Page 13 of One More Song

Millie laughs. “I texted you.”

“I totally spaced. But I wouldn’t have come anyway. Deb would have been there.” I fill her in on the playdate request and she rolls her eyes.

“What a bitch.”

I bite my lip, looking over the playground. Cadence and Tabitha are halfway up the jungle gym and can’t hear the conversation, but there are other parents here and I don’t want to get a reputation for talking crap about anyone. My life works because I never let down my guard.

“So that’s why you’re acting so weird? It’s about Deb and Mitch?”

“Yeah,” I say, avoiding the truth. And I know my eyes will betray me if I mutter Ash’s name.

Millie squeezes my arm. “Honey, you need to let that go. If they are actually together, then Cadence is going to be a part of her life.”

“It would have been nice if Mitch had run it past me is all.”

“Maybe it’s time the two of you sat down and rehashed your agreement,” she suggests. “You’ve been frustrated with what he lets her watch when she’s with him, and how late she stays up, maybe it’s time to work out some of the kinks.”

Easy for her to say. Millie has been married to Keith for eight years going on eighty. They are the quintessential version of happily ever after. It would make me nauseous if I didn’t love her so damn much.

She also doesn’t know all the volatile details of Mitch and my relationship. No one does. I’d been too embarrassed about it at first, but now I just want to keep the past where it belongs - dead and buried.

“Maybe,” I finally mutter.

“Okay,” Millie laughs. “I know you aren’t gonna bite the bullet and tell him what you want. So how about this, Friday night we have a double date?”

“Millie—”

“I mean it. I know you keep saying no, but just this once, let me set you up. I already have a guy in mind. If Mitch is having fun, you should too.”

I swallow, thinking about Ash. A man so not my type it should be funny. After my horribly messy marriage with Mitch, a man who lived and breathed rock and roll when we first met, I swore off musicians for life.

No way am I hitching a ride on that wagon again. It meant weeks with him on the road, never any consistent paychecks, no health care or retirement. No stability. His dream meant mine got a backseat. And when I’d suggested that he got a more secure job, he’d gone into a rage that had terrified me.

When Cadence came, I thought it would knock sense into him.

But it didn’t.

It wasn’t until we split up that he got his act together. A job at his dad’s insurance firm. A 401k. A house on the other side of town. The nicer side.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel personal. It was personal. And it broke my heart.

And I never want to feel that way again.

Maybe going out on a date with someone else will get my mind off Ash.

“Who’s the guy?”

Millie grins. “He plays poker with Keith. His name’s Granger. And he’s a park ranger.”

“Granger the Ranger?” I laugh. “Is that a joke?”

“No.” Millie suppresses her smile. “He’s handsome. And stable. Keith said he even built his own house.” She nudges me and winks. “It could be nice to have a handyman around your place.”

“Not the best reason to date someone,” I deadpan.

“I promise, you’ll like him.”

Deciding to go all in, I give my best friend the warmest smile I can muster. “Cadence will be with her dad this weekend, so just tell me when and where.”

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