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Cason takes one of the pink jellybeans and tosses it lightly at her. It hits her mouth but bounces off her and onto the floor where she eats it. “Tanks!” she yells.
“We had it down to an art earlier, but my aim’s off now.”
I snort, still sipping my wine. “At least you didn’t knock her out.”
Leaning back against the couch cushions, Cason rolls his head to mine. “Everything okay?”
I wait for Tatum to be distracted and staring longingly at her talking snowman. “Found out Collin’s accidental death policy paid out already.”
He searches my face. “And I’m assuming not to you….”
“Nope.” My throat tightens. “Like I told Nahla earlier. It’s not even about the money at this point, or the fact that we’re starting over now, but what did I do to him that he would have completely disregarded the future we built together.”
His eyes drift to Tatum and then back to me, leaning in. “I don’t think I can answer that because I’ve never cheated on anyone. Or done the things he’s done. I’d probably knock the fucker out if I saw him.”
My heart melts for him. “Because you’re a good guy. Don’t ever change that.”
His hand inches toward mine on the cushion, underneath a throw pillow. “How long had it been since you guys talked? I mean, did he hint to anything being wrong?”
“No, not really.” Our fingertips brush, a bolt of easiness working through me at his touch. I shift toward him automatically. A weighted breath leaves my lungs, and I think back to the last year, hell, the last few months leading up to this. “After Tatum was born, things kind of went to shit. I was trying to get my shop up and running and taking care of a newborn. And he took up golf to pass the time. I had to hire a nanny because I couldn’t depend on him or myself in some ways. I’ve always been a shitshow, so while I’d love to say you’re seeing stressed-out Sydney, I’m like this all the time.”
He motions me forward with a slow curl of his finger. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
I know you bought out my entire Wilderness collection.Of course I don’t say that because something tells me he doesn’t want me to know. My cheeks raise with a smile. “And that is?”
“I have a bit of a crush on shitshow Sydney. So don’t change anything.”
I sigh. He’s too perfect. “Well, Collin didn’t feel that way. Soon he was working late every night, and we never saw him.” Emotion clogs my throat. “When I told Tatum that he died, she shrugged it off. That’s how often she saw her father.”
Cason listens intently, rubbing circles with his thumb on my hand. A deep breath expands his chest. “I don’t think I’d care if my mom died.”
As much as his admission is shocking, judging by the few instances when he’s mentioned his mother, I’m not all that surprised that he feels that way. “Tell me about your mom.”
His entire face collapses. “There’s not much to tell.”
I sip my wine. “She wasn’t a good one, was she?”
“She wasn’t much of anything.” There’s a slow shake of his head. “Aside from a gold-digging whore.”
I stare at him, not expecting him to talk about his mom that way. “Wow.”
His jaw tightens and he draws in a breath. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t say those things about my mother.” He snorts, shaking his head. “Seeing you, someone who will do anything to give her daughter the life she deserves, regardless of her circumstances, that’s a mother. Not one who dumps her kid off with a nanny.”
“I had a nanny,” I point out.
“Yeah, but you worked. She didn’t. And I bet you didn’t spread your legs for every man with eight figures in his bank account.”
“Well, no, I didn’t.”
His expression shifts, into disappointment maybe. “I can still remember the look at my dad’s face when he realized that half his team had been with his wife at one point over his career. It’s not something you forget.”
Jesus Christ. “How’d you have a mom like that and turn out like you did?”
He stares at me intently, as if he’s trying to convince me of something, and then hits me with it. “Because I had an amazing dad. The right parent can make up for another.”
I watch Tatum dancing around to the music ofFrozen. He’s right. He’s absolutely right. I might not be the best mom and am basically winging this single-parent shit at the moment, but I think I’m exactly what Tatum needs.
“You leave tomorrow for California, right?”