Her reaction, and apparent inability to talk things through, scared me. Yes, this was a strange and hurtful situation, but if she was ready to bolt at the first sign of conflict, how could we have a lasting relationship?
I went back to my hotel room, phoned Reardon and my agent, then started looking online for local realtors. I liked the area Chloe lived in, but a house like Zoey’s was more my style. Something with a little land, and a lot of room for Chris and his friends to hang out.
I’d always known that I wanted children, and figured once I found the right woman and settled down, I’d be ready to start a family. I never imagined that I’d find out I already had a kid, let alone who was twelve, but now that I had him, I wished I hadn’t waited so long. Or, more accurately, that I’d been there with him since the day he was born.
I guess you didn’t know what you were missing until you had a taste of it.
Once I figured I’d wasted enough time, and Zoey should be up and about, and focused on her day, I got back in my car and made my way out to her place.
After knocking, I turned to get a better look at her property. A nice sitting area with a fire pit off to one side, a basketball hoop, and a grouping of trees along the back.
“Hey,” Zoey said softly, startling me out of my musing.
“Hi,” I replied, my eyes sweeping over her. She looked as beautiful as ever, and I struggled against the need to pull her into my arms. I felt disappointed that things weren’t as easy and carefree as they had been back at camp, but was determined that they would be one day soon. “You look great.”
“Thanks. Do you want to come in?”
“Yeah.”
Well, don’t we sound just like two polite strangers? I thought as I walked in, choosing to go take a seat at her breakfast nook instead of on the couch where we’d had sex yesterday.
“Can I get you a something to drink?”
“No, I’m good.”
When she went and started to make herself coffee, I felt the residual anger from yesterday seeping back in. It didn’t seem like anything had changed overnight. Zoey was still trying to avoid me, even though we were in the same damn room.
“Can you sit?” I asked through clenched teeth.
Zoey’s eyes widened at my request, but she left the empty coffee cup on the counter and came to sit next to me.
After a few moments of silence she said, “So, um, Chloe said Christopher stayed with you last night. How did all of that go?”
“It w
ent really great. We talked a lot and had fun hanging out,” I said, then I pushed a little and added, “I wished you were there.”
Zoey shook her head.
“No, it really isn’t my place. You two should get to know each other without his aunt standing in the way.”
“I didn’t mean I wanted you there as his aunt. I wanted you there as my girlfriend.”
Her mouth got tight and she spat, “But that’s just it, Gabe, I am his aunt, and now you’re his father. It’s more complicated than introducing your son to your girlfriend.”
“So you don’t mind that I’m a father, but you do mind that I’m your nephew’s father … Is that what this is all about? Holding me at arms’ length because of your sister?” I asked, needing to know the root of the problem holding her back if I had any hope of salvaging what we had.
“Is that not a good enough reason?”
I sighed, frustrated but trying hard not to be.
“Yes, it’s a good enough reason … Any reason you have is good enough, but if you won’t talk it out with me, how can we fix it?”
“I don’t know if we can…”
“Zoey, I told you before, what happened with Chloe was nothing more than two people getting off. I hate to sound crass, and I’m not trying to bad mouth your sister, but that’s the God’s honest truth.”
“I know, you’ve both said that, and I believe you … But I still hate it. I hate that you kissed her, touched her, had sex with her … I hate that the guy I’m falling in love with was with my sister first.”