I let out a humorless laugh. “No? That’s convenient. Because for somebody who knows exactly what it feels like to get turned into a pariah over someone else’s choices, you’re sure as hell comfortable doing it to Kiki.”
“That isnotthe same thing.” Her voice tightens, as if she can barely form the words around her anger.
But I’m just getting started. “Remember how fast your town turned on you when your brother got into trouble? Turns out embezzlement isn’t quite the calling card he thought, at least not when you’re stealing from friends and neighbors. Remember how quickly your country club friends decided they didn’t know you anymore? How your parents, members foryears, had their membership revoked, like disgrace was somehow contagious?”
Her face tightens, the memory still a painful one. “That hasnothingto do with this situation.”
“It haseverythingto do with it,” I shoot back. “You cried to me night after night about how unfair it was. About people looking at you and your family like you’d done something wrong just because your brother had. You wanted them to see you as separate. As innocent. As your own person.” I step closer, my voice dropping. “Yet that is exactly what you’re refusing to do for Kiki.”
Deirdre paces the kitchen like a cougar stalking her prey, her hands slicing through the air as she talks. “Why are you protecting this woman? You’ve had a line of women wanting to date you for years, Eddie. What is so damn special about this one? Why do you need her so badly?”
The answer is out of my mouth before I can stop it. “Because I love her.”
My words stop her cold.
Deirdre freezes, her gaze dropping to the kitchen tile like there might be some kind of explanation written between the grout lines. “What did you say?”
Jesus. I haven’t even told Kiki yet. I’ve barely been able to admit the fact to myself, but here it is in the glaring light of day.
I can backtrack and talk my ex down off the ledge… or I can own my statement.
There’s only one option for me.
I blow out a hard breath and brace my hands behind my head, knowing the onslaught that awaits me. “I love her. I’m in love with Kiki.”
A barrage of emotions flashes across her face.
“Wow.” Her voice emerges, reedy and thin. “You never even said that to me.”
I drag my hands down over my face. “This is not about you and me.”
“No, you know what this is about?” she snaps, her anger flaring once again. “It’s about the fact that you’ve been taking my son to spend time with that woman knowing exactly what her husband did, and you didn’t see fit to clear any of it with me first.”
“Ourson,” I grit out. “And it’s herex-husband, by the way.”
“Sure about that?” Deirdre shakes her phone, the article continuing to taunt me. “Because the article says?—”
“I don’t give a shit what the article says.” My voice cracks through the room hard enough to make her flinch. “They’ve been separated for months. The divorce is done in every way that matters. He just has to sign the papers.”
She starts pacing again, her arms wrapped around herself like she can hold onto her outrage if she squeezes hard enough. “I don’t like it,” she mutters. “And I don’t like her.”
I pull my phone from my pocket. Time to end thisnonsense. “You want me to call Kiki? Have her come over here right now? You two can hash this whole thing out?”
Her head jerks toward me. “Absolutely not. Are you insane?”
Now I’m pacing too, cutting opposite her in the kitchen, the tension worsening with every second. “Then what do you want me to do? How exactly do you want me to fix this?”
“I don’t know.” She yanks her hands through her hair. “I don’t know how you fix it. I just know I am livid right now.”
“Fine,” I snap. “Be livid. Can I have Theo so I can go?”
She pauses, her shoulders squared. “I don’t know.”
A bark of disbelief punches out of me. “Are you serious? You’re going to give me shit about taking my son?”
“Not if your girlfriend is going to be around him.”
Jesus Christ. This is absolute insanity.
