I dipped my chin. “Really.”
She ran her fingertips over my jaw. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
I dropped my hand and took a step back as I watched her turn toward her ex. “Is there a mediation room free?” she called over.
Evan’s lawyer jerked his chin toward a door further down the corridor.
Rosie took a fortifying breath, then in a clear, confident voice, she said, “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 25
ROSIE
My mouth went dry at the ominous click of the door closing behind me, and my stare lifted to study my ex-husband’s weirdly relaxed expression.
I expected his next words to be cutting, even combative, but to my total bewilderment, he very softly asked, “How the fuck did we get to this, Rosie?”
I stared up at him, no doubt with an amazed look plastered across my face.
“We used to be as close as this.” He lifted his hand and crossed two fingers together. “Do you remember how good it was between us at the beginning? Do you remember how happy we were?”
My eyebrows pulled together because whenever I thought back to the early days, all I remembered was Evan being a surly, lazy shithead who went out and fucked other women while I did all the chores and looked after DJ.
“I know we were young, Rosie. That’s why I made an error in judgment, but I never meant to hurt you, sweetheart.”
My face scrunched up in confusion because what he called an error in judgment, I called a complete betrayal, but still, weweren’t here to discuss the past; we were here to talk about our kids, and that was why I got straight to the point.
“What’s your proposal, Evan?”
He stared down at me. “Every time I see you, I feel like a weight hits my chest because I can’t believe what we’ve become.”
My eyes rounded to saucers.
What the hell was he talking about?
“We’re divorced,” I pointed out. “So things aren’t going to be all kumbaya, but up until recently, I thought we were doing okay. DJ and Gabby are happy and stable. They do well in school and even better socially. They’re great kids. We’ve got a lot to be proud of.”
“You’ve done great,” he agreed. “But me... Jesus, Rosie. I feel like I’m wandering aimlessly without the kids... and you.”
My eyebrows shot up.
Is he crazy?
I desperately tried to think of something to say, but all I could come up with was, “Umm?—”
Evan rounded his shoulders determinedly and announced, “I think we should reconcile.”
I think my brain glitched because it went completely blank, and I just stood there frozen, with my mouth hanging open.
My stunned silence must have given Evan a ray of hope because he took a step toward me, rested his hands on my shoulders, and said, “Look, I know it’s wild and probably crazy, but I never stopped loving you. I know it’s come out of left field, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I was gonna suggest getting together and talking things through, but you started seeing that pretty boy asshole, and it kinda put me on the back foot.”
My head reared back.
Left field?
Err, understatement of the goddamned century.
Back foot?
