Page 82 of His Bittersweet Regret

“Good for her, making that choice.”

“It shows she has made improvements,” I agreed. “I’m still not ready to trust her.”

“Has she even apologized for the way she treated you?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Though, I’m pretty sure that’s part of the steps she has to take in her recovery. Since she hasn’t done it, I assume she isn’t ready yet, and until she is, she won’t be left alone with my son.”

“That is smart of you,” Beth agreed before handing me the other earring I was looking for. “You look amazing. That man isn’t going to know what hit him. He’s only seen you looking like a bedraggled single mother lately.”

“Gee, thanks for the confidence boost and love you’re throwing my way. I make being a single mom look good, dark circles, bags, and all, you twat!”

“Shut your face!” She teased. “You know what I meant.”

“Beth,” I whispered and turned so that I could see her face as I asked the question that had been on my mind all day. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing, giving him another chance?”

“Unlike all the assholes in Marsh’s life, I always knew the two of you belonged together. Now, there was a time in there when I was willing to bury his body and hide all the evidence, but I think Marsh finally got his shit together and pulled his head out of his ass.”

Bethany wrapped her arms around me in one of her comforting hugs. “I’m so scared that it will all happen again,” I admitted.

“Eventually, he’ll prove himself. I don’t think that man ever wants to take the chance of letting you go again. He saw how easily you could replace him when you refused to get back together and started to date initially.”

“My one and only date was a disaster.”

“No, your one and only date started out wonderfully, and his brothers went back and told him about how much fun you were having. So what if it ended badly, thanks to Joe being a double-dipper? That just showed that you could easily have a great time with someone else, and that another man would leave the woman he’s with to make sure he captured you.” She winked and waggled her brows at me. “Jealousy is a huge motivator for idiotic men.”

That made me giggle. Beth’s motto was that all men were idiots, you just had to discover the level of idiocy you could tolerate. She hadn’t found her level yet.

There was a knock on the door, and Beth went to answer it while I finished putting my earring in and gave my lips a quick swipe of gloss. I hadn’t even left the bathroom yet, when I heard my best friend threaten Marsh.

“If I find out you hurt her in any way again, I will make sure your body is never found. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” he answered. “And thank you for looking out for Opal. I’m glad she’s always had you in her corner.”

“Don’t try to flatter me,” she snipped at him, which made me laugh as I walked out to greet them both.

“Wow!” Marsh sputtered. “You look amazing, Opal.” His hand flew over his heart, as if he was having trouble keeping the organ in place.

“Thanks, you look great too,” I returned the compliment. “Was everything okay with Austin before you left?”

My anxiety had spiked earlier, over the fact that I wouldn’t get to say goodnight to my boy. It was different from the nights when Marsh would have him because this was the first time that our new nanny was spending time alone with our son.

“I promise you he’s fine,” he pulled out his phone, tapped some things, and then turned to show me our son sleeping soundly in his crib before he turned on the audio capability. Mrs. Gliden was still reading out loud. To my complete surprise, she was reading the Percy Jackson novels, and that made me giggle.

“At least she has great taste in bedtime stories.”

Marsh’s whole face lit up as he smiled in agreement. I touched his cheek without even thinking and his arms wrapped around my waist in response. We were probably a hair’s breadth away from kissing when a throat cleared.

I turned to see that Bethany was wearing a huge, knowing grin. “You better get on out of here before you don’t make it to your first date. Thank God I was here to protect your virtue!” She teased.

“So, what do you have planned for our first date?” I asked.

“You’re going to have to wait and see.”

Twenty minutes later, Marsh pulled up outside a little hole in the wall bar on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t one we had ever been to before, and for the briefest moment, I wondered if he had found this place on one of his other dates. Then, I let that thought go, because I couldn’t handle the possibility of the answer being yes.

It was then that I knew forgiving and getting over our past experience, was not going to be as easy as simply dating again and taking things slowly. Doubt festered in my mind where Marsh was concerned, and that was something I never had to deal with before.

“Wait there,” Marsh directed, as he hopped out of the truck. He reached into the back and grabbed something out, then came around to get me from the passenger side. It wasn’t as though I was pregnant and needed the help, but I think it was supposed to be a gentlemanly gesture on his part.

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