That was not what he’d ever wanted for her.
“Do you need money?” He reached for his wallet in his back pocket.
There wasn’t a ton of cash in his billfold, but he could offer her a few hundred bucks. If she went to Hans, he’d toss her out on her ass. Likely she knew that.
“You know me.” She made her crystalline blue eyes bigger in that way that had always tugged at his heart. This time, it didn’t work. It only made him want to get back to the hotel more quickly, toss the cash at her feet and run. “I always need money,” she finished with a flash of confidence that he didn’t buy for one instant.
He pulled a handful of bills from his wallet, handing them over.
She took them.
Because she was Em.
He got that now.
She wasn’t a bad person, only a product of who she’d groomed herself to be.
That might not make sense to many people, but it made a helluva lot of sense to him.
He didn’t hate her—didn’t think he ever could.
But he didn’t like how her presence made him itchy when he could be wrapped up in the warmth of Courtney.
Courtney, who acted as a balm to the fuckups of his past.
“I didn’t come for the cash.” Yet, of note, she stuffed the cash in her pocket. He couldn’t help but notice the irony. “I came to tell you thank youfor letting me go. For not fighting for something that would’ve made us both miserable.”
The sentiment was nice. The presentation? Questionable.
“Courtney’s pregnant,” he said, and dammit, the words sounded like he was in a confessional.
Why these were the words he said, he couldn’t be certain.
And yet—
“I know.” She smiled a genuine smile. The kind that made her entire face brighten. “Congratulations, I know you wanted a family so bad. I’m glad you got that.”
She totally missed the point.
The point might as well have been on Mars, and she was here on Earth. But he didn’t want to spend any more time with her. No more time for arguing. No more time… for anything.
“Thanks.” The breakfast burritos were getting cool, Chet was probably getting antsy for him to return, and this reunion had gone overtime by about ten minutes, even if it’d only taken five.
“Bye, Em.” He pushed the button on the crosswalk, glancing both ways to see if he could make it without getting squashed.
He had a solid opening, so he stepped from the curb, even though the orange hand flashed at him.
“Bax,” she called.
He stalled mid-step.
He didn’t want to go back, but they had history, they had planned a future. A present and a future together were no longer part of their lives, but the past made him glance over his shoulder.
“I hope she’s good to you,” Em said, and she seemed to mean it.
Then she stepped forward, right into his personal space, and seemed to go in for a kiss. He turned his head, so she got his cheek instead.
You know what? He didn’t care. The past could kiss his ass for all he cared, as long as Courtney was his present.
