Page 13 of Can’t Let You Go (Ivy Ridge #3)

I go into great detail describing the gorgeous dress the bride is wearing.

I’m in my office, the door is wide open, so I’m not really paying attention when a figure appears in the doorway.

I figure it’s probably Isaac or Megan, so I’m surprised when they don’t step over and say hi to Presley.

Presley loves her Aunt Megan and Uncle Issac.

I glance up after I’m finished telling her about the flowers, confused when it’s Jason standing there.

He’s not exactly glaring at me, but the look on his face isn’t exactly inviting. When he sees that I notice him, he steps in further.

“Who are you looking at, Mom?” Presley asks.

I stammer, clearing my throat. “Um, it’s Jason, Lennie’s dad.”

“Oh!” she exclaims, her excitement rising again. She asks him a question, even though she can’t see him. “Mr. Jason, can I play with Lennie again next week?”

Jason rounds my desk, coming up behind me. He leans down so he can look at my screen. “Hi, Presley, yes, you can. Your mom and I will get something organized.”

I try to ignore the way he smells—so clean and fresh—but I can’t. He’s in my space, his body heat mingling with mine, and I can’t stop the way my heart starts to pound.

Presley continues to talk to Jason, all while I try to ignore the thumping heat flowing through my veins at our proximity.

Jason listens as Presley talks animatedly. Presley says my name, and I’m brought back to the present.

“What honey?” I ask.

“Grandma says it’s time for dinner.”

“Oh,” I pause. “She’s right. I’ll come in when I get there, okay?” She nods, her earlier happy mood when talking to Jason dimming. She waves to him as he’s still behind me, and he waves back, standing to his full height and backing up. “I love you so much, Presley.”

“I love you too, Mom.” I blow her a kiss through the screen, and she blows one back, and then we’re hanging up. For a second, I forget Jason is still in the room. He clears his throat.

I sit up straighter in my desk chair, spinning it to face him. “Sorry about that. What’s up?” Heat flushes on my chest.

He furrows his brows. “Isaac wanted me to come grab you for something.” Jason doesn’t elaborate, and takes a step back toward the open door.

“Oh, um, thanks,” I say. I stand from my chair, wiping my sweaty palms on the fronts of my pants, ignoring the slight ache in my feet after a long day.

He stands in the doorway stiffly, like he’s unsure whether he should wait for me or not.

“Thanks for talking to Presley.” I break the awkward silence.

Jason shrugs. “No problem. She’s a good kid.”

“She’s been having a hard time lately.” I blurt before I can second guess myself.

Jason raises a brow.

“With the divorce. She remembers her dad, but she doesn’t understand why he left.

She thinks it’s something she did to make him leave.

It breaks my heart every time, and I hate it.

She didn’t do anything to make him leave.

If anything, it was me.” I shake off the thought, not willing to dive deeper into that conversation with him right now.

I don’t know him well enough. “One day he went to a work conference, and the next, boom, signed divorce papers.”

Obviously, there’s a lot more to that story, but that’s not the point right now.

“I can’t give her a two parent home when I’m barely hanging on by a thread myself.

Being a single parent is hard. I can’t be the type of person someone deserves in a relationship, so it’s going to be just us.

I know what I said earlier, but the truth is, I can’t handle anything else.

I hate that he put me in this position, that she doesn’t have any answers.

She deserves to have a dad that loves her, and I can’t give that to her.

” When the words are out, I realize how callous my words are.

I don’t know the situation between Jason and Lennie’s mom.

A flare of something burns in Jason’s gaze, and my chest clenches. “I’m sorry. Forget I said anything,” I stammer.

“I get it,” Jason murmurs. “Lennie doesn’t ask about her mom often, but when she does, it fucking sucks. It’s so hard. I mean, how do you tell a five-year-old about drugs?”

I don’t know what to say. This is the most information he’s freely given me, and I realize how difficult this must have been for him.

“Forget I said anything,” Jason snaps, running a hand through his hair.

With a nod, it settles in that we at least have something in common. We don’t know what to tell our kids. And that sucks. As parents, it feels like we should have all the answers for our kids, but that doesn’t always happen.

“We should get going,” Jason says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I agree with him, and walk to the door. He steps out, and I pull the door closed behind me. “Where’s Isaac?”

“At the bar still.” I nod, following him down the hall to the main reception area where the bar is. We don’t speak for a moment, and I know I’ve overstepped between our conversations earlier today. “Marley’s fine,” he says, surprising me.

“Oh, good,” I reply. I was meaning to ask Megan if she’d heard anything, but I kept forgetting.

“It was some practice contractions, she’s home now.”

“Good.” I shove my hands in my pockets, twisting my finger around a loose string. Why is this so awkward suddenly? I can’t handle this. We make it to the reception area, and I spy Isaac sitting at the bar. He waves us over, and I sigh in relief, thankful to be free of this awkward interaction.