Page 51 of Forgettable in Every Way

“Just about perfect.”

Simon thought so too.

Jules

IN WHAT FELT LIKE A dream, I smiled over at Simon on the picnic blanket we were lying on. Jack was curled up next to me, sound asleep. Winston rested next to Jack. We’d worn them out searching for fairies in the forest. Jack was sure he’d seen several playing among the treetops of the aspens. Wispy clouds danced above us in the sky, muting the sun’s rays from time to time while the lapping waves on the shore made the most pleasant background music. In a word, it was perfect.

I was still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of Simon’s desire to be more than my friend. Even more surprising was that he hadn’t known of my feelings for him in New York. He must have never read the photo album. While it hurt, I was grateful. Except for I’d spelled it out for him anyway. As embarrassing as that was, it was the truth. It was me.

Simon reached over and ran a finger down my bare arm before running a hand over Jack’s hair. “You don’t know how much it means to me that you are so good with Jack. He thinks the world of you.”

I wrapped my arms tighter around the little guy. “He’s amazing.”

“He’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“We should probably talk about his mom,” I hesitated to say. In the craziness of this all, I’d forgotten to be worried about her, but the worry was creeping in. “How will she feel about this?”

Simon rested his hands behind his head and sighed. His stretched-out body brought out every line he’d obviously earned from working out. Let me just say, wow. It was probably good we had a child and a dog between us. If not, I would have probably accosted him, embarrassing myself more. I’d already been too handsy touching his bare chest. Although he didn’t seem to mind. Something about him lowered my inhibitions.

“This won’t be easy for her,” he said point-blank.

I swallowed hard, bracing myself for her wrath that was sure to come. I had a feeling it would probably be worse than her spreading rumors that I shopped at Goodwill or belonged to a cult.

“But ...” Simon turned his head my way. “I’ve already warned her you are off limits.”

“You told her about us? Before I knew there was an us?”

He flashed me a crooked smile. “Like I said, I was hopeful, and she knew we’d spent time together. People in this town are talking, and Jack apparently couldn’t stop talking about you yesterday while he was with her.”

People were talking about us? Did that mean people knew who I was? But that wasn’t the most important thing to focus on at this moment. Penelope needed to be addressed. “Yikes. I can’t imagine that went over well.” The pit in my stomach grew. If she wasn’t making a voodoo doll of me at this moment, it would shock me. I had to remind myself I wasn’t going to give her any more space in my head. But I had a feeling she was going to make sure we came head-to-head. I needed to prepare for that. Which meant getting some tips from Calista. She was going to flip when I told her about my day.

“It didn’t. But it doesn’t change anything. She made her choice. Now, I’m making mine,” Simon said.

How crazy that I was his choice. For now, at least. Who knew where this was going to go? “Can I ask why you got divorced?”

“You can ask me anything.” Simon lay on his side and propped his head on his hand. He took a moment to gaze at me before answering my question. “I don’t know that I can pinpoint it to one thing, but it was a long time coming. Family life had dissatisfied Penelope for a long time. It wasn’t her favorite thing, but for me family is everything. So when she demanded a divorce, I let her walk away.”

“You don’t sound too bitter about it.”

“I’ve got Jack, so I can’t complain.”

“Do you still love her?”

He didn’t even have to think about it. “No, Jules.”

“Okay.” I believed him.

“Any other questions?” He grinned.

“Lots.” I smiled.

“Shoot,” he dared me.

“How did you become a model and a narrator?”

“My Broadway dreams never panned out, but I needed to make a living. My agent suggested modeling. She had some connections. Then a well-known American author approached me after seeing one of my advertisements and asked if I would consider narrating her novel. She said she was obsessed with my voice.”

“I bet she was,” I said wryly. “I’m sure it didn’t hurt that you were probably half-naked in the ad.”

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