I closed the door with nothing but a grin, my head touching the back.
I pushed off at the sound of a knock.
I opened the door without looking, thinking it was Evie. “Did you forget some—”
The words banded down in my throat, a set of male arms stretched heavy and wide in my door frame. They dropped down, and I stood back.
The man’s head rose.
America’s Most Sexiest Man Alive. He’d even made the Most Beautiful People list several times, but today, nothing but messy hair and a disheveled appearance radiated before me.
My mouth dampened. “You,” I said, and he frowned.
His head lifted, growing another foot when he stood tall. “Me.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Bri
My ex-husband was drunk.
He stumbled on his way inside my condominium. I had no idea why I let him in. I’d been so shocked this was happening.
That he was here.
Alec Norrington sauntered the calculated steps of the inebriated into my home, still the size of a tank. Guys with his background, in those careers, tended to stay that size. Even when they spent more time at bars than at their homes during the final days of our marriage. My ex-husband had all but given up on life prior to our divorce, falling into himself, his misery, and I guess there had been signs where things were going. He’d gotten so depressed once we’d lost our child, and I had asked him to get help. Funny enough, he used to say he was going to his therapist on the nights he got wasted. He hadn’t wanted help. He’d wanted to wallow.
And he’d wanted to hurt me in the process.
My hand ventured to my kitchen island, my gaze studying my ex-husband as he entered the kitchen behind me. He shouldn’t be here.
Alec eyed the room under his hair. It was way too long and not normal for him. “Someone here?”
His attention fell on the two teacups, the ones Evie and I had shared. I started to say no, but I wasn’t sure if I should. Maybe he should know someone else was here.
“Why are you here?” I asked, keeping my voice level. I didn’t want him to know this visit put me off, made me shake. He’d only hit me the one time, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t again. I swallowed. “How did you find me?”
I hadn’t gone out of my way to keep where I was from him. But I definitely hadn’t told him where I was going. It was none of his business.
He smirked as his fingers drew down his mouth, but then, it was sad. He sat on one of my barstools, his hands lacing, and a flash of light in my periphery took my attention. My phone lay on the counter behind me, the countertop across from Alec near the range.
I edged a look down at it.
Ramses: Hey. Mom said she just left your place and passed someone on the elevator who looked like your ex-husband. You okay?
“Come here, babe.”
My hand squeezed at my side, the thoughts barely surfaced to even think to grab my phone.
Alec faced my way, his hand out. “Come here.”
I wasn’t his babe. I wasn’t his. I shook my head. “Why are you here?”
“Come here, and I’ll tell you.” His lips wet, mouth turned down. “Why do you have to make everything so difficult? I come all the way here. I send you flowers…”
What?
Ramses: I’m going to go ahead and come through. Just need some peace of mine. Let me know otherwise, and I’ll give you space.
Alec’s hand continued to wave in my direction, my ex-husband clearly too wasted to notice I’d been eyeing my phone. He started to get up, to get me, and I didn’t want to risk grabbing it.
I came closer, but I didn’t take his hand.
“You sent those flowers?” I suppose it made sense. Besides the fact Ramses hadn’t even done anything wrong that day I’d gotten them, he had technically gifted me with hiking clothes in my car.
Fuck.
The hike itself and the pizza had obviously been another gift, and the roses, though I wouldn’t put it past Ramses, didn’t seem like his style. He was very intentional in the things he did. Preferred spending time with me and not just words or little gifts. I mean, he did give me hiking gear, but he gave it in order to spend the day with me. Things like roses and chocolates, a secretary would send. They weren’t personal.
Alec’s personal assistant probably had sent them, and I wouldn’t put it past him if she filled out the card, too. Alec had just never been good at getting out his emotions. He was a very physical person. He enjoyed tackling guys on the field and like most men, fucking any moment I’d granted him access to it.
Honestly, those narrowed traits were probably a big reason he had fallen into himself as hard as he had after we’d lost the baby. He really didn’t know how to express those emotions and ended up blaming me.
My eyes flicked over to my phone, the screen dark. I didn’t know what Alec would do if I tried to reach over and grab it. Or what I could do once I had.
He said he’s coming.
“I want you back,” my ex-husband said, basically laughable. He put his hands on his thighs. “The break up was dumb.”
“And what do you call hitting me?”
“A mistake.” He stood, and I backed up. He shook his head. “I won’t hurt you, Bri.”
I didn’t know that.
And I didn’t, backing up again. At this point, my cell phone was nearly across the room.
Alec placed his hands on the island. “Is this about that kid?”
“What kid?”
He shot me a look like I was an idiot, a snarl really when it curled his lip. “That kid the internet says your fucking.” He nodded. “Yeah, I know about him. Looked him all up after the two of you went fucking viral over the weekend.”
Oh my God.
I pushed a hand over my head. “That has nothing to do with you.”
He swung around the island, and my butt touched the counter. My fists balled, and I started to turn around, reaching for something, anything to possibly arm myself with, but my ex-husband stopped.
His gaze circulated to the granite counter top.
“This other one his?” he asked, directing a finger toward the tea cups. He gazed around. “That little shit here?”
“He’s not, and you need to go.” I spoke braver than I felt in that moment, my swallow hard. “You need to get out of here. I don’t know how you found me, or why you felt the need, but you need to go. We’re divorced, Alec.”
“A divorce you called over one mistake,” he growled, completely trivializing that he had hit me, placed hands on me. He thrust a hand over his head. “And even though I didn’t agree with it, I let you go. Figured you needed time.”
I laughed, which only heated his gaze.
“I’ve known where you were for months. Some little bitch tagged a photo of you and her at the store one day. Put me on it. Didn’t take me long to figure out you’d gone back to teaching. Had my people make some calls and got your address. Wasn’t hard.”
I should have made it harder.
Forcing myself not to shake, I watched as he gave me back my space, retreating and taking a seat again. Maybe he saw he had rattled me.
“I figured with time you’d come back.”
“Well, I’m not. I won’t,” I said, and like the universe knew I needed it, a knock filled my condo in the next moment. One that shot my ex-husband’s gaze in the direction of the hall. It was so obviously Ramses. He’d said he was coming by.