Page 51 of Fighting for her Family

“It was awful!” she announced. “We couldn’t go to any of the bars or nightclubs. And Oliver whined nonstop whenever we went out for a shopping spree.”

Evie seethed. “He’s a child. You’re supposed to play with him, not drag him around designer outlets.”

“Brandi isn’t used to children,” Adrian argued, although he did look slightly chagrined as it became clear this was less about Ollie’s behavior and more about Brandi being curtailed by responsibility.

“Well, if you’re so concerned about your son, maybe your girlfriend needs to try fostering that relationship with him? Or was it too much like hard work to look after someone else’s kid?”

Adrian looked at her in shock. Evie had never been anything but compliant.

Or a doormat.

But that was when she’d been married to him.

“This is different,” Adrian maintained.

Ollie, oblivious to the tension, suddenly peeked around the doorframe. “Can I have a gingerbread man?” he asked, as if this were the only reasonable thing to say at the moment.

Evie wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She reached for her son, feeling her mother-defenses rise to the surface, molten and protective. How dare Adrian continue this double standard now they were divorced!

The next words out of her mouth were going to be either a well-aimed snowball or a string of sarcasm that would have made her grandmother proud. But first, she sent Ollie off to the kitchen. No matter how angry she was with his father, Evie refused to allow their son to watch them fight.

“Gabe will find you one.” She nodded to the man who appeared behind her little boy. Noted the way he took Ollie’s hand and led him out of earshot, all after silently asking if she was okay.

Then she turned on Adrian. “Of course it isn’t. We’re divorced, and at least I had the decency to wait until the ink on the decree absolute was dry. Ollie’s had time to get used to our new situation without any external influences to confuse him. All he’s experienced from you is seeing you swap his mother for another woman, so you should think twice before you accuse me of being inappropriate!”

If she wasn’t so furious, she might have laughed at the expression on her ex-husband’s face.

“Now, I’m going to get dressed. I need to be at the festival soon. Have a great Christmas.”

Evie closed the door and didn’t even bother to ask if Adrian wanted to see his son on Christmas Day. He hadn’t mentioned it himself, and honestly, she didn’t think he cared, either.

Well, that was his loss.

Chapter

Twenty-One

EVIE

There was no opportunity to confront Gabe about the way he’d staked his claim in front of Adrian… and also in front of Ollie, although the little boy seemed mercifully oblivious. But Evie wasn’t having that conversation while her son was around.

“You should have woken me,” she murmured, even while she gratefully sipped at Shepherd’s amazing coffee. And boy, did she need it!

“Evie, you were so tired, not even the three of us getting up and dressed woke you,” Gabe remarked, keeping his voice low enough that Ollie couldn’t hear. “And besides, Shepherd delivered all your baked goods to the stall, and Asher is watching it like usual. Jane is taking over this afternoon when you take your last twirl as Santa’s helper, so there’s no rush at all. Enjoy having Ollie back and let us do the heavy lifting.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate it,” Evie grumbled. “But you’re spoiling me and making me feel kinda useless.”

Gabe stepped forward and cupped her cheek, and the warmth that spread through her made Evie wonder how she was ever going to give him, all of them, up.

“Evie, you’ve been strong forever. Since long before Adrian left. You think I didn’t see it? You think I didn’t get angry at the way he treated you like he did? Like everything you wanted was secondary to his own needs. You think I didn’t want to punch his lights out for giving that bimbo he’s taken up with all the things he denied you?”

Evie sucked in a breath, his words hitting her in the feels. Damn it, he wasn’t playing fair.

“The only thing stopping me was that I was doing a mental fist pump when he left, because it meant I finally had a chance with you.”

This man!

She shook her head and opened her mouth to say what needed to be said, but once again, he beat her to the punch.