“Is that bad? I haven’t dated. At all. You know, since my divorce.”
“No, it’s refreshing. I guess, at our age, it’s best just to get it all out there.”
The wine arrived, distracting us momentarily. Hunter brought it out himself, uncorking and pouring a taste for Vance, who took a sip.
“Great, thanks, man,” Vance said.
“My pleasure.” Hunter poured us each a glass and left the bottle in an ice bucket.
Vance lifted his glass, clinking it with mine. “To our first date.”
First date. Did that mean he wanted a second one? Don’t get ahead of yourself. Be in the moment.
I took a sip. The wine was crisp and clean with notes of green apple and minerals. “This is delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He watched me over the rim of his glass. “To answer your question, no, Nicole did not cheat on me. Not to my knowledge, anyway.”
I waited. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
“Nicole and I had a baby girl. Margot. Ten years ago. Motherhood was hard for her. She was too young, maybe. But she wanted to be out all night. Partying. That kind of thing. But I adored our daughter. I spent every moment with her when I wasn’t at work. When Margot was four years old, Nicole decided to come home for a few months to visit her mother. She never came back. And she managed to keep my daughter from me.”
“Is that why you moved back?” My stomach twisted, thinking of him losing his child. I could see the pain in his eyes, the way it dulled the natural sparkle.
“Yes. I’m hoping to get her back.” He lifted his wineglass. “But I’m not having much luck. Before I sold my app, I spent every last bit of my savings trying to gain custody. But Nicole was smart. Once she had Margot in school here, it gave the courts even more reason to rule in favor of the mother. And I was overseas. And Nicole made up things about me—things that made me look bad. Namely, my work. She said I couldn’t take care of a child because of my restaurant hours. Anyway, long story short, she won custody. And worse, she’s kept Margot from me all these years. I don’t know her.” His voice cracked. “I’m sorry. This is really not first-date conversation.”
“Single parents don’t have that luxury. We have a lot more complications.”
“True.”
“But now that you’re here, you’re trying to get custody? Or at least visitation rights?”
“That’s right. After I sold my app, I had the funds to come home and fight. So that’s what I’m doing.” He glanced out the window, the golden light of twilight reflected in his eyes. “However, Margot doesn’t want to see me. Nicole’s alienated her from me. But I’m still trying. I have a lawyer working on my behalf as we speak.” He set down his glass. “So yes, I came home to try and get my little girl back and to be close to mymother. Mama wanted to live at Seabrook, and I have money now, so I was able to buy her a place there. I’m in the process of remodeling our family home.”
“A lot of limbo in your life.”
“Sadly, yes.” He looked down at the table. “Is it too much uncertainty for you?”
I thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t think so. I know life’s super messy. Mine has been, anyway.”
“Tell me more. If you want. How long have you been divorced?”
“Since you’ve been so honest, it’s only fair.” I drank a little wine. “My husband had an affair. With his very young intern. I came home early from a Girl Scout trip with Mia and found them in our bed.”
“I’m sorry.” His eyes held mine, understanding reflected there. “That must have hurt like hell.”
“You could say that.” I looked down at my hands. “Obviously, we broke up. Five years ago now. Mia was nine. He married the woman. They have three little girls. And he rarely sees Mia. Not because I’ve kept her from him. He just moved on. Left us behind.”
“And you had no idea he was cheating?” Vance asked.
“Not a clue.” I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “They’d been carrying on for months. And I’d had no idea. I thought we were happy. I felt like such an idiot.”
Vance reached across the table, his hand covering mine briefly before pulling back. Even that brief contact sent warmth through me. “You’re not the idiot in this scenario.”
“Perhaps not. But it still felt like a failure. It wasn’t the future I imagined for Mia and me.”
“Does he see Mia much?” Vance asked.
“Once a month, he comes to take her to lunch. And she’ll go there for a weekend every once in a while. But she knows he’s not really interested.”
