For so many years, he had kept women at a distance, being the one in control of when things began and ended with them. With Olivia, it was different. She had crept her way into the hidden places of his heart and made him feel again, but she had a kid. It was a deal breaker for him. Not only that, but she lied about it. He trusted her; introduced to her to his friends.
There can’t be an us.
Those had been the hardest words for him to say. Even harder, than tellingNadineit was over, and that was saying something. As soon as he said the words, he wished he could take them back, but to what end? He didn’t want to be around kids. Not that Ivy was really a kid, but she was still Olivia’s child. He would be expected to help out with her at some point, if he continued something with Olivia. It would start with picking her up from school or watching her, while Olivia ran to the store or something like that. Before he knew it, Ivy would attach herself to him and wonder if he would be her new dad. The thought made him break out in a cold sweat.
No, as much as it sucked, he was making the right decision to end things, before they began with Olivia. He would find another woman to ease his needs. One without kids, just looking for a good night and forget about each other in the morning, like he always did.
“What did you do to piss her off?” Mike asked, taking the vacant seat next to him.
Heath jumped, and then scowled that he hadn’t noticed his friends approach. A lapse in judgement, and that could get him killed in the field. Curse Olivia for affecting him so much. Good thing Ben wasn’t with him. He’d never hear the end of it for not being aware of his surroundings.
“Why can’t I be the one pissed off?” Heath said with an air of indifference.
“There’s no doubt you are, so why?”
Heath finally took a swig of his beer, as it hit his stomach like lead, and he set it aside. So much for drinking his problems away tonight. “It’s none of your business. Leave me alone.”
“Unlike the others, Hawk, I’m not leaving, until you talk to me. You like this girl. I’ve never seen you so happy, as I have the past week, or hell, even the past hour. So, what changed?”
Heath might as well tell him, so Mike would leave him alone. He wouldn’t get any peace, until he did. The man could be a pest, when he wanted to, but he was his closest friend in the group, and there was no one he’d rather have at his back. “She has a kid.”
“And?” Mike didn’t even blink.
“And what?” Heath turned to him with a hard glare. “That’s not enough.”
“It’s not really a crime or anything.” Mike shrugged. “At least, she’s not a wanted criminal or something.”
“She lied to me. To all of us. I don’t see women with kids. Period. It’s a deal breaker. End of story.”
“So, after all the stalking you’ve done the past month, dragging me to the carnival and seeing her for only a week, you’re going to walk away, because she has a kid.” Mike shook his head in disappointment.
“I am.” Heath nodded in agreement. His chest tightened, like a vise, and he had to rub it to alleviate the pain, but nothing would make it ease.
Mike shook his head in disgust. “You’re an idiot.”
Heath blinked sure he wasn’t hearing his friend right. Mike should be on his side. All of them should, so why would Mike take her side. She was a liar and betrayed his trust. It was unforgiveable.
“I always suspected you were an idiot, but now I know.” Mike nodded, as if agreeing with himself.
“Excuse me?” Heath was still baffled.
“You’re an idiot.” Mike said louder, as if it clarified everything. It didn’t.
“How am I an idiot, because I don’t want to get involved with a woman with a kid? One who lied about having one to begin with.” That’s what upset him the most. It wasn’t that she had a kid, but that she kept it from him. She claimed to have tried telling him, but he didn’t know what to believe.
Heath, I have to tell you something.
Okay, so maybe she had tried telling him. There were a few times she looked at him seriously, and then, he distracted her to orgasm. She could have told him any time after that, or hell, she could have said something on their first date, when she brought up kids to begin with. He realized now she had been testing him. Gauging his response and held off telling him the truth.
“I’m not saying who was in the right. Maybe, she had her reasons for not telling you. Heath, how do you know all those other women didn’t have kids and never said anything?”
He opened his mouth to answer, but he didn’t have an answer. Olivia had brought up the same point. Like Olivia, he just assumed. It’s not like he asked any of the women before, if they had kids. He didn’t interview women, before he slept with them. If they came alone or with other girls, he just assumed they were free and moved in.
“That’s what I thought. Some of the ladies you’ve seen I’m sure don’t have kids, but who’s to say all of them didn’t. Some could have been single moms that like to get all dolled up and paint the town, pretending just for that night their young and free, and then come morning, they’re moms again.”
Heath had never thought about that. How many women had he slept with had kids? It was something he didn’t want to think about.
“For all you know, you have a little rugrat running around this world.”
