RULES FOR DATING YOUR EX (The Baileys #9)

Chapter 3

Three

Sedona

The owner brings us our drinks and I use the interruption to study Jamison further. The only logical explanation for me finding Jamison so damn attractive is that I’m pregnant and overflowing with hormones. It’s certainly not normal to want to nail someone on a diner table during the breakfast rush when you hate said person. And hate is a polite way of labeling my feelings for Jamison.

He’s not as cut as he was when we were together, but he’s still fit. The athletic body he loved to show off could be hiding under his jeans and long-sleeve Henley, but you didn’t need X-ray vision back in the day to know he had a body of steel.

“I love her name. And I’d never expect you to wait.”

I nod, sipping my tea. I told myself I would be an adult about this.

“Are you playing?” I ask to steer the conversation away from Palmer.

He shakes his head with a disappointed glint in his eye. “I guess you don’t follow me anymore.” He stares at his coffee, then glances up.

I ignore the pull to tell him I know everything the tabloids have said about him. Everything from his rock bottom to rehab to a halfway house. I chased down every rumor that he was dating someone. Hell, I’ve probably kept better track of him than the FBI could.

“My career is over.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, and he nods.

I remember when I heard the news that he wouldn’t be coming back from his injury. I thought maybe things could’ve changed, but I guess not. His dream shattered only a few years after he started really playing. It’s so unfair. He shrugs it off, but I watched him chase his dream, saw what he put into making it happen, how hard he worked. Enough to know that inside, it must be killing him, festering and eating him alive.

“What’s your plan now?” I ask.

He brings his coffee to his lips. “Not sure. Coaching maybe? But I’m really only concerned about getting you to forgive me right now.”

Those blue eyes of his lock with mine, and I tear my gaze away before I accept his apology too quickly. It’s not like he’s apologizing for stepping on my toe or forgetting to call. Grab that backbone, Sedona. Phoenix would never let him get away with this, but then again, I’ve never been like my sister that way.

“I’m not available.”

He eyes my stomach once more as a sour look crosses his face. “I figured as much. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t go there with you ever again, regardless. Now, if you want to talk Palmer, we can work something out. But me and you are off the table.” I waggle my finger back and forth between us.

He leans across the table. “I want to see her. I want to be a part of her life.”

I lean back as far as I can in the booth, but my stomach hits the edge of the table. The waiter comes by and slides one plate my way and another in front of Jamison.

“I brought you a muffin and fruit. On the house,” the waiter says to me. “I couldn’t bear having a pregnant mama in here not eating. No offense.”

“Thank you, but we’ll happily pay for it,” I say before I realize I said we. He smiles and walks away, but I stop him before he gets too far. “I mean I. I will pay for it.”

The waiter glances back at Jamison, then back at me, placing his hand over mine. “On the house. No arguing with the owner.” He points.

Sure enough, there’s a sign nailed to the wall that says exactly that.

I nod. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

By the time I turn around, Jamison is almost half done with his omelet. “You always did have yer admirers,” he says between swallows.

“That felt like a dig.”

“Just a fact,” he says, mumbling over his mouth full of food.

“And I wasn’t the one with the admirers.”

He holds my gaze for longer than is comfortable. “I never cheated on you.”

I nod. That’s not what today is supposed to be about, so I deter the conversation from anything to do with our shared past. “I have some stipulations before I let you meet Palmer.”

He pushes away his now empty plate, sips his coffee, wipes his mouth, and grants me his undivided attention. “Non-negotiable?”

“Kind of, yes. This isn’t a pet we’re sharing. She’s a little girl with feelings and a heart that I don’t want broken.”

He nods. “I’m well aware of that.”

Questions and thoughts rush around my head like a swarm of bees—he didn’t seem to know those things once upon a time.

“If we do this and you’re serious about getting to know her, then you do it with me present. We take this slow. And I’m warning you, Jamison, if you so much as miss one date we make, I’ll strip her away from you without blinking. You can haul me into court, and I’ll hire the best lawyer. I will not let her get hurt.” A laugh bubbles out of him, and I narrow my eyes. I tear off a piece of my muffin. “What could possibly be funny right now?”

“You. The protective mama bear. I like it.” His vision dips to my lips and back to my eyes.

I could throw back an insult or two about his absence, but I think about Palmer and when she called Kingston daddy. Her scrunched up little nose when I said he’s her uncle, not her daddy. Every one of her cousins has a mom and dad, so of course she assumes she has a daddy too.

I study the man across the table. The sweet boy who never would’ve abandoned his daughter has to be in there somewhere. Maybe he’s here now. Maybe rehab changed him, and he’ll be the dad I always thought he’d be.

“What’s your schedule like this week?” I ask, trying my hardest to keep the conversation on track.

“I’m wide open. Well, actually I’ll be trying to find somewhere to stay this afternoon and I’m going to rent a car, but—”

“Why? Where did you stay last night?” I mentally reprimanded myself for asking. Asking means I care, and I don’t care.

“I was at Glacier Point, but yer brother-in-law is kicking me out.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my smile from forming, but I must suck at it because Jamison shakes his head and smirks.

“Go ahead and be happy. I’m pretty sure I should look here in Sunrise Bay for the time being because no one in Lake Starlight wants to see me.”

My heart pinches, damn it. “Maybe that’d be best.”

I ignore the sour feeling in my stomach. Pushing my plate to the side, having only eaten a bite of the muffin and nothing else, I shift in my seat to get more comfortable. Pretty much an impossibility.

Jamison eyes the plate and slides it back my way. “You need to eat.”

I roll my eyes. “Thanks for the advice, doctor, but I’m fine.” I take my phone out of my purse. “Same number?”

He shakes his head and pulls out his phone. “You?”

“Yeah,” I say, not allowing myself to focus on the fact that he had my number for more than eighteen months and never used it.

My phone vibrates in my hand. It’s a text message of a smiley face from an unknown number. The notification blocks Palmer’s face in the picture I snapped last week when she decided to pull out every pot and pan I own.

“That’s me,” Jamison says.

I put my phone back in my purse. “I’ll message you a meeting time. We’ll keep it public, so maybe the park or something.” Sliding out of the booth, I’m aware of Jamison staring at me. “Goodbye, Jamison.” I stand at the edge of the booth. “Please just make sure this is what you want before you meet us. There’s no going back once we start this process.”

He nods.

I walk away, fully aware I’m not nearly as prepared for this new version of our relationship as I need to be.

Phoenix sits on her porch when I pull up to her house. She’s basking in the sun with her head facing up. She looks in my direction as I put the car in park. I exit the vehicle and she walks toward me. My mental pep talk from the car ride over about not getting upset crumbles as soon as her arms wrap around me in a tight hug.

“Come on. Griffin took Maverick and Palmer on a bike ride, and I may have called Grandma Dori and informed her where. We have some extra time.”

I laugh as she leads me to the front door. “You’re horrible. Griffin’s gonna be mad.”

She shrugs, and we walk through her house out onto her back patio. The pool they installed last year is still closed, but her comfy outdoor furniture is nice to sit on and enjoy the perfect spring day.

She tucks her legs underneath her. “So what did he say?”

“He said he wants us back.”

“What an asshole,” she says.

I hesitated to come here because I knew how she’d be. Phoenix will never warm to Jamison.

“I told him there was no chance for us.”

“Of course! Can you imagine? He’s such an arrogant prick.”

I run my hands over my belly. “He wants to know whose baby it is.”

She snickers. “And what did you say? Did you tell him?”

“No.”

Her snicker turns into a full-on laugh. “Good. It’s none of his business.”

Her animosity upsets me, but it shouldn’t. She’s being protective of Palmer and me. I’d be the same way if the roles were reversed. Not to mention I was all “crucify Jamison, burn him at the stake” until he showed back up. Now all I think of is Palmer and the fact that she deserves to have her dad in her life. I just have to figure out if Jamison is worthy of that title.

“Regardless, he’s her dad and I have to see where this is gonna go.”

She rolls her eyes and lets out an annoyed huff. “No, you don’t actually. Do you really think if his career didn’t blow up, he’d be here? Think about it. He has nothing else in his life right now. What happens when he finds his next dream or finds himself looking at the bottom of a bottle again? You two will be in his rearview mirror.”

I stand in a huff. Damn, my back is killing me. I forgot the crappy things that come with being pregnant. “Can we please not go there at this point? I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t forecast the future. Neither of us can.” I rub my lower back as I waddle toward the pool.

“He’s already softened you.” She throws her arms up in front of her. “God, that’s it. We’re doing the switcharoo.” She raises her finger and twirls it in a circle.

I stare at her. “We’re a little old for that. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’d figure it out.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I could convince him otherwise.”

“Not unless you were in your third trimester.”

Her face falls at the realization.

“And anyway, we’re not switching on him.”

“Then grow a f*****g backbone. He can’t just show up now after you’ve picked up all the broken pieces he left behind and expect you to bow at his feet.” She meets me at the pool’s edge.

“Just stop. I know, okay? But Palmer is his daughter. She deserves to have a relationship with him.”

“He deserves a s**t bomb on his front porch. Or a punch to his junk. He doesn’t deserve to have that sweet girl wrap her arms around him and call him daddy.”

I blow out a breath. “Imagine Maverick not even knowing Maggie. Look what you did to make sure she stayed in his life.”

Her features soften. Sometimes with Phoenix, she just can’t see anyone else’s side but her own. She nods, then sighs. “Just do me a favor and don’t let him Rico Suave you, okay?” She places her hand on my shoulder.

I shake my head as if that’s the most absurd thought ever. “Of course not.”

“Hey, you two.” Griffin walks in, a sweaty mess, with Palmer in his arms.

Her eyes light up when she sees me. Mommy.

“Thanks so much, Griffin,” I say, taking Palmer from him.

Daddy. She points at Griffin.

I blow out a breath and give Phoenix a look.

“You may have a point,” she says and laughs.

Griffin goes in to kiss her and Phoenix pushes him away because he’s too sweaty, but he runs his cheek along hers and she giggles until he captures her.

“Gross,” Maverick says. “Hey, Aunt Sedona.” He sits on the lounger and starts playing on his phone.

Palmer squirms out of my hold, and crawls up next to him on the lounger to watch.

“You got back sooner than I thought,” Phoenix says and smiles at me.

Griffin raises his eyebrows. “Because your plan backfired on you.”

“What plan?” she asks innocently with wide eyes.

“Sedona, sit down.” Grandma Dori comes out of the house with Ethel in tow. “You need to be resting. Keep that baby in as long as you can. Especially with all the stress of that good-for-nothing boy showing back up here.”

Griffin laughs and bops Phoenix on the end of the nose with his index finger. “I’m going to take a shower.” Then he disappears into the house.

Grandma Dori leads me over to the couch, physically putting my feet up on the table while I give Phoenix the death stare of all death stares. I’m not sure what will end up being more painful—this meeting with Grandma Dori and Ethel, or the one I had earlier with Jamison.