Eligible Ex-husband - Marie Johnston Page 0,56
on that topic. “He had a minor work emergency last night and he could be holed up in the office dealing with it, but he took care of what he could this morning and left the rest.”
“That’s improvement,” she murmurs.
She was mildly surprised when I told her that Simon was here and we’re working things out. I haven’t sensed a full stamp of approval, but she has so much on her mind while her husband’s gone.
I can’t hear what Simon’s saying to the girls, but he’s got them lined up and hopping on one foot with their finger on their nose.
Rachel chuckles when she sees what they’re doing. “I guess Kia will be able to pass a DUI test when she’s older.” She lifts her chin toward them. “I had no idea that Abby looked so much like him.”
“Maddy does too. She has my hair so everyone thinks she looks like me.” Something about what she says catches my attention. “Wait, haven’t you ever met Simon?”
I met Rachel a few years ago but we haven’t been as close as we are now, not until we each had to be single parents. Have we really only crossed paths in kid activities or playdates? What about mom dates? Would our spouses get along?
“No. I feel like I know him from how much you talk about him though.”
“I don’t talk about him that much.”
She rolls a droll look toward me. “If it’s not the kids, it’s him.”
“Well, I mean…” She’s right. There’s not much else in my life but my family. Once I started training for my half-marathon, we talked about that and then my upcoming business venture. “I do talk about him all the time, don’t I?”
“I’m sure I talk about Mike a lot.”
Do I really talk about Simon ad nauseam? “Nothing noticeable.”
“I didn’t mean you go on and on. I just meant that once you came up with the idea to start Let Me Assist You and started training with Aleah, it was nice to hear you have something for yourself. Everything was wrapped up in Simon and, married or not, that’s not healthy.”
Oh. She has a point. I didn’t have much going on for myself before my divorce that wasn’t my husband or kids. I’ve been slacking on both my training and startup. I don’t want to lose Simon, but I don’t want to lose me either.
Simon trots over with Braxton propped on a shoulder. “One of us smells like he messed his drawers.”
Rachel takes her sunglasses off and grins. “I’m going to guess it’s my little man, but since I don’t know you well…”
Simon laughs and hands him over. When she’s inside, he plops in her chair, his arms hanging over the sides.
“Kia’s got some speed on her, but damn, Maddy’s a fast one. I think she kicked all our asses in tag.”
“She’s been racing in the yard since the snow melted. Claims she’s practicing for soccer.”
He blows out a breath and sifts through the cups on the patio table until he finds his. “If that’s the level of kindergartners I’m going to coach then I’m in trouble.”
As if six little girls will even faze him. The real hurdle will be getting him to show up.
He takes a long pull on what’s left of his lemonade, his throat working with each swallow. I’m just as helpless as I was in college. Getting distracted by his looks.
He finishes off his cup and turns his contemplative gaze toward me. “You don’t think I’m going to make it work, do you?”
“I think you’ll really try.”
He watches me for a moment before he shoves a hand through his hair, ruffling it even more. Between that and his scruff, it’s hard not to climb on his lap and just sit and enjoy the rest of the day touching him. That’s what his casual look does. Makes him approachable. Touchable.
“You need to talk to me,” he says quietly. “I didn’t know… until you told me it was already over, I didn’t know.”
I look around. Rachel’s still inside and Dad’s with the kids across the lawn. Mom’s napping. This isn’t a good time for a talk, but we have some privacy. “I did tell you.”
“Not straight forward. Not ‘Simon, if you don’t listen to me I’m going to divorce you.’ All I remember are comments and I thought I was working on it. I thought I was doing as much as I could. I thought… I had time.” He sits forward, the gravity in his gaze