Page 78 of Against All Odds

“I had no choice, Alexa,” I explained. “You were taking my daughter away, insisting on moving. It would’ve torn her apart to have to fly back and forth between us. What did you expect me to do?”

“I expected you to mean it when you said till death do us part.”

I sighed. “I wanted to very badly. But we grew apart, Alexa. These things happen. Do you remember the last five years? They were a shitshow. We foughtallthe time. We had different priorities. We were raising Juno in a home where there was conflict all the fucking time.”

“It was your fault.” She didn’t entirely believe it, but she felt it. Since I was the one who asked for the divorce, in her mind, the responsibility—whether fair or not—fell more on me than on her.

“Regardless, we’rehere,and whose fault our divorce was doesn’t matter.” I took a deep breath. “Our marriage isover. All we can be is co-parents.”

“Because ofher?” she sneered.

“No, Alexa,” I asserted softly but clearly, “because of who I am and who you are. Our marriage ended yearsago, long before I met Sable. Our breakup has nothing to do with her. Dragging your father into this, asking him to threaten Sableandme, that’s not cool.”

She just stared at me, disdain dripping from her.

“I mean it, Alexa,” I added sharply. “You need to stay away from Sable. No more rumors, no more interference. If you keep this up, you’re going to lose Juno.”

She flinched. Grief replaced anger in an instant.

“I never meant to hurt Juno,” she whispered.

“I know, but you need to prove that to her just as I need to show her that I’m not an asshole who disrespects a woman in public like I did.” I stood up. “Let this go. Move on. Because I have.”

She didn’t respond, and I didn’t wait for her to.

I called out for Juno, who tentatively came downstairs. I smiled at her, and she nodded. “Should I say bye to her?” she asked softly.

“Give her time,” I reassured her. “You’re back here next week, and by then, things should be fine…well, at least fine-ish.”

At least I fucking hoped that Alexa would get her head out of her ass and not fuck up things with our daughter more than she already had. But if she didn’t, her regrets would be hers to carry. I couldn’t do any more than I already had.

CHAPTER 26

sable

Icame into the Wildflower during the lunch hour as I’d had a mammogram appointment. If men had to have their testicles scanned every year, I was certain a better machine would have been invented instead of one that crushed their balls as the mammogram machines did our boobs.

I froze as soon as I stepped inside my bar, which waspacked.

Every table was full, voices filled the air, people were laughing, and servers were hurrying around like this was the hottest spot in Aspen.

These were primarily tourists in sleek ski resort jackets, designer boots, and the kind of watches that screamed money.

“Need your help, Sable.” Casey came to me with a loaded tray and smiled uneasily at a couple standing by the door. “They want to know if we take reservations.”

I raised both eyebrows. “Say what?”

“Yeah. It’s nuts today.”

“Okay, you go and take care of your customers, and I’ll handle the…ah…reservations.”

Casey gratefully left. I smiled at the couple. “Good afternoon. When do you need a table for? Now?”

I looked around and saw that there was a stool open at the bar. Maybe I could squeeze in another.

“Tomorrow night,” the woman chirped. “I hear you have live jazz on Saturdays.”

“Yeah, we do.”

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