Page 12 of Worth the Vow

If this is how bad she is now, I’m incredibly fearful for the teenage years.

My son Carter will be eight in a few months, and the terror that is my daughter Aspen has her seventh birthday soon thereafter. Carter and Aspen are almost what we call Irish twins, as they are fourteen months apart.

I’ve never believed in love. That’s my mom’s thing. And my grandmother. Nonna believes in fairy tales. She thinks everyone has at least one soulmate in the world, and that they are destined to find each other, one way or another.

I think it’s a bunch of bullshit.

There isn’t one woman who will “complete” me. There just isn’t. I enjoy a woman’s companionship, but that’s it. I don’t want one in my life nonstop. My marriage proved that. I will never feel like my heart has met its match. I’m cool with doing my own thing. Hell, as of late, sex hasn’t even been on my radar. No woman is going to make me feel like I’d burn down the world for her.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I’d straight up murder for my kids.

That’s the only love I know. Unconditional love for the humans I helped create. Sienna, with her empathetic nature. Carter with his sense of humor and desire to try everything. And Aspen with her sassy personality and undeniable charm. So while I may say it was a mistake to trust my ex-wife with birth control, I’ll never call my children a mistake. They are the greatest gift I’ve ever received.

Savannah only put up a fight when she realized I wasn’t going to pay for anything. I guess she thought I’d continue to support her while she gallivanted around the country. She threatened to sue for full custody, which was absurd because Colorado doesn’t even use the terms joint custody and full custody anymore. The state breaks custody into two areas: decisions and time. Basically it boils down to how decisions are made for the children, and where they’ll spend their time. My type-A personality thrived in preparing for our divorce, and I know she wasn’t ready for everything I threw at her.

Savannah arrived at our first meeting with an attorney that looked like he had just passed the bar, and they were completely unprepared. On the other hand, I had text messages, doorbell camera videos, and eyewitness accounts of all the times Savannah hadn’t been a role model for our children. Her lack of financial stability meant she couldn’t provide any sort of home for the kids either. Even with the cash payout for the increase in property value on the home I purchased before we were married, it wasn’t enough for her to put a down payment on a house. Rental prices in Colorado are exceptionally high, and she couldn’t provide a suitable situation for the kids.

I was awarded sole custody of my three children after Savannah showed up to our next meeting stoned out of her mind. She didn’t even cry, just sat in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest, and a sullen expression on her face. I realized at that moment how I’d married an adult woman who had the emotional capacity of a child.

Once the divorce and custody proceedings were final, Savannah skipped town. Sienna was devastated. She didn’t understand what divorce meant, she just recognized that her mother was gone. Carter didn’t care, and Aspen … well, she barely even recognizes her mother today, let alone as a baby.

Only after Savannah left did I find out she’d had multiple affairs throughout our tempestuous marriage. I wasn’t surprised, and I wasn’t as upset as I thought I’d be. Yeah, it was embarrassing to be cuckolded, and to get those looks from Eternity Springs residents, but I was thrilled to be rid of her. But don’t get me started about the articles on the town gossip website, which seemed to have a play-by-play of the entire debacle.

Has life been stressful? Yeah. But probably not any more than it was when she lived in my house. It’s nice not to have to deal with her … until she invariably decides to roll back into town and wreak havoc on her unsuspecting children.

“Dominic.”

I jolt, unaware I’m still standing in the hallway outside Sienna’s bedroom, and find a disgruntled Kate staring at me.

“What?”

“Are you okay?” she asks, her eyebrows raised in concern.

“Yes. I’m fine,” I respond, standing tall so that I look down at her, which is somewhat hard to do, considering she’s quite tall. “Is Sienna okay?”

“She’s fine. Drama with a girl in her class,” Kate says, swirling her hands in a gesture between us meant to excuse the crying fit my daughter just had. “Typical girl stuff.”

“Typical? She’s ten. How typical can this be?” I comment.

“You’re not female, so I’m not sure how to answer that without sounding condescending. I handled it. She’s fine now.” Kate straightens her shoulders and extends her chin, I’m sure in what is supposed to be a power move. At six-one, I usually tower over people. But not Kate. She’s tall for a woman, and I bet if she wore heels, she’d only be an inch or two shorter than me. Her face is almost always devoid of any makeup, but she rarely goes without lipstick. I’ve seen every shade imaginable on those perfectly plump lips.

Not that I usually notice her lips. Well, that’s a lie, but right now, she’s biting them, and I fight the urge to pull her bottom lip out from between her teeth with my own. But as I look at her deep brown eyes, that so often focus on other people with a sparkle, they look dull and uninterested as she waits for my response.

Fuck. I can’t even remember what she said.

I clear my throat, my voice going deeper as I put on my CEO voice, and immediately put my foot in my mouth. “In the future, please speak with me before you intend to gossip with my daughter privately.”

Kate’s eyes narrow to slits as her lips form a straight line. My heartbeat quickens as I realize I’ve really pissed her off.

“What I mean, Kate, is —”

Kate interrupts me. “Message received. Is that all, Mr. Santo?”

Before I can respond, she pivots on one foot and quickly walks down the hall. A moment later, I hear her basement bedroom door slam shut.

Lovely. Rubbing my temples, I can feel a migraine coming on.

---