No. Oh, no. No, no, no! Been there. Done that. Have the divorce papers to prove it!
"Just be careful," Bruce said after a tense moment. "That's all. If what Jack said is true, the guy seems too...smooth."
She knew she should’ve kept her relationship with Kirk a secret, but Jack had seen the two of them together, and privacy had become a thing of the past at that moment. "Jealous?"
The moment the word slipped from her lips, she ached to take it back. But she couldn't.
Even more astounding was his response. His mouth tightened, his eyebrows pinched over his nose, and for several seconds, a muscle ticked in his jaw.
Wait…was he?
"If you won't protect yourself, at least protect your kids. They might not live at home anymore, but that doesn't mean the men you date have no impact on their lives."
She sucked in a breath to give him a piece of her mind when he turned on his heel, his long strides eating up the distance they'd traveled in no time. She watched as he reached his cruiser and yanked open the door before folding his large frame behind the wheel.
Tessa forced herself to turn away and give Bougie his way, letting the medium-size doodle pull her over to the bushes. She purposely ignored the sound of the cruiser driving toward them on the one-way street, refusing to look up as Bruce slowly drove by.
How dare he? Who did he think he was telling her—warning her? Like she was an inexperienced girl. Her anger rose with every passing second. That her son would go behind her back and call his father to… Unbelievable!
Before she knew what was happening, she tugged Bougie along and began marching up the street. The police station wasn't very far away. Only a block. And as angry as she was, she made good time, arriving to find Bruce still sitting in his cruiser, staring down at his computer.
He looked up when her shadow covered the window, his surprise evident before he masked the expression and turned off the ignition. She took a step back and watched as he reluctantly opened the door.
"Before you say anything—"
"Oooh, no," she said with a firm shake of her head. "It's my turn. You? You do not have a say in my life, and if our son ever comes to you again about whomever I might be dating, I demand you tell him it'snoneof your concern and send him to ask me directly."
"Tessie, he’s worried."
"There's no reason to be worried."
"You're not acting like yourself," Bruce said.
His gaze moved down her body before returning to her face. "You're even dressing different."
"It's called fashion," she said. "Not to mention the fact that it's winter."
"It's not like you."
Her face burned and she took a step toward him and lifted a hand to poke him in the chest with one finger. "Since when do you care what I wear? Much less what I do…or whom?"
He flinched at her questions, and even though she and Kirkhadn'tdone anything other than make out, it was no one's business but their own.
"I care about you, Tessie. And our son. You know that."
"How would I ever know that?"
The question hung in the air between them, and she saw his confidence falter at the truth of her words.
"I'll always regret how things went down between us, but you know I've never stopped caring about you."
A low huff of a laugh left her, sarcastic to its core. "Stay out of my business."
"There's something fishy about him."
The hot sting of tears flooded her gaze, and shehatedthe fact that when she got angry, she got teary. "Because he could want me?"
"That's not what I meant at all. Tess—"