Unbuckling Charlie, I pulled her out of the truck and settled her on my hip. I knew the place would be busy, and I didn’t want her getting lost in the crowd.
Seeing the concern on my face, Sam assured me she’d made a reservation and we wouldn’t have to wait. Jack unfolded the stroller and snapped both baby seats into place.
Charlie and I followed behind her parents, talking quietly. I asked her what she wanted for dinner, and she was more interested in what they had for dessert. I looked up so I could see where we were going, and that was when I saw Kat.
Sitting at a table with my daughter and fucking Zero.
Jack and Sam stopped to say hello, and I pushed past them, grabbing the stroller.
“I’ll see you at the table.”
I kept my eyes off my daughter. Not wanting her to see the anger on my face. Also, afraid to see how she interacted with Zero. I’d seen Kat smile at him right before she noticed us walking in their direction. A smile that should have been fucking mine. My arm tightened around Charlie, and she squeaked, letting me know to loosen my hold.
I positioned myself so that I could see their table. It was a mistake; I should have sat with my back to them. If I had, I wouldn’t have seen Kat stand up and walk toward the restroom as soon as Jack and Sam continued this way.
“I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t know Zero would be here with Kat.”
I shrugged. “Why would I care? I barely know the woman.”
Sam stared at me. She opened her mouth as if to say something, and Jack took hold of her wrist. Sam had been trying since I moved here to fix me up with someone. She’d focused her sights on Kat from the moment she showed up in town.
“Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
I kissed Charlie on the top of her head and made my way to the restroom. My hands clenched into fists, and I heard Haizley’s voice in my head.
“It’s okay to be angry. Anger is an emotion, and emotions aren’t bad. It’s okay to yell. Raising your voice doesn’t make you a bad person. It means you’re feeling overwhelmed and those emotions aren’t being regulated. And that, we can work on. You can learn how to overcome that; you have come so far already.”
I shook out my hands, trying to push the anger out. I wasn’t even sure who I was fucking pissed at. Kat, or fucking Zero. All I knew was that when I caught her smiling at him, I saw fucking red.
The hallway to the restrooms was empty, and I stood there for a few minutes in front of the door to the women’s room. My breaths came in pants; my heart was racing. Then I shoved the door open and found her standing in front of the mirror.
She didn’t turn around; she just stood there, glaring at my reflection.
“You shouldn’t be in here.”
“Are you on a fucking date?”
Her eyes narrowed at me in the mirror, and she spun around. “How is that any of your business?”
“Answer the fucking question, Kat.”
“No,” she answered, but was it the answer I wanted? Or was it a refusal to answer at all?
“I don’t want that asshole around... Frankie,” I said, catching myself before saying my daughter.
“You don’t get a say. Frankie is my child, and if I want to have dinner with someone who is willing to spend time with my child, then I will do whatever the fuck I want.”
“Kat,” I warned, taking a step further.
The red haze had dissipated into something far more dangerous. She stood in front of me, arms crossed over her chest. Her words were a challenge thrown in my face forrejecting Frankie’s invitation to lunch. She had no fucking idea how much my heart broke to have to do that shit.
“Not him.”
“Funny, he said the same thing about you.”
The red haze was creeping back in as rage twisted in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I wanted to walk back out into the restaurant and beat the shit out of him.
“I don’t want him around Frankie.” My voice came out rougher than I intended. Something flashed in her eyes—not just rejection, but heat, conflict, a war she was fighting with herself. I took another step closer to her, close enough that we were standing toe to toe. “I don’t want him around you.”
