Tonight, she needed solid ground.
Rose pulled her into a hug. “If space is what you need, we’ll make sure you get it. Promise.”
River caught Emerson’s eye over Rose’s shoulder. One look told her he agreed.
“Thanks, guys,” River whispered.
23
MATHEW
Mathew clenched his fists before whirling around to face the one person he hadn’t expected to see again.
Ever.
Victoria peered up at him, her smile chagrined. “Mathew, I wanted?—”
“Save it. What was that?”
“What was what?”
“That. What you said. You called yourself my wife!”
She blinked a few more times as her cheeks bloomed with color. Then she glanced at the ground and rocked back on her heels. “Oh. That. Sorry.”
“Sorry? Do you have any idea the kind of damage you just caused?” This couldn’t be happening.
River didn’t even know about Victoria or the way things had ended. And now he was going to have to explain why he’d kept his marriage and divorce secret. He hadn’t exactly meant to keep that part of his life private when it came to River. It hadn’t comeup, and he’d allowed himself to push down all the bad memories. He nearly forgot about them entirely until Victoria had arrived.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and forced his voice to remain calm. “What are you doing here, Victoria?” The flowers hung limply in his hand, and he forced himself to look her in the eye. “What possible reason did you have to come track me down?”
Her eyes flashed with defensiveness and her shoulders tightened, giving him a glimpse of the woman he recognized. “You weren’t answering any of my calls. Or my messages.”
“That’s because we’re divorced. Anything you need from me can be handled through our lawyers. I don’t have anything to say to you.” He spat the words out, then immediately regretted the harsh tone of his voice when he noticed her eyes welling with tears.
This wasn’t the same woman he’d divorced. She was looking more like the woman he’d fallen in love with.
Vulnerable. In need of someone to love her. That side of her had never truly gone away after they’d gotten married, but she’d hidden it behind a wall of ice so thick that no amount of marriage counseling would have been able to penetrate it.
His muscles relaxed and his voice softened. He’d hash out whatever it was she needed to speak about, and then he’d send her on her way. Maybe this was the closure both of them needed.
“Can we… get some coffee or something?”
Mathew hesitated. Every instinct told him to shut this down and go after River instead. But Victoria was standing in front of him in tears, and if he walked away now, there was no telling what scene she might make next.
Rose had left to take care of River, and he had to have faith that she’d be able to talk River into chatting with him when he could make his way over there. Rose was one of the only peoplebesides his siblings that he could trust in this respect. She knew how much River meant to him. She wouldn’t mess this up.
He exhaled slowly. Ten minutes. He could give her ten minutes, end this cleanly, and then go find River.
“There’s a coffee shop right there,” he said, nodding down the street. “Ten minutes.”
Victoria’s shoulders loosened. “Okay.”
They ordered their drinks and found a small table away from the comings and goings of those in the shop. Victoria actually looked nervous. The way she shifted in her seat and darted to look at anything but him brought back memories of the first date they’d gone on. They’d both been nervous. Him, because she was the prettiest girl he’d ever met. And her… well, she’d once said that she’d been crushing on him from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him, which was at a party thrown by mutual friends.
Friends that she managed to keep in the divorce.
That ugly feeling returned to his chest, spreading its black vines through the cavity where his heart was just starting to form again. He had to mentally remind himself that he owed Victoria nothing beyond the alimony he paid her. Coffee was a courtesy he could offer her.
