Want You Back - River Laurent Page 0,66

the bedroom. As I watched them disappear, I was flooded by gratitude for Alex’s presence in my life. He had been a rock at a time when I needed one.

That one week had both saddened me and at the same time brought joy into my life. Joy because Kayden was lucky to have a dad like Alex. Patient, loving and playful. The kind of daddy that every little boy should have.

My sadness came from the wall that had grown between us. I’d tried making conversation but Alex was not interested. I missed the conversations we had in the evenings and, I know this made me a shallow person, but I missed making love with Alex.

I ached to have his strong arms around me and his lips on mine, kissing me with everything he had. Alex returned to the living room as I was squeezing my thighs together to keep the heat from spreading.

“I should go,” he said.

“Please stay, I’m making steak for dinner.” I swallowed hard.

He contemplated it for a few seconds, his cobalt blue eyes intense and trained on me. I trembled as heat whipped through me. I really, really wanted him to stay. As aroused as I was, the main reason I wanted Alex to stay was because I owed him an apology.

I had caused a lot more damage to the man I loved the most on the planet. It didn’t matter that my reasons had been noble and well intentioned. I knew now that I had broken his heart.

But even worse, I had kept his son from him. I could have tried much harder to find him. And now, I was just plain scared to tell him. I was frightened of his reaction and I was afraid of losing my Kayden. I couldn’t think clearly enough to make a decision.

Maybe when we went to the lodge for Amy’s wedding, I would tell him then. The more I thought about it, the more appealing the idea became. We would be surrounded by people and I wouldn’t have to face Alex’s wrath.

One thing was for sure, he was going to be mad and rightly so.

“Can’t say no to a steak,” he said and collapsed on the couch.

“Long day?” I asked with a giggle.

He chuckled. “He’s so tiny and so much work. But I’ll have Kayden any day rather than a day at the office.”

“I’m really grateful—”

Alex raised a hand to cut me off. “You already said.”

We exchanged a smile. I drained the last of my coffee and as I reached out to place the empty cup on the table, I missed the edge. The cup fell to the hard wooden floor, but other than bouncing around it didn’t break.

“Fuck.”

“Its fine,” he said, diving after the cup. He sat back down and held my gaze. “I’ve noticed that this kind of thing happens a lot. Is there something wrong with your vision?”

Charlotte

Oh God! I should have known that Alex would notice. How much was I going to tell him? “Yes, my vision is bad.”

“Why don’t you wear glasses?”

“Don’t like them. I’ll look terrible,” I said flippantly.

Alex stared at me. “That’s not like you Chaz. You’ve never been vain. I refuse to believe that’s the reason you don’t get glasses.”

Tears flooded my eyes and threatened to spill. “I need to marinate the steaks and make Kayden’s dinner.” I grabbed the cup and fled to the kitchen.

Alex was so right. I was not hung up over my looks. If ten inch glasses would help me see better, I would happily wear them. It felt good to hear him say that he did not believe me. But it also made me question why he had not had the same reaction when I walked out of our marriage.

Why hadn’t he reached into himself to know that I wouldn’t have fallen in love with another man, let alone run off with him?

It wasn’t long before Alex joined me but by then I had regained control of my emotions.

“Put me to work,” he said.

I gestured at the island stool. “Sit there. Your job is to keep me company.”

We chatted easily as I worked. When I was done boiling Kayden’s potatoes and peas, Alex insisted on mashing them while I placed our potatoes in the oven.

“Have you spoken to Mrs. Horace?” he asked.

“Not recently, no,” I said. “I’m sure she’s fine. I’ll give her house a cleanup. I’m sure it’s dusty.”

“That’s kind of you,” Alex commented.

“It’s nothing. She’s been so kind to Kayden and me.”

Comfortable silence fell