Page 84 of Sexting My Ex’s Dad

Nathan leans forward slightly. “And you took it.”

“I took it,” I admit, and I hate how small it makes me feel. “I signed, I got escorted out like I was a problem, and I walked out with my bag on my shoulder and my badge gone.”

Nathan’s gaze holds mine. “And you blocked me.”

“Yes,” I say, and my voice sharpens with instinctive defense. “I was pregnant, I was being threatened, you’d already told me you didn’t want to be a father, and if I handed you all of that at once I’d sound like the exact story you hated.”

Nathan’s eyes flicker as the quiet stretches for a beat, and I feel my pulse in my fingertips. “And you left town,” he says, as if he is coming to terms with everything himself.

“I packed,” I answer. “I changed the lock. I left with one suitcase. I told myself I’d come back for the rest later.”

My mouth twists, and the laugh that tries to come out is ugly. “I never did.”

Nathan sits back slightly, and the expression on his face looks like a man seeing a mistake in full detail, not the edited version. “You didn’t trap me,” he murmurs out loud.

“I didn’t.” I hold his gaze on purpose.

“You didn’t weaponize her,” he adds.

“No,” I say, quieter. “I didn’t.”

Nathan’s voice drops, breaks, and his eyes mist over. “I’m sorry.”

In all my years of being obsessed with him, I’ve never seen him look more beautiful. My heart lurches as he shakes his head.

I don’t give him comfort he hasn’t earned yet. “I needed you to believe me,” I admit with a little sigh. “I just…I didn’t want to force you to be a dad because it’d be my kid. You had to want her too, you know?”

His eyes hold mine. “I believe you, and I’m going to fix the rest.”

I let a faint edge into my voice, since it’s safer than crying. “How? You can’t time travel.”

He lets a dry note slip into his tone, familiar and warm. “I’ve been accused of miracles before,” he says, then he looks at me steadily. “Tell me why Meredith had the photo. Tell me who you thought was behind it.”

I hesitate, then my voice drops. “I didn’t know,” I admit. “I suspected Nate, I suspected someone connected to him.”

Nathan nods. “I have a feeling my ex is involved in all of this somehow.”

My ears quirk up. “Ex? You mean…”

“Cindy,” he fills me in. “Nate’s mom.” His expression hardens, and his voice goes colder. “She called me outside the pizzeria. She had photos. She threatened my job. She said she’d go to HR, the board, donors.”

My fingers tighten around the towel. “So she was doing the same thing to you.”

“Yes,” he replies. “And I let it get into my head.”

“She knew,” I say. “So yeah, maybe all of this is tied somehow.”

“She knew,” he confirms, and his eyes don’t flinch away. “I thought it was jealousy. It wasn’t only jealousy.”

“Meredith felt too comfortable,” I say slowly. “The kind of audacity with which she spoke…she definitely had someone backing her up.”

Nathan nods. “Cindy collects people. She uses them when she needs leverage.”

I nod. “So Meredith and Cindy.”

“And Nate,” Nathan adds, bluntly. “Nate was already threatening you.”

“He told me he could make someone’s life hell.” My voice stays level only through practice.