I nearly choke on my beer. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“The Fritz women have a complex intelligence network that the CIA would envy.” His smile is kind but knowing.
I can’t argue that. It’s true. “Please let your wife know I’m all set. I have enough on my plate right now and frankly, no time for dating. The thought of being set up sounds awful.”
“Because you’re living with Skylar?”
“No. Not because of Skylar.” Only as I say that I’m not entirely sure I mean it.
Bennett nods, tracing a pattern in the condensation on his glass. “Must be good for Zoey to have her around, though. Skylar is amazing with kids. She’s babysat Willow a few times. I’m sure it’s helping Zoey adjust to the move and to the new school.”
I exhale slowly, measuring my response. “Yes. She has been very helpful with Zoey, and they get along great. Unexpectedly so.”
That catches his attention. “Why unexpected?”
“Because Skylar and I, we seem to...” I struggle for the right word. “Clash.”
Bennett laughs. “I’m glad to hear that.”
That stops me, and I turn my focus away from the TV and over to him. “Not like that. It’s not like that.”
He gives me anif you say soshrug.
“Look,” Bennett continues, his voice dropping so the others can’t hear. “I get it. The balancing act is brutal. When Willow was born, I nearly tanked my chief role trying to be Superdad and Supersurgeon simultaneously. Katy too, and now she’s pregnant again, which makes me even more worried with her type 1 diabetes.”
“How do you manage?” I ask, genuinely curious. Bennett and Katy seem to have the perfect setup. Both successful surgeons, their daughter is thriving, and their marriage is solid. Clearly, I failed somewhere along the way with my marriage, and now it’s just me and Zoey.
“I stopped trying to do it all myself.” He meets my eyes directly. “Pride is the enemy of parenting, man. I had to learn to accept help from Katy’s parents, from my mom, and from friends. Even from the daycare and a nanny Willow adores, whom I initially resented for having time with my kid that I didn’t.”
“It’s not just pride,” I admit, the shots and Bennett’s steady presence loosening my tongue. “It’s fear. Zoey’s already lost her mother, and her fucker of a husband tried to get her taken from me too. Her therapist mentioned some emotional trauma from that and even attachment disorders. My parents are amazing, but she needs stability I’m not sure I know how to give her. That’s why I can’t date right now. I can’t have women in and out of her life. She’ll have that when Skylar moves out, and she’s already attached to her.”
“That’s a valid concern,” Bennett agrees quietly.
“And there’s the small matter of us working at the samehospital, living in the same house, and having a history of... complications.”
Bennett’s eyebrows rise, and am I really this cheap of a drunk? Shit. I hadn’t meant to say anything. “Complications? That’s a new euphemism.”
Heat crawls up my neck. “It was one kiss. Two years ago. At a party.”
“Must have been some kiss if you’re still thinking about it.”
Before I can formulate a suitably dismissive response, Alden swoops in, handing us a fresh round of shots. “What are you two whispering about? Patient gossip? Women? Both?”
“Aston’s love life,” Bennett quips with perfect casualness. “Or lack thereof.”
“Ouch,” I mutter, taking the offered shot, but thankfully, the conversation has been steered into safer waters.
Three hours later, I climb out of my Uber alone. Alden tried, as he does, to get me to meet someone, and as much as I miss the hell out of sex, my head is too much of a mess. I don’t want to bring someone home, and the thought of fucking some random woman and then trying to escape the moment the condom comes off feels… I don’t know. Juvenile, maybe. Prickish for sure.
I’d like to meet someone. That’s the problem. I was married, and I didn’t hate it. I loved it actually. She just didn’t love it with me. But it’s as I told Bennett, I don’t have that luxury right now.
Unlocking the door, I open it, lock it back up, then stop in my tracks when I head for the kitchen to get a glass of water. Skylar is sitting on the sofa staring into the fire, so lost in thought I’m not sure she heard me come in.
There’s no TV on, and she’s so still it instantly has me unsettled.
“Skylar?” I question softly, not wanting to startle her. For some reason, I didn’t think she’d be home. I figured hermorning date would have turned into all night or that she’d be out with her friends.
Her head swivels in my direction, her shock at seeing me evident in her features, but it’s her face that has my brows drawing in and me crossing the room toward her with deliberate steps. She’s a mess and has visibly been crying for hours.
