Page 44 of Worth the Vow

“She called you an asshat.”

Jesus Christ. “I’ll handle that with Katharine at home. And perfectly timed, we’re at the ice cream parlor! Everybody out.” Slamming the car into park, I let out a trapped breath that seemed to be lodged against my heart. An asshat? Really? I sigh as I realize I’ve given her nothing but asshat behaviors for months.

Aspen jumps from the car, grabs my hand, then looks up at me. “Well, you did come to the park for a minute, and then you left us there. Maybe that is asshat stuff, Daddy. You should try not to be an asshat anymore.”

I scrub a hand over my face in frustration. “If you promise to stop saying asshat, I’ll let you have two scoops.”

“Okay, Daddy,” she says cheerfully, dropping my hand to skip into the store. When I hear her tell her brother and sister how she gets two scoops, I realize I’ve been played.

As the kids order their ice cream, I think back to all of my interactions with Katharine over the past couple of years that I’ve known her. Yes, we’ve butted heads. She seemed to get under my skin, and I never understood why. Once she began nannying for me, I realized it was partly due to her connection to my children. I didn’t want them to need someone other than me. Even as I could recognize how she gave them something that I never could, it still pissed me off. And now, years later, she’s married to me, but thinks I’m a philandering asshat who would schedule clandestine meetings for sex with my ex-wife.

Watching my kids happily inhale their ice cream, I realize how lucky I am. Yeah, Savannah leaving was hard. Figuring out how to navigate single parenthood was awful. We struggled for the first couple of years. But now I can see a difference in my children. How Kate has improved their lives.

Sienna’s confidence has grown leaps and bounds since she began confiding in Kate. Carter has realized how his unique interests are strengths, and he wears that fact proudly. And my sweet and sassy Aspen has adopted Kate’s take-no-shit attitude. Two years ago, my children were nothing like this.

But the worst part? The most humiliating part? I realize I’ve never told Kate any of this. I’ve never thanked her for what she’s brought to our lives. The peace she’s given me, knowing my children are always well cared for. No wonder she thinks I’m an asshat.

From this moment on, I’m turning over a new leaf. A relationship, an actual relationship, with Kate is clearly not in the cards, but I can show her how important she is to this family. How integral she is. She needs to know that she’s the cog that keeps this train going, and we’d be lost without her.

Kate

I’ve dealt with disapproving people my entire life. I get those old women in the grocery store who sneer in disgust at my clothes, or the young mom who sees the kids and assumes I had Sienna in high school. But I’ve never overheard someone I knew talking about me like Dominic was.

I know what he said was fairly calm. Nothing that was really about my personality. It’s the principle of it all. Has he ever mentioned the glasses being all over the house? Nope. And I had no idea the ventilation system carried my voice from the basement. That makes me wonder if he can hear me when I have a little … self-care alone time. After watching him that one time, karma would definitely bite me in the ass that way.

Oh God. That would really be the icing on the cake, wouldn’t it?

My problem is, I had hoped Dominic and I were developing a better connection, and he’d feel comfortable coming directly to me with his grievances, instead of complaining loudly in a public place about stupid shit.

When my phone rings, I growl. It’s probably him. The man doesn’t text me. Looking at the screen, I’m relieved to see it’s my half-brother, Matt.

“Hi,” I say as I answer the phone with a loud sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asks.

“Nothing. Just pissed at my boss.”

“So, like normal then.”

“Pretty much,” I answer. Matt knows how aggravated I get with Dominic. I don’t go into specifics, though, because Dominic is still Matt’s cousin. I haven’t told him about the marriage, though.

“So, interesting that you bring up your boss, because I just had a very interesting conversation with my aunt.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. You have anything you want to tell me, Mrs. Santo?” he teases.

“No.”

“Come on, Kate. Why didn’t you come to me? I could have helped.”

“How?” I ask belligerently. “Last time I checked, you were already married, and if that’s what you were suggesting, ew.”

Matt chuckles. “No, wasn’t suggesting some kind of sister wife scenario. But I do have some savings I could have given you.”

“Absolutely not. No.”

“Why not?” he asks.

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