"A little."
"Is Reeves a good dad?"
The question surprises me, and I ponder it for a long time before I finally manage to answer it. "He's… often absent, but when he's around, Liam adores being with him. He idolizes him, thinks he's so strong and powerful… like a superhero, I suppose."
Caine laughs. "A superhero with a gambling problem. He should wear an ace of spades on his chest."
I cock an annoyed brow. “Not funny."
"Sorry, that was kind of an asshole comment," he concedes. "I couldn't help myself. I just don't like the guy. He's a dick."
My eyes practically bulge out of my head. Caine Hall… so composed, so polite, so considerate, utters the words 'asshole' and ‘dick’ in the same breath.
"Wow… tell me how you really feel," I quip.
"I will," he starts. "I think you're way too good for him, and I wonder how he snagged you in the first place. Yeah, it was probably the dangerous brooding looks, and the fact that he's about seven feet tall, and he's the kind of guy no one messes with… I suppose that kind of thing is attractive to women."
I just stare at him. I have no words. He's obviously thought about this a lot.
"He sounds selfish, and he treats you like shit."
"Go on…" I really want to know where this is going. Who knew Caine was so opinionated about Reeves.
"He makes you work at his dingy pool hall, on top of taking care of Liam."
"I'm helping out. It's our business, and he can't handle it on his own."
"Well, he should hire someone."
"We can't afford it!'"
"Well, maybe if he didn't gamble so much, you could afford it."
He's starting to really upset me, but I don't say a word. I won't. I desperately want to know what he really thinks of my life and my marriage.
"He gets away at conferences, leaving you to hold down the fort," he continues, clearly on a mission. "He shoots pool and hangs out at the tracks, while you clean the house and make him dinner almost every night."
"How do you know I make dinner almost every night?"
"You mentioned it," he points out. "Along with many other things. I have a good memory, Jenna. And I remember everything you've ever told me."
I'm speechless now.
"And he wouldn't let his kid have a pet when he clearly wanted one so badly. What kind of father is that?"
"Uh…" I have no words.
He buries his face in his palms and shakes his head. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to crap on your marriage, but I've been thinking about this a lot, and I just don't understand why you're with him."
"I… he's… Liam's Dad," I explain, as if he didn't know that already. "And we've been together for over seven years."
"Hey, if it's old and broken, and can't be fixed…"
A sudden strike of anger hits me, hot and fierce, like a lightning bolt straight to my chest. How dare he? How dare Caine sit here in his perfect penthouse with its spotless floors and expensive furnishings and judge my life, my marriage, my Reeves?
The anger builds inside me, making my hands tremble and my cheeks flush with heat.
"You don't get to do that," I tell him, my voice gaining strength with each word. "You don't get to sit in judgment of my life when you have no idea what we've been through together."
