“What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll do sparkling water with lemon, please,” Cresley said.
“Same for me.”
“Be right back with your drinks.”
“What looks good to you?”Julian asked as they looked at menus.
“That eggplant pizza has my name all over it.”
“You want to split it?”
“That’d be great.With a salad?”
“You got it.”
They put aside their menus.
“So what can I do for you?”
“As I mentioned when I called, I have a seven-year-old son named Ty.”She smiled as she pulled up a photo on her phone of a blond child as gorgeous as his mother.“The undisputed love of my life.”
“He’s adorable.”
“He’s perfect in every possible way, and I want to keep him that way by not letting his deadbeat father anywhere near him.”
“From what I’ve read, you’ve been a single mom from the start and won a custody battle with your ex-boyfriend when your son was a baby.You have sole custody, correct?”
“That’s right, but he’s recently slithered out from under his rock and is making noise about having a relationship with Ty.That’s the last thing in the world I want for my son.”
The waiter brought their drinks and asked if they were ready to order.
“We’ll do the eggplant pizza special and the main course salad to share,” Cresley said.
“Coming right up.”
Julian had pulled a small yellow notebook and a pen from the pocket inside his suit coat.“Tell me about the ex,” he said after the waiter left.
Her deep sigh set the tone.“His name is Marlon Beckett, and he’s also a model, although his career hasn’t really taken off the way he expected it to, and honestly?I think his newfound interest in Ty is more about money than anything else.”
“Does he have another job besides modeling?”
“Not that I know of.When we were briefly together, his philosophy was to spend all his free time keeping himself in shape and ready for any jobs that came along.Which meant he didn’t have the second job to pay the bills everyone else has at the beginning.”
“What’s his relationship been with Ty since he was born?”
“Nearly nonexistent.Every year or two, he sends him something cool, usually the current ‘it’ thing.The most recent gift was a drone.Of course, Ty was thrilled with it, and I was furious because I had to figure out how to fly a drone when I had a million other things going on.That’s how he rolls.He pops in with some grand gesture that thrills Ty, and then we don’t hear from him again for ages.”
“Does he pay child support?”
Cresley snorted with laughter.“Rarely.And when he does, it’s just enough to keep himself from getting arrested.”
The waiter returned with their pizza and salad.“Can I get you anything else?”
“I’m good,” Cresley said.
“Me, too.Thanks.”
