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“You look good, Honey. Really good. Sweet, in fact. But we both know you’re not.” His voice, smooth and sultry, directed right between my thighs, wetting me with the first syllable.
“I’m at the Roosevelt Hotel. Room six thirty. If you’re game,” I dared.
The few seconds of hesitation had me worried he’d say no. Was it better to leave the past behind us? I turned back to the car, giving up.
“I’ll be there. Eight o’clock sharp,” he called.
I smirked. So predictable.
“And Honey, there’ll be no games tonight so don’t even try?—”
“Who me? You forget who you’re dealing with.” I tossed my mane of golden hair and entered my car, with every confidence Buddy Rodgers would show up. He never could resist me, nor I him.
But what would I gain from this rendezvous?
Shit, why did I have to gain anything at all? Why was I like this? Wouldn’t it be enough to meet the man for drinks, to rehash old times, even to forgive and forget, and leave on good terms?
I could blame my stepfather, or Hollywood, or even my mother. Hell, I could blame my bastard birth father for screwing everything that moved and not taking responsibility for his various offspring. They all played a role in making me who I was.
But the blame for losing a man like Buddy Rodgers rested solely on my shoulders. Would tonight be a reckoning for my past sins?
Or maybe…
Just maybe…
Fate had more plans for Buddy and I. We weren’t finished yet.
The Husband
BUDDY RODGERS
Present Day
What use were fucking vows if I broke them every time?
I vowed long ago to never marry. Broke it.
I vowed never to lay eyes on my wife again. Broke it.
“I can’t believe that honey-headed woman showed back up in my life tonight,” I lamented to Daniel at the hospital after I left the art event. He and his wife Maddie delivered their baby today, a healthy boy they named Owen Jones.
Only I didn’t expect the reaction my heart would have seeing my old friend sitting with his hip on the bed, holding his baby and gazing so proudly at his wife.
First, my body betrayed me, lighting up at the sight of Honey tonight. Then my heart broke apart at the sight of Daniel and his new little family. I was jealous, and why the fuck would I have these reactions now?
I’d pushed the idea of ever settling down so far out of my view, but today it pushed back.
“Maybe it’s a sign, Buddy. You should give Honey another chance,” Maddie said sleepily, resting in the hospital bed.
“Another chance at what? Breaking me down completely? I gave her one chance?—”
“Sometimes people need more than one. If Maddie hadn’t given me a few chances to get my act together, I wouldn’t be sitting here holding my sweet baby boy.” Daniel’s eyes turned glossy, glowing between his wife and kid.
This from the man who convinced me years ago that we should take a vow never to marry, and to remain steadfast bachelors. He started out as a commitment-phobic guy, the self-appointed president of the informal Take No Vows Club, just a group of rich guys who met up now and then for drinks and golf, but he’d come a long way. In fact, a few of the guys in our group broke the vow to never marry, now happy with their wives.
“Well, hold Owen while you can. Your mother will be back shortly, and she’s already a pushy Irish grandma, demanding to hold him so much.” Maddie complained and yawned. “I’m a little scared because she went to retrieve holy water from the hospital chapel to bless him with, but God, I love her. And I love my husband and my son. Oh, I can’t seem to stop the tears today. I’m so happy.”
Daniel leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I love our family too, Harvard.”
