I am still staring out at nothing when I speak again. “It really wasn’t. I’m glad he’s different with you. I know, under normal circumstances, you and I would avoid each other. The new girlfriend and the ex-wife shouldn’t ever be forced to interact. I’m not Natalie’s mother, so really, I should be nothing to you. But like I said before, we’re not normal. You and I could be ineach other’s lives for a long time. I find that I like you. If we’re ever going to make this normal, at least somewhat, we can’t talk about him. Not in depth, at least. We can’t have heart-to-hearts about relationships and all that.”
She nods and joins me in staring out at the vast nothingness. “I think that’s a good idea. Liam proposed to me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Some women might take her words as some kind of challenge, but I don’t. She’s stating what she sees as a fact. Time, of course, will determine if she’s right.
It seems as though Liam was actually capable of changing for the better, just not as long as he was with me. I’m not sure how to feel about that, and it pisses me off that he can still get to me. Ninety-nine percent of me is over him, but there’s one percent that can’t leave my past behind me. The truth is, while I’m over Liam, I’m still not over the betrayal, and I can’t let Griffin know.
Chapter Twelve
Griffin - Past
It’s after hours,and once again, Charlie and I are the only two working. I’m not even supposed to be at the Harriston location, but we’re short-staffed. At least this time it isn’t because Liam is drunk, high, or in rehab. He’s been back to work for almost six months now, but we’ve been very careful to make sure he doesn’t get overwhelmed.
The reason I’m helping out here is that our other employee, Julio, is on vacation with his boyfriend. We’ve been talking to him about a promotion to manager of this location, and they wanted to celebrate Julio’s achievement before things get busy. It certainly will, too, because Charlie plans to join me in Centralia once Julio is trained to run the Harriston garage.
Wren is still working at the Centralia garage so that Parker’s routine isn’t interrupted. She’s also a lot more tired with this pregnancy than she was with our girl. Even though the drive isless than an hour, she’s too uncomfortable to ride even this far. That makes me more irritable that I need to work late, but I have to keep our businesses afloat.
“How did dinner go the other night?” Charlie asks, jolting me out of my head.
That’s a good question. One that I wish I had a simple answer to, like,goodor evenokay.Since there aren’t any concrete answers for me to give him, I simply shrug. It’s a step above grunting, so I’m evolving at least.
Charlie winces. “That bad, huh?”
“Eh, not bad really. Weird is probably a better description. It’s nice to see Liam doing well. He seems happy. Claudia told Wren that Liam proposed, but he hasn’t said anything to me yet,” I babble.
Charlie rolls his eyes. “He’s probably making sure to lock her down before he loses another wife to you.”
“Very funny, jackass. It’s not like I went out to fuck over my son on purpose. You saw how hard I fought my feelings for her. I couldn’t help falling for her any more than I could choose not to breathe. Then my idiot son had to go and make her single, so what was I supposed to do? Loving Wren is just part of me”
Charlie holds up his oil-stained hands in front of him. “Calm down, Casanova. My god, you were less of a grouch before you started getting some on a regular basis. I’m just yanking your chain.”
I give him the side eye. Pissing me off is one of Charlie’s three favorite activities. Fighting, fucking, and fishing is pretty much the Charlie Storm version of living life to the fullest. Although to him, I think fishing just means drinking beer on a boat.
“Should I start asking really intrusive questions about Wren’s Aunt Hattie? I’ve seen her name pop up on your phone a lot since Liam’s six-month sober celebration,” I threaten.
“That’s no way to talk to your future uncle, asshole.”
“You’d be Wren’s uncle, dumbass,” I grumble.
Charlie nods his head. “That’s true. As a potential member of her family, I feel obligated to look out for her. I’m being real with you right now. How is she handling everything?”
I hesitate to answer, which I guess confirms something for him.
“That’s what I thought,” he mumbles. “C’mon, her life with him was shit, and then she gets to watch him getting it right with someone else? Not only that, but this new woman got to do all the things that she wanted to do before Liam derailed her. She went to college, started a career, and built the life she wanted before settling down. Wren did everything to make Liam happy, and all he did was shit on her for it.”
I look down at the floor. “She’s been really quiet the last few days,” I admit.
“Do you want my advice?” he asks.
“Will you be quiet if I say no?”
He snorts. “Not likely.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and inhale slowly. “Then spit it out.”
“Don’t force her to move on like you want. She’s pregnant, her ex is back in front of her face suddenly, sober, and doing all the things he could never get his shit together and do for her. Whatever you do, stay the fuck out of your own way.”
I narrow my eyes. “What brought all of this on? No offense, but your longest relationship was what, a month?”
