“I promise,” Reagan vowed, and I was flooded with gratitude for the people Javi was bringing into my life.
When he came up to me, Javi threaded his fingers through mine, clasping my hand tightly. “I’m here for you,” he said.
There wasn’t a trace of jealousy or worry in his eyes. He trusted me and wanted to support me. It was enough to bring my anger down to a manageable simmer—something that was necessary if I was going to get through to Kyle.
When we walked up to Kyle, his eyes were locked on our clasped hands. He was still smiling, but it was a nasty, snake’s smile. “So this is why you’ve been ignoring me. You’ve been rebounding with a thug. Gordo, really, I thought you had more taste. I hope you get tested.”
But Javi didn’t stiffen or get angry. He knew what Kyle was trying to do, and he was giving me the space to handle it like I said I would. What had I done to deserve him? I didn’t know, but as soon as I got Kyle out of my life for good, I was going to make sure I kept earning his devotion.
“What are you doing here, Kyle?”
“I’d think that was obvious, Gordo. I’ve been telling you—I want to talk to you. I want to see my daughter. And now I know I need to be here, if you’ve been letting trash like that around her.”
Manageable simmer was now a pipe dream. “You do not get to come to my house and treat my family and friends this way, Kyle.”
Kyle was all cool elegance. He’d always had a confidence to him that I’d always admired. But in hindsight, I saw it for what it was; Kyle was the kind of man who’d never been told “no.” Whatever he wanted, he got in the end, and so his confidence was born from a lack of experience in failure. All his smug confidence could go to hell.
“Gordo, darling, let’s talk in private like civilized people.”
Javi shrugged, more cool and confident than I’d be in his position. He said nothing to Kyle, acting as if Kyle wasn’t worth a shred of his attention. Instead he tugged me toward him and planted a kiss on me, deep and clearly possessive, a marking of me and who I was to him. I loved every fucking second of it, and when he stepped back, I was breathless.
Javi always seemed so in control. Now I could see something primal scratching below the carefully cultivated calm, and I adored it, feeling a flush of desire in me at being so openly claimed.
“It’s fine—I love you,” he said.
He couldn’t have said anything better to throw off Kyle’s game. My ex’s eyes narrowed with dislike, and his grin fell hard and flat. Then Javi did one more thing: he walked over to Reagan and made sure that Kyle saw how Giuliana squirmed and reached for him, demanding to be held by someone who’d been there for her and showered her with love.
When he took her, she lay on his chest, snuggled up like there was nowhere else she’d rather be. It might have been the light, but it looked like there was a slight tremble to Kyle’s shoulders.
I moved away from our audience and beckoned for Kyle to follow. When we were reasonably private, I whirled on him. “You’ve got some fucking nerve. You want to talk? Start talking, Kyle.”
To his credit, my ex managed to look chagrined. He nervously ruffled his hair. “I made a mistake when I left and asked for the divorce.”
“No kidding,” I said flatly.
“I’m miserable without you, Gordo. I spend every day thinking about you and how much I miss you. We were together so long. You were—are—the love of my life. I want to get back what we had.”
My skin crawled with his words, each one a barb meant to hook me. If he’d come back months before, when I was wrung out and exhausted and overwhelmed, I might have said yes. So many nights I’d lain in bed, dreaming of having help, of having a partner who wanted to be there, and before Javi and I really connected, Kyle had occasionally filled in during those fantasies. But Javi had not only consumed those fantasies—he’d turned them into reality, a reality with zero room for my ex in it.
“Here’s the thing, Kyle. Not once in that apology, which was weak at best, did you remember to include Giuliana.