Page 41 of The Rejected Wife

Zoey opens her mouth, then hesitates.

“What?”

“Look, I’m not defending the guy. I think he’s acted badly with you. The least he could have done was explain his actions fully, which, from what you've said, he didn’t. But—” She seems to choose her words carefully. “But, and this is not an excuse, by all accounts, he’s now a single dad, and a really good one. Perhaps he’s struggling with doing his best by the little girl. Perhaps he’s unsure what it means to bring a woman into the mix? Perhaps he does have feelings for you, but he’s not sure now is the time to act on it?”

I tap my fingers on the table. “My sense is, you’re right. There is a bit of his new status as a parent that's probably stopping him. And believe me, I work with kids. I understand they come first, but?—”

“But you also want him to not shut down the possibility of you being in his life?”

“And of his being in mine… I’m a nanny; I can deal with having a kid in his life. She must be nearly nineteen months now.” I feel myself soften thinking of Serene. “There’s this pull toward her which I can’t explain.” I rub at my forehead. “It’s another reason I can’t simply just let things go.”

She gives me a small smile. “Maybe he felt it wasn’t fair to expect you to take on both of them in the relationship?”

To be fair, I considered and discarded that option. “That would be very noble of him, don’t you think?”

She taps her fingers on the table. “I mean, all of this is supposition. Unless you meet him and talk to him, you won’t understand what happened.”

“Only, my attempt at getting his attention didn’t pay off. In retrospect, getting engaged to Knox was a stupid thing to do. Except for the fact it helped him realize he was in love with someone else, after all. So perhaps something good came of it.” I shrug.

Understanding filters into her eyes. Once again, she doesn’t interrupt my train of thought, for which I’m grateful.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

I glance down at the dessert she ordered and which I’ve ignored so far. It looks enticing. I take a bite of the cake. "Mmm, this is heavenly. What does Skylar call it?”

“C!itasaurus, complete with the exclamation point, instead of an 'l,' so people can take a photo and tag the shop without begin dinged.”

I chuckle. “It’s genius to have a coffee shop inspired by Booktok. I saw the notice for the book club meetings held here. You go to them, don’t you?”

"I do. And don’t change the topic, Bish." She waves a finger under my nose. "You’re not over this guy. Hell, you’re not even one-fourth of the way to forgetting him."

“Tell me about it.” I discard my fork and pick up the delectable dessert with my fingers, then take a huge mouthful. "Oh, my God," I moan as the juicy, moist morsel melts on my tongue. I chew, swallow, and all but stop my eyes from rolling back. "You’ve got to tell Skylar that her desserts are delish."

When she doesn’t answer, I look up to find she’s staring past me with a funny look on her face.

“What?” The hair on the back of my neck rises. I’m not surprised when she says, “Don’t look now, but Tyler Davenport just walked in.”

I begin to turn, but she shakes her head. “No, don’t do that.”

I slowly lower the half-eaten slab of cake to its plate, then wipe my fingers on a tissue. “What’s he doing now?”

“He’s heading for the counter. He’s ordering something. Now, he’s joking and laughing with the woman behind the counter.”

Some emotion I’m not going to name squeezes my chest. What do I care if he’s laughing with some woman?

“Is he flirting with her?” As soon as the words are out, I regret them. “No, don’t answer that. I don’t care if he is.”

“Actually, it’s her who’s flirting with him. Not the other way around.”

“What a bish.” I toss my head. “Anyway, I don’t care.”

“Guess he hasn’t seen you yet.” She uses her spoon to scoop up some of the cake and eats it. Her gesture is casual. Meanwhile, she keeps a running commentary. “He’s looking at his phone. Now his watch. Now he’s got his coffee to go. Now he’s turning— Oh no.”

“What?” I ask, panicked. “What’s happening?” A shiver grips me.

It’s with a dawning sense of the inevitable I hear her say, “He saw you.” Her gaze widens. “He went all still. And he’s staring at the back of your head.” She nods. “He seems to be coming to a decision.”

“Don’t tell me he’s coming this way.” I curl my fingers into fists.

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