Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Maybe the sooner we tell Gigi that Zeus is her father, then we can figure out a routine for her to spend time with him. One that doesn’t necessarily have to include the three of us being together all the time.
Mixed in with my anger toward him are also memories of the good times and reminders of why I fell in love with him all those years ago.
I’m like an assorted bag of emotions at the moment, fit to explode, and it’s exhausting.
“Thanks for dinner. It was amazing, like always,” Zeus says, leaning back in his seat.
“It was just mac and cheese.” I put my fork down on my plate.
“You make the best mac and cheese, Mommy,” Gigi says.
I smile at her. “Thanks, baby.”
“So, you’ve cooked dinner and fed me every night,” Zeus says. “And, as a thank-you, I want to take you out for dinner tomorrow night.”
“Me?” I squeak, my pulse leaping.
A lazy grin spreads across his lips. “You and Gigi.”
“Mommy can’t go. She’s going out with her fwiend Wich, the policeman, tomorrow night.”
Crap.
The silence is deafening.
It’s like a tumbleweed blowing through the dining room.
I force myself to look at Zeus. His face is clear of expression, his eyes blank.
I hate it when he does that. It means I can’t get a read on what he’s thinking.
“Well, I’m not going out until eight. But…I might be eating later.”
Rich mentioned dinner after drinks.
“No problem,” he says, his words a little clipped. “Is it okay if I still take Gigi to dinner?”
“Pwease, Mommy, can I go with Zweus?”
“Of course you can,” I tell her.
“Yay!” Gigi claps her hands together.
“What time should I have her home?” he asks me. There’s still an edge to his voice, which is starting to annoy me.
Why does he have such a problem with Rich?
You know why, a little voice whispers in my head.
Go away, Voice.
“Seven thirty at the latest,” I tell him.
“And who’s watching Gigi while you’re out with Deputy Dick?”
“Who’s Deputy Dick?” Gigi asks.
“No one. Zeus is just being silly.” I glare at him.
He steadily stares back at me.
“Aunt Elle is watching her,” I tell him, my voice harder than it was.
“Fine,” he says roughly.
“Fine,” I echo.
He pushes his chair out. My eyes follow him up.
“I gotta go, Gigi girl. But I’ll be here at four thirty tomorrow to pick you up.”
“Where we gonna eat, Zweus?”
“You can choose.”
“Yay!” She claps her hands together again. “I’s fink and tell you tomorrow.”
His face softens, and he ruffles her hair with his hand. “Sounds like a plan.” He casts a glance my way. “Thanks for dinner.”
“No problem.” I push to my feet. “I’ll see you out.”
“No need,” he says. “I know where the door is. Bye, Gigi.”
“Bye, Zweus.”
I watch him leave and then sit back down in my seat, my stomach swirling with emotion.
It’s clear that he’s pissed because I’m going out with Rich.
And he has no right to be pissed.
The guy cheated on me, for God’s sake!
Even still, I feel like I did something wrong when I didn’t, and it’s not fair of him to make me feel that way.
“Is Zweus mad, Mommy?”
My eyes swing to her. “No, of course he isn’t.”
“He looked angry.”
“He’d never be angry with you.”
“Not me, Mommy. You.”
Crap.
I hate that my girl is so perceptive at times.
“I think he’s just disappointed that I can’t make dinner with you guys tomorrow night.”
“You totally should come. Zweus and me are more fun than Wich.”
My brows furrow. “Do you not like Rich, Gigi girl?”
“He’s okay. But I wike Zweus more.”
My heart clenches painfully, and I realize that maybe Gigi has been picking up on more than I thought.
“You know that Rich is just Mommy’s friend. Like Zeus is Mommy’s friend.”
“I know.”
“And you know that it’s good to have different friends.”
“Yes, Mommy. But I fink people always wike one fwiend more than all the others. Like a best fwiend. And I fink you should be best fwiends with Zweus.”
I was. Once upon a long time ago.
Until he ruined it.
Unsure of how to respond to that, I get back to my feet. “Come on, Gigi girl. Let’s clear these dinner plates away, and then you can watch some TV before bed.”
I’m a coward.
After the frosty reception that I received from Zeus when he came to pick Gigi up to take her to dinner, I ensured I was already gone well before he was due to drop her back home.
I wasn’t meeting Rich until eight, but I texted him and asked if we could meet earlier. Thankfully, he was able to; otherwise, I’d have been sitting in the bar alone for an hour before.
I’m sitting at a table that we snagged near the bar. Rich is up there, getting us drinks. I’ve asked for my usual—a Corona. It will be my one and only alcoholic drink for the evening. I’ll be on soda after this. Rich offered to pick me up, but I prefer to be in my own car, so I can leave when I want. And not drinking more than one drink doesn’t bother me.