They both stared at her. It was probably her imagination, but she thought their gazes were accusatory. Guilt throbbed in her chest—guilt that she hadn’t stuck with Bennett—though the affairs had been his choice and had driven her away. Then there was the guilt that she’d left her parents. “I know I may sound hypocritical, but even mothers make mistakes. Fathers do too. It is a sign of maturity when you’re able to accept someone’s mistakes and love them anyway.”
Jax nodded. Kent sat up and hugged his mom. Calli’s heart was so full, she thought her chest might explode.
“Okay, boys. It’s been a long night.” She thought about Dom waiting for her downstairs and how much explaining she had left to do. Wiping away a stray tear, she added, “Let’s get a good night’s sleep, and we can talk more about all this stuff tomorrow.”
In the hall, after she closed Kent’s door, Jax fell into her arms, letting himself go as well.
She squeezed him tight and whispered, “You’re such a strong young man. I am so very proud of you. We’ll get through this. Together.”
He turned, went into his room, and closed the door without turning on the lights or looking back.
~ ~ ~
Calli stepped into the bathroom and cleaned up under her eyes before heading downstairs to face her next problem of the evening. Hopefully he’d understand. Slowly, she walked down the stairs and turned the corner to where Dom sat at her peninsula, leaning forward on propped elbows, forehead resting on folded hands, eyes closed.
“Hi.” Her voice cracked.
When he looked up, she saw goodbye in his amazing but sad sage-colored eyes.
“Can I even explain?”
“Calli.” He stood and came to her, grabbed both her hands, and said, “I hate the man I am about to be right now. I hate to do this after all you’ve been through tonight.”
She held her breath, searching his face.
“I’m going to go. You take care of you and yours. Kids, ex, all this . . . It’s not a place I can be. I’m sorry.”
Tears dripped and she sniffed. “That easy, huh?” So much for trust.
“No,” was all he said. He wiped away a tear and leaned down. Dom kissed her gently, leaving mint lingering on her lips, and walked out her front door.
At the foot of her stairs, Calli melted to the floor.
Chapter 33
Calli
Focus was impossible. Calli sat with her chin propped on one hand and stared in the general direction of her double monitors, the words and numbers blurry. She had told herself that she wasn’t ready for a relationship, had tried to take it slow and be certain that it would be worth allowing him inside her world. She had been right to doubt. Why couldn’t she have been stronger and resisted that amazing, beautiful man? Her gaze drifted to the folder beside the keyboard: Moretti, Dominic A. She flipped it over, scolding herself again for wondering what the L stood for. He’d taken residence in some corner of her heart and mind and . . . life, and he wouldn’t leave.
She heard a rustle behind her and turned as Jordan plopped down in her guest chair.
“Where were you? I texted like a hundred times.”
“Good morning to you, too.”
“I thought we were past me having to pick you up for the gym.” Jordan side-eyed her. “Were you sick yesterday?”
Calli wrung her hands in her lap. “I’m not going back to Trisha’s class.”
“What? We just paid for the new session. It’s only the second week.”
She didn’t reply.
Jordan pursed her lips, pulled the small table forward, and leaned in. “Dom wasn’t there either. Something went wrong.”
“You could say that.” Calli turned to grab a tissue and wipe away the tears before they fell. She took a deep breath, sighed it out, and said, “Bennett got a DUI Saturday night. Dom and I had to go pick up the boys at MPD after Cinderella.”
“He had the boys in the car?” Her eyes widened with shock.
Calli nodded.
“What an ass! How are Jax and Kent?”
“They were pretty torn up over it. I can’t understand why he’d put them through something like that. Bright side . . . the shared custody thing is on hold for now. They get to stay with me while he works it all out. They were freaked out at the precinct, but they’re not terribly upset over not having to go to his new house.”
“Shit. Bet that killed the mood for your hot date. And after a play as romantic as that, I’ll bet the night would have been ahh-ma-zing.”
Calli chuckled dryly. “Would have been is right. Dom couldn’t deal with me having an ex and kids. Too much drama, I guess.” She wiped her eyes again, wishing she could hold the tears at bay. Somehow, she couldn’t seem to control them, and her face already felt swollen from the ones that had leaked out over the last couple of days.
Jordan’s jaw fell, and her brows peaked. “Oh no, but things were going so well with you two.”
Sniffling, Calli said, “Guess I should have told him about Bennett and the boys before.”
Her friend nearly fell out of the chair. “Calli? You didn’t tell him? How could you not tell him?”
“I was being careful.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I was afraid to tell him how weak I was in my marriage, what a failure I was. It’s embarrassing.”
“That’s your mother speaking. Divorce happens these days, and it was him anyway. You didn’t ask for that.”
“Doesn’t really matter now, does it? Anyway, it seems I was right to keep it from him.” She reconsidered. “Or maybe I was wrong. Had I told him, maybe he wouldn’t have kept asking me out.”
“Quit beating yourself up.”
“I’m really not.”
“You are absolutely too hard on yourself. You’ve overcome so much. If he can’t deal with that, you can find someone better.”
Calli pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded. There would be no finding someone. She was going to work hard to find happiness within herself and her boys right now. That’s all there was to the matter. Time for a subject change. “Enough about me. You had a date Saturday too. How was that? And who is this mystery man?”
Jordan stuttered, looked around, and fidgeted. “Er . . . you know. It was all right. Nothing to talk about.” She stood and leaned on the cube wall. “I’d better get back. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Calli drew her brows together in confusion. “Nah, I’m all right, or I will be.”
Jordan nodded and started to leave.
“Jordan, wait,” Calli called. “Do you have an account you can trade for Dom’s? I don’t think we can work together anymore. Hell, I don’t think he’ll want to work with me.”
“I think so. Let me look through my files.” She held out a hand for the one Calli had picked up.
Calli started to hand it over, then hesitated, not wanting to let it go. Again, that place in her life he’d moved into wouldn’t let her give it away so easily. “Let me call and tell him that you’ll be contacting him.”
Jordan gave a small nod and walked away. Calli likely wasn’t hiding much from her oldest friend, but what did it matter? She was torn apart again after the events of the last few days. Being a little scattered wasn’t that bad. She picked up the phone to dial Dom’s personal number.