her head, but a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. “It’s not like you to be so rigid and unforgiving.”
“It’s the new me—the one determined not to end up with her heart broken again.”
“But you know there’s got to be more to the story.”
“And I’m not willing to get sucked in by another man’s story,” Rachel told her.
“Another... Oh. Eric.”
She nodded.
Holly wrinkled her nose. “I forgot about him.”
Rachel couldn’t forget, and she wouldn’t let herself make the same mistake again.
She’d started dating Eric a few years earlier. She’d met him at a housewarming party for some mutual friends and she’d fallen for him hard and fast. He’d been upfront with her from the beginning, admitting that he was recently divorced and shared custody of his eleven-year-old daughter, Summer.
Although she’d been eager to meet his child, they’d dated for six months before Eric had let that happen. Rachel understood his reticence, and she appreciated that he didn’t want his daughter to get attached to someone who might not be around for the long haul. He was trying to protect her from the disappointment she experienced every time her mother—his ex-wife—broke up with yet another boyfriend. So when Eric finally introduced Rachel to Summer, she thought it meant that he wanted her to be a part of both of their lives.
But every time they had plans to do something together with his daughter, his ex-wife would interfere. It was a testament to how naive Rachel was that she didn’t realize he was still in love with Wendy. Every time his ex-wife called, he would jump. He would cancel plans with Rachel without apology in order to hang a picture on Wendy’s bedroom wall or perform some other menial task. Once, they’d been in the middle of sex and he’d answered a hysterical call about a mouse in Wendy’s basement—and then he left Rachel naked in his bed to go dispose of the rodent.
Every holiday and birthday was a family celebration, which meant that Eric spent it with Summer and Wendy. Rachel had been willing to accept second place in his life—she understood that his daughter was his first priority, as she should be. But she’d sincerely resented that he was more considerate of his ex-wife’s feelings than he was of her own.
“The situation with Andrew is completely different,” Holly said now. “He doesn’t have an ex-wife pulling his strings from behind the scenes.”
“No,” Rachel agreed. “But I think I understand better now why it was so difficult for him to take his wedding band off. Nina wasn’t just his wife...she was the mother of his child.”
“But he has taken it off,” her friend reminded her.
“He still didn’t tell me about his child.”
Holly sighed. “I just think you should let him explain.”
Rachel had no interest in his explanations. In fact, she wouldn’t have minded if she never saw him or talked to him again.
But when she slipped her key in her lock and realized that her phone was ringing, she automatically raced across the room to answer it because it didn’t occur to her tequila-clouded mind that it might be Andrew.
“Hello?”
“Hi.”
He only said one word—barely one syllable—but she recognized his voice immediately. She sat down on the edge of the couch and willed her head to stop spinning so she could focus. “Why are you calling, Andrew?”
“I wanted to apologize.”
“No apology necessary,” she said coldly.
“I should have told you about Maura.”
And she couldn’t help thinking that he would have told her if he’d ever planned on introducing her to his child. The fact that he’d never mentioned the little girl’s existence proved that Rachel didn’t matter enough to him to share the details of his life. They’d gone out a couple of times and shared a few kisses, but he’d obviously never intended for their relationship to go any further than that.
“I handled the situation badly,” he
“It’s the new me—the one determined not to end up with her heart broken again.”
“But you know there’s got to be more to the story.”
“And I’m not willing to get sucked in by another man’s story,” Rachel told her.
“Another... Oh. Eric.”
She nodded.
Holly wrinkled her nose. “I forgot about him.”
Rachel couldn’t forget, and she wouldn’t let herself make the same mistake again.
She’d started dating Eric a few years earlier. She’d met him at a housewarming party for some mutual friends and she’d fallen for him hard and fast. He’d been upfront with her from the beginning, admitting that he was recently divorced and shared custody of his eleven-year-old daughter, Summer.
Although she’d been eager to meet his child, they’d dated for six months before Eric had let that happen. Rachel understood his reticence, and she appreciated that he didn’t want his daughter to get attached to someone who might not be around for the long haul. He was trying to protect her from the disappointment she experienced every time her mother—his ex-wife—broke up with yet another boyfriend. So when Eric finally introduced Rachel to Summer, she thought it meant that he wanted her to be a part of both of their lives.
But every time they had plans to do something together with his daughter, his ex-wife would interfere. It was a testament to how naive Rachel was that she didn’t realize he was still in love with Wendy. Every time his ex-wife called, he would jump. He would cancel plans with Rachel without apology in order to hang a picture on Wendy’s bedroom wall or perform some other menial task. Once, they’d been in the middle of sex and he’d answered a hysterical call about a mouse in Wendy’s basement—and then he left Rachel naked in his bed to go dispose of the rodent.
Every holiday and birthday was a family celebration, which meant that Eric spent it with Summer and Wendy. Rachel had been willing to accept second place in his life—she understood that his daughter was his first priority, as she should be. But she’d sincerely resented that he was more considerate of his ex-wife’s feelings than he was of her own.
“The situation with Andrew is completely different,” Holly said now. “He doesn’t have an ex-wife pulling his strings from behind the scenes.”
“No,” Rachel agreed. “But I think I understand better now why it was so difficult for him to take his wedding band off. Nina wasn’t just his wife...she was the mother of his child.”
“But he has taken it off,” her friend reminded her.
“He still didn’t tell me about his child.”
Holly sighed. “I just think you should let him explain.”
Rachel had no interest in his explanations. In fact, she wouldn’t have minded if she never saw him or talked to him again.
But when she slipped her key in her lock and realized that her phone was ringing, she automatically raced across the room to answer it because it didn’t occur to her tequila-clouded mind that it might be Andrew.
“Hello?”
“Hi.”
He only said one word—barely one syllable—but she recognized his voice immediately. She sat down on the edge of the couch and willed her head to stop spinning so she could focus. “Why are you calling, Andrew?”
“I wanted to apologize.”
“No apology necessary,” she said coldly.
“I should have told you about Maura.”
And she couldn’t help thinking that he would have told her if he’d ever planned on introducing her to his child. The fact that he’d never mentioned the little girl’s existence proved that Rachel didn’t matter enough to him to share the details of his life. They’d gone out a couple of times and shared a few kisses, but he’d obviously never intended for their relationship to go any further than that.
“I handled the situation badly,” he
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