“Meet Serena, my ex-wife.” I performed introductions like a game show host. “That’s Sadie, our daughter. Jesse’s in the middle, and that’s Lincoln over there with Morrigan.”
“Link’s the youngest,” Jesse said. “He’s the baby of the family.”
“You’re the baby,” Link—should I call him Link?—spoke hotly. “Anyway, Sadie’s the one who’s crying, not me.”
“Shut up,” Sadie said through gritted teeth, “or I’ll yank your underwear over your head while you’re still wearing it.”
“Whooboy.” Molly did some kind of herding thing until all three kids were heading to the front door. “You guys come with Morrigan and me so your mom and dad can talk privately, okay?”
“That is not mydad.” Sadie glared at me before Molly successfully pushed the three of them from the house.
“Come, Morrigan.” Molly patted her thigh.
Morrigan turned back to make sure I wasn’t trying to trick her.
“Go on, girl. Go play with Molly.”
Molly closed the door behind them.
“Oh my God,” Serena said dramatically. “I can’t believe Sebastian Keye saw me like this. I’m old. I have a gray hair.”
I eyed her carefully. “Are you joking?”
“Of course I am.” Her expression grew furious.
“Are you angry with me?” It was pretty clear she was angry, but I wasn't certain why.
“You said to come early, so we came early, and what the hell, Stone? You’ve got some kid half your age draped over your lap and then I find out he’s a TV star or a fashion model or—” She waved both hands at the couch as if to point out the scene of the crime. “What. Were. You. Thinking?”
“The ceremony isn’t until three o’clock, and I asked you to come an hour early, so I was thinking about how I’d greet you at two, with Taggart, so he could take the kids over to see Ariel and the baby while we talked.”
“So we have to do everything your way? Is that it?”
“No, Serena—” I took a deep calming breath. “I want to do this however you need me to do it.”
“I don't need anything from you. We said goodbye four years ago and I moved on.”
“I haven't,” I said.
She turned away. “Not my circus, Stone.”
“Okay. I understand. I've dreaded this moment for four years,” I said. “Not because we broke up. Jason suits you better than I ever did and that's okay.”
“I'm so glad we have your approval.”
“But you know what?” I continued as if I hadn't heard her sarcasm. “I can't bear that I'm not the Dad I wanted to be. I can't bear that I abandoned them. I want to tell them that I made a mistake—lots of them really—and I'm going to do better.
“They have Jason, now. They don't need you complicating their lives by competing with him.”
“I'm not competing, I'm compounding.”
“You want to be their weekend dad now?”
“Not necessarily. Not if they don't want that.”
“Then what?”
“I want to tell them what happened to me, all the things I did wrong, all the things I wish I'd done differently. I want to open a line of communication with them and after that, the ball's in their court. Maybe we can text, or—”
