Page 24 of Mended Hearts

Smirking, I jerked my chin at the TV. “Pick a movie, Leigh.”

“Okay, so you like Meg. NotCourage Under FireorProof of Life? You went full chick flick?”

Another shrug. “Carly liked it. And after we had Mattie... She had colic, and I spent a lot of nights rocking her to sleep—went faster with some background noise.” I tried to ignore the weight of her watching me, focusing on my plate until finally meeting her curious gaze.

“What?”

“She’s an idiot,” Leighton said flatly.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“No,she is,Ollie. Do you know how few men could evensaywhat you just did? You’re a great dad.”

“Maybe that was the problem.”

I love that you’re a devoted father, Ollie, but God, I just don’t know where I fit in your life these days.

The memory twisted my chest.

“I let them consume me, you know? Everything became about the kids. Workload is heavy. It got easier when Grey came home, but man...” I shook my head. “It’s easy to fall into being a stage parent. Especially with a kid as demanding as Mattie. That little girl became my whole world.”

“You say that like that’s a bad thing, rather than a natural rite of passage.”

“It is a bad thing if you neglect their mother.”

“I highly doubt you neglected her,” she scoffed.

“You weren’t there.”

“No. But Greyson was. And if he nicknamed her after a Disney villain, I’m inclined to think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

I snatched the remote from her limp hand, earning a squeaked protest.

“You snooze, you lose,” I said, aiming for playful, but missing the mark. I didn’t talk about this shit. Harts didn’t dwell on our emotions, and we certainly didn’t air our dirty laundry for somebody else to exploit. Clicking through tiles until I found that familiar front cover, I started the film and returned to my tacos.

“Was she always... you know...”

“Cruella?”

Leighton nodded.

“No,” I said honestly. “At least, not to me. We were young. Stupid. Hormone-fueled. Had a little too much fun—and then along came Mattie.”

“You got married.”

“Yep.”

“What then?” she asked, with no regard for the intro happening on screen.

I set my plate down on her coffee table.

Another resigned shrug. “People don’t always grow in the same direction. I wanted a family. She didn’t. I wanted to pursue the legacy. Preserve it so Matilda had something worth holding onto.”

“She didn’t?”

“Eh,” I sighed, wishing we could talk about literally anything else. Famine in third-world countries would have been more warm and fuzzy. At least I was no longer sporting an erection. “She said she was supportive.”

“But?”

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