Page 43 of Love Affair in London (Once Again #12)

T he moment Jared woke up, he wanted to call Piper. But she’d be in flight, and hopefully, she’d be sleeping, which would help her adjust to Pacific time. Though it was early, his sleeplessness didn’t feel like jet lag. It was his thoughts. It was Piper.

He made breakfast for the kids and drove them to school. It felt like a good morning.

He thought about what Piper had said—that she was old enough to be his kids’ grandmother.

But she was young at heart. His own mother was older than her, with gray hair and old-fashioned ideas, like suggesting Scarlett should go to an exclusive school to find a lawyer or doctor to marry. Now that was a grandmother.

Piper, with her thriving accounting business, would encourage Scarlett to be whatever she wanted to be.

She’d suggest keeping all the doors open—and surely, she’d do the same for Liam.

No, Piper wouldn’t be a grandmother figure.

She’d be a mother figure. Christ, she might even be a big sister for Erica.

Jared laughed aloud as he drove back from the school. He was absolutely certain that neither his ex-wife nor his lover would see it that way.

Back home, he cleaned up the breakfast dishes and logged into his email. Despite his work on the plane, there were still more emails to take care of. He set aside the tough issues for tomorrow when he could make calls and gather more information.

Then he had time to think about his promise to the kids—to talk to their mom.

Erica had gone back to work a couple of years ago at a real estate agency and was considering getting her license.

Since he had the day off, he’d ask her to lunch.

Of course, she’d be suspicious—especially after he’d just met the new man in her life.

Just as he was about to pick up the phone to call Erica, it rang. His heart leapt, hoping it was Piper calling from the plane. But then Erica’s icon popped up on the screen.

Maybe it was because they’d been married for twenty years, or because they had two kids together, but sometimes they seemed to share the same wavelength.

“Hey, Erica.”

“We need to talk.” Her tone was sharp enough to make him pull the phone away from his ear. This didn’t sound like Erica at all.

“What’s up?” He didn’t mention that they needed to talk—specifically about Forrest.

“I don’t want to do this over the phone, Jared. Let’s meet for lunch. That deli near my office?”

He wondered if he’d telegraphed his disapproval of Forrest. “Sure. What time?”

Jared arrived at the deli early and ordered her favorite half-sandwich and a small salad. She never ate a full sandwich, claiming it was too much. He figured he didn’t need a whole one either after making that big breakfast this morning.

He found a table in the corner. By the time the food arrived, Erica was walking through the door. Her eyes went straight to him, and he thought he saw a fire in them. She wore a tailored pencil skirt and a crisp white blouse—Erica had always been a fabulous dresser.

When she sat down, he pushed her sandwich, salad, and drink toward her. “Got your favorite,” he said, hoping it would calm her down.

But she didn’t even take a bite before she lit into him. “I didn’t appreciate what you said to Forrest last night.”

He raised his hands, eyes wide. “I didn’t say anything to him. Except for when I was drying the dishes and you went upstairs to help the kids, I wasn’t even alone with the guy.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” she snapped, stabbing a cherry tomato in her salad. The fork squished it instead of piercing cleanly, seeds and juice splattering her white blouse.

Erica stared down at the mess, and Jared instinctively reached for a napkin, dampened it in his water glass, and handed it to her. But her attempts to clean it only made the stain worse.

Then she started crying.

“Jesus Christ, what’s wrong?”

She grabbed another napkin, dabbing under her eyes to keep her mascara from smearing. “Just tell me you didn’t cheat on me every time you went to a conference.” Her voice wavered with emotion.

Jared’s stomach churned. That jerk. “Of course I didn’t cheat on you. You know me better than that. I called you and the kids every night.”

“Then why did you tell Forrest that you picked up a woman at just about every conference you went to?” she demanded. “That you thought out of sight was out of mind. That what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

If Forrest had been sitting in front of him, Jared would have punched him in the nose. The man had been fishing for a confession, and when he didn’t get one, he’d made up a lie.

Instead of venting his fury, Jared reached across the table and covered Erica’s hand.

“I never cheated on you. I loved you. You’re the mother of my kids.

You’ll always be special to me. And I’d never tell anyone I catted around at conferences—especially not Forrest .

” His tone dripped with disdain, just like Scarlett’s had.

Erica’s lip quivered, but she stopped crying. “Then why would he say that?”

“I don’t know,” Jared said honestly. “Maybe he wanted to make himself look better. Or maybe he was just trying to manipulate you.”

Her shoulders sagged. “He was so nice when we first started dating a couple of months ago. He came into the real estate office to buy a condo. After signing the papers, he asked me out. I wasn’t even his agent—I was just the secretary.

” Her voice held a trace of derision, as if she didn’t value her own role.

“You aren’t just a secretary,” Jared said firmly. “You keep that office running. You find everything that’s missing and hold the place together.”

She shook her head, brushing off his words. “But that’s how I feel. Like I’m not worth anything unless I get my real estate license. Then maybe people will see me differently.”

“They see you differently because of what you do , not some license,” Jared said. “And if they don’t, you’ll find an agency that does.”

Erica offered a weak smile. “Anyway, this isn’t about me. It’s about Forrest. At first, he was great. But then little things started changing.”

Jared leaned his elbows on the table, his sandwich forgotten. “Like what?”

She looked down at the crumpled napkin in her lap, her voice dropping.

“It was subtle. He’d say things about how I dressed—like a blouse didn’t show off my beauty.

And I’d feel like I had to change. A couple of weeks ago, he said he had this great idea about rearranging the kitchen cabinets to make things more efficient for me.

As if the kitchen was a mess.” She scoffed, shaking her head.

“But the cabinets were fine the way they were. And there’s other things.

Like he’ll subtly correct me when we’re out, telling me I’m not using the right utensil, but hey—” She scowled, shimmying her shoulders as she imitated Forrest. “—that’s okay because I don’t know any better.

And he keeps asking if I’m sure I’m up to getting my real estate license, because it’s really hard and maybe I’m much better at being their secretary. ”

What an asshole. “Of course you’re perfectly capable of getting your real estate license. And no one knows what fork or spoon to use. And you dress perfectly. Don’t listen to him.”

She frowned. “I know. But I just…” She trailed off, shrugging.

Jared squeezed her hand. “Does he ever try to make the kids do things differently too?”

Erica sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “He doesn’t understand them. And he’s always correcting them. Especially Liam. Like last night when he told them to help me with the dishes, like they didn’t already know it was their job. Liam gave him a look that could’ve set the house on fire.”

Jared chuckled at that. “Good. I raised them to know what respect looks like.”

Erica fidgeted with her napkin, tearing it into tiny pieces.

“He said Scarlett was too young to stay home alone with Liam.” Frustration tinged her voice.

“But she’s been babysitting for years, and the kids she watches are much younger.

I tried explaining that, but he just kept saying girls her age couldn’t be trusted.

He said they invite boyfriends over, throw parties—and it’s better not to risk it. ”

Jared noticed the shimmer of more tears in her eyes, as if Forrest’s words had attacked her parenting and her children.

Anger surged in him. “Scarlett is the most levelheaded, responsible teenager I know. What gives him the right to say she isn’t trustworthy?

” His fists clenched with the need to confront the man.

Erica gave a weak smile, her hands still shredding the napkin. “I told him off. I said I didn’t appreciate what he said about Scarlett. He seemed contrite.” She took a bite of her sandwich.

Jared followed suit, letting the tension between them settle for a moment.

When they were halfway through their meal, Erica spoke again. “But the worst was what he said last night—about you cheating on me. Why would he even tell me that?”

Jared’s face heated with anger. “I can’t believe he actually lied.”

She met his gaze, her eyes filled with determination. “I know it’s not true.”

“But you asked me about it,” Jared said softly, recalling her earlier doubts.

She nodded, her expression pained. “I had to, just to give him the benefit of the doubt. But even then, I didn’t believe him.

It was the way he said it—almost gleeful.

Like he wanted me to believe it so badly.

He claimed he was looking out for me, afraid I might want to go back to you someday, and he wanted me to know the truth . ” She air-quoted.

Jared tamped down his anger. She didn’t need that right now. She needed someone reasonable. “What are you going to do?”

She swallowed hard and took a sip of water. “I have to break up with him. He doesn’t understand my children, and he doesn’t respect them. That’s the worst crime he can commit.”