Page 35 of The Manny

Chapter Eight

Thomas

The birthday party was in full swing by the time we arrived. Mia was so excited, I had to keep reminding her to calm down. I was glad Percy greeted her the minute she arrived. He grabbed her hand and they ran off to join a group of kids playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

Percy’s father, Aiden, approached, his dark gaze filled with relief. He held out a cup of what looked like punch to me. “Thank goodness you’re finally here. Percy was driving me crazy asking when Mia would show up.”

I smiled. “Mia was equally eager to get here.”

He sipped his punch, watching the children. “If we were in the olden days we’d probably arrange a marriage between them.”

“Yikes.” I winced.

He laughed. “Hey, I married for love and I ended up divorced.”

I glanced at him. “Relationships are tough, arranged or not.” I knew that Aiden had been married before, to Percy’s mother. I also definitely got interested vibes from him toward me. I didn’t know him well enough to ask if he was bisexual, but I had a feeling he was.

Glancing at his watch, he said, “Percy’s mother was supposed to make an appearance today. She’s running late, as usual.”

“I’m glad his mom is coming. That should make Percy happy.”

He nodded, although his expression was tense. “Barb wasn’t cut out for motherhood, but she does love Percy. She’s been trying more with him lately.”

“That’s good.”

“Yes.” He met my gaze. “I think because I’m the man everyone always assumes I’m the reason we divorced.” He sighed. “The truth is Barb wanted out. The whole family thing wasn’t working for her.”

I frowned. “And she decided that after she tied the knot and had a child?”

“To be fair, Percy was a surprise. I proposed after Barb got pregnant. In hindsight, we never should have married.”

“But you said you married for love.”

His gaze flickered. “Yeah, I did say that.”

I shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”

He hesitated. “I did love Barb. She was the love of my life, in fact. But marriage is hard as hell, and if one of you has doubts, it undermines the whole thing. At least, that was my experience.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. I was a bit surprised we’d fallen into such a serious conversation at his kid’s birthday party. Despite my initial belief that he was very reserved, Aiden was easy to talk to. We often got into deep discussions at the park, but they weren’t usually so personal.

He cleared his throat. “Anyway, enough about my boring life.”

“You’re not boring me.”

He smiled and changed the subject. “I thought maybe Mia’s mysterious uncle would make an appearance today.”

“Did you?”

“He’s her legal guardian.”

“Yes. But he’s not a hands-on type of uncle. That’s why he has me full time.”

“I see.” He sighed. “I was curious to see what that guy is like.”

I laughed. “Really?”

He nodded. “I’ve heard rumors about him.”

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