Page 221 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Madi shook her head slowly, disbelief pouring from her eyes. “You called him.”

Before Dante could deny her accusation she let go of the suitcase and it bumped down the remaining steps. Madi turned around and raced up the stairs, all the while calling Dante a ‘Judas’.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Matt advised as he headed for the stairs.

“She’s scared.” Dante called out to him. “She’s just really scared.”

Matt sidestepped the discarded suitcase and nodded in agreement. “I know.”

He made his way upstairs, not yet certain what he would say. An apology would be the best bet, but sorely insufficient. Besides he’d been apologizing for the past week and it was wearing on his bloodypatience. She was in her bedroom, angrily stuffing clothes back into open drawers. Matt closed the door behind him to give them some privacy and he noticed the stiffening of her back.

“I won’t let you take them from me,” she warned.

He shrugged his coat off, tossing it haphazardly over the chair by her vanity and asked, “Do you truly believe I would do that?”

Madi turned around, clutching a pair of tights. “Yes, to be honest, it’sexactlywhat I’d expect you to do. Grumps said-”

“Hey,” Matt silenced her with a sharp voice. “That’s unfair and youknowI told the old man off for what he subjected you to that night.” Slowly, he made his way across the bedroom to where she stood. “I have no intention of separating you from our children, but you’re mistaken if you believe you can keep me out of their lives.”

Tilting her head back slightly, she frowned, distrust shining from her eyes. It hurt Matt more than he would ever admit, the way she now looked at him. Gone were the days she afforded him her complete trust, it was ultimately his own fault, but it was a bitter pill to swallow. He had been the engineer in the demise of his own happiness. Matt hadn’t trusted her when he should have, he would willingly do anything in his power to regain her trust. He ignored the bristling tension between them and casually picked up a discarded jumper before beginning to fold it.

“This must be some record,” he mused, expertly producing a neatly folded piece of clothing under his ex-wife’s hard glare. “I was only gone 25 minutes, maybe half-an-hour tops, and you managed to pack a suitcase and a bag. It usually takes you forever to pack.”

“I had a pressing reason to get it done quickly.” she retorted.

Matt put down the folded jumper and picked up another piece of clothing, a t-shirt this time. “What happened to the Cayenne? The back door is damaged.”

“Some idiot drove into it.” she grumbled. “I woke up last Saturday and saw it like that. My insurance is handling it.”

“Mmm,” Matt finished folding the t-shirt and placed it on top the jumper.

“You’re not going to sweep in and control this,” she blurted out. “You’re not going to control me.”

He remained silent, thinking over his next words carefully before speaking them. Madi didn’t give him the chance, choosing instead to back away from his nearness.

“I’m different now,” she warned, nervously touching her stomach. “I mean, you didn’t‘control’control me, I’m my own person, but you expect to get your own way all the time, and I want you to know that’s not going to happen. I’m not saying you’re a terrible person, sometimes you were a bit much, I was too, maybe I behaved a tad crazy, not all the times but,”

Matt kept his features impassive, although he wanted to grin at her nervous ramblings. It reassured him, her inane babble, it reminded him she was still the same person.

“I want to touch you. May I touch you?” he asked bluntly, taking a step towards her.

“What?” she hissed, putting some more distance between them. “Touch me? What’swrongwith you? Touch me how?”

“I meant your stomach.” Matt clarified when he observed the alarm growing on her face.

“Oh,” She relaxed, not much, but enough to halt her movements towards the bedroom door. “Umm, ok.”

Unable to contain his excitement he hurried to her side and without hesitation placed one hand on her stomach. Nothing happened. Matt frowned and put his other hand on her stomach.

“They tend to rest if I’m moving about, it lulls them to sleep, I guess. Or I’m too busy to notice,” She inched back. “They’re more active if I’m not doing anything.”

“I see.” Matt’s disappointment came through loud and clear and Madi rolled her eyes.

“Ok, wait,” she said, placing one hand over his and pressing down firmly. A few seconds later she did it again and Matt felt uncomfortable at the level of force she was using. A strong push came back seconds later and he jerked in surprise before his gaze dropped to her stomach. This time it was he who pressed down on her stomach and he was rewarded with a couple more kicks.

“Wow.” He sought her eyes with the widest grin on his lips. “That’s amazing.”

“Tell that to my kidneys.” Madi tried to joke while easing away.

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