Gage sighs as if he didn’t know what to do with his rude ex-wife.
“Skyla”—he says my name with a certain level of disdain—“Chloe and I would like to gift the boys bicycles for their birthday. We just wanted to let you know in the event this would upset you somehow.”
“No,” I flatline just as Logan comes up with a pissed look on his face.
“No what?” He steps between Gage and me, and already I can breathe a little easier.
Emma rolls her eyes to heaven. “Skyla won’t allow Gage to buy his boys a couple of bicycles for their birthday.”
Logan shoots Gage a look. “We’ll all go in on them together.”
“See there?” Emma presses her gaze my way. “The voice of reason. The bikes will be from the four of you.”
Demetri nods apathetically. “I’m afraid that’s what’s best for the boys from here on out. But whatever makes their mother happy must be accommodated as best as possible. There is no stronger bond than that of a mother and child.”
I glance to Gage. “I agree. Some men never outgrow their desire to please their mother. I’ll make sure to teach my boys to put their wives first. There is nothing more pathetic than a man who doesn’t have the balls to stand up for his wife and constantly chooses his mother time and time again. Face it, you’re still dangling from your mother’s umbilical cord.”
“Okay!” Laken attempts to rip me from Logan, but I’m far more solid than she anticipated.
Gage glowers at me. “It’s fine, Laken. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before. It was the point of much contention between us.”
Mom shakes her head and waves it off, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. “The two of you never fought once the entire time you lived under my roof.”
Emma smirks. “That’s because they had all of their disagreements about me at my house.”
Dr. Oliver steps in. “Now, Emma, Skyla is in a very delicate state.” He does his best to hook his arm to hers and she quickly untangles herself.
“Oh, please.” Emma practically pushes poor Dr. Oliver into the bushes. “I’ve had enough of this poor pregnant Skyla bit. If she can dish it out, she can take it. That’s right, Skyla. Gage loves me. Imaginethat. A son loving his mother.”
“More like his monster.” I don’t miss a beat.
“Skyla!” Mom reprimands.
“Skyla,” Gage moans and I suck up all the oxygen in the vicinity.
“You don’t get toSkylame anymore. I’m not your wife. I’m not your friend. You have lost all privileges to speak my name. Too bad you’re not man enough to admit to the fact that you had zero balls when it came to defending me to her.”
“I defended you,” he roars and half the party stills around us.
I take a step forward and Logan catches me. “Liar!” I roar right back.
“Enough,” Logan whispers as he pulls me to the side. “Skyla, it’s not worth it.”
“It’s worth it.” I try to push past him and gain a few inches. “You’re not a man. You’re a coward and a liar, Gage. You promised to love me and you chose to follow in your wicked parents’ footsteps—EmmaandDemetri, rather than bravely breaking away from them and loving our family the way you promised. You ripped my heart out, and one day the boys will know of it. I won’t have to breathe a word. Their natural curiosity will take care of that. And they will hate you far more than I ever could for hurting me.”
Everyone around me groans as if I had gone too low, and maybe I had, but it’s the truth.
Chloe steps in and sighs. “Skyla, you bore us with the same song and dance. Do I really need to have you tossed off the property?”
Laken shakes her head. “Skyla is welcome to live here if she wanted.”
Emma chortles. “Don’t say that too loud. She might just take you up on it.” She tilts her head and I can feel the zinger coming. “Oh, wait. No, she won’t. You see, it’s really Skyla who’s still dangling from her mother’s umbilical cord.”
Mom growls, “Oh, come on, Emma. Skyla has the boys and an infant on the way. A girl needs her mother at times like these. I’m the one who helped her stay up all those nights with the boys. Not your son, Emma. I changed more diapers than I could count in those early weeks. Not your son, Emma. The feeding, the bathing, the constant washing of laundry.” A dull laugh bucks from my mother’s chest. “And from what I hear, it’s you who got stuck doing it for Mally. And now that you’ve quit your position, that little angel will be all mine, just like the boys.”
Emma belts out a garble of words like a stoned sailor and Dr. Oliver finally pulls her away.
“We’ll be heading home now.” Barron looks more than mildly alarmed as he says it as if the thought of being alone with her was too much to bear. “Thank you for having us. Perhaps we’ll see you tonight. Perhaps not.”
