will be back in the morning to pick you girls up, alright?”
Coby doesn’t let go without a fight. I have to pry her off me before passing her over to Bryce, who holds her like a football. “Can you make sure to read them a story before bedtime?” I remind him. “It helps to soothe Ryan.”
“I know,” he says.
“And Coby’s been a little sick. She has medicine in the front of her bag. She needs it before dinner.”
“Fine.”
“And just ...”
“I know how to look after my fucking children, Amelia. They are mine, you know?”
“Really?” I laugh. “Because last time Coby came home with scratches all over her back, and Ryan couldn’t sleep for days. Yeah, you must be a really great father. I don’t know how you do it.”
"Fuck off out of here," Bryce grunts, scrunching his face as though the very sight of me repulses him. Though, it clearly mustn't repulse him too much as he was willing to climb in between the sheets with me on more than a few occasions.
I scoff at his bad attitude and turn back to my babies. I drop down in front of Ryan and push that beautiful blonde hair back behind her ear. "Be a good girl for Daddy, okay? And watch your sister so that she doesn’t get up to any mischief."
"Okay, Mommy," she grumbles, pouting out her bottom lip and letting it wobble just enough to break my heart.
"Love you, Hurricane." I straighten myself up, finding my little Coby, and giving her a bright beaming smile that I'm definitely not feeling on the inside. "And I love you, too," I tell her, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her temple. "You be a good girl too."
With that, I start backing away, hoping to watch them as long as I can, but the dead-beat steps inside before I've even walked off the porch. He slams the door as though he doesn’t hold my whole world in his hands right now, and the second I hear my girls’ cries, my whole heart shatters.
Fucking prick. I hate him so much.
One day my babies will be old enough to tell me they don't want him in their lives, but until then, I won't be the asshole denying them a chance to get to know their daddy. No matter how badly it sucks. I’m pretty sure he only takes them to spite me. He's never been interested in forming a relationship with our girls. He more than proved that the day he left.
Feeling the sting in my eyes, I hurry to my car and drop down in the seat. I will not allow him to see me as weak. I jam the key in the ignition and back out of there like my ass is on fire.
I get halfway down the road before the floodgates open, and I pull over to the side to allow the tears to flow. Like I said, I hate every second Saturday.
Sitting in the car like this makes me feel nothing short of pathetic, and that's not me. I'm strong. I'm raising two beautiful babies on my own despite all the shit the world has thrown at me. I won’t let something like this break me.
I pull myself together and decide that while I have a day to myself, I might as well make it count. But where do I start?
Hmm … I’ve always wanted to paint the girls’ bedrooms. What better time than now? Hell, maybe I’ll grab a few bottles of wine while I’m at it. I’m sure I couldn’t possibly screw it up that much.
Paint and wine? I can’t remember a single time ever hearing someone say that they don’t mix.
Done. I pull back out into the traffic and get my ass to the hardware store.
This will be a piece of cake.
CHAPTER 2
BULL
I pull up at Avalon Lake Hardware store and gawk at the fucking angel walking through the door. The sun streams through the window, lighting up her hair like a fucking halo, and my heart races. Who the fuck is this? I’ve never seen this chick around here before, but one thing is for sure; I won’t be leaving here today without her number stored safely in my phone and a date for tonight.
She’s fucking radiant. Simply stunning and beautiful. I’ve never seen a woman like her. She walks with a broken confidence that somehow holds my attention like never before.
Those ripped jeans sit perfectly around her fine ass, her messy blonde hair, looking