I caused, even as she tries to hide it from me.
“Please, Skittle, let me explain.” She whirls on me, poking my chest with her finger.
“I’m not your Skittle. Fuck, I’m not your anything. I’m certainly not your wife. You, Asher, are a liar and a user. I don’t want to see you again unless it’s to serve me with divorce papers,” she yells with tears running down her cheeks. Then she somehow manages to get the door open and shut herself inside while I stand there, reeling from her words.
I lean my head against the wood and plead with her. “I’m sorry, Skittle. I swear to god, the second I laid eyes on you behind the bar that day, my whole plan changed. I knew right at that moment that I wanted to keep you forever. Please, baby, give me a chance to explain,” I beg.
I hear a thump, which sounds like her banging her head against the opposite side of the door before she answers. “Please just go. If you ever loved me, even just a little bit, you’d leave,” she whispers on a sob.
“I’d give you anything, Skittle, but I can’t give you that,” I tell her honestly.
She doesn’t answer, and after ten minutes, I know she isn’t going to.
I sit in the same spot I did before, leaning my head back against the wall and close my eyes. How did I let everything spin so far out of control?
I must drift off again because the next thing I know, I’m being nudged awake less than gently by Tig’s giant foot.
“I usually like to keep the garbage on the curb,” he informs me with a scowl.
“I’m not leaving.”
“I could call the police and have you removed,” he says with a smug smile that I want to smack off his face.
“You could, but I’d just come back,” I reply in earnest.
He sighs and the smugness leaves his face as he looks toward the closed door.
“Look, the longer you stay out here, the longer she stays in there. She needs space to lick her wounds. You fucked up. This is the price you pay.” He holds up his hand to shut me up as I try to speak. “I’m not saying give up. I’m saying be smart. Sitting outside my door like the loser you are won’t win you any brownie points. How badly did you fuck up?”
“She didn’t tell you?” I ask, surprised.
“No, she didn’t really talk much at all. Just asked if she could crash here for a few nights.”
“I fucked up big,” I admit, not sugar-coating it.
“Then the apology needs to be bigger. Don’t say it, show it. This,” he waves at me, “is not showing it.” He turns and enters his apartment, leaving me to ponder what he said.
Fuck, I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but he’s right. I look at the door and sigh. As much as I don't want to leave, it's time to come up with a new plan of action. I call Davis and have him take me back to the penthouse, where I spend the rest of the day fielding calls and making plans. By the time I’m done, it's dark outside and my stomach is yelling for food.
I order some Chinese food, then decide to order food for Linda too, and get all her favorites delivered to Tig’s place. I send her a text, not surprised when I don't hear back from her and toss my phone onto the sofa only to rush back over to it when it rings.
Unfortunately, it's my father, not Linda. I let it go to voicemail, but he just calls again and again until I give in and answer. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here, Dad,” I tell him, frustrated.
“Charming,” he answers dryly. “I’m calling to invite you to dinner. Melody would like to meet you.” I shake my head, really not wanting to get into this right now.
Hell, if he had asked me what his wife's name was before he mentioned her, I wouldn’t have been able to give it.
“I have a lot going on at the moment, Dad. I’ll let you know when I’m free,” I lie easily.
He sighs like I’m the biggest pain in his ass. “Family is important, son. The sooner you figure that out, the better.”
My back goes straight at his words, my free hand fisting at my side. “You don’t need to tell me that. I know how important family is, and it's not