by Ford, Aria
I drove to the corner shop and parked, taking a deep breath for a moment. I needed to be strong for this.
I got out and went inside, glancing around the large room. I saw Lacy’s new purple bob as she watched me from a private corner and swallowed the lump in my throat. I went to order a coffee to keep my hands busy, even though I was shaking enough already.
Once the cup was in my hand, I walked over to the small table and slid in across from her. “Thank you for meeting me, Stephen.”
“It was against my better wishes, but we need to figure something out here, Lacy. I can’t keep putting Brandon off.” I leveled her with a hard gaze, watching her pale.
Brandon looked a lot like me, and everyone told me that. Sitting here across from her, I could see that he had her lips and when he smiled; the same dimple. It pissed me off, but I knew I was lucky to have him in my life. I was goddamn lucky to be his father.
“I know.” Her voice was soft, and the usually confident woman seemed oddly subdued. I thought back to when we met. I found her to me vibrant and fun to be around. We were on a double date set up by Kevin and Terry. “I have to tell you why I left, Stephen.” Lacy paused and played with her cup of coffee for a second. “I was addicted to drugs as well as alcohol at the time. We both know that Brandon was a shock and for me, it sent me right into a serious case of postpartum depression that I hid from everybody. Tried to. I don’t know.” Her eyes searched my face, and I nodded to confirm that I’d noticed something off with her. I was working for the office as a new employee and focused on securing a future for my family, since Lacy and I were still together at that point.
“I did. I was so worried about my job and a future for him that I only made sure that he was being cared for and safe. I assumed that a lot of women went through that in the beginning, something I’d heard about.” I felt like an asshole for not caring about her more than I had at the time, but it was a stressful period in both of our lives. I did the best that I could. “I thought that you would be okay.”
“I did as well. As time went on, it seemed to get better, but there were such awful days. I thought that I was a terrible mom and I knew that I was neglecting you as well. You were doing so much to provide for us. We had a great apartment, and I had everything I needed, yet I felt so empty inside. I went out with Stacy one night that you were home. I think that Brandon was about six months old and he could be without me for a little while. I was so relieved, and we went to have some drinks. I…I realized that it was an escape for me and something that I wanted more of. I told you that I wanted some time to myself, which I did. I just didn’t tell you why.“ I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and it distracted me from something I already didn’t want to hear. My mind was already on Mandy much more than I wanted it to be. Hell, I’d been obsessing about the short-lived heat that I felt with her and how rare that was. I felt it vibrate again and pulled it from my pocket as Lacy stared at me with anger flashing through her eyes.
Fuck. It was Mandy wanting to talk to me about the project. She asked if we could meet at the office in a couple of hours, knowing that I had a key to the building. I wanted to tell her to go fuck herself, but something nagged at me, telling me to hear her out. I blinked and looked back at Lacy. “Sorry. Work stuff.”
She sighed and kept describing how much she started to drink and then get into drugs. I remembered how little she’d been involved at the very end and in fact, was even late to his first birthday party. I was livid, but we had a lot of family and friends there that didn’t need to witness a fight.
“I knew soon that I had a problem. I recognized it and being that my dad was an alcoholic, I got scared. I talked to my mom, and she agreed to help me with the addiction, but she lived in Maine at the time.” Brandon only had my parents in his life to this day, and I cursed her flighty mother for helping in that way. A tear slid down Lacy’s cheek, and her lower lip trembled. “I agreed to come there and do whatever it took to get better. To do that, I felt that I should leave you both, but I was so fucked up in my head. I know now that it wasn’t right, but I honestly didn’t think it would be so long that I was gone. I handed Brandon to you and caught a bus to meet Mom, sobbing the entire way. He was my beautiful baby boy, and I was leaving, but I had to do right by him. I felt like a terrible mom seeing how much you did for us, for him. I wanted to fix things.”
“You walked completely away from us,” I reminded her as she nodded and cried harder.
“I planned to go to rehab and get right back. I hated being away from both of you. It was supposed to be easy, but the depression was so deep by then. I tried rehab, but they concluded that I needed mental health treatment at the same time. I started meds for anxiety and therapy to work through my issues, going to rehab a short while later to try to beat the addiction.” Lacy sniffled. “I failed at both for longer than I expected. Mom wasn’t as supportive as she initially appeared to be and I had to get a job to pay for all of it. I needed a lot of money, so I started stripping, justifying the job by telling myself how fast I could earn cash. Everything would move faster, and I’d be home again.”
I imagined her on a stage, so young at twenty-one. Lacy was a pretty girl to this day and men would want to see her up there. I was taken with her when we met with her big blue eyes and dark hair. “Lacy, why?” I asked as she shrugged.
“I was still using. I wasn’t thinking. I got stuck there in this cycle of work, therapy and trying to quit everything that I was using. It was vicious, and it took me so long to get out of it, but my sister finally helped me. I did it, Stephen. I have been clean for a year now, and it is all so clear to me. I see all the terrible things that I did and worked through it in some horrible therapy sessions. That was so painful.” Her eyes took on a glazed look as she visited a bad time and I sighed. “I knew that I loved you, Stephen. I regretted leaving, and I missed both of you so much.”
“I don’t miss you. I didn’t miss you,” I told her, watching her flinch. “I am sorry that you went through all of that, Lacy. I am sorry that I didn’t know what to do to help you, but we weren’t communicating well then.”
“There’s no chance for us?” she asked, and I shook my head slowly. I couldn’t fathom getting back with her in any scenario. I needed to see what I had with Mandy and move on with my life from there.
“I would like to see you with Brandon. I need records of your sobriety, medical or anything that you can show me. I am willing to give that a chance since you are his mom. I just don’t want anything more.”
I saw that it hurt her deeply, but Lacy nodded slowly. She looked like she was clean to me by the healthy color of her skin and the curves that used to weaken me. We were both young when we were together, and it was a highly physical relationship for both of us. “Come by tomorrow night, and we will all get dinner. Brandon can get to know you slowly, and we are going to give him all the space and time that he needs.”
We had something of a schedule arranged by the time I left the coffee shop two hours later. Lacy was clearly disappointed by the way things ended, but I was clear in the fact that I didn’t want anything more.
I headed to my car and wondered what the fuck was going to happen with Mandy as I drove back to the office.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Mandy
I leaned against the building and waited for Stephen. Being assigned to a new project with him turned my world upside down, and I needed to clear the air between us. It was my job, and I wanted to keep it, so any tension between us needed to be dealt with.
His jeep pulled into the lot, and I stared at him as he got out and walked toward me. Jesus, but Stephen was handsome. My heart jumped in my chest even with all the stress and the clear set of his chiseled jaw.
He raised his eyes to meet my face and pain flashed through them. Did I hurt him? What did I do?
Stephen unlocked the door, and we walked to his office in a cold silence. He opened his door and let me go in first before following me and sitting at his des
k as I stared at him. “Why are we here?” His voice was cold, and I walked toward him, trying to find his eyes as he stared at his desk.
“We are going to be working closely together, Stephen. I want to clear the air between us. I want things to be normal,” I said as he raised his eyes and glared at me.
“Normal? This is far from normal, Mandy.” Stephen was sarcastic and cold, leaving me to feel empty inside.
“What is normal? I have never had normal, Stephen. My mom wants me to be something I’m not and every guy I have ever been with leaves me. You’re the first man that I’ve ever felt this way for, and I hate that we’re not talking.” My voice rose with every word, and he clenched his fists. “I don’t know what we are. I don’t know if we were anything at all, but I need to know. Seriously.”
“I was doing fine, Mandy. I was a dad and doing everything to provide for my son. I didn’t get attached to anybody.” He looked at me and ran a hand through his already messy hair. “What the fuck have you done to me?”
“What have you done to me? Why do I keep thinking about you?” I cried out to him as he stepped around the desk and stalked toward me.
“It seems like you’re thinking about a lot of men here.” His voice was so cold.
My eyes widened. “What the hell are you talking about?” I never thought about anybody else at all. My mind raced as I tried to sort out where he was coming from before I realized that he was in front of me.
“You’re sleeping with other men in the office. You have been the entire time. You slept with Paul!” he yelled as stepped back.
“What?” I asked in shock, anger rushing through me. “Did he tell you that?”
“In so many words, yes. That little moment in your office cemented my suspicions,” he confirmed.
“Nothing was happening that day between us. He’d been hitting on me since the day we met, but Paul was different that day. He was hard and cold, almost like he knew that you would be walking in just then.” I surmised as he narrowed his eyes in thought.
“He’d told me about you earlier. I suppose that he would expect me to confront you and that would be perfect timing.” Stephen shook his head.
“He told you about me that day?” I asked as he nodded. “He’s playing us against each other. He told me a lot about you in that visit to my office.” Stephen stared at me. “Are you back with Lacy?”
“Fuck me. He mentioned her?” Stephen groaned as he pressed on the bridge of his nose. “She is back, but I suspect that he made it sound much worse than it is.”
“If you mean that telling me how much better she is than I am and so hot, then yes. Are you back with her?” I knew that my voice was shrill and out of control, but I was hurt.
Stephen stared at me as he grabbed my shoulders. “No,” his voice roared through the office, making me jump. “I’m not! She showed up the morning after you were over, wanting to push her way back into our lives. She went as far as to tell Brandon who she was before I had the chance to explain anything. I was fucking livid and told her that I would contact her when I was ready to talk. Imagine my week with all of Brandon’s questions, Mandy. Imagine the hell that I’ve been in with that, knowing that I’d fallen for you and I didn’t even have you. I thought that you were playing me. I was so pissed at myself.”
I crossed my arms over my chest as relief flooded me. He wasn’t upset with me, and he wasn’t seeing Lacy. Paul was a fucking liar. “Unbelievable. What an asshole.”
“Agreed.” He reached out and touched my shoulder lightly. “Look at me. I’m sorry. I feel for Paul’s shit because I couldn’t imagine a beautiful, young woman like you seeing anything in a man like me.”
“Well, you were wrong.” I dropped my arms to the side, feeling incredibly tired all of a sudden. “I was falling in love with you.”
“Was?” He dropped his hand from me and stepped back. “Not anymore, hmm?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced down to the ground. “I’m a little confused right now.”
“Then take some time.” His voice was soft, sweet. I could almost feel his pain rolling off him. We’d both been taken for a fucked up ride. I needed to try and remember that all of the shit that had happened wasn’t his fault. Nor was it mine.
“I don’t want time. I just want to have open communication between us.” I reached out and ran my hands down his thick chest, loving the feel of him under my fingers. My words moments before came back to haunt me. I was falling in love with him.
“We can do that. And what about Brandon?” Stephen asked as I let out a trembling breath. “How do you feel about the fact that I have a son?”
“I love the fact that you have a son. I think he’s a great kid.”
He slid his strong hands over my hips and pulled me closer. “He likes you a lot. He’s brought you up several times since the tennis camp, even with all of this shit going on.” There was a hint of hope in his eyes. “Can you live in a world where the man that you’re with has a son with a woman that will in part be in his life? I am going to let her get to know him in supervised visits for a while.”
“Of course.” I leaned closer, wanting to take away his pain.
“She told me that she was an addict and it took some time to get help. She swears that she’s sober now and she wants to know Brandon again. I don’t think I should deny him of that, but I also know that the three of us don’t have to be a family.” Stephen wrapped me into a tight hug. “We were dealing with too much at once. We didn’t talk through any of that, and I’m sorry. I am sorry that I didn’t reach out and ask you about all of this. I was just so fucked up.” He stared at me. “Forgive me?”
I lifted up and pressed my chest against his before kissing him softly. “Yes. Will you forgive me for not reaching out as well?”
Stephen breathed in before nodding. He brushed his lips against mine gently as I let out a soft moan. I didn’t know how addicted to his touch I was until then. I smiled as he kissed me harder, deepening the kiss.
Everything about us being together felt right. Good.
Time melted as he claimed my mouth in slow kisses. I felt the heat between us, undeniable as our lips parted and tongues met hungrily. I knew that I didn’t want to live in a world where this wasn’t a part of my life. I knew that I’d fallen hard for Stephen and was well on the way to doing the same with his son.
“You’re not going to regret this. I promise.” He kissed me again and slid his hand into my hair, holding me in place while he made love to my mouth, and helped to heal my soul.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A Month Later
Stephen
I slapped Mandy’s ass with the towel as she turned the chicken in the pan, making her jump and laugh.
“Do you want to eat?” She threatened as I laughed and dropped the towel on the counter.
“You’re making Brandon’s favorite dinner, not mine.” I didn’t mind at all. It had been a month since we reconciled in that office and life had been great. Mandy didn’t officially live here but spent all her time away from work here with us. It was an easy process since Brandon already liked her. He grew to love her and her food over the weeks and fried chicken was on the menu tonight.
It was fucking good, and I knew that I’d been in love with her since day one.
Brandon was standing on a step stool and mixing a salad for dinner as I marinated some vegetables. There were some mashed potatoes ready to warm up in the microwave.
I looked over the scene, feeling the love in the room. We’d already helped Brandon with his homework for the night, since Lacy was picking him up for a long weekend after dinner. They were doing great. We’d spent a lot of time together until I felt confident that she was ready to be a mom again, and Brandon was comfortable as well. Now she had an apartment close to the house and a great job that allowed her weekends twice a month with Brandon.
I walked over to get a tray for the oven so I could roast the vegetables, sneaking a kiss as she giggled. I dumped the zucch
ini onto the big sheet and shook it to spread them evenly before I slipped it into the oven. This time, I cupped her head for a deeper kiss and Mandy pressed against me.
“Are you going to be my other mommy someday, Mommy?” Brandon asked adorably from his place at the counter as she and I smiled at each other. That wasn’t the first time he’d asked me now that he was in a routine with Lacy and aware that he could love a lot of people as his family. It was a surprisingly smooth transition once everything had been discussed between all of us in different settings. I’d say that we were professionals at communication at this point, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I sure hope so,” I said as she blushed a little bit and returned to turning the crisp chicken in the pan.
“Me too,” Brandon agreed as she smiled sweetly. “I like having Mommy Lacy, and I want Mommy Mandy too.” He finished with the salad and jumped down to take it to the table before he set the table for us. We had a great little routine here, and I noticed that Brandon was thriving from that. We still had Danielle to watch him when we were at work, but with the three of us working as a team, she had a lot more time off.
She set the chicken on a plate covered with paper towels, setting it aside as she heated up the potatoes. I finished with the vegetables as she was taking the potatoes to the table and got them on a plate to take over. I stole another kiss before Mandy poured herself a glass of wine and got a beer for me as I transferred the chicken to a plate for dinner. Brandon already had a glass of milk at the table, and we sat down together as I looked from Mandy to Brandon. “I love you two so much.”
“I love you!” Brandon called back as Mandy chose to mouth the words to me before she helped him fix his plate. I got mine and handed Mandy her plate piled with her favorites as she groaned.
“I need to get to the gym.” We both went to the same one at the company. It was awkward for Mandy for a time, but Paul had taken things too far and ended up losing his job. All the staff realized that he was the cause of a lot of tension after he was gone and the general atmosphere of the office increased, and people got to know each other all over again.
