Page 99 of Against All Odds

I sighed. “Thank you very much, Alexa.”

She tilted her head, her expression unreadable. “My daughter thinks the world of you.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it, thinking about Juno made me happy. “I’m very fond of her as well.”

“I can see that.” She glowered at me, and I waited for her to say something aboutstealingher kid. “Juno lost respect for me.”

That confession caught me off guard.

“I hate that I’ve fallen in her eyes.”

I waited now for her to blame me.

“But it’s my fault, so I have to make amends.” She sounded like it was a long and tedious task that somehow had to get done.

I did not know what to say, so I decided to shut the hell up.

“I’m not saying this to make you feel sorry for me,” Alexa added quickly. “I’m talking to you because I’m trying tobe better. For her. I want her to respect me again.”

Casey raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet, her attention mostly on my face, now cold because of the ice pack.

“And,” Alexa continued, her lips curving into a small, self-satisfied smile, “I figure knocking out your ex with my prized Chanel bag will earn me some goodwill.”

Despite myself, I laughed—a short, sharp sound that surprised even me.

Alexa’s smile widened, and she stood, brushing invisible lint off her designer coat. “Well, my work here is done. Don’t make me regret this, Sable.”

“Regret what?” I held the ice pack to my face.

“Saving your ass.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Now,youoweme—so pay up by saying something nice about me to my kid.”

With that, she turned on her heel and strutted out of the Wildflower, leaving me and Casey staring after her.

Casey let out a low whistle. “Well, that was something.”

I shook my head, cringing as the movement sent another throb of pain through my cheek. “I don’t even know what just happened.”

“You got rescued by Alexa Vikar.” Casey grinned. “With a designer handbag, no less.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, leaning back in the chair. “Of course, she made it about her.”

But even as I said it, I couldn’t help but smile because Alexa doing what she did felt like the portent of good things about to come my way.

CHAPTER 35

heath

The first Thanksgiving after Alexa and I got divorced, I spent with her family. This Thanksgiving, however, we decided that Juno would have breakfast with Sable and me, and she’d go to her grandparents’ place for the rest of the day. This meant that I’d have the day with Sable, and I had plans. I was taking her for another skiing lesson before hitting the spa at the resort. There wouldn’t be many people there, so we’d have privacy in the plunge pool and the sauna. Oh, yeah, I had plans, I thought satisfactorily as I flipped the last pancake onto a platter.

Juno was already seated, wearing an oversized hoodie and fuzzy socks, her hair piled messily on top of her head. She looked every bit the teenager who’d rather still be in bed, but her face lit up the second I placed the pancakes in front of her.

“Breakfast of champions,” she declared, reaching for the top pancake.

“Breakfast of people who need to eat something before they gorge themselves on turkey later,” I corrected, smirking as I sat down across from her.

Sable stepped into the kitchen in yoga pants and a sweater. She looked sleepy and gorgeous, her hair loose around her shoulders. When her eyes landed on the pancakes, she smiled.

“Nothing saysgoodmorning like pancakes.” She slid into a chair beside me. “What did I do to deserve this?”

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