Bad Bets (Bad News Series Book 3) *Under Major Edit*

Chapter 18

“Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you…” Everyone in the room sang, as both Ellie and Harvey clung to Jack’s lap, Jess walking in with the cake.

“Happy birthday to daddy!!” Ellie shouted at the top of her lungs.

Placing it in front of him Jess smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. As Jack wound a hand around her waist, Ellie stood up on Jack’s legs getting in between the two of them.

“Go on then baby girl, blow em’ out.” He laughed, pulling back. “You too Harv.”

And both children did just that, jumping up and down with excitement when they had finally got rid of all the flames.

“Twenty four years old. Feeling old yet?” Jack’s dad came up behind him, patting him on the back.

“Not as old as you.” He raised a brow.

Placing the kids back on the floor, Jack was arrived with a lot of ‘happy birthday’s’ from all the family members and friends that were currently round, while Jess was showing Mia off to her friends alongside Sophie and Juliet.

Isabella was the last to approach Jack, both exchanging a hug before he looked at her completely serious.

“Are you alright?” He asked and she knew exactly what he was referring to.

George.

He knew she had found this whole break up hard and she was still completely heartbroken. He also knew that it was take the smallest of things to make her fall straight back into his arms he if he came back around. Lastly, he knew she was finding it difficult with the whole single parent concept.

She had help from Joe and her mum but it wasn’t quite the life she had planned out for him in the first place.

She had expected things to have continued how they did after the wedding.

The two of them were the happiest they had ever been and things were finally going right.

She had wanted more than anything, even after all their disagreements, for George to be at the birth. But, when he had got the call, he made no effort whatsoever to show up.

“I’m good.” She smiled back up at him, not wanting to talk about this on his birthday.

She knew he had everything going perfectly.

He had his precious family all in sync with one another and she couldn’t help but envy them for it.

“Tell me the truth.” He insisted, not stopping until he got it.

“I… not now.” Isabella began to speak before Ellie approached Jack.

“Daddy, Harvey has chocolate.” Her arms were thrown across her chest as she looked up at him.

“I gave it to him El, its alright.”

Her eyes filled with frustration before they moved to Isabella and she instantly took a step back, falling into Jack.

“Who is that Dad?”

Because Isabella had spent such a long time away from her friends she had missed a lot of Jack’s children growing up. They hadn’t got to know her and it wasn’t until this moment right here that it hit them.

Ellie wasn’t quite sure who Isabella was even though she had seem her on a few occasions.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the female as she stood staring and it hurt Isabella more than she thought it would.

She had grown up with Jack, Sophie and Elliot yet they were strangers now and that had all happened because at the time it had been the best thing for her and George.