I sighed before answering honestly. “You’re handsome.”
He gave me a super cheesy grin. “Ah shit. Don’t tell me I’m out here putting butterflies in your stomach, Bae-Bae.”
I giggled at the nickname. “I’m married.”
Bright showed me what looked like a pinch with his fingers. “Barely.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.” I said it dismissively, but inside I had to admit that the time that Bright and I were spending together was givingdate vibes. I couldn’t afford to have any kind of vibes with Bright while I was still connected to Xander, particularlydate vibes.
“Stop thinking about old boy,” Bright cautioned. “I guarantee you, he ain’t thinking about you.”
Although I would never admit it out loud, I knew he was right. Xander wasn’t thinking about me or Hart. I probably crossed his mind every once in a while, but I was sure that our son never did. I knew that as far as Xander was concerned, the entire pregnancy and the tragedy that followed were unwanted memories. He had cultivated a new family and put the memories of me and our child behind him.
Later that night, Bright drove me back to Perkins’s house. He walked me to the front door and placed a soft, lingering kiss on my cheek before he bounded back down the stairs, climbed into his pick-up, and drove off.
I stood there like some love struck teenager. The kiss was innocent, which made me confused about the way my body reacted to it—with my nipples springing to life, my skin heating up, and heartbeat racing.
Chapter
Eight
Bright
I was probablythe last one to arrive for Sunday dinner at Bayliss and Alisha’s house. Subconsciously, I scanned the room for Bailey. When I didn’t see her anywhere inside, I made my way to the deck. I already knew she went out there to preserve her social meter.
“I knew I would find you out here,” I commented as I slid onto the back deck. Her back was to me, and per the usual, she was staring out into the horizon at the mountains.
“Hey, Bright.”
Something about the catch in her voice instantly caused me concern. I made my way over to her, joining her at the railing. My hand settled lightly on her shoulder. “You good, Bae-Bae?”
“Not really,” she choked out, surprising me with her candidness.
I wrapped her in my arms with her back still to me. “You wanna talk about it?”
“Today’s the twenty-first. It’s the three month anniversary of Hart’s delivery day.”
“Aww shit. I’m so sorry.” I squeezed her tightly before turning her around and wrapping her up in a real embrace. “I’m so fucking sorry, Bailey.” She let me hold her for a little while longer before she broke the embrace.
“Thank you.”
“Let’s sit down.” I took her hand and led her over to the bench. The two of us sat there in companionable silence. The thought of her delivering her son, knowing he was already gone made my heart hurt like hell for her. That loss had to be devastating.
She took a deep breath. “Xander, you know that’s my soon to be ex, he won’t sign the divorce papers.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he changed his mind and still thinks we can work it out.”
“Do you think y’all can work it out?”
She cut her gaze to me. “Hell nah. He literally tried to shit on me on the day I held the memorial for my son. He chose the worst day of my life, the most painful day of my life, to shit on me. I could never want him again. I could never look at him the way I used to look at him. I could never trust him again or love him again.”
“How are you gonna get outta the marriage?”
“My attorney’s gonna file a motion for something called a default judgment.”
“As messed up as it is that he won’t sign, at least your hands aren’t tied. At least there’s something you can do.”
