusion came when Kyle wrapped me in his arms when I was upset… again.

And, I didn’t pull away. That was twice now that Kyle had made me feel safe. His body had felt warm and solid, and fit with mine like a puzzle; it’d been comforting. The impulse to keep feeling that way was why I’d given him another hug before I’d left. It was foolish of me and he’d probably thought it was strange, but I didn’t care. Even though I knew he was just a nice guy and doing his job, I’d liked the way his hand felt on my back, how firmly he’d held me against his body, and the way he looked at me. If he hadn’t released me—I blushed again at what I might have done. I’d wanted to burrow in further, and never let go. Andthat, I knew, was crazy thinking.

I knew he watched me leave the lot and pull into traffic. He even wanted to make sure I got on the road safely. I mean, was that something most men did? Or just Kyle? He was so thoughtful, and despite having awful parents, he was the epitome of a gentleman. He was caring and he listened, never mocking me or making me feel stupid for anything I said. He believed me, and vowed to help in any way he could. And I knew I could trust him.

I’d never had that before. Trusting someone and knowing they would stand by their word. Again, it reminded me of what Brad wasn’t and never would be.

I wasn’t blind. I had always noticed how good-looking Kyle was. His short, brown hair was cut to maintain an air of professionalism but didn’t look pretentious. He had beautiful green eyes that were bright and when he looked at you, there was a kindness in them. Today, those eyes had been hidden behind thin, metal-framed glasses. I hadn’t ever seen him wear glasses before, but they made him that much more handsome.

And while I had always noticed him before, I had never allowed myself to focus on how attractive he was. First, I was married. Second, his sister had been engaged to my husband and the only reason they broke up was because of me. And last, he was best friends with my brother-in-law.

But now, I was having a very hard time focusing on anything other than how hot he was. It was completely wrong for me to have thoughts like that about Kyle and I really needed to get my shit together.

As I drove away from the diner, I decided to go home first. I wanted to speak with Brad before going over to Jim and Marla’s. I had no idea how Brad would react to my news, but I had a feeling he’d welcome it. You don’t stage what I’d walked in on without the intention of ending something. I was hoping he would go with me to his parents’ house so we could break the news to them together. I felt like it’d be less of a blow for them that way and also prove that Brad and I could handle this like adults, and that the divorce could be a clean break. I wanted this process to be as pain-free for everyone as possible. At the next red light, I decided to text him and make sure he was going to be home.

Me:I’m on my way to the apartment. Can you meet me there so we can talk?

Brad:Already here.

Me:Ok. Be there soon.

I tried to plan how I’d word everything during the rest of my drive home. Once I parked and headed up the stairs, I still wasn’t sure exactly what to say. I could hear the video game playing on the television as I slipped my key in the door to unlock it. When I walked through the door and closed it behind me I saw Brad on the couch with the controller in his hands. It was the same spot I usually found him any time we were home together.

I didn’t say hello and neither did he. Not acknowledging my presence was also quite normal for him. I placed my purse and keys on the small table next to the door and made my way to the couch. Getting comfortable, I sunk down onto the soft cushion, kicked off my shoes so I could put my feet up, and faced Brad.

“So what did you want to talk about?” he asked, without taking his eyes of the screen where he was currently shooting up some building.

“Do you think you could stop playing for a minute and actually listen to what I have to say?” I asked. I didn’t hide the annoyance in my voice, though he didn’t seem to notice. He never noticed anything that mattered.

“Simone, I’m fucking listening to you, just say whatever you need to say,” he demanded.

The fact that something monumental had happened in our relationship last night and he couldn’t even spare me a few minutes of his undivided attention pissed me off. I wanted to handle our divorce in a mature manner. It was now clear that would not happen.

Realizing he was going to continue to ignore me, I grabbed the remote control from the cushion next to me and turned the television off. “Maybe now you’ll actually listen to me,” I said as I tossed the remote back on the couch.

“Seriously?” he asked, laughing at me. But it wasn’t a humorous laugh. No, Brad was completely furious with me. And that scared me a little bit, but I wasn’t going to back down, not now. I needed to have this conversation with him so I could move on.

“I met with an attorney today,” I informed him, of course not disclosing that it was Kyle. That was a discussion we could save for later, if needed. “I’ll be filing for divorce as soon as possible. It will take about six months for everything to be finalized if we can agree on custody of Stella and the division of the few assets we have.”

I stopped, waiting for any sort of response from him. Instead he picked up his phone and started typing on the screen.

“Really? You have nothing to say? You’re just going to start texting?” I snapped, my hands fisting in my lap. I could hear the anger in my voice and I’m sure my face was red at this point.

He stood up and started to move into the kitchen. “What do you want me to say? When you caught Tiffany giving me a blowjob, I kind of figured that was the end of things,” he retorted over his shoulder. I swear I saw a smirk on his face when he said that.

“I know you aren’t upset about our marriage ending, but we will have to eventually talk about custody of Stella…” I let those words hang out there, expecting some sort of acknowledgment from Brad. Instead, he took a drink of water and shrugged his shoulders.

His lack of response broke my heart. Not for me, but for my daughter. She deserved to have a father who would do anything in his power to spend time with her. Someone who would be upset at the thought of not seeing her every day.

I looked at the clock and noticed it was time for me to go pick her up. “I’m heading over to your parents’ to get our daughter. Do you want to come with me so we can tell them together about the divorce?” I asked, hopeful he wouldn’t make me do this on my own.

“Nope. If you want to tell them that’s your business. I have no desire to have a conversation with them about this,” he replied. Of course, his answer didn’t surprise me.

“Fine,” I said, getting more frustrated with him by the minute. I got up to gather my things so I could leave. “I guess I will see you when I get back.”