Page 60 of Almost Paradise

“Because he’s only known love and acceptance with me andmyfamily. I will not have him hurt because you come from a family of—”

“You better watch what you say, Nia. My family is not like that.”

“Well, I have the paperwork and text messages that show otherwise. And since you claim you didn’t know, I can’t exactly trust your judgment, can I?” From her tone, I know she still doesn’t believe me. I’m glad I didn’t tell her what Wyatt told me this afternoon. She’s not ready to hear it, and I’m not up for another round of being called a liar.

“Do you think I would let anyone hurt my son?” She opens her mouth to argue, but I hold my hand up. “Yeah, you probably think I would. I know what you’re going to say.” I hold up my hand again to silence her before she can spew any more hate. “You’re going to say I was the first person to hurt him, but I swear on everything, I didn’t know. I didn’t send those messages. Either way, his grandmother, aunt, and uncle want to meet him. He has a whole other side of the family, so you’re going to have to share him. You can either come along and meet your in-laws or not. That’s your only option, but Carter will be coming with me.”

I didn’t mean to say all of that. I didn’t mean to use that tone, but I can’t be a half-time father who must ask permission to take my son for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.

“You and your entire family can go straight to hell.” She walks past me, not saying another word. She runs up the stairs and disappears out of my sight.

I storm to my office and pour myself a shot of the bourbon I keep at my desk. The sense of calm the alcohol gives me only lasts as long as it takes for my phone to vibrate.

“What Kurt?” I say after seeing Scarlett’s father’s name flash across my screen. “I’m not in the mood for whatever this is. Things are over between me and Scarlett, and I’m married to someone else. Stop calling me!” I yell.

“You pompous little asshole,” he says, his voice cold as ice. “Do you know how much you’ve hurt my daughter? She’s a mess.”

“And this pointless phone call won’t change that. It’s over between me and Scarlett. And since you’re on your third marriage, you should understand the concept of ending a relationship.”

“I should come find you and kick your disrespectful ass.”

“Only you can’t. Not with your fists, and you don’t have any power to beat me at anything. Call me again, and Foley Construction will be in the past tense.” I end the call, resolved never to speak to another member of that family. Foley Construction is one of our primary subcontractors, and Kurt is hopefully smart enough to know not to bite the hand that feeds him.

After another drink, I slam the glass down and return upstairs. I find them in Carter’s room. She’s in bed with him, reading him a book while he cuddles to her side.

I lean back and watch. I know she knows I’m here. She always knows when I’m nearby. I listen to her sweet voice as she reads about green eggs and ham. Even from where I am, I can see Carter’s eyes getting heavy. He falls asleep just as she finishes the story.

She slides out of the bed, kisses his forehead, and covers him with the blanket. After making sure the nightlight is on, she walks out of the room and past me as if I’m not there.

I sit on the edge of Carter’s bed and take his little hand in mine. He’s out cold, and I brush the hair off his forehead. I kiss his hand and put it down before I tiptoe out of the room.

It’s still early. Much too early for me to go to bed, and I’m too wired to sleep. Last night with her in the bed was sweet and torturous at the same time. I was so turned on that I had to go to the bathroom to relieve myself. It didn’t help much. At the very least, I wanted to pull her into my arms and be lulled to sleep by the beating of her heart. At most, I wanted to slide inside of her and stay there until morning.

She’s right, though. I did tell her there was nothing between me and Scarlett, and at that time, it was true. We were lifelong friends. Her family was close to mine. There was never any attraction on my part, but I knew she felt differently toward me. I’ve known it for a long time. Before Nia, I was not interested. After meeting Nia, there was no one else on this earth that I would choose over her.

The joke’s on me because four years later, that’s still true. I kept Scarlett hanging for years only to turn around and marry Nia within weeks of getting her back into my life. But that was inevitable. There’s no way I’m letting her go again.

Well, good for you. Enjoy having a wife who hates you until death do you part.

After changing into lounge pants and a T-shirt, I return to her room. I knock on the door, and when nothing happens, I let myself in. The door to the adjoining bathroom is closed, and I can hear the shower. She still has a bunch of clothes on the bed, so I carry them to the master bedroom and put them on one of the shelves in her closet.

Not wanting another fight right now, I snatch my laptop and return to the guestroom. She’s still in the shower. I’m not surprised because she took long showers then too. I slide onto the bed and open the spreadsheets I was looking at before I left work. It takes her another fifteen minutes to come out. She’s in a black onesie and even has the hood on her head. She misses a step when she sees me in bed.

“What are you doing in here?” she asks.

“I’m going to do some work before I go to sleep,” I tell her without looking up.

“In here?”

“Unless you want to come back to our room,” I tell her. Her eyes narrow and she gives me her back. She opens the closet door and sticks her head in. When she doesn’t find what she’s looking for, she pulls the drawers open and slams them shut.

“Where’s my stuff?” she asks.

“I put them in your closet in our bedroom,” I say without looking up at her.

“Asshole,” she says under her breath. She doesn’t say anymore. She climbs into bed, and just like last night, she gives me her back. She falls asleep within a few minutes, and I don’t know if it’s because she barely slept the night before or because she’s as physically and emotionally exhausted as I am, but she starts to snore.

I’d always make fun of her about that. I even recorded her one night. Unable to stop myself, I put my hand on her shoulder. When she doesn’t stir, I put my laptop on the end table, turn my front to her back and put an arm around her. I inhale the back of her head just like I used to and pull her back into my chest. She contours her body to fit into mine. Just like then, she fits perfectly.

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