When she finally moves her feet and walks into my house, I feel a small sigh of relief bubble up in my chest. For a hot minute there, I didn’t even think that I would get her to come in through the door.
“Let’s sit and talk for a few minutes,” I say as I lead her toward the fireplace sitting room. “Then, I’ll go get Theodore.”
“Theodore?” she asks almost as if she has forgotten why she is even here. “Oh, right, the kid.”
“We can talk over the logistics and then I’ll introduce you.”
“I thought this was an interview,” she says, pinching her eyebrows together in that cute way that makes me feel like biting down on my lip. “Don’t you want to ask me questions about my past experience?”
I’m pretty sure that I know all of her past experience. We were together for a long time, and even before that I was always around her and hanging out with Jax at their parents’ house. But in order to make her feel less anxious, I nod and agree with her.
“Yes, of course. I want to hear about all your past work experience.”
“Well, I don’t have any experience with kids,” she blurts out as we sit down.
I have to stop myself from letting out a laugh. Tabitha has always been quick to say whatever is on her mind. I used to think that it was because she is a few years younger than me, but I quickly came to realize that it’s just who she is. She’s free-spirited, and so passionate and emotional that it freaked me out back when we were together. I just wasn’t ready for that kind of intensity, I think.
Tabitha had told me on nearly our very first date that she was in love with me. Granted, we had already known each other for years, but still, it was a lot for me to process. And even though I had feelings for her too, ones that had probably lingered below the surface for a long time even before we got together, the thought of settling down had scared me.
It scared me enough to run away from it. I was a different man then, and I have made alotof mistakes.
I stare into her golden eyes and have to force myself to start talking or risk simply staring at her for the entire time. She is every bit as beautiful as the last time I saw her, perhaps even more so.
“I need a live-in nanny,” I say right off the bat. “I just moved my company headquarters here, and I need to work long hours in order to get things off the ground. A multi-million-dollar company requires a lot of finesse when opening new satellite locations. So, I need someone that can take care of Teddie while I work. There’s no set schedule, but I can pay you alot.”
Her eyes glint at that last part.
I had managed to squeeze enough information out of Jax to know that his sister had blown through all of her savings and was pretty much desperate for a stable, well-paying job. That is definitely something that I can offer her.
Her face twists as she looks at me. “What happened to the kid’s mother?”
It’s a fair question. One that I hadn’t really wanted to start with but should have been prepared to answer.
“Molly—” I start to explain, noticing the immediate wince that Tabitha makes at the mention of the name of the woman that I left her for when I told her that I just “needed a break”. Something about the look of hurt in her eyes makes me want to reach out and hold her, which of course,I don’t.
For a second, it feels as if the last few years are all flashing across my mind at once.
I had alwaysintendedto get back together with Tabitha. The thing with Molly wasn’t meant to be a permanent one. I just needed a break from something serious. I needed to fool around a bit and then come back when I had figured out what Ireallywanted. But fooling around had its consequences. While Tabitha and I had been broken up, I slept with Molly, and she wound up pregnant. It was all downhill after that.
Out of obligation, I moved to the city with her. Molly wanted that fast-paced, hotshot lifestyle, and for a while, it wasn’t too bad. The city pushed me to start my software company, which quickly grew into a multi-million-dollar venture. But the harder and longer I worked, the harder and longer Molly partied.
It’s not as if I ever reallylovedMolly, but I still tried to take care of her because it was what I thought I was supposed to do. But even as I tried to keep Molly from crashing and burning, I was still constantly thinking about Tabitha.
I would never wish anything bad to happen to anyone, but when Molly overdosed, it almost felt as if luck was turning my way. At least it opened the door for me and my four-year-old son to move back to Camden and back toTabitha.
I didn’t even think about what I was doing as I quickly packed up my company and moved back home. Molly’s overdose was an unfortunate event, but as morbid as it sounds, I couldn’t help but think that Theodore might be better off without her. She barely paid attention to him even when she wasn’t high.
It takes me some time to process my thoughts and answer her.
“Teddie’s mom,” I say as I try to begin my explanation again without referencing Molly’s name, “overdosed on drugs.”
“Oh geez, I’m sorry,” Tabitha frowns.
“Don’t be. She knew what she was doing, and both my son and I are better off without her in our lives.”
Tabitha looks at me with a stark expression as if she’s disappointed at my dark remark.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say quickly, trying to move the conversation along. “What matters now is that I’m here and I need someone to help me with my son.”