Page 8 of Grumpy Ex's Secret Baby

“Well, that doesn’t sound like the boy you used to date. Maybe if he’s in town, it’s worth giving him a chance to become friends. I imagine he’ll be here for a while if he’s trying to fix a business.”

“Probably,” I said. “I don’t know. What if all those cameras and reporters follow him here? If we’re friends, that means that cameras could be around Trinity. You know I don’t want that kind of life for her after what I went through with my mother.”

“I know, but maybe it’s worth giving him a shot. He could have changed more than you could even begin to guess.”

“We’ll find out when he’s back in Richmond Valley, I guess,” I sighed. “When did being an adult get so complicated?”

Bret laughed and pulled me into a hug. “It’s always been complicated.”

“Tell me something to take my mind off everything?”

“Well, I met a man in a bar last night, and he wasn’t hard on the eyes.”

“Tell me more,” I said, wanting to think about anything other than the man who still had a slight hold over my heart.

Bret launched into his story about the man he met at the bar while I watched Trinity. I didn’t need Tyson barging his way back into my life and bringing the cameras with him. I wouldn’t let Trinity deal with everything bad that the world of the rich and famous had to offer. She was too young to be subjected to anything that came with being Tyson’s friend. Too fragile.

I would protect her the best that I could, even if it meant breaking my own heart.

4

TYSON

EventhoughLeigh’sweddingwas small, people were still wandering around the backyard at the lake house with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces. I found myself wishing that Haley was with me each time someone walked up to me and asked where my date was. As nice as the wedding was, being asked where my date was put a damper on things.

The effort that had gone into creating Leigh’s dream wedding was stunning. Not only was it at the lake house, but Leigh and Clarke had worked for weeks to string clear lights through the trees surrounding the property. White linens had been draped between some of the other trees, creating canopies over the dining area. A small bar was set up in the corner at a structure that Clarke had built with their wedding date carved into the front of it.

They had spent weeks working on the wedding and getting everything perfect. It was Leigh’s dream wedding, and I was happy that she was getting it.

“Beautiful wedding,” Mom said as I sat down beside her near the fire. “Your sister makes a stunning bride.”

“She really does,” I said, looking over to the dance floor where Leigh was twirling around and trying to get Clarke to dance with her. He shook his head at her, his smile wide. Seeing my best friend love my sister was weird, but I knew both of them were devoted to each other.

“You know, I wasn’t sold on the idea of them in the beginning,” Mom said as she leaned back into her chair and wrapped her blanket tighter around her body. She had signed herself out of the hospital for the day after telling more than one doctor that they could shove treatment up their ass if they thought she was missing her daughter’s wedding.

Sometimes, my mom still scared me.

“I wasn’t either. There’s a big age difference between them.”

“There is, but they’re happy together. It’s good to see her smiling that bright.”

“They’re going to be very happy together,” I said, feeling slightly envious of my best friend and baby sister. I had always imagined myself settling down with a family when I was young. In the life I imagined, I would be sending my children to university and getting ready to start my forties with my wife.

Instead, I was still single and wondering where I had gone wrong in life. Most women I met through my job weren’t looking to settle down. They wanted to live life fast with someone on their arm to pay for the nicer things in life. I had been that person for a while, paying for their lifestyles for meaningless relationships that ended within a year.

Sitting at my sister’s reception and watching her have the time of her life only reminded me that I had gotten off track with the plan for my life.

“I’m going to go to bed,” Mom said as she stood up and kissed my forehead. “Try to have a good time and stop worrying. Your time for a family will come soon.”

“Love you, Mom,” I said. I kept watching over her from my seat as she walked to the house and disappeared inside.

Not long after Mom left, Leigh dropped down into the chair beside me, her cheeks bright red and her smile stretching from ear to ear. She handed me a bottle of beer and cracked open one of her own.

“What are you over here looking so sad for?” Leigh asked with a grin as I opened my bottle. “You’re supposed to be flirting with all the single women.”

“I don’t feel much like flirting,” I said before taking a sip of the drink. “It’s been a long year, and I’m tired of living in the spotlight.”

She nodded. “Clarke told me that you were going to start fixing up businesses back home.”

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