“Well, I can make them cookies,” Piper said. “I’m going to bake when I get home.”
That’s my girl. She’ll never be a brat.
Aston glanced at the kids in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure they’d like that. Baking sounds like fun. Since you’re busy, Tyler, do you want to come with me to the arcade? I need to take Little A there, but he’s a handful, and I need some help chasing him around.”
“Mom! Can I, Mom?”
I could feel Tyler’s excitement vibrating all the way from the back seat. “As long as you do your homework as soon as you’re back.”
“Yes! Yes, I will.”
With that, we pulled up in front of my house, and both kids bolted inside to grab a snack. By the time I got out of the car, Aston was in front of me. His warm palm came to my hip, steadying me.
“It’s going to be fine.” His lips tickled my ear as he whispered his words just for me. With his index finger, he pushed a stray hair behind my ear, then kissed my cheek as he said again, “Bex, it’s going to be fine.”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “This is like some weird dream I’m living in, and now it feels like it’s turning into a nightmare.”
“It’s not. I’m here for you. And like I told you, my dad isn’t an innocent party in this, and you can tell Piper what you want on that. And yeah, I listened to him, and so neither am I. But first and foremost, you need to protect yourself . You did what you thought you had to, and I stand behind that.”
His thumb caressed my hip over my jumpsuit, making me wish I was wearing a regular shirt and pants so I could feel his skin on mine.
“Where did this all come from?” I asked. “One minute I’m so in love with you, and then poof, you’re gone for what I thought was forever. And now you’re back.”
“Hey, let’s not dwell on it,” he said softly. “Today’s about Piper.”
I nodded, and he tipped my chin up so my gaze met his. His lips brushed across my eyelid, then made their way to mine. On a closed-mouth kiss, he mumbled, “It’s always been you, Bex.”
“I don’t think we should do this here. For anyone to see.”
He stepped back from me. “You’re right. Soon,” he said, making it sound like a promise. “Soon you’re going to be fine. More than fine.”
“I’ve done a lot of reading the last two nights. Hours of reading on the best way to talk with Piper. Apparently, honesty is the best policy. I need to own my actions without seeming defensive. I had my reasons, and they weren’t to hurt her.”
“Exactly,” Aston said from next to his car, which felt like too far away.
Sadly, I already missed his touch. I’d made this mistake once before. When it came to Aston, I couldn’t stop myself.
“I’m going to go. Time to do this,” I said, more to myself than to him.
He nodded. “I’ll text when we’re on our way back. Tyler doesn’t have a phone?”
“Not yet . . . and don’t get any ideas.”
“We’ll see. Send him on out. Little A’s going to be ecstatic,” Aston said.
But Piper certainly wasn’t going to be.
I turned toward the house without another word.
Bexley
“Piper, can we talk?” I said, interrupting her as she pulled down ingredients to bake cookies.
“Mom, I should do this. Aston said the car would be here later.”
My heart cracked in two over what I was about to do.
Piper’s world had already been destroyed once because of the divorce, and here I was about to shatter it all over again. Funny that Seth asked about her period; Piper and I had the talk about eight months ago. What to expect, what it meant, and all of that. She knew how babies were made and where they came from, but this conversation would be on a whole different level.
Fuck.
Out loud, I said, “Piper, honey, we’ll get it done. I promise. We need to talk for a few.”
She turned toward me, her face pinched with concern. “Is everything okay? Are you okay?” Running over to me, she took my hand in hers. “Mom? Say something.”
I hated how much worry she was filled with—how she felt she had to mother me.
“I’m fine, sweetie. This is good news, I swear. Come on, let’s sit.”
With my arm wrapped around her, I guided her to the window seat. Seemed appropriate, considering how much time I’d spent thinking about Aston in that exact spot.
“Piper, this isn’t easy for me to tell you,” I said. “But it’s good stuff. It may not seem that way, but it is.”
“Are you and dad getting back together?”
Drawing on every bit of my self-control, I kept my expression schooled. That wasn’t where I thought her head would go, but I should have expected it. “No, we aren’t getting back together, sweetie. But this is sort of what I wanted to talk with you about. Your dad and me, and you. There’s some stuff that you need to know.”
“Oh.” She dropped her gaze to our hands, our fingers entwined.
I had to get on with it. Period.
“First off, I love you. So much. You’re my whole world. And Dad loves you, and what I’m about to tell you doesn’t change that,” I said, taking some liberties when it came to Seth and his feelings for Piper. “Here’s the thing. I knew Aston a long time ago, before I met your dad. And at one point, we were really in love.”
“So, you can be in love again now. You’re divorced, and you said you and Dad aren’t getting back together. I get it. I watch TV.”
I tried not to squeeze my eyes shut in pain. Piper wasn’t making this easy on me.
“Well, yes. That’s true. We could love each other now . . .
