Page 48 of One More Song

When he’s gone, I sit down heavily on the sofa and drop my head into my hands. He’s right that I owe him. But I’m not ready to leave.

How in the fuck am I supposed to tell the woman I’m falling for, goodbye?

Chapter Nineteen

Ember

“I just can’t believeMitch would do that to you,” Millie says. “I don’t understand why he would think a judge would grant this.”

I’m on her couch, a glass of wine in hand, and we’re catching up during a commercial break. Our weeklyBachelordate has been canceled lately, but I am overdue for a heart-to-heart with her. The girls are having a school night sleepover in Tabitha’s room, which they think is the most exciting thing ever. They’re already tucked into the bunk bed. I plan on crashing on Millie and Keith’s couch. No way was I going to ask Mitch to watch her after this curveball was just thrown at me.

“We’ve never had a formal custody agreement,” I explain. “It was just a verbal understanding. Nothing in writing.”

“Really? All this time? Why wouldn’t you have—”

I cut her off, lifting a hand. It’s not fair to keep her in the dark any longer. She doesn’t understand where I’m coming from because I haven’t let her in.

“I had my reasons, Millie.” I set down my glass of Pinot Grigio and exhale. “I’m not who you think I am.”

Millie lifts an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“It means I have a past.”

She twists her lips. “Honey, we all do.”

Rolling my eyes, I tuck my feet under me, shoving a throw pillow across my chest. “Mine is pretty bad.”

She squeezes my hand. “I’m here for you, girl.”

And I know she is. So I tell her everything, missing the second half of our coveted show and instead telling her more about my marriage, the pregnancy, the drug bust. The jail time.

By the time I’m through, we’re both in tears, have finished the bottle of wine, and it’s nearly midnight. “And so now he is serving me this custody agreement knowing if I fight it, if I go to court, I’ll lose. No judge is going to see my record and let me retain custody. Ash may have hired a fancy lawyer, but the facts remain. I took the fall for Mitch and now he’s going to make my life a living hell.”

“Don’t give up hope, babe,” she says. “I know that sounds trite, but I mean it. You never know what might happen.”

I nod, taking the final sip of my wine and then setting down the glass. “That’s what Ash says.”

Millie’s eyes soften. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”

I bite my bottom lip, tears falling down my cheeks. “Am I just repeating the past? Falling for a guy who’s no good for me?”

“From what you’ve told me about him, Ash is nothing like Mitch.”

“You’ve seen the video.”

“Yeah, but people change. Like I said, we all have our pasts.” She squeezes my hand.

“I know. But as much as I want it, I just don’t see a future with him in it. He’s a freaking rockstar, Mil. And I’m...”

“An amazing, beautiful, kind, loyal woman who deserves to be happy.”

I hug her, more tears burning my eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’re sure you want to crash here tonight?” she asks, one brow raised. “I mean I love you, babe, but if I had to choose between sleeping on this lumpy old couch versus sharing a bed with Asher Stone—”

I toss a pillow at her and laugh.

“I’m serious. Go home, Em. I’ll take Cadence to school in the morning. Have a night to decompress. Everything will look better tomorrow.”

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