Page 53 of Against All Odds

Since Juno was with me, Alexa suggested we go out for dinner, and that she’d make reservations. I let her because I knew she was still struggling with how she behaved with Sable. She’d apologized to me, and I’d told her it was fine. What the hell else could I say? She was Juno’s mother, and I wasn’t going to be in some long-term fight with her over her losing her shit with Sable.

Alexa told me she’d tried to talk to Sable, but Sable had rebuffed her. I didn’t bring it up with Sable because I didn’t want to get between her and Alexa—I’d rather they stayed away from each other. However, I thought that Sable was being childish when Alexa was trying to be mature. These two women needed to get the hell out of high school.

On her end, Sable had been understanding about me seeing her only around or after closing time at the Wildflower, and meeting at each other’s homes. We didn’t go out in public. I didn’t mind. I was out all day, every day talking to people, and it was nice to eat a home-cooked meal and stay home with her, reading a book or watching some mindless television, before having the best sex of my life. It was a nice routine we’d fallen into in the past few weeks since Alexa went to the Wildflower.

The fact that despite everything, I couldfeelthings were not the same with Sable—as in,shewasn’t the same,bothered me. I’d had drama for a good part of my marriage, and I didn’t need one with the woman I was casually, if monogamously, dating.

I wondered if I should just end it.

But every time I was with Sable, the world felt lighter, and I loved being around her. Still, the previous night at the Wildflower had given me pause, especially when she seemed to blame Alexa for her business struggles.

I missed Sable and our conversations as I sat with Alexa for dinner while Juno chatted with a friend at another table who was there with her parents.

We were at Angelo’s, a traditional Italian restaurant popular in Aspen. It was not your regular Saturday-night dinner joint; it was where you went to celebrate anniversaries, and tourists lined up for reservations weeks in advance. But it was where Alexa liked to go, and I had no problem with that.

I felt a pang of guilt that I’d never brought Sable here. I hadn’t taken her anywhere, not even to the resort, after that one time when we went skiing.

I couldn’t help but compare dinner conversations with Sable versus Alexa since Juno had abandoned us for the moment.

My ex always talked aboutpeople,and I felt a prickle of annoyance. What was I doing spending time with her like we were a family, especially since I wanted to be with Juno, not Alexa.

“So, now everyone knows that the ring cost so much less than he obviously lied about,” Alexa continued to tell me about someone in her friend’s circle who’d recentlyfound out that her engagement ring wasn’t Tiffany and…whatever the fuck.

Juno, thankfully, came back when the server came to get our drink orders.

I told him I was okay with water. I would be driving Juno home, and I stayed clear of alcohol, always had, whenever she was in a vehicle with me since she was a baby.

I scanned the menu after the server left to get our drinks.

Everything at Angelo’s was gourmet: handmade pasta tossed with fresh seafood, osso buco braised to perfection, and wood-fired pizzas that people claimed could rival those in Naples. Typically, I would’ve been looking forward to a meal like this, but tonight, my appetite was shot.

“One glass of wine doesn’t hurt,” Alexa mocked. “Come on, loosen up a little, Heath.”

“Mama, he never drinks when he’s driving me,” Juno reminded her mother.

Alexa rolled her eyes. “Even the cops say one drink doesn’t impair you.”

“Leave it, Alexa,” I ordered stiffly. Why was she making a big deal out of everything? Christ! I missed having a quiet dinner with Juno, where we’d talk, and there would be none of these people coming by our table to talk to us all the freaking time, and Alexa, who couldn’t go through a sentence without putting someone down.

I wondered if I was being foolish by agreeing todinners with Alexa when I didn’t enjoy them. Was this really healthy for Juno? To see me annoyed and her mother…well, who was on her second glass of wine even before we’d eaten a thing.

Juno filled the silence with her usual chatter, telling me about her upcoming exam and complaining about the hours of conditioning her lacrosse coach had put her through this week. Alexa, thankfully, steered off gossip, smiling at Juno’s stories, keeping up the perfect façade of a family dinner.

I wondered if Sable would hear about this when I went to the restroom. I’d told her that I was going to spend time with my ex and daughter. I didn’t want a contentious divorce that would crush my child.

Fucking hell! Yeah, I needed to end this with Sable. It was getting a bit too complicated, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

I was washing my hands when two men walked in. They started talking without noticing me.

“That place is gonna close down the way it’s being run. This is what happens when you make decisions with your dick,” the man in a grey button-down said.

“Come on, man, you really think Ben sold her the Wildflower because he was boning her?” his companion asked.

I froze.

“You’ve seen her,” Grey button-down said lasciviously.

“Yeah,” the other man agreed. “She’s hot.”

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