No, the pictured didn’t depict a civil conversation. It showed a compassionate one. She’s engaged to another man. She’d met Naomi’s fiancé the afternoon they picked up Adalynn.
And my relationship with Josh is temporary. She’d reminded herself of that so many times now, she’d lost count.
Sixteen
As soon as Josh got home on Sunday, he’d reserved the wine cellar at Emilia, his favorite Italian restaurant in Boston, for his meeting with Naomi. Designed to accommodate up to fifty people, the room was located on the ground floor away from the main dining area and bar upstairs. Non-employees only visited this level if they had an appointment with the restaurant’s general manager, whose office was down the hall. Tucked away in here, only the four thousand bottles of wine and Tuscan limestone lining the walls would overhear their conversation this afternoon.
“I’ll show your guest down as soon as she arrives,” the hostess explained, setting two menus on the table.
Food remained the last thing on his mind.
“Would you like to order a drink while you wait?” she asked.
“Not at the moment.”
With a slight nod, the hostess walked away, leaving Josh alone with nothing to do but think and wait—two things he’d done more than enough of since Naomi reached out on Saturday afternoon.
At least Naomi didn’t keep him waiting long today. Josh wasn’t even done reviewing the first page of the menu when the hostess returned with Naomi by her side. After promising them their server would be along soon, the woman left.
Naomi took her sweet time removing her jacket and pulling out the chair opposite him. Today was the first time they’d been alone since she filed for sole custody. He wanted to demand she explain why she’d done it. Or simply ask if she’d lost her mind. But opening any conversation with a demand never ended well, especially when you had no idea of what was in the other person’s head.
“The last time I came here, I was with you. It was right before Adalynn was born,” Naomi said, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room. Meeting his eyes, she opened her menu. “Maybe we should order before we talk.”
For now, he’d let her set the tone and pace of their conversation. “Whatever you want.” He glanced down, selected the first entrée his eyes landed on, and looked back at the woman across the table. Naomi never left the house looking anything less than perfect. This afternoon, everything from her outfit to her hair and makeup exemplified the time and effort she put into her appearance. And no matter how she felt, she made sure she appeared upbeat. Right now she looked anything but. Even with makeup, he could see the dark circles under her eyes hinting at many sleepless nights.
“Do you want some wine?” The restaurant had wine on hand from all over Italy. He’d yet to order some at Emilia and not enjoy it.
“Believe me, I wish I could have some. But I’m pregnant. But don’t skip it because of me.”
Had she wanted to see him so she could tell him that? Whether or not she and Reggie had a baby didn’t matter to him. For all he cared, they could have ten children.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
For someone engaged and expecting a baby, she sounded anything but happy. Not your problem, he reminded himself.
Their server joined them, putting a temporary halt to their conversation. At this rate, he’d never know why she’d wanted to see him.
“I didn’t thank you for meeting me today,” she began the moment they were alone again. “There are a few things I want to explain.”
“You couldn’t do it on the phone?” Sarcasm clung to his words, but this afternoon he was unable to conceal it.
If his tone bothered her, Naomi didn’t let on. “Maybe. But it seemed better to do it in person.”
He’d give her that. Some topics needed to be discussed in person. “Okay. What do you need to tell me?” This time he kept his tone sarcasm free—at least it was to his ears.
Rather than answer, Naomi tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear with her noticeably ring-free left hand. The last time he’d seen her, a large diamond ring had decorated her finger.
Odd. But there could be numerous reasons the engagement ring was absent.
“First, I want to apologize. I know I shocked you by filing for sole custody.”
Shocked. Pissed off. He could go on and on.
“It wasn’t my idea,” she continued. “Even before Adalynn and I moved into Reggie’s house, he wanted you out of our lives. Sometime in the fall, he started suggesting it’d be in Adalynn’s best interest if I had sole custody.”
Josh bit back a laugh. When she had access to his money and connections, his reputation hadn’t bothered her.
“A lot of his arguments made sense, especially the one about it being better for Adalynn if she didn’t split her time between two houses. Right now, it’s not a big deal because she’s not in school. But soon she will be. She won’t be able to stay with you for a month in Maine and go to school in Massachusetts.”
He knew exactly when his daughter started school. He’d assumed they’d cross that bridge when they needed to. “And the ones that didn’t?”
“I convinced myself Reggie was right.”
He clenched his hands rather than share his current thoughts, many of which involved showing Reggie what he could do with his opinions.
“He became more insistent about it around the time we got engaged. Every chance he got, he’d remind me of your less than glowing reputation and how Adalynn needed a better father figure in her life. And it was his idea to claim you threw drunken parties when Adalynn was in the house. I finally gave in and made an appointment with my lawyer not long before the pictures of you and Courtney Belmont appeared in the media. Actually I think my first appointment with the lawyer was the day the first pictures hit the internet.”
“The why doesn’t matter at this point.”
“I know. I know. Still, I wanted you to know the reason behind my decision. None of it matters anymore. This morning I told my lawyer I no longer want sole custody. He’s going to file the necessary documents with the court today. It’s possible he already has.”
Any minute, he’d wake up. Naomi didn’t just tell him she changed her mind. “You’re dropping your custody suit?”
She nodded, but with their server approaching the table, she didn’t offer up any explanation. And damn it, he wanted one. He deserved one.
Their server placed their salads on the table. “Can I bring you anything else?” she asked.
Whether Naomi required something or not, he didn’t care. “We’re fine for the moment.” He waited until the server exited the room. “Why now?” Did it have anything to do with his upcoming wedding?
“Right after my lawyer filed, I had reservations. But I keep telling myself it was best for Adalynn and for Reggie’s and my relationship.” A healthy dose of bitterness laced the last few words of her response. “We’re no longer engaged. He wanted you out of our lives, but at the same time, he was sleeping with a nurse from his office. Adalynn and I moved out of his house on Wednesday.”