AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Four
Even after the kiss, Logan had witnessed, he was reluctant to believe the story Sawyer had woven the day we'd met in that wine bar. However, seeing how I'd kissed my handsome acquaintance, Logan finally accepted I'd never want him back and I wanted to end our marriage.
The incident with Sawyer, and knowing I was at least still kissable, had given me a small degree of confidence that my life wasn't over following the end of my marriage. And although I knew it would take me more time to move on, I knew I wanted to change.
* * *
Nine months later, my way of living was almost unrecognizable from the sheltered, rigid routines I'd had when I was with Logan.
This had been mainly because I'd ditched my high-pressure wealth management job for a Monday to Friday advisor position at a small mortgage broker firm. Arranging appointments with people; sometimes in their own homes, had afforded me a certain amount of flexibility when I needed to be around for Colby.
Apart from the job itself, I had become firm friends with a single woman, Tricia, who was a year older than me. We gelled from the moment we’d met, and although I was quiet and reserved, she more than made up for us both.
When she had found out I had every other weekend on my own, Tricia, who was a party girl and had never been married, insisted on pulling me out of my shell and had slowly taught me how to be single again.
* * *
As Logan packed Colby's weekend bag in the trunk of his car, I looked up at the cloudless blue sky and felt a bubble of nervous excitement form in my gut when I remembered my plans for the weekend ahead without my son.
Standing at my front door, I had allowed my mind to wander, but I snapped out of my reverie when I heard the soft clunk of Logan's trunk closing.
My attention turned toward the car again. Logan gave me a sideways glance, then hesitated for a moment before he turned, shoved a hand deep into one of his front pants pockets, and headed back toward me.
My chest immediately tightened in anticipation of the awkward conversation ahead. This was the first time he'd collected Colby from home, and it was the first visit for Colby since our divorce had been finalized.
No matter how much he'd hurt me, abused my trust, or shattered my confidence in men, there was still a small piece of my heart that defied my head and ached for Logan and the love we had lost.
I knew how weak that sounded in my head, but no matter what he'd done, not all of the ten years we'd been married had been bad. I didn't know how to just stop loving someone because they'd betrayed my trust.
For all that had passed between us, there were many times, since the day he walked away, when my aching heart still fought to catch up to the present and how badly he'd betrayed me.
Some people were able to compartmentalize their feelings; unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. There was a part of me that wondered whether I'd always have the same conflicted feelings when I still had to face Logan every other week while Colby grew up.
"Did you pack his swimming gear?" Logan asked. His tone was remarkably mild-mannered, despite me having gained most of the assets from the divorce.
"Of course. I know you always take him to the beach. You can keep all of the clothes he has with him at your place." For a long minute, he stood quietly, and I felt unnerved when I saw the affectionate look he gave me. I recognized it from our past.
"You look stunning, by the way. Your hair's grown and the style looks very sexy on you," he offered, dipping his head in my direction as his studious eyes focused on my hair.
My chest immediately grew tight with frustration that he should have said such a thing to me now, because in the decade or so we'd been together, he'd never volunteered an opinion on how I looked, other than on our wedding day.
The tightness I felt increased but with a different feeling this time—anger. When I didn't respond, he shoved his free hand into his other pocket and cast his gaze to his feet.
A few seconds later he heaved out a sigh and looked back up at me. "Is it all right if I bring Colby back around 5:00 p.m.? Poppy has tickets for a play on Broadway for Sunday evening."
My initial instinct was to challenge him, because the agreement was until 6:00 p.m. As it was, he only had Colby every other weekend and shared time during the holidays. I tamped down my impulse to start an argument, thinking of our son, who was seated in the car.
"Sure, I should be here from around 4:30," I offered, my heart twinging painfully at the sound of Poppy's name dropping casually from his lips.
"Why? Where are you going?" I raised an eyebrow and scoffed at his question.
What I had meant was if I'd gone shopping I would be sure to be home for their return, but when he pointedly challenged my movements, I felt annoyed. "I don't think you have any right to ask. That's my business."
"What's the big deal? I just told you about my plans."
"Yes, but you volunteered those. I'm not into playing nice and sharing my life with you outside of Colby," I stated, firmly.
"Are you seeing someone?" he asked, his narrowed eyes scrutinizing mine. "Because if you are, I hope you've found a guy more suitable than the hookup I saw you with last Christmas."
