Page 12 of One Last Time
Relationship status:Single asfuck.
Body type:Athletic. Strong jawline and has a bangingass.
I almost spit my coffee. It literally says “bangingass.”
There’s loads of information about his career, food likes, and pretty much anything I could ever want to know. It isn’t until I turn the page that my jawdrops.
Holyshit.
He’s freaking hot. Likereallyhot.
Maybe this job won’t suck as much as I thought itwould.
I open my laptop and click on the browser so I can search his images. Noah is photographed with Eli quite a bit, most of the shots are them on the set ofA Thin Blue Line, but then there are a few of them out at various bars. He looks damn freaking good in a police uniform. I rest my chin on my hand as I click through the images. The next photo is of his back, and in it, he’s squatting a little and his gun is drawn . . . I now fully understand the banging asscomment.
My scrolling continues through delicious photos of Noah, and Isigh.
I keep clicking and then stop when I come to a photo from the EmmyAwards.
Holy mother ofGod.
He’s in a black tux that fits him perfectly. Even with all the material he’s wearing, I can see the angles of his body. Broad shoulders, trim waist, and strong arms are visible in the shot. His dark brown hair is parted to the side and pushed back into a sleek, polished look. The photographer captured him in the middle of a laugh, and his green eyes are bright and full oflife.
I could stare at this all day. If my job is looking at him, I may neverquit.
My phone rings, and Ijump.
Shit. It’sScott.
“Hi.” I close the laptop, feeling alittleguilty that I was drooling over another man while I’m legally married to thisman.
“Hey.” My heart thumps at the sound of his voice. We haven’t spoken since I moved out two weeks ago, and hearing it now hurts. “I was verifying the kids are staying with me thisweekend.”
“That’s the plan,” I say as I run my finger along the mug. “I can drop them off after work onFriday.”
He clears his throat. “I can getthem.”
“Okay, I was offering since I’ll be in West Chase. And per the temporary agreement, I either drop them off or pick them up. This seemed to be the perfect compromise. I have to go into the office on Friday, which means the kids will be at Danielle’s. I have a ton of paperwork to fillout.”
Scott goes quiet and a knot forms in the pit of my stomach. “I’d rather us have a meeting place in the middle. The lawyer suggested having a neutral place. For the kids . . . and for us. That way, we’re not in each other’s business. I’d rather you stay away from myhome.”
My hand stops moving and I grip the mug. His home? It’shishome now. He had to say it like that? I’ve known this was going to be difficult, but no one warns you about the pain during it all. It’s about lawyers, money, and keeping things separate. Civility is a struggle when you’re dealing with a selfishasshole.
I do my best to hold back the tears that threaten to form. It’s so much easier said than done. He’s still the guy I always wanted to loveme.
“That’s really not convenient for me, Scott. I can’t drive out there onSunday.”
He huffs. “I’m not trying to be a dick,Kris.”
It just comes natural tohim.
“We agreed that one of us would drop them off and the other would pick them up. When you sent your requests the other day, that is what I signed off on.” I can be a bitch, too. I won’t let him walk all overme.
My lawyer called me Wednesday night to let me know we got our court date and to go over Scott’s requests during the separation. I agreed to some, this being one of them, but he’s out of his damn mind if I’m going to drive them toandfrom his visits let alone meet in some random place. They’re his kids, too. He can be the one inconvenienced if he wants to change shit around. I was the one who had to deal with him until the kids were out of school and then uproot my home and the kids because he wanted to stay in the house, which I still think is totally ridiculous. Why the hell does he need a four-bedroomhouse?
“My lawyer believes this is the rightchoice.”
He and his lawyer put all of this crap in the letter, and now he’s acting as if none of it works for him. Too damn bad. It didn’t work for me to move, but I did it. Time to grow the fuck up. I’m being nice by offering to take them tohis houseso he doesn’t have to drive out to Carrollwood when he works clear on the other side ofTampa.
