A half an hour later, we’re pulling up to Amari’s school. All three of us get out, I grab one of Amari’s hands, B grabs the other, and we walk her to her classroom.
Once we get to her classroom door, B bends down and pulls Amari into a hug. She’s trying so hard to keep it together for our daughter. “Remember, that little notebook has all of our numbers in it. If you need anything, you call us, okay?”
"Okay,” she says.
I pull Amari into a hug. “Have a great day, little one. Be careful. I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad.” Amari turns away from us and walks into her classroom with her pink and purple butterfly backpack.
I glance over at B, and her tears are starting. I intertwine my hand with hers, and she rests her head on my shoulder as we walk out.
Kai
“Dad, where’s Mom?” Amari asks.
“I’m not sure,” I say, scanning the backyard for her. I notice thesway of the trees fromthe breeze. Pink and purple balloons fly abovethe chairs, moving with thewind. “Why?”
“I want to see if Emma can sleep over,” she says, hands on her hips.
Rising from my seat, I say, “I’ll go look for her.” I head inside the house, and I overhear Liam say, “Please call me if you need a ride home.” I catch the cocktail that B has in her hand.
“I’ll find a ride, don’t worry,” she says, placing her hand on his arm for reassurance.
I clear my throat, stepping closer to them. “Is everything okay?”
They both turn toward my direction. “Yes,” Blakely says. “I’m a little tipsy, and Mr. Doctor is worried.”
“I can drive you home.”
Liam looks over at me with a questionable look.
“I haven’t had anything to drink. I wouldn’t put my girls in danger,” I say, and I notice how Liam’s jaw tenses a little—probably from me sayingmy girls.
“See. I’ll be fine,” B says and kisses Liam on the lips.
Nowmyjaw is tense.
Liam lets out a sigh. “I gotta go. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.” We watch as Liam walks out of the door.
Brooke threw a celebration for Amari. Like she does every year. It's always a barbeque with the same groups of people that are the closest in Amari life. We’ve all been hanging out here having a good time.
“Where is he going?” I ask her as she pivots toward me.
“He’s on call tonight. He got called into an emergency at the hospital.”
Oh, nice,an entire night free of Liam.
“Did you need something?” she asks, brows raised.
“Amari was looking for you. She wants to know if Emma can sleep over. Maybe I should stay the night with you guys since you’ve been drinking.” Emma’s parents went home a couple of hours ago. They have younger kids they needed to get to bed. The girls were having a good time, and we told them we would drive Emma home.
She rolls her eyes. “You guys act like I’m shitfaced. This is only my second drink, and Amari asked me earlier if she could sleep here.”
I follow her out the back door, unable to take my eyes off her. The way her hips sway with each step she takes makes it harder for me to pry my eyes away. I thought my attraction to her would fade since we haven’t been together for so long. But with each passing year, her beauty intensifies, drawing mein even more. Every time I look at her, my desire for her deepens. If anything, my feelings haven’t gone away; they’ve only intensified, watching her grow into the woman she is today.
“Could you stare any harder?” I hear behind me.
