Page 26 of Perfect for Her

“I need the photo, Mark, in case the cops need it.”

Fuck. The cops were called and she didn’t think it was important enough to tell me? I hand her the photo, her fingers brushing mine as I take a shuddering breath.

“This isn’t the time or place for this conversation. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Will you? Because it seems you’ve lost my number,” I remark with as much sarcasm as I can muster as her eyes roll. “I deserve to know what’s going on, Harlow, I’m in that photo too, you know.”

She takes a breath, nodding. “You’re right. But let me get through this day and once everyone is home and we can actually talk, I’ll call you, okay?”

With that, she shuts the door and I’m left standing there wondering what the fuck just happened.

* * *

“She just left you there on the porch?” Max asks as I tilt my head back on the couch and wonder how I got here.

There was a time when I thought being single was the best thing in my life, being with a different woman every weekend was the dream. But now that I’ve had a taste of what a family would be like, I want it. And I can feel it slipping through my fingers and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“She told me she would call me,” I mock, hating the hatred that’s seeping into every pore of my body right now.

“Do you believe her?” he asks, handing me a beer as I shrug.

“How the fuck do I know? I mean, I thought we were past secrets, I thought we were good, you know?”

He nods, his eyes full of pity and I fucking hate it.

“Maybe she just needed to get her shit together before she told you? Or maybe she was scared you would react this exact way?”

He has a point but I’m still mad. “I still had a right to know.”

Max nods as we spend the next few hours sitting in front of his TV, mindlessly watching an old hockey game on the TV until my phone vibrates in front of me.

Can you come over in an hour?

That’s all the text says and I know that this will either make or break us. The second I respond will set reality in motion and so I send her a reply saying I’ll be there, hoping that this isn’t the end.

Harlow

I’m sitting in my driveway after dropping Ethan off at Addison’s for a sleepover, knowing the conversation between Mark and I would be one I don’t want to be interrupted and honestly, I think we just need to be alone for a few hours and hash this out. Did I mean for him to find out this way? Of course not, I was planning on telling him this weekend when he came over to see Ethan but this morning was a blur. I was barely holding on when he knocked on my front door and all but demanded I tell him what’s going on. I barely just got off the phone with my lawyer, was trying to wrangle half a dozen kids into the living room so I could get lunch ready, and then I have his judgmental eyes boring into mine and I was done. Fed up with everything and everyone and so I told him to leave.

I know I should regret it. I know I should have reassured him, but at that moment all I wanted to do was sink into a corner and cry and I couldn’t do that, so I re-directed all my anxiety and anger at him.

A knock sounds on my driver’s side window that makes me jump, my hand resting on my chest as I catch my breath. My eyes flick up to see Mark’s reserved eyes staring down at me and I know this conversation is going to be the hardest we’ve ever had.

“What are you doing out here?” he asks, opening my door as I unbuckle my seat belt and get out slowly, taking in the crumpled jeans, simple black T-shirt, and tired eyes.

“I just dropped Ethan off with Addison at the Park.”

Mark’s eyes narrow as his fists clench at his sides. “Are you keeping my son from me?” he asks, an edge clear in the words as I shake my head, trying to take his hands in mine but he backs away.

Fuck.

“Of course not. He wanted to spend some time with Luna, and I wanted some alone time with you knowing what we’re going to talk about isn’t something that should be interrupted.”

He takes his time absorbing the words, his eyes taking in every inch of me until I begin to shift on my feet, wondering if this was a good idea.

“I promise you, Mark, no matter what happens after tonight, I will never keep you from Ethan.”

The truth of my words lingers between us and after a beat, he nods and motions for me to lead him up to the porch.

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