“Like I said, I’m trying to be a better man.”
“You made a mistake. We all do.” I thought about my folly in almost leaving Jacques, Trav, and Linc without first telling them the truth. I’d almost broken the best thing to ever happen to me apart from my daughter. I inhaled slowly, and there was a lightness in my chest that strengthened my resolve. “I forgive you.”
“No, you don’t have—”
“I’m doing it as much for me as for you, David. It’s not about the money. It’s about your acknowledgement and the steps you’ve taken to change things. So, yeah, I forgive you.”
He sucked in a shuddery breath and blinked rapidly, looking away from the camera. “I’m sorry I ruined things. I’m sorry I disappointed you and broke your heart. I’m so, so happy that you’re in love and having a baby. You really are the best mum I’ve ever met.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I smiled. I’d missed him. I’d missed my friend as much as I’d missed my husband in those early days after we’d split. “Thank you,” I whispered. “I’d really like it if we kept in touch.”
“Me too. Take care, Carina.”
“You too,” I said. I hung up and sat in the grass, enjoying the sun, and Zeus whimpered. “I’m okay, bud.” I scratched his ears and shook my head. I had no idea how much money he was sending me, but it was a lot. The investment properties we had were worth millions, and so was the house on the water.
The tears running down my cheeks surprised me, and Zeus shifted to stand up and rest his head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his thick body and buried my face in his neck. “God, Zeus, I nearly threw all this away, and I wouldn’t have had to. I was so fucking stupid.”
“Hey,” Jacques said gently, jogging over to us. “Is everything okay?”
I pulled back and smiled at him. He sat down in the grass with me between his legs and wrapped his arms around me. “Good boy, Zeus,” he added. I leaned into Jacques and breathed deep, inhaling his scent.
“Talk to me, beautiful,” he said after a moment.
“That was David,” I said and held up my phone. He growled, and I snuggled deeper into his embrace. “It was a good call. I’m not upset. At least not at David.”
“I’m confused,” he admitted with a smile. “Am I imagining his face when I hit the puck in tonight’s game or not?”
“No.” I giggled and patted his leg. “No need. You knew I was young when David and I got together—”
“Barely eighteen.”
“Not even.” I shook my head, not wanting to get into that. “What I haven’t told you is that we signed a prenup when we got married. David was starting the business, and I was naïve. When we split, I got just over two hundred grand—”
“How? You were together for years, and he cheated. Surely it should have been half.”
“Yeah, but I agreed to ten thousand for every year we were together.” I shrugged. “Like I said, young and stupid. I took the payout and hopped on a plane here.”
“That’s why you were worried about working when you found out about Peanut.” His hand went to my belly, and Peanut shifted.
I smiled and moved his hand lower so he could feel the kick. But Peanut went still, like they were playing hide and seek.
“It was.” I nodded. “David has done some self-reflection and has sold all the properties we had. He’s sending me the proceeds. I don’t know how much it is—he sent the paperwork to Cara—but it’ll be a lot.” I laughed—it was either that or cry—and added, “I almost threw this away”—I gestured between us— “because I was worried about money and trapping you into a relationship you didn’t want. It would have been for nothing. I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you all the way I did.” My breath hitched, and my tears started falling again.
“Oh, beautiful. C’mere. I should never, ever have gone with Michael’s stupid suggestion. I’m sorry too. I should have listened to my gut. But the important thing is that we’re here now.” He held me close and carded his fingers through my hair until I’d cried my tears out. “I’m happy for you,” he said and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead.
“He asked me to send you his best.”
“That was… diplomatic of him. At least he reacted better than my parents. Not that the bar is set very high,” Jacques responded, resignation coloring his voice.
“Yeah,” I sympathized and slid my hand up his shirt and pressed it against his abs, needing the skin-on-skin connection with him.
“I spoke to Mom and Dad about Peanut again,” he admitted quietly.
I pulled back and looked at him, waiting for him to continue with hopefully good news. “They were better than they’d been when I first told them, but they haven’t really come around.” He pressed his lips into a smile that looked more like a grimace. “I wish they were supportive too. They were always behind me, but now it’s as if they’re punishing me.”
“They’re punishing me, not you.”
He shrugged, but I could tell it was out of helplessness rather than nonchalance. “Doesn’t really matter who they’re taking it out on.” Jacques curled a piece of my hair around his finger and let it fall loose. “I always wanted to be as good a parent as they’ve been to me, but now….”
