Page 67 of Push

Toby hoisted Noah off his shoulders and smacked kisses on his chubby tummy on the way down. Even after the baby was propped safely on his hip, Toby’s steps toward us were cautious. “Toby Sullivan.” He stuck out his hand. “Gwen’s…” His chest puffed up with pride. “Gwen’shusband.”

Liam said nothing. He stared at Toby’s outstretched hand like it was diseased.

I grimaced.Awkward. “Liam doesn’t shake hands,” I explained to Toby. “It’s nothing personal.”

My brother’s laugh was short. “On the contrary. In the case of your husband, it’sverypersonal.”

Toby jerked his hand back. “I see.” His frown deepened. “Noah needs to be cleaned up after his adventures in the sandpit. I’ll leave you to your work.” He nodded in Liam’s direction. “It was nice to finally meet you after you missed Gwen’s graduation…the wedding…her whole life…” He turned for the doorway, and I was sure I heard him mutter, “Not.”

Liam heard the comment too. A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Your husband has more fight than I gave him credit for.”

“Ex-husband.”

Liam’s eyebrow went up. “Officially?”

“Soon enough.” There were still more than eleven months to wait until I could file for divorce, but who was counting? I sighed. “He’s upset.”

“Obviously.”

“I should talk to him.”

“Gwen.” Liam gave me a withering look. “My contract.”

“If you rock up at my house after fourteen years, you need to understand that I have friends and babies and soon-to-be-ex-husbands floating around. Five minutes, okay? Then I’ll finish looking at your precious contract.”

He pouted. “I’m beginning to think your coveted skills are more trouble than they’re worth.” As I hurried from the kitchen, he called, “I should’ve offered to pay you much less, frustrating woman!”

I called back, “I should’ve demanded a lot more, infuriating man!”

Liam’s laugh followed me to the bottom of the staircase. I stopped, peering at the impossible climb. Nothing waited for me up there except for broken dreams, awkwardness, and Toby’s wounded pride. Words wouldn’t come easily for us. Communication wasn’t our strong point.

I took a deep breath and headed up the stairs anyway.

22

She Caused a Scene

Gwen

I peeked through thedoorway of the nursery. Toby’s head turned slightly at the sound of my footsteps, but his attention stayed focused on the baby squirming on the changing table.

I darted to the crib and grabbed the toy giraffe.

“Here.” I held out the toy and jiggled it. “Sometimes it’s easier if he’s busy.”

Silent, without even a glance, Toby took the giraffe and passed it to Noah. “Okay.” He nodded. “Got it.”

The irritated edge to Toby’s voice surprised me. I shrank back. This wasn’t like him. He usually laughed away all the bad times. His emotional meter was permanently dialed to “Chill.”

One of the few times I’d seen him lose his temper was when his mother had spilled a glass of Shiraz on my dress at one of her endless parties. I’d barely blinked. Sarah Sullivan wouldn’t claimanother victory over me. It wasn’t the spilled wine that had upset Toby, either. It was his father’s reaction.

Theodore had waved it away as nothing but a nuisance. “You know how your mother is.”

“She disrespects mywife,” Toby had retorted.

“Respectfully, Tobias, that hard-nosed little bitch wasn’t invited.”

The only reason Toby’s fist hadn’t connected with his father’s face was because I’d wrapped my hand around his clenched fingers and quietly begged him not to worry about it.

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