“Hi there,” I managed to squeak out at all four of them. I stood by the doorway, not willing to venture in any further.
“Hey,” Trent answered, getting up to give me a hug. I returned it hesitantly while stepping back a little. Marla and Jim usually let me initiate physical contact. They figured out early on that it made me uncomfortable at times. Especially during tense or stressful moments, which was pretty much all the time being married to Brad. Trent had never really noticed or he figured I would say something if it bothered me. With an encouraging smile, he moved over to grab his niece out of his mother’s arms. Jim had his arm casually around his wife; their need to always be close was evident. He gave me a fatherly smile while Marla looked between everyone.
Erik gave a small wave and a close-lipped smile and then retreated toward the back of the kitchen in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the middle of a potential showdown.
“Hi, Simone,” Kyle said, his deep voice was kind… and sexy.
His voice drew my gaze to his and his stare made me feel like he was looking at me, like he really saw me—it always did. I wasn’t used to that from a man, especially one as attractive as Kyle. I’d only been in the same room as him a few times over the past two years, and we rarely talked to each other. The longest conversation we’d had was when he had been seated in my section at the restaurant, and that was only because I had a job to do. It was the only reason I hadn’t been as rattled since I knew I couldn’t screw up at work. But here, without my job as my shield, I felt a little exposed.
“Um… hi there,” I muttered, my throat dry. God, I was an idiot, I’d already said hi. I clammed up, not sure what else to say since every single person was watching me. It made me feel a little vulnerable, like it was me versus all these other people. I was nervous all over again but for different reasons this time. The heaviness in my stomach was gone, but the kitchen suddenly felt a little too warm.
“Did you have a nice drive here?” Kyle continued. It was obvious he was trying to lessen the tension in the room and I was grateful for that.
“Yeah… it was nice,” I said, slowly. I felt my cheeks burn, wishing I wasn’t so nervous.
Seeing Kyle though always reminded me of the day he’d opened the door. So tall and lean, his eyes peering down at me curiously and his light brown hair a bit tousled. He’d looked handsome in his gray slacks and an aqua-blue shirt. The entirety of his focus had been on me, and I’d almost forgotten why I was there. Or that maybe I’d rung the wrong house, but glad if I had. I’d always thought Brad was the best looking guy in San Diego, but the minute my eyes had landed on Kyle… it’d all gone to hell.
Today, he was in a plain green shirt; the color nearly matched his eyes, and dark fitted jeans. He looked like someone who had his act together and there was a quiet confidence to him that was almost intimidating. I was always tongue-tied around him and didn’t know how to be easy-going when he talked to me, or any of Trent’s friends, really. I was the ‘other woman’. They never made me feel like that, but I had a difficult time not feeling it when other people were around that knew all the sordid details.
I licked my lips and darted my eyes away, looking around the kitchen, taking a moment to collect myself. I concentrated on not saying something stupid or making a fool out of myself. Without Brad here I couldn’t just fade into the background. Brad usually made a scene right away so I was used to not being the center of attention. Not today, though. I felt everyone’s eyes on me.
Hi,” Addison finally said, somewhat forcefully. She sounded just as nervous as I was feeling and it was almost a relief since she didn’t look angry or like she was about to yell at me.
“Where’s my other son?” Jim asked, breaking the silence after our awkward hellos. Another uncomfortable silence fell as everyone turned toward me. Jim even looked behind me, as though Brad would walk in any minute.
Flustered, I tried to come up with an excuse more plausible than the one Brad had given, but I couldn’t. “Brad isn’t feeling well,” I lied, feeling absolutely terrible for doing so. Everyone just stared at me for a moment and I knew that none of them believed me.
“That’s bullshit!” I heard Trent mumble from beside me. “What’s the real reason he isn’t here?”
“Watch your language in front of Stella,” Marla reprimanded, glaring at Trent.
Trent looked appropriately chastised, giving his mother an apologetic look. I glanced over at my brother-in-law mutely. He and Brad had similar facial features but their looks were otherwise very different. So were their manners. But I could feel Trent’s anger radiating off of him, which felt the same as when Brad was mad at me. I almost shrank back from it. I knew he wasn’t mad at me, but his fury still made me uncomfortable. I just stood there frozen in place, not knowing what to say. I didn’t want to hurt his parents’ feelings or make things worse.
Trent then turned back to me calmer than a moment before. “It’s because I’m here, isn’t it?” he asked, still angry but keeping his voice milder.
They all knew that was part of it. Still, I wanted to somehow give a better explanation, one that would not make Brad look like a terrible person. I looked to my daughter making sure the tense conversation wasn’t having an effect on her, but Stella was none the wiser. I felt a slight pang at the way Trent held my daughter close to his chest—the way a dotting, loving uncle would. Even Trent’s friends showered Stella with attention when they were around her. It was a stark contrast to the fact that Brad rarely held Stella, or played with her, or even looked at her. I’d been ignoring that glaring fact but I couldn’t anymore. She was currently playing with the buttons of his light blue, button-down shirt with a content expression on her chubby, cute little face. Here, surrounded by her family, Stella was genuinely happy.
“I don’t know, Trent…” I said, quietly, staring at my daughter, “all he told me was he wasn’t coming.”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” Jim said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. His fatherly hug felt like he was on my side, but he didn’t hold on for long, much to my relief. At this point, I really just needed some space. “More importantly, where are my brownies?” He winked, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t really work, but I pretended it did.
I smiled back, tightly. “Oh. They’re in the car along with Stella’s things. I’ll be right back.” I quickly exited the kitchen, the smile falling right off my face as soon as I was out of view. I took several deep breaths. I needed a few minutes to myself before I had to face everyone again—for the rest of the day. Not only was I upset with Brad for choosing to not be here, I was still a little shaken from coming face to face with Addison.
“Simone, wait up,” I heard a voice say, just as I reached the door.
I paused with my hand on the knob and waited for Addison to catch up. Panic had me freezing in place and wondering if now was the time she was going to unleash her anger on me. I gulped, terrified but also wanting the confrontation that I had been anticipating to be done already. It was unnerving, knowing that I was going to be alone with the woman my husband betrayed in such a horrible way. I had no idea what she thought of me. Did she know that I was in the dark about their relationship or did she think I was some slut who hooked up with him not caring that he had a fiancée?
I’d heard that she had gone back to San Francisco a couple days after I had interrupted their holiday meal. I had no idea if she was just visiting or was back in town for good now. The various times I’d known she was in San Diego for a visit, I’d always thought about this moment, and apologizing, but now that it was here, I was dreading it.
I turned around when Addison entered the living room. Like her brother, she was tall, lean and the all gray maxi-dress she was wearing made her seem even taller. She was stunning with her green eyes that seemed to pop against her lightly tanned skin; they were slightly lighter in color than her brother’s and I was a little shocked to realize that I could tell the difference. Her light brown hair had strea
ks of blonde throughout and was up in a chic ponytail that accented her angular cheekbones and oval face. I could see why Brad fell for her.
“You mind if I help?” she asked, grabbing the knob and opening the door for me. “Gotta make sure your famous brownies stay safe from the boys. I hear they’re pretty great.”
I blinked at her slowly. I hadn’t expected this from her. Instead of saying anything, I nodded and we walked silently down the driveway, side by side. The silence, the weight of our history, made us both uneasy. Neither of us uttering another word until we reached the trunk of my car.
She put a hand on my arm. I tensed, but then looked up at her. “Simone, I know we haven’t ever had the chance to talk…” she started, then trailed off and appeared to be thinking of what to say next. “I’ve never blamed you for what happened between Brad and me. Even Brad more or less admitted that you’d had no clue he was engaged…” She paused, swallowing hard. “I thought it was important for you to know that I don’t have any bad feelings toward you. And I’m sorry if you felt like what Brad did to me, to you, was in any way remotely your fault. It wasn’t.”
“Uh… ah, um, well, th-thank you,” I stuttered. Her statement caught me completely off guard. I never expected her to be so nice to me. “That means a lot, Addison. I want you to know that—”
“You don’t have to explain yourself,” she said, gently cutting me off with a kind smile. “Truthfully, I knew things were off with Brad. Once I had time to really reflect on our relationship, I wasn’t that surprised to find out he had been cheating on me. It hurt but all the anger I had was directed at him not you.” She grabbed the brownies from the trunk while I threw the diaper bag over one shoulder. “And please call me Addie. Only Kyle calls me Addison and that’s just when he wants to annoy me.” She rolled her eyes, and then gestured with her head for us to go back inside.
I looked at her for a moment as she walked back to the house. Having this conversation with her had suddenly relieved a burden I’d been carrying around for two years. To have her understanding, as much as her forgiveness was more than I’d ever expected or even deserved. I decided at that moment that Addie had given me the opportunity to let go of my guilt and I needed to take it. I was not responsible for Brad’s behavior. That was something I was reminding myself of more and more each day.
Chapter 4
Kyle
Erik and I watched Trent chase his niece around the backyard while we waited for Addie and Simone to return from the car. Addie had confided in me on the way over here that she was feeling nervous about the prospect of seeing Brad again. She hadn’t seen or spoken to the asshole since the day Simone announced she was pregnant. I knew she was relieved that Brad wasn’t here and I was happy to see her reaching out to Simone.
The thought of them clearing the air had me reflecting back to that night two years ago.
My sister had been heartbroken and I was so enraged I was seeing red. Brad had left pretty quickly once he realized he wasn’t going to be able to talk his way out of his latest fuck up. I had only managed to get one shot in before Jim stepped between us. I respected the man enough to stop then but Brad still deserved an ass-kicking. It took a couple of hours, but I was finally able to get Addie calmed down. Once I knew she was asleep, I called Trent and told him I needed to pay his little brother a visit. He could either go with me or stay home, but he wasn’t going to be able to stop what I had planned. Truthfully, I wasn’t surprised when he said he would pick me up in thirty minutes and drive me to the apartment where Brad was staying.
Knocking on the door we could hear Brad shouting on the other side. I knocked a little harder, my knuckles turning red quickly. After a few moments, Brad opened the door with his cell phone to his ear. He was furious, his face was red, teeth grinding together, and his hand was clenching the phone so hard I thought for sure it would break.
“See if you can score...” He paused, looking at his brother and me. “I’ll have to call you back,” he said to the person on the other line, and disconnected the call. He glared at both of us, like we had no right to interrupt his precious phone call. “What the fuck do—”
My fist crashed into his jaw before he was able to finish the question.
“How could you do that to my sister, asshole?” I yelled as I grabbed his shirt in my hands and yanked him back up to his feet.
This time I punched him in the stomach and let him fall back to the ground. With a final kick to his ribs I turned around to walk back down the steps. My job was done.
However, Trent wasn’t. When I turned back to see if Trent was following me, I saw him pick Brad back up off the ground and then shove him up against the wall. Getting in Brad’s face, Trent spoke in a voice that was so quiet and menacing that it actually scared me.
“You need to do the right thing and make sure the mother of your child is taken care of!” Trent growled.
“We don’t even know if that bitch is pregnant with my kid! Why should I do anything until we know for sure?” Brad continued to speak defiantly as though he wasn’t in the middle of a shit storm. He would probably have blamed Simone for it all if he could.
“Seriously?!” Trent shouted in Brad’s face. He shoved his younger brother back into the wall every time Brad tried to dodge free. “Stop being a punk ass bitch and think of someone other than yourself for once. Mom and Dad are so disappointed in you. The only hope you have to redeem yourself is if you tell them you’re taking responsibility for your actions. And if you don’t, Mom and Dad will cut you off. How do you feel about that? No more sponging off them. You’ll actually have to figure shit out for yourself without their help.”
With that, Trent shoved away from Brad and joined me on the landing where we started down the stairs together. Even though I doubted Trent’s parents would ever cut Brad off, the look on the asshole’s face made me think he believed it.
“Do you think he’s going to step up?” I asked, knowing that Brad had always been irresponsible, reckless, and completely selfish.
Trent’s jaw ticked, not cooling down yet. He looked over at me, his eyes hard. “He won’t do it on his own, that’s for sure. My parents will have to convince him to make the right choice. But he’ll listen,” Trent said grimly. “I’ll make him…”
“Ky play?” the sweetest little voice asked me, bringing me back to the present.
I looked down at the cutest toddler I’d ever seen. She had big chocolate brown eyes and soft, wavy black hair that barely touched her shoulders. She was a mini version of her mother. On occasion, I would hang out with Trent when he would take Stella for a couple hours. While I didn’t have much experience with kids I’d always been good with them.
“Sure, I’ll play,” I answered and turned to Erik, my eyebrow arched in question to see if he was going to join us.
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m going to see if they need help inside.” I smiled at his back. Erik had made it clear that kids made him nervous. He was an only child and his experience with small children was extremely limited.
“Hide Unky Twent!” Stella exclaimed as she grabbed my hand and started running toward the large oak tree at the back of the Thompson property. She wasn’t a master at speaking yet but I could understand her enough to know we were playing hide-and-seek.
She raised her finger to her lips. “Quiet!” she shouted which made me laugh out loud. When those brown eyes glared at me I quickly quieted down. She was obviously taking the game very seriously.
“Ready or not, here I come,” I heard Trent announce when he finished counting.
I watched Trent wandering around the backyard pretending like he had no idea where we were hiding. Then suddenly I heard Stella shout, “Daddy!”
When I turned around I saw the one person I didn’t care to spend any time around. He was coming in through the side gate; he must have had some reason for avoiding the house. I only felt disgust when I looked at him.
I watched Stella run across the large yard directly
to her father. I was expecting him to wrap his arms around her and lift her up. Instead he let her grab onto his leg. He barely glanced her way when he firmly nudged her off him and away. That infuriated me beyond belief. Stella was still young enough to not understand rejection but that would soon fade. Her innocence wouldn’t last forever. When Stella tried to latch back on to her father, Brad snapped at her to knock it off. Stella pouted, but like all little kids, she got over it quickly. However, it wouldn’t be long before her little mind would start asking: how could her own father not want her? I knew, because I had asked myself that same question when my own father had rejected me. The very thought that Stella would go through that was disheartening and it pissed me off.
The guy was such a douchebag. Here he was, lucky enough to be blessed with both a beautiful wife and daughter, yet, he couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge his baby girl.
“So you finally decided to show up, huh?” I heard Trent scoff as he walked toward his brother on the deck. I wasn’t far behind him, just in case.
“Mom called me, pissed that I wasn’t here,” Brad answered but he wasn’t looking at his brother. Instead he was scowling at me. There was definitely no love lost between the two of us.
“It was pretty shitty that you asked Simone to lie for you,” Trent seethed getting right in Brad’s face. “What was so important that you were going to miss Dad’s birthday?”
“None of your business, and I didn’t come here for you to start interrogating me,” he responded, not backing down.
Falling for the Unexpected (Life Unexpected Book 1) Page 6
