by Emma Nichols
My mother laughed. “She’s one smitten kitten. Don’t let her fool you. She loves how he needs her.”
“Buddy, you made it!” DeSean wandered over and shook my hand. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Ward.”
“Evelyn, please.” My mother held out her hand.
“Excuse him,” Tegyn murmured, “Mama Delta raised him right.” She reached out for a hug.
“Tegyn, you look amazing. How’s Zara? My mother is dying to get her hands on a baby today,” I joked.
Tegyn gestured to the covered patio where the baby appeared to be asleep in a Pack and Play. “When she wakes up, I’ll feed her and then you are more than welcome to get your snuggle on.”
My mother’s mouth opened and I leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Tegyn’s nursing. No, you can’t feed the baby.”
Her jaw snapped shut and her cheeks turned pink.
Tegyn waved it off. “Mama Delta does the same thing. Every time.”
“Daddy! Mommy! Swim with me!” Keyon, DeSean’s son, was in the pool with Royal, one of Paxton’s football buddies.
“I’ll go,” Tegyn murmured. “You can talk.”
I smiled at her, admiring the ease with which my friends and their significant others interacted. This was the kind of relationship I had wanted and never achieved, which was hard on a guy like me. I did a fantastic job of accomplishing everything but love.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a woman stride over and give Avery a huge hug. They locked arms, giggled, and wandered over to the bar area. Once the woman had a glass of wine, Avery started to bring her over, but the woman met my gaze and froze.
“She’s lovely,” my mother murmured.
“Oh, that’s Avery’s friend, Lizzie.” DeSean smiled and waved to her.
She softened when she saw him and they started toward us while I admired her. Long chestnut brown hair bounced around her shoulders. Big dark sunglasses covered her eyes, but couldn’t hide her amazing cheekbones. She was built the way a woman should be, with soft curves. Her breasts bulged in her bikini top while a sarong around her waist hid the bottoms. The more I stared at her, the more I wanted to take her into my arms, hold her against my body, and truly get to know every bit about her.
“Hello, Leo,” she murmured as she forced a smile.
I frowned. “Do I know you?”
She passed Avery her glass, pulled her hair into a ponytail using a black elastic she had on her wrist, and pulled off her sunglasses. “You do.” This time her smile was real. She was enjoying the game.
My eyes widened. “Elizabeth?”
With a giggle she nodded. “In the flesh.”
So much flesh. So much exposed skin that I wanted to drag the tips of my fingers over. “I see that,” I murmured.
Beside me, my mother groaned and held out her hand. “I’m Evelyn, this Neanderthal’s mother. I raised him better than this, I thought.”
Smiling, Elizabeth shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. Leo and I went to law school together.”
“Beauty and brains?” My mother’s brows rose. “This one is obviously out of your league.” She chuckled. “I’ll leave you two to catch up. Come on, Hudson, let’s go splash in the pool.” She pulled him out of the stroller and they wandered away.
“I like her,” Elizabeth announced.
“Despite all that, I like her too.” I grinned. “So, what are you up to these days?” I watched her face fall and grow serious. Instantly, I frowned, wondering what kind of sore subject I’d dug into.
“Well, I’m a divorce attorney.” She reached for her glass of wine and took a huge sip. I watched patiently in silence. “And I’m representing your soon to be ex-wife.”
Elizabeth
* * *
For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he grinned. “Good luck with that.”
Immediately, I relaxed. “I’ll need it,” I agreed.
“So obviously she didn’t put on any airs with you, on account of you both have vaginas.” He rolled his eyes.
“Leo, you never cease to shock me.” DeSean shook his head then glanced back and forth between us. “Do I need to stick around and mediate this little discussion, or can I go hang out with my beautiful wife and little man?”
“I’m good.” Leo shrugged.
“I’m great,” I announced with a smirk.
DeSean snorted, patted Leo’s shoulder, and gave me a quick hug before he walked away.
“So, maybe we shouldn’t talk,” I suggested.
“Why shouldn’t we?” he asked with a frown. “I don’t want to talk about Sable, do you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek and slowly shook my head. “And I don’t want to talk about work at all, do you?”
Leo snorted. “Bore you with corporate law? Pass. Hear about other miserable bastards you’re taking to the cleaners? Hell no.”
“What does that leave?” I asked quietly.
With a twinkle in his eyes, Leo leaned in. “I think that actually leaves a lot. Let’s go swimming. I’m melting.”
I giggled. “You’re on.”
Soon, we’d stripped off everything but our suits and waded into the pool. Hudson squealed when he saw his father and Leo rushed over to him and twirled him around in the water. “Are you going to be Daddy’s big swimming boy?” he asked as he grinned at him.
“Swim,” Hudson repeated as he giggled.
We quickly lost track of time. We’d played in the water, then grabbed lunch all four of us together on the patio.
“This is the life,” Leo commented absently as he smiled at all of us.
“The pool?” I asked as I tilted my head. The guy fascinated me, always had, even if in the past I’d felt out of his league.
He shrugged as if he’d said too much, but finally broke down and spoke. “I know we said we weren’t going to talk about Sable, and really, we’re not, but I’m living the life she never wanted.” He blew out a breath. “Did she tell you why we were divorcing?”
Slowly, I shook my head, wondering if we were entering dangerous territory in the conversation. “No, we didn’t discuss the specifics.”
“Well, she would jet off a couple of times a year, be gone nearly a month at a time while she checked out all the fashion weeks. They have ones in Milan, London, Paris, and New York to release the spring/summer and fall/winter lines.” He pulled Hudson onto his lap and hugged him close. “Honestly, I rather liked the break. It was quiet. Before our son was born, I’d get more work done. After he was born, I loved coming home to him, cherished every moment with him. This last time, I realized I didn’t miss her or my old life.” Leo lifted his glass and took a drink of sweet tea. “We lived in a condo in the city. Sable lives there still, and she’s more than welcome to the place. I built us a home here, on the lake. I thought it would make a lovely surprise, but she refused to move in. That was the last straw. We’ve been apart ever since. And I don’t understand her objection. The schools are great. Hudson could have a yard, a pet, all the things…” He looked away.
“All the things Leo never had.” Evelyn finished his thought then blinked back tears.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he whispered as he reached out and touched her hand.
“It’s my fault,” she murmured. “Your father offered us a house outside of the city, but I refused it because I knew it meant he’d only come home on the weekends, if that. I didn’t want to be responsible for a lawn and house all by myself.”
“You had Dad to help,” Leo reminded her.
She tilted her head. “Did I, Leo?”
He frowned. “I know he worked a lot.”
Evelyn released a hollow laugh. “No one works that much, son.”
I watched as the reality of his life dawned on him. My stomach hurt and I wondered if I should excuse myself, but at the same time, I wanted to be here for Leo.
Leo shook his head. “Why didn’t you get a divorce?”
“I was selfish,” Evelyn admitted quietly. “I didn’t want you bouncing bac
k and forth between homes. I knew your father would leave you with nannies or sitters when you could’ve been with me.”
He raked his hands through his hair. “Should I not being doing this?” He wondered aloud.
His mother took his hand in both of hers. “You should. You must. Give Hudson a shot at a better life, the life I wasn’t strong enough to give you.” Evelyn forced a smile. “You should do it faster. Send her to a divorce ranch in Reno. She loves to travel! Six weeks and this nightmare could be over.”
Leo laughed. “Is that even a thing anymore?” He looked at me.
I shrugged. “Reno is. So is a six week divorce. The ranches of the fifties…not so much.” I smirked. “But a big spender like you could easily hook her up and help her establish residency.” I winked, since I was joking. Still, the wheels were spinning as I considered how many problems a Reno divorce would solve. He’d be single sooner. I wouldn’t have to represent her…
Finally, Hudson started to get cranky.
“Naptime,” Evelyn announced as she looked meaningfully at her son.
“Oh, right.” He rubbed his finger in the groove over his chin.
“I could take him home. You could stay. Come home whenever.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief and I could see the resemblance between Evelyn and Leo.
“Are you sure?” He reluctantly started to pass her Hudson.
“Definitely.” Her chin jutted out.
“Okay. Thank you.” Leo turned to me. “I’ll be right back. I just want to walk them out.”
I smiled. “Mind if I join you?”
He grinned. “I’d really like that.”
4
Leo
* * *
Only now, as I watched my son and mother walk back to my house with Elizabeth by my side did I feel a faint but familiar stirring. I turned and gazed at her a moment. In an instant, five years slipped away and the crush I’d once had on her, before I’d met Sable, was back in full force. Funny how practically everything before my almost-ex was a blur, but I chalked it up to the rigors of law school. “We used to study together,” I murmured vaguely.
Elizabeth nodded. “We did.” Then she stared up into my eyes like she was begging me to recall something important that had escaped me. Finally, when I disappointed her, she sighed. “That was a long time ago. Care for a drink?”
Already it was late afternoon. We’d made it long past the time my mother and I had negotiated. “I’d love one,” I admitted. I rarely drank anymore because I needed to be sharp for my job, so no weeknight indulgences, and then when I had Hudson on the weekends, I couldn’t bring myself to be anything less than sober. With my mother here, however, I didn’t think one glass of wine would hurt. Hell, my mother might even be proud to see me letting my guard down and living it up with an old friend I’d once had a flame for.
Making our way up the sidewalk to the house, then through the main hall out the back patio door, we’d barely made it to the back yard when my phone vibrated in my hand. I glanced down at the screen to read a text from my mother and grinned.
“Good news?” Elizabeth asked.
“My mother. She thinks you’re lovely and has threatened me if I come home before bedtime.” I chuckled.
Her brows rose. “And how are you going to respond?”
I grinned. “I thought I’d ask the logical question: Yours, mine, or Hudson’s?”
Elizabeth laughed.
Seconds later, Avery joined us. “Come on. Adult swim. All the kids are down for naps.”
Glancing around, I realized she wasn’t joking. The crew had thinned out to just our usual small group, and I felt more comfortable. We lounged in the pool. We talked. And the more time I spent with Elizabeth, the more I wanted the night to never end.
“Were you like this in law school?” I asked. About now, I was genuinely wondering how I ended up with Sable when I could’ve had this all along.
“I was. I might have been a bit more serious, but I couldn’t afford to let my grades slip.” She shrugged as she leaned against the wall of the pool. “We always got along, Leo. We were always friends.”
“Why were we nothing more?” I felt the frustration mounting.
Elizabeth licked her lips and considered her words carefully. “Sable,” she murmured.
I groaned.
“Hey, you can’t blame her completely. You’re the idiot who asked her to marry you, even after I told you not to do it.” Beside me, DeSean grumbled. “Oh, don’t mind me.” He rolled his eyes.
Tegyn sighed. “Why would he listen to you? You were with Camilla then.”
DeSean scowled. “That’s precisely why he should’ve listened to me. I was in my own personal hell and I couldn’t figure out how to dig my way out of it. He shoulda learned from my mistakes.”
“Does anyone ever do that though?” Tegyn frowned. “Look around, D. We’ve all walked through our own private hell to get where we are today. Most of us have finally found our soul mates.”
He tugged her closer and pressed his pelvis to hers. “I hope you’re lumping yourself in there, because I’m madly, passionately in love with you, baby.”
Tegyn wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know you are. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Her eyelids lowered and she pressed her lips to his. I almost blushed from the heat of it.
Glancing at Elizabeth sitting beside me on the steps, I could see in her eyes she longed for that kind of relationship too. I squeezed her hand when Paxton and Avery swam near.
“Whatcha talking about?” Avery asked, all smiles while in Paxton’s arms.
“Oh, you know, love, finding your soul mate, that kind of thing,” DeSean announced. “Care to share? Give these two some tips.”
“Well, Leo is doomed. The first time we met, he announced he hates lawyers and that’s all he meets.” Paxton joked.
“Is that so?” Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I think hate is a really strong word,” I began in my weak effort to back pedal.
“Don’t be too hard on him,” Avery interrupted. “What man here hasn’t been stupid and found the wrong one…or ones,” she glanced over her shoulder meaningfully at her fiancé, “to start. Huh?” She shook her head. “Guys are dumb.”
“She’s not wrong,” DeSean admitted. “And sometimes our best intentions blow up in our faces.”
“Sometimes they can’t see what they have, what’s right under their noses,” Tegyn added.
I couldn’t help it. I grew silent and pensive as I stared down at Elizabeth. Without thinking, I pulled her closer as I tried to remember when things changed between us, but my stroll down memory lane was interrupted.
“If I’d have known Elizabeth back then…shoot,” DeSean added. “I’d have pushed you harder.”
“How do you two even know each other?” Elizabeth asked.
I sensed she was trying to change the subject and I was happy to let her. “We took tae kwon do together for years. I’d studied it in New York the whole time I was growing up. I continued down here.” I grinned. “So, you’d be safe with me anywhere,” I teased Elizabeth.
“Not as safe as you’d be with me,” DeSean added.
Tegyn snorted. “This guy.” She rolled her eyes. “Thankfully the uniform jacket is built like a robe, otherwise it wouldn’t fit over his head.” Soon DeSean was tickling her and I felt a twinge of jealousy at the way they interacted. I’d never had that, but I wanted it someday.
“Paxton is going to make a fire for S’mores. Come on. They go great with the dessert wines I loaded up on,” Avery joked.
“I am?” he asked with a smirk.
“You are. I really really really want like…three.” She looked up at him with pleading eyes.
“Okay, but only because that’s a lot of reallys,” he teased as he strutted up the pool steps, towing her behind him.
Without hesitation, Elizabeth followed her friend and motioned for me to come join them. Though by now, we were down to just five
couples, there were still too many people. I wanted her all to myself. “Hey.” I reached out and tugged on her hand.
Slowly, she turned around, her eyes soft and happy. “Yes?”
“Well, that was easy enough,” I teased as I started to lead her away.
She giggled. “Did I just agree to something? Because I don’t even remember a question.”
“You did,” I murmured seriously as I passed her a towel and grabbed mine. We dried off quickly and silently. Then I passed her the sarong she had slung over her chair and threw on my shirt. I wrapped an arm around her waist and we made our way through the house and out the front door. “For the record and to ease any confusion, I didn’t have to ask my question because you already agreed.”
This time, she threw her head back and laughed. “Isn’t that convenient?”
“It really was.” I leaned in and kissed her temple, shocked by how natural it felt, how natural every bit of being with her felt. I wondered if she felt it too.
“Yes,” she murmured.
“Again, I didn’t even ask. Do you read minds?” I brushed a few stray wisps of hair from around her face.
She shrugged. “It’s a hobby.”
I thought she was joking, but my life would be so much easier if it were true. “I wanted to walk down to the lake with you. There are picnic tables close to the water. We can sit and talk, or stroll along the shore. I just…I want to talk with you.”
Biting her cheek, Elizabeth nodded. “I get it. So let’s talk.”
We’d made it partway down the street already. And even though I finally had her all to myself, I couldn’t think past the lamest question of all. “What have you been doing for the last five years? I mean, obviously we weren’t as close after I started dating…”
“Yes, I know.” She interrupted and I sensed she didn’t want to hear Sable’s name again. Fair enough. She blew out a breath. “I had an internship, graduated, passed the bar on the first try in both North and South Carolina, and started working for Willows, Ryan, and Range.”