Page 66 of Follow My Heart

“She’s seeing someone. What could she say?” The thing was Stacy could say a lot. And she’d never been the type to see that she was being hypocritical.

Violet was appeased by my words though. “Good luck.”

“Night, Violet.”

“Text me when you’re home safely.” I loved the concern I detected in her voice.

“I will.” I waited for her to close and lock her door before jogging down the steps to my truck. Even though we didn’t get to hold hands or kiss, it still felt like the perfect night. Holding back made everything more heightened.

The separation would draw us even closer.

I backed up the truck and headed toward Virginia.

“She’s nice,” Faith said from the back seat.

“She is.”

“But Mom won’t like her.”

I chuckled uneasily. “Why do you say that?”

“Because Violet is exactly who she says she is. There’s nothing underneath, if you know what I mean.”

“You don’t think your mom will like her because she’s genuine?”

Faith shrugged. “It’s just a feeling I get.”

“Maybe.” What could I say? Your mother doesn’t always make sense? She’s a little jealous of other people. And even though she’d let me go easily, she might not feel the same when she realized I’d moved on. She thought I’d be begging for her to take me back. She thrived on that kind of energy.

She could have been bored in our marriage. The thrill of the chase was long over. That’s what I enjoyed about being with Violet. It was the time we spent together, the things we shared. It didn’t have to be anything fancy. Low-key was enough to make me feel content and happy.

Then the sex last night had been better than I expected. And I didn’t think it was because she was the first one I’d been with after the divorce. It was the connection we had.

What if the divorce had to happen because Stacy wasn’t the one for me? What if Violet came into my life for a reason?

Faith put on her earbuds for the rest of the ride, and I worried about Stacy’s reaction. I wondered if it would be better to hold off on telling her. As soon as I considered the idea, I pushed it out of my head.

I didn’t want Faith to get in trouble if she brought up Violet’s name in conversation. And I didn’t want Violet to think I was keeping her a secret.

The reality was that Violet would be spending a lot of time with us. It didn’t make sense to hide her.

When I finally pulled up to my old house, I didn’t feel a sense of loss or even regret. It was the first time I felt nothing. This was somewhere I used to live. Not the home I spent our marriage in. It didn’t have any kind of hold on me.

Hopefully Stacy didn’t either.

At the door, I knocked because it wasn’t my home anymore.

Stacy opened the door. “Oh, good. You’re here.”

“We saw the holiday lights before we headed home.”

“You mentioned that.” Stacy looked like she was in a hurry to shut the door in my face.

“Listen, I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“That’s my cue,” Faith said as she hugged me and went inside.

Stacy closed the door and stepped onto the porch. “What is it?”

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