No hesitation. “I’m not leavin’.”
A light scoff left me. “Forgive me for having zero confidence in you.” My mouth pulled down in a grim line. “There was once a time when you told me you’d do anything for me, and look how that turned out.”
His eyes bore into me, laser beams, discomfiting. “How do you know I didn’t?” Before I had a chance to think on that, he said, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m back for good. And—” He hesitated. “—I want to be a good dad.” He dodged my hard gaze, appearing slightly awkward when he added, “So maybe you can help me out there.”
He seemed sincere. Why did that bother me so much?
My heart beat increased in pace. This was it. No going back now. “You can start by picking him up from school today.”
Twitch’s head snapped up, his eyes questioning as if he thought this was a joke.
It was a fucking joke. I was a joke. As if I was allowing this.
It wasn’t a decision made lightly. Unfortunately, I knew this man, so I would give him an inch before he ripped a mile from me, leaving a path of destruction around everyone I loved.
When I managed to find the courage to peer up into his eyes, his brows lowered, but he uttered, “Yeah, sure.” When he went on, he did it guardedly. “Am I bringing him here, or...?”
“No, bring him home.” To me. “If you want to hang out with your son, you can do it there.” Under my watchful eye.
The words unspoken hung in the air.
I don’t trust you.
But Twitch’s lip lifted in the corner. “Okay. He’s out by three, right?”
“Yeah. You remember where it is?”
He gave me a singular nod. “I do.” After a moment, he said, “When are we gonna talk? Really talk?”
I was a coward, so I checked my watch. “Another time. I have to go.”
“Yeah.” His lips thinned. “Yoga.”
What did he just say?
My brows rose slowly. My mouth gaped. “You’ve been following me?”
He let out a choked laugh and shook his head as if I were hilarious. “Baby,” was all he said, as if asking, “Do you even know me?”
I inwardly sighed.
Of course he’d been following me.
This was Twitch we were talking about. He probably knew my weekly schedule by heart. Shit. He probably knew what time I showered every night.
With a long sigh, I shook my head, and uttered, “Yep. I am not even going there today,” and was rewarded with the most beautiful crooked smile known to man. And that smile struck me in such a way that I knew I needed to get out of there and do it quickly.
Twitch saw me out, and as I walked away, he called to me. When I twisted to face him, his jaw was tight when he said, “The yoga dude, your teacher or whatever the fuck he is.”
My brow knitted. “What about him?”
“You tell him to keep his paws to himself—” He stood tall, eyes darkening a notch. “—or I’ll break ‘em clean off.”
My insides blazed hotter than the sun.
Ugh.
The door closed before I could even react, and I should not have felt the way I was feeling at that moment.
Jesus Christ.
No.
Definitely not.
When I walked through the front door, I heard him. “Can you, I don’t know, fuck off?”
My brow lowered as I slowed my walk. That was when I heard Molly’s sweet voice. “No, thanks.”
Twitch sighed loudly, and when I made it through the hall entrance, he looked over at me completely flustered, his brows furrowed in annoyance. “Angel, tell her she can leave me alone with my son.”
I looked between Molly and Twitch, then looked over at A.J., who sat oblivious on the sofa, eating his after-school snack. I shook my head slowly. “Molly goes where A.J. goes.”
He blinked at me, irritated beyond belief, and when Molly shot him a wide smile of victory, he stepped toward me. “Jesus, Lex. I’m not gonna fuckin’ steal him away.”
“Aren’t you?”
When he gave me a look of absolute disgust, I almost felt ashamed of myself.
Almost.
I watched his throat bob as he swallowed through the anger. When he spoke, it was little over a whisper. “I would never take him from you.” His lips thinned and his brow lowered dangerously at the thought. “Not ever.”
Good to know, not that I’m dumb enough to trust you.
Before we got into an argument, I slid my bag off my shoulder and onto the floor. “Are you staying for dinner?”
“I don’t know.” He still sounded injured at my accusation. “What’s on the menu?”
“Eggplant Parmesan.”
He made a face of pure rapture. “Fuck, yeah, I’m staying.”
I shook my head, curbing my smile at his oddly familiar reaction. He loved Italian food, and when I cooked for him, he loved my Italian food. As he followed me into the kitchen, I uttered quietly, “You need to stop swearing around him.”
Twitch scoffed. “He’s heard it all before. He knows not to say that shit.” I made a sound low in my throat, and he called out, “A.J., tell Mommy what Daddy told you about swearing.”
From the other room, A.J. spoke loud enough for us both to hear. “I can listen to it but can’t say it.” Then he added, “Not until I’m older.”
My brows pulled down, and I called back, “Not until ever,” and Twitch grinned so hard that I felt it in my womb.
At dinnertime, we sat at the table, and while Twitch was already on his second serving of my Eggplant Parmesan, A.J. glared down at his plate. “I don’t like it.”
“You either eat or go to bed. It’s your choice, honey,” I told him. We never had an issue until a meal was all vegetables. I got it—he was five; he was also a boy, and my son was a carnivore.
He folded his arms across his chest. “You don’t have to eat things you don’t like. Why do y
ou make me eat things I don’t like?”
A look of pure sympathy washed over my features. I leaned down, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, squeezing. “Because I’m your mother and your suffering is very important to me.”
Twitch snuffled out a laugh, and when A.J. peered up at him with pleading eyes, Twitch raised his hands. “Don’t look at me, bud. Mommy makes the rules around here.”
I’ll admit, it was nice to have backup, and, not surprisingly, after Twitch said that, A.J. started to pick at his food.
Before long, it was time for A.J.’s bath, and Twitch said goodnight to the tiny version of him, and after he was gone, I had to think real hard about why the house felt so empty without him.
Chapter Fifteen
Lexi
“Hey.” Twitch came jogging from across the street. “Am I picking him up today?”
The other night felt too familiar, too natural, and I spent half the time pondering why I was so upset at that. Truth was, it was everything I dreamed about. A home with my son and his father, a domestic setting. It was something that made my soul ache.
It wasn’t a good idea for me to fall into a fantasy headfirst. It did nothing to dwell on the past. I needed to think about the now. And this was moving rather quickly. I needed to slow it down.
No. I needed it to come to a complete stop.
Shaking my head, I took a step closer to him, and said, “Baby steps.”
His face changed, and although he didn’t look angry, he was certainly irritated and peered at me a long while through drawn brows, before he muttered, “It’s Thursday.”
Yes. I also went to kindergarten. I too knew the days of the week. “I know.”
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come to his swimming lesson.”
I hesitated. It was one thing to have Twitch in my home where I could control the setting. I didn’t like the thought of being out and about with him as a family. “Look, I don’t know.” But Twitch just stared at me, and I caught on swiftly with a light roll of my eyes. “You’ve already decided you’re coming, haven’t you?”
He peered down at me, his eyes full of amusement. “My asking was more a courtesy.”