Kaitlyn swiped at a tear rolling down her cheek. “I begged you to come back. I told you I needed you, that I was a wreck, but you didn’t care, did you?”
“I was a wreck too. I’d just lost my father.”
“What about our baby?” she asked, sniffling. “Oh, that’s right, you never wanted the baby, did you?”
Gia gasped, her eyes pleading with me for answers. “Seriously? You told her you didn’t want the baby she was carrying?”
“He told me he’d never wanted to be a father,” Kaitlyn cut in before I could explain myself. “Or a husband. So, I don’t know what the hell you said or did to change his mind, but…” She narrowed her eyes as she looked from me to Kaitlyn. “How long have you two been together?”
“None of your goddamn business!” I snapped.
I wanted to kick her out of my house and never see her face again, but since she’d managed to make herself a part of this crew, that wasn’t an option. I’d either have to live with seeing her every day for the next three months, which would be torture, or move out of my own house. Neither seemed like viable options if I had any hope of saving my marriage.
“So testy,” she said, looking amused as she studied her pointy manicured nails. “I wonder why. Could it be you have more secrets, Joel?”
I was trying to rein in my temper, knowing it wouldn’t help my cause with Gia if I unleashed on this woman, but she wasn’t making it easy for me to hold it together. “Why would I care enough to try and keep secrets from you, Kaitlyn? You mean nothing to me.”
“Did she ever?” Gia asked, softly. “Didn’t the fact that she was carrying your baby meananythingto you?”
I felt like someone drop-kicked me when I looked into her light green eyes. She’d been mad at me a few times, we’d fought, but she’d never looked like she wanted to give up on me before.
Before I could defend myself, a silver haired lady with a sleek bob and dark-framed glasses walked in the back door. Her thin red-painted lips stretched into a smile when she spotted me. “Mr. Wheeler,” she said, extending her hand. “My name is Elaine. I’m the showrunner. Your property is simply breathtaking. My crew and I can’t wait to start filming here.”
“Thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, never taking my eyes off Gia.
Elaine looked from me to my wife, her arched brows furrowing. “Thank you both so much for opening your home to us. We’ll try our best not to make your lives too chaotic.”
Kaitlyn laughed. “I think it’s a little too late for that, Elaine.”
“I’m sorry,” Elaine said, looking confused. “Did I interrupt something?”
“I was just getting re-acquainted with Gia’s husband,” Kaitlyn said, folding her arms across her chest, enhancing her fake breasts in the low-cut white t-shirt.
“Re-acquainted?” Elaine asked Kaitlyn. “How in the world do you know Mr. Wheeler?”
“I used to live in L.A.,” I said, before Kaitlyn could respond.
Gia looked like she was searching for the nearest hiding spot. And it killed me to know I was ruining one of the biggest days of her life. I needed to get out of here, to leave her alone, so she could at least try to focus on her work without the sight of my face to distract her. But I couldn’t leave without at least trying to talk to her.
“Gia,” I said, quietly. “Can we take a walk before you have to get started? We need to talk.”
“You certainly do,” Kaitlyn said, her lips twisting in amusement. “But I doubt you’ll be able to talk your way out of this one, Joel. The damage has already been done.”
The rage coursing through me was like nothing I’d ever felt before and I knew if I didn’t get the hell out of this house right now, I’d explode. Gia obviously sensed it too, because she asked Elaine to excuse us before grabbing my hand and leading me outside.
She immediately let go before stalking a few steps ahead, ignoring all of the crew members she passed as she led me to the pond where we’d made so many memories when we were teenagers. It was the best and worst spot she could have taken me. I loved this place, but didn’t want it to be tainted by this agonizing moment, when I had to confess that I wasn’t the man she thought I was… or deserved.
“Baby, I am so sorry.” My voice was raspy and the words felt like sandpaper as I gritted them out. Sorry seemed so trivial, so meaningless, when the rug had just been ripped out from under her seconds before the launch of her new career. “If I’d known there was a chance she’d show up here and…”
She glared at me, effectively shutting me up.
“If you’d known there was a chanceshe’dtell me the truth, you would have beat her to it? Is that what you’re trying to say? You wouldn’t have told me the truth because good relationships are supposed to be built on trust and honesty and mutual respect?”
I knew she had every right to hate me. If she’d been pregnant with another man’s baby and failed to mention it, I’d be pissed too. We had history. We’d been close friends for years. She flat-out asked me about my other relationships and I couldn’t dig deep enough to tell her about what happened with Kaitlyn. This was all on me and I deserved whatever punishment she chose to dole out. Except for divorcing me, because if she proposed that she’d be in for the fight of her life. I’d give her time. I’d give her space. But I sure as hell wouldn’t give her freedom.
“I don’t know a damn thing about healthy relationships because I’ve never been in one.” I knew that was no excuse and I wasn’t helping my cause, but I needed her to understand I was learning all the rules with her, because I’d never felt like this about anyone before.
“You’re not an idiot! You know how a woman expects to be treated, and how she doesn’t. She doesn’t expect to be lied to by her husband—”
