“I think it’s time to go,” I told him, trying to change the subject. “I need to go back to my parents’ house so that I’m there when Joey drops off Amelia.”
His teasing manner disappeared at once, and he simply nodded as he tossed his trash onto the tray. “All good things must come to an end, I suppose.”
“Hopefully, the bad things will come to an end, too,” I muttered as we stood.
Ethan took the tray from my hands and carried it over to the trash can. He tossed our garbage inside and placed the tray on top.
Our mood was much more subdued as we walked back out to the parking lot. I followed Ethan to his car, unsure of how to say good-bye. Things were so different now. I was out of my comfort zone.
How do you say good-bye to the man you slept with last night? I feared I would make things awkward between us, and I didn’t want that.
When we reached his car, he leaned against the hood and watched me as I shifted nervously in front of him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
I hesitated before finally deciding to tell him the truth. “I don’t know what happens now—between us, I mean.”
“What do you want to happen?”
“I don’t want us to be awkward with each other—that, I know for sure. As for everything else, it’s still kind of up in the air, isn’t it? I’m still married. I will be for a while until I can get Joey to agree to the divorce. You and I can’t exactly parade around work and town together.”
He pushed away from the car and took a step toward me. He was directly in front of me, looking down. “Things will never be awkward between us, Caley. I wouldn’t let it be that way. And as for the rest? I know nothing can change. We have to wait for the dust to settle before we can move forward. I told you I was okay with that, and I still am.”
He reached up and cupped my jaw. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. I hated the fact that I was disappointed when he hadn’t.
“I have all the time in the world, Caley. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay right here and wait for you to be mine. And make no mistake, when you’re mine, I’m never letting you go again.”
“I think I might love you,” I blurted out.
He grinned. “I know. One day, there will be no doubt. I’ll make sure you never question how much I love you or how much you love me.”
A car door slammed somewhere in the parking lot, and I instantly jerked away, realizing how obvious we had been, standing out in the middle of a parking lot while confessing our…whatever it was that we were in front of anyone who might happen to look our way.
Stupid.
“I’ll see you later, okay?” Ethan asked.
“Okay,” I whispered as I backed away from him.
I turned and headed for my car, not daring to look back at him. If I did, I feared I would run right back into his arms and beg him to take me back home with him.
Instead, I looked straight ahead as I walked to my car. As I reached it, I pulled out my keys and unlocked my door. I glanced over the top of my car and noticed a man and a woman standing on the other side of the parking lot, kissing passionately. The woman was holding a baby in her arms.
I frowned. It must be nice to show someone how you feel instead of hiding it all the time.
I shook my head to clear it as the man released the woman, and they started walking toward me. I was about to reach for the handle on my car door when the man stopped dead. His eyes were on me, a look of horror on his face. It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing.
Joey was the man. The baby in that woman’s arms was Amelia.
My keys fell from my hands as Joey and I stared at each other. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.
“Joey, what’s wrong?” the woman asked.
I peeled my eyes away from Joey and focused on her. She was a stranger to me—a pretty stranger but a stranger all the same. Her hair was a dark chestnut color. She was tiny, slim in all the places I wished I were, all the places Joey had wished I were. Her features were delicate—a tiny nose, pouty small lips.
“Caley,” Joey called my name as he started walking toward me.
I took a step back as he approached.
It seemed like eternity before I finally found my voice. “You bastard!” It seemed I had found my voice and then some. My words had been loud. I’d shouted them without even meaning to.
“Caley, let me explain. Please.” He reached the front of my car but stopped. Clearly, he’d realized that coming any closer would be bad for his health.
“I have all but begged you to sign those divorce papers. I agreed to give you time to think it over because I knew you didn’t want a divorce. I tried to reason with you over and over, explaining how neither of us was happy and that we’d be better off apart. You completely ignored me.”
“Caley…” He trailed off.
“You don’t want a divorce, but here you are, kissing another woman in broad daylight. A woman who is holding my child!” I shouted.
“Let me explain,” he begged.
The woman had walked over to us. She stood only a few feet behind Joey with Amelia still in her arms. Her gaze darted back and forth between Joey and me, a distraught look on her face.
“There’s nothing to explain!” I shouted as I marched toward him, past him, and to the woman. “Give me my daughter.”
“Joey, what do I do?” the woman asked as she tried to back away.
“Give me my daughter, you bitch!” I shrieked before I lunged at her.
She let out a squeal as I grabbed Amelia and pulled her to my chest. I turned and tried to get back to my car.
But Joey stopped me. “I’m not going to just let you walk away from me! If you do, you’ll never listen to reason later.”
“I don’t want to hear it, Joey. I’m finished with you.” I glared. “I want a goddamn divorce, and if you refuse to willingly give it to me, I will take everything from you, including Amelia. I’m sure there’s no judge alive who wouldn’t award me full custody after learning that you’ve been screwing around behind my back for God knows how long.” I knew I was being a hypocrite, but I was too angry in that moment to care. “All those days and weekends you had to work late or were out of town? They were probably just lies to cover up what you were really doing.”
When Joey hadn’t denied it, I fought the urge to scream. I forced it away because I had to. Amelia was in my arms, looking up at me as if she knew something was terribly wrong.
“Caley?” a voice called from behind Joey.
I looked around him to see Ethan walking toward us, a concerned look on his face. “Is everything okay?”
“Who the hell are you?” Joey asked as he turned to face him.
For weeks, my greatest fear had been Joey and Ethan coming face-to-face with each other. Now that they were, all I felt was relief. If Joey refused to let me leave, Ethan would help me.
“My name is Ethan. I’m a friend of hers,” Ethan said, his tone cold.
I’d never heard him sound like that before.
Joey looked back at me. “A friend, huh? I don’t remember her mentioning you before. Clearly, you’re not that important to her, so why don’t you stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and move along?”
Ethan glanced at me before returning his attention to Joey. “You might not know me, but I certainly know you. I think maybe it’s best that you move along before something regrettable goes down here.”
Joey laughed. “Something regrettable? Really?”
“Joey, shut up,” I snapped. “I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not. I won’t let you go anywhere until we talk—alone.”