Eligible Ex-husband - Marie Johnston Page 0,51

for a few moments and I feel like a bug under a magnifying glass. “You said…” She bites her lower lip. “You said you hadn’t slept with anyone after we split. Didn’t you date at all?”

I meant it when I said there was only her. “Why would I?”

“You read the article. I’m sure you were asked.”

“I was at work or at the condo. If I traveled it was for business. Charlie took care of the meals, so I hardly had to go to the grocery store. If anything wasn’t work-related, I was with the kids.”

“You had to have gotten hit on.”

“Maybe. I didn’t notice.”

Her lips twist. “You never did.”

It’s my turn to study her. “I always had the feeling you thought I was one foot out the door.” That feeling hasn’t changed.

“What do you mean?”

The little crease in her forehead tells me she knows exactly what I mean. “We’ve been together since we were nineteen. Earlier tonight, I was thinking about when you told me that you were pregnant and how you thought I was going to break up with you.”

“I didn’t…” She sighs. “You know how different we grew up. You were all jock and I was all girl in the corner with a book.”

“I happen to like girls in corners with books.” I wince and chuckle. “That sounded better in my head.”

She smiles but fiddles with the edge of her napkin. “You’re too good to be true, and when I finally accepted that you were legit and weren’t going to be swayed by a piece of ass that promised nothing but a good time, your focus became work.”

“And you know why,” I say quietly.

“I don’t care about a big house or money.”

“I know.” That’s not how she grew up. How I grew up was different. There was a stark difference in what Liam was provided versus me. Liam got the newest and the best, I got the rest. His college was fully funded and I worked my ass off for the rowing scholarship but I had to pick up the rest.

I’m determined not to do that with my family.

Natalie

The last open mic act wraps up and I clap, astonished at the amount of talent in our area.

“I never knew we had so many local singers and poets,” I say to Simon as we rise and push in our chairs.

“Me either. We’ll have to come here more often.”

It was fun. This whole night was fun. I struggle to recall when we last went out, just the two of us. When Abby was little, maybe, but we didn’t do much more than dinner and a movie.

We’ve lived in Fargo for seven years and don’t know all it offers. The couple that we chatted with between open mic sets said they’ve gone to comedy nights, wine tastings, and local brewery hops.

I’m already planning another date night soon.

I guess that means I’ve lost some of my anxiety that Simon’s going to revert to his old ways.

We walk out to the sidewalk toward Simon’s car. His hand is on my back. It’s more of a protective gesture than to steer me away from other patrons heading home for the night.

“So, what now?” I ask. It’s a few minutes after ten.

“A quiet house?” He grins at me. Fading daylight casts shadows over his face, making him look like the superhero I thought he resembled when I first saw him. No one could be that ridiculously cute and nice and not have something to hide. “I thought that since tomorrow’s going to be a late night, we should turn in early tonight.”

“Good call. We’re going to pay for a late night of fireworks on Tuesday morning.”

“I promised them the best spot to watch.”

“Where’s that?”

“I don’t know yet.”

I grin the whole way home. My body’s tingling because I know what’s coming next. “They’ve been talking constantly about tomorrow. I think they’re excited.”

“I made the mistake of saying we might check out Bonanzaville.”

“You’re crazy.” He has a full day planned that’s going to wipe out not only the kids, but us and my parents. But Bonanzaville will be fun. They put on a fireworks show, and while we’re waiting, we can tour their historical museum and displays. The girls would love the old-time general store and Fargo’s first schoolhouse. We always talked about going, but we haven’t yet.

His phone pings a few times, but he ignores it while driving. No one else calls him but Helena and his clients. It’s a holiday weekend.

But he doesn’t only invest