Page 3 of Baby One More Time

We stuck it out until Seth was eight and then I came home early from an appointment and found Giorgio’s car in the driveway and a strange woman from the company in my bed.

He didn’t even try and deny it. That was the end of our marriage and I kicked myself every damn day for not realizing that he was just like my father.

He married her the day our divorce was finalized and didn’t even care about seeing his son.

Selfish prick!

But thank heaven I’m well out of that mess and he had to pay up because he cheated. I could have been proud and not taken any money from him but too damn bad. He owed me something for all those years alone. For all the years he was probably dragging girls home to my bed, our bed.

“Hey Mom! Look at that!” My boy excitedly points out the window and I smile as the fairgrounds come into view.

“Yep! Look at that!”

The buses stop and we pour out into the steamy-hot parking lot. The kids automatically line up in uneven lines and the teachers count off names and then smile, turning them loose.

I hold Seth’s hand and can’t help but grin at the huge smile on his face. “Look at that, Mom! They have cows here!”

“They sure do! And pigs and all kinds of animals. Just don’t touch anything. They are animals and they don’t know who you are.”

He nods excitedly and I let go of his hand slowly. He’s ten and I can’t hold onto him forever, no matter how much I want to.

My chest goes heavy and my throat tightens when he races away excitedly.

Almost immediately he finds the girl who was sitting with Lucian and his jaw drops. She glares at him and I see her saying something to him that I have to figure is not going to be super-nice. But he just throws back his blond head and laughs at her. Then he reaches out and takes her hand and she stares at him.

And I see that same scene playing out in my head. Only it’s Lucian and me. I close my eyes and swallow roughly, the pain still raw and ragged. After all these years I still can’t forget him.

“Can I talk to you, Serena?”

I open my eyes and he’s standing in front of me, his big hands shoved into his jeans pockets. His warm brown eyes are soft and nervous, matching my own feelings. Scary and intense. It’s like we’re still back where we were so long ago.

But we’re not and we never will be. There’s been too much time and pain between us.

But I stand tall and nod at him. His chin dips towards a bench over to the side and I follow him, willing myself to keep control of all those strange feelings and just listen to him and leave.

That’s all that I can give him. I don’t have anything left for more.

CHAPTER 3

Lucian

Isit on the bench and she sits next to me, her blue eyes wary and shuttered.

I sigh, knowing I deserve that.

“I’m sorry, Serena. I thought I was doing the right thing when I told you to leave. And it must have been good because you found a man who loves you. Who wouldn’t?”

Her head cocks, her blond curls slipping down her shoulder. “What do you mean?”

I nod at the boy and the wedding band she’s wearing. “You’re married and happy. I can tell.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “Wow! When was the last time you had your eyes checked?”

I rear back as she laughs, her head thrown back. She finally stops laughing and nods at her hand. “I just got divorced. And my ex just married the girl he cheated on me with.”

I wince. That sounds too familiar. Just like her father.

“I’m so sorry, Rena. You didn’t deserve that.”

---