I took Andrew to the bank with me during the day. He sat in the car seat in one of the chairs facing my desk. As long as he had a toy or a bottle, he was usually fine. His cries were at a minimum. The only time he got upset was when I left the room. He hated being alone, so as long as I was nearby, he felt comfortable.
I would look up from my laptop from time to time just to stare at him. He was only six weeks old, but he’d grown so much in such a short amount of time. His face was more defined and less chubby, and his hair was starting to come in. I could see his distinct similarities to me, but I could also see so much of Sofia in his expression. He was a perfect combination of the two of us.
Damien stormed into my office. “That fucking prick Thomas is being a little bitch. He just gave us his money, and he wants to pull it out already. The guy expects results overnight, but he doesn’t have a fucking clue—”
“Watch your mouth.”
Damien straightened in front of my desk and gave me a quizzical expression.
I nodded to Andrew on the chair. “Don’t want him to be a potty mouth like his father.”
Damien glanced over his shoulder and stilled when he noticed my son. He hadn’t seen him before since we had no personal relationship at all. He stared for a while before he leaned down and looked at him. “Hey, little guy. Your daddy must be somebody else because you are way too cute.”
I let the insult slide.
Damien squeezed Andrew’s foot before he turned back to me. “Sofia did a good job.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I fucked her, didn’t I?”
“Whoa, watch the language.”
I rolled my eyes.
“She was the one who had to carry him for nine months. She literally made him and then pushed him out of a tiny hole. I think she gets all the credit.”
No argument there.
“Are you gonna bring him to work often?”
I nodded. “I can leave him with Helena, but then I’ll never see him.”
“True.” He set the papers on my desk. “You want to talk to Thomas?”
The last time we spoke, I’d tried to buy Damien out of the company, but he wouldn’t go. It was a little awkward, but Andrew’s presence seemed to smooth it over. It was hard to hate each other when there was a baby in the room. “Yeah, I’ll handle it.”
“Can you still do the meetings with Andrew?”
“Yes. He’ll be fine.”
Damien clearly didn’t have anything else to say, but he continued to linger at my desk.
I turned back to him and stared. “Yes?”
He slid his hands into his pockets. “You and Sofia are done for good?”
He must’ve spoken to Sofia if he knew that. “Yes. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“She’s not gonna be on the market for long…”
My eyes narrowed. “Don’t stick your nose in my business.”
“I’m not.” He stepped away from my desk. “Just wanted to give you a heads-up before I go after her.”
Andrew liked the changing colors and shapes of the TV, so I held him in my arms as we sat on the couch. He rested against my chest while he held his favorite plastic keys. A blanket was over both of us.
There was a cartoon on and I was bored out of my mind, but I was also grateful I got to spend time with him. I had no experience with children, and I hadn’t thought I would be a father so soon, but it was a lot easier than I’d thought it would be. All you had to do was pay attention to them…and love them.
My phone was on the table beside me, and it rang with Sofia’s name on the screen. It’d been three days, so she probably wanted him back.
I kept thinking about the last thing Damien said to me, that he wanted to go after my ex-wife. Of course, that annoyed me because friends didn’t do that to each other. But then I remembered we weren’t friends…and Sofia didn’t owe me anything.
Damien obviously heard about our falling out from Sofia herself, so it made me wonder if they’d already started to see each other. When she dropped off Andrew, she was dressed like she was about to hit the town. If she was fooling around with Damien, it was just a rebound.
But it made me uncomfortable anyway.
I wasn’t jealous… I just didn’t like it.
Or did me not liking it mean I was jealous?
I didn’t want to be with Sofia, so I didn’t know how that could be true.
I took her call. “Yeah?”
It was obvious in the background that she was driving. “What did we talk about?”
“It’s not personal, I just—”
She hung up.
I heard the line go dead then stared at the phone incredulously.
She called again.
When I answered, she spoke immediately. “Let’s try this again.”
I was annoyed with her pissy attitude, but I didn’t antagonize her. “Hello, Sofia.”
“Ahh…much better.”
My eyebrows furrowed at her condescension, but I was also intrigued she didn’t let me push her around.
“I’m in the neighborhood, so I wanted to see if I could pick up Andrew. If you want another day with him or whatever, that’s fine. But I thought I’d ask.”
“Yeah, you can come get him.”
“Great. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“He and I—”
She hung up.
I set the phone down hard and noticed that Andrew had turned to stare at me. He held my gaze for a while before he reached for my phone.
“Yes, that was your mother. I hope you’ll be a better conversationalist than she is.”
This time, Sofia let herself inside my bedroom. Like last time, she was oblivious to my rock-hard chest and my chiseled abs. She used to melt into a puddle at the sight of my tanned skin, but now she seemed completely indifferent to it.
All she cared about was Andrew.
She walked over to him in the car seat on the bed because I’d already packed him up to go. “Oh my god, did you get cuter in three days?” She picked him up then brought him into her chest. Just as she had been a few days ago, she was dressed in a tight dress with heels, her hair a curtain of silk. Her eyes were smoky, and her lips were red as a ripe apple. She cradled him against her breast and gently bounced him from side to side. “I missed you so much, baby. I missed hearing you cry in the middle of the night. I even missed changing your diapers.” She kissed his forehead and ignored me because all she cared about was him.
When she was done getting reacquainted with him, she put him back in the car seat. “I was so afraid you were gonna forget me.” She grabbed the bag and put it over her shoulder.
“He definitely didn’t forget you.” I put my hands in my pockets as I watched my ex-wife dote on our son. “When you called a while ago, he recognized your voice.”
“You did?” She turned back to Andrew and gently tickled his stomach. “You didn’t forget your momma, huh?” She leaned down and smothered him in more kisses. When she was satisfied with his affection, she stood up to leave. “Was he good?”
“I took him to work every day, and he was great.”
Her eyes lit up in flames. “You did what?”