Page 136 of Smitten with the Single Dad

His eyes went wide. “L-like now?”

“Well … the threat has been neutralized. Idohave an apartment in Seattle I haven’t been to in a month, and plants that are probably dead. Um … it’s probably for the best. Now that I have a new job offer with a work visa attached, we can get a divorce, and you can move on with your life. I have disrupted it enough.” Then she held out her hand for a handshake.

Wyatt stared at it like she was offering him the mangled corpse of a runover squirrel. “What the fuck?” he finally breathed, his voice low. “Why are you … a … a divorce? Mydisruptedlife? Are you being serious right now?”

Vica swallowed and bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. “This was only ever temporary. We both knew that. You helped me when I needed it most. You gave me safety and security and your protection. You married me to keep me from being deported, and I’m not sure how I can ever repay you for that. But … I need to move on with my life and you need to move on with yours.”

“Vica!” Griffon shouted from upstairs. “Now that nobody wants to kill you, can we go to the beach tomorrow?”

“How do you plan to tellthem?” Wyatt asked, ire slowly seeping into his tone. “Or do you plan to leave once they’re in bed? With no explanation? And leave me to pick up the pieces of their shattered little hearts?”

“Vica?” Griffon called again. “Can we go to the beach?”

“Why aren’t you in the shower?” Wyatt called up.

“Jake’s in there and I don’t feel like showering together. Where’s Vica?”

“We can talk about it later,lupetto,” Vica said, wiping away a stray tear.

That seemed to satisfy Griffon, and he didn’t yell anymore.

“Why are you doing this?” Wyatt asked.

She blinked at him. “Doing what?”

“This.”He threw his hands wildly up into the air. “Leaving. Why are you leaving?”

“W-well do you not want me to?”

“I—” His nostrils flared, and he blinked a bunch before raking his fingers through his hair, spinning on his heel, and stalking into the living room.

“When I told you about the job offer in San Francisco, you were excited.”

He faced her again, confused and exasperated. “Because I am excited.”

“But that means I have to leave. So which is it, Wyatt? Do you want me to stay? Or do you want me to go?”

A low, animalistic growl rumbled in his chest a moment before he surged forward, gripped her by the back of the neck, and kissed her hard enough to bruise her lips. When he pulled away, they were both out of breath, staring at each other, chests heaving. “I want …this,” he said, whispering the last word and resting his forehead against hers.

She blinked back tears. “I don’t even know what ‘this’ is.”

Twin muscles at the corners of his jaw bounced as he clenched and unclenched his molars. “Why does anything have to change?”

She huffed a humorless laugh. “Because this is not reality. We were living in a bubble. I was not even allowed to leave the property, and eventually, not even the house. Someone was trying to kill me. You married me out of convenience, not love. You let me live with you to protect me, not because you love me. Not because we were building a life together. And unless any of that has changed, we need to pop the bubble and rejoin reality.

“Rejoin the world that is on fire, and try to maybe help smother some flames wherever we can.” She cupped his jaw. “I will never be able to repay you for the kindness and generosity you have shown me. And the love I have for your sons is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. You are an incredible father, and should be so proud of the wonderful young men you are raising.” The lump in her throat was near impossible to swallow past now. “I will tell them. I will say goodbye.” Then she leaned forward, pressed her lips to his as another tear fell, before she headed upstairs to go and pack her bag, leaving Wyatt standing there in the living room.

She couldn’t look back at him, because she knew if she did, leaving would be impossible.

He hadn’t yet asked her to stay, which meant, deep down, he didn’t want her to.

He cared for her, but he didn’t love her. He didn’t want his world disrupted. He didn’t want his family to change or grow. And that was okay. She’d infiltrated their three-man team long enough, and now it was time for her to move on and let them be. Even if it destroyed her in the process.

Wyatt sat on the chair in the living room while Vica sat with the boys on the couch, one on either side of her.

“But I don’t understand,” Griffon said, sobbing, “we were going to go to the beach tomorrow. And you promised to make us pizza before you left, and you haven’t. You promised.”

“I’m sorry,lupetto.I am. I have received a job offer and I must go back to my old life. Back to my apartment, and begin the process of moving.”

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