me,” Diesel said in a rush, grabbing my hands back in both of his. “Whatever you think this says about you, Parrish Partridge, you’re wrong. You’re not an idiot, you’re the—”
“You haven’t heard the end of the story yet,” I interrupted bleakly. “Months passed. The custody case progressed. Slowly, though. Aunt Marnie never liked Payne, and Uncle Beau loathed him, so even though they doted on the boys, you’d better believe there was no Merchant, Greene, and Chandler involved. When the boys were sick, I called in to work. When there was an awards night at school, I was there. Payne and I… we hardly saw each other anymore, but hey, that’s what happens when you put the kids first, right? When Payne’s job meant he could provide for them? And he was clearly not happy with me. Everything I did was juvenile or basic, from the foods I made to the clothes I wore. He would not have enjoyed my chicken casserole.”
Diesel’s grip on my hands tightened. “Parrish, I—”
“Anyway, long story long, all those evening meetings were not meetings. I mean, obviously.” I rolled my eyes. “There was another woman—an associate at his firm, because he’s a walking, talking cliché. And I didn’t find out dramatically or anything. He explained it all to me very calmly and rationally the night before the custody hearing. He thought it would make a better case if he went into the hearing with his new girlfriend, but he still wanted me there for moral support and as a character witness.”
Diesel jumped up from the bench. “I’m going to kill him,” he announced.
“No, you are not.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him back down to sit. “He’s not worth it. Not even a little bit. He’s gone. History. Besides, his whole plan backfired spectacularly. I absolutely refused to appear as his character witness under the circumstances.” And it had been kinda lowering to see just how shocked Payne had been by that. “That set his whole case back by months. And just before I moved down here, I saw on Facebook that Natasha ended up winning primary custody. Payne was not happy about it at all, and he sent me some pretty vile messages blaming me, but it was probably for the best. The boys adored her. I think he lied to me about what kind of mother she was.”
“Because he’s a piece of trash, lying cheater who used you, and you’re an amazing, loving—”
“Shush,” I soothed, stroking his arm and the side of his face, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me feel incredible that he was ready to stand up and fight for me. “I didn’t tell you to upset you, I just needed you to know why maybe I’ve been skittish or hesitant. It’s not that I didn’t care about you or think for one minute that you weren’t good enough. I was just scared that I was falling too hard and fast. I needed a minute to make sure it was real.”
Diesel shook his head. “I don’t know how you ever agreed to this, baby. God, if I’d known you had all this in your past, I never would have asked you—”
“I know.” I summoned a smile. “I know. So I guess I’m glad you didn’t know, because if you hadn’t asked me to lie, I would have missed out on having a real relationship with the kindest, most honest man I’ve ever met.” I grabbed his face with both hands and forced him to look at me, because it was so important that he believed me. “You are the best man for me, Diesel. Don’t ever doubt it.”
He nodded, his eyes shiny. “Parrish, I—” he began. I leaned toward him to catch every word, and he blurted, “I’m a vegetarian.”
“You… What?” I stared at him, stunned. “But, but… What?”
“I’m sorry. I lied. I couldn’t tell you. You brought me that apology casserole, and I wanted you so much, Parrish—not just for the custody arrangement, I swear, and I’ll work as hard as I can to prove that to you, but because you’re gorgeous, and funny, and loving, and—”
“Get back to the chicken,” I interrupted.
“Right, well.” He licked his lips and darted a look at me, like he worried that I’d be furious, which was kind of adorable—okay, maybe more than kind of—but even though I tried hard to summon some outrage, I couldn’t seem to.