Almost Had Me (Passion Book 2)

Chapter Eleven

The last thing Eddie expected was Shannon's call. As far as he knew, she wanted nothing to do with him.

He'd moved out of his own house to give her some space, hoping that it was just temporary and that she would find a place of her own.

"I want to meet up and talk," she'd told him. "Can we go for coffee?"

"And what about Christopher?" After all, his son was his biggest concern in all of this.

"I'll get a babysitter," she said. "There are some things we need to discuss."

What was there left to discuss? They were separating. After two years of her gone, they were finally making things official.

This was a long time coming.

And now, he was sitting in a Cafe downtown, waiting for his wife.

Wife. It seemed impossible. Buck made him forget the fact that he was married. Made him forget about the life he thought he'd wanted with Shannon.

He sipped his coffee.

His mind always strayed to Buck, no matter what he was thinking. He was fascinated, maybe a little obsessed if he was being honest with himself.

If he wasn't thinking about his son and his wellbeing, then he was thinking of his lover.

Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone. There was no messages from Shannon. She was late. Probably on purpose. She did always like making him sweat.

The door of the Cafe opened, the bell above it ringing.

And there she was.

She was beautiful. He couldn't deny that. She'd always been beautiful, even when they'd been teenagers. Her auburn hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders. Her brown eyes scanned the area, landing on him. They narrowed, but he saw no hostility in them.

"Eddie," she said by way of greeting, sitting down across from him.

"Don't you want something to drink?" he asked. After all, it had been her idea to go for coffee.

"I'll get one later. I have news."

One of his brows raised. "What kind of news?"

"I found an apartment. It's perfect for me and Christopher."

"Excuse me?" His heart leaped into his throat.

"What? You didn't expect me to let him stay with you, did you?"

He'd hoped. For two years, it had only been him and Christopher. If she was going to take him away... It would be painfully different, his house empty of the warmth and laughter that his son filled it with.

"You left." He whispered.

"You cheated on me."

He said nothing. What could he say? That he never thought she was coming back? That he didn't know where she had been to send divorce papers?

Everything he thought of felt like excuses. And he was done making excuses.

"I wish I could take things back." He said, gripping his coffee mug. The ceramic was hot against his skin, grounding him. "But I don't regret meeting Buck."

She cupped her chin, her elbow resting on the varnished wood tabletop. "I don't get it. What's so special about him?"

Eddie looked up at her. She didn't look angry, just curious. Like she couldn't understand.

He swallowed. "He's warm and kind, and he's better than I deserve. I've never felt more alive than I do with him."

Shannon winced. "Ouch."

He shrugged, trying not to feel guilty for his words. "It's the truth. I found my soulmate."

Her brown eyes widened. "I thought you didn't believe in soulmates."

He shrugged again. "Buck made me believe."

Sadness filled her eyes. "I thought that's what we had."

He took a sip of his coffee. "If we did, than neither one of us would have done what we did."

"You're right." Her voice was soft. "I'm sorry for leaving. I missed so much with you and Christopher." A tear slid down her cheek.

"And I'm sorry. For everything. I blamed you for so much when I was the one to blame."

A small smile cracked her lips. "Let's stop talking about who's to blame. Let's just move on with our lives."

He returned her smile. "Agreed."

They talked at length about what the future held. Shannon's apartment wasn't too far from Christopher's school, but that did nothing to dispel the queasy feeling in his gut.

"Christopher lives with me,"

"You're clearly unfit."

"Why? Because I cheated?"

Shannon frowned.

"I know his needs better than anyone. I know his routines. I miss him. It feels like a piece of my heart is missing. I need him in my life, Shannon. I need him home."

She bit her lip. "Fine." She admonished. "But I want to be able to visit him regularly."

"Of course." That was reasonable. "I'm not trying to take him away from you."

She nodded, averting her eyes. "He has been asking about you. He's confused." She buried her face in her hands. "I feel terrible asking you to move out of your own home. I just thought it would make this difficult time in all our lives easier on him."

"What's done is done."

When she dropped her hands, he saw that her eyes were glassy with tears.

"It's your house. Not mine. I feel like an asshole for asking you to move your stuff."

"I offered you the house." He reminded her.

"I just didn't want any reminders of you. But that's stupid. You'll always be in my life. We have a child together."

He laid a hand on hers. "We'll figure this out. We'll find a way to make this work."

She sniffled. "I don't want a bitter divorce."

"Neither do I."

She sat back in her chair, pulling her hand away. "So. Where do we go from here?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

"You can move back in. I'm fine staying in a hotel until my move in date."

He wanted to fight her on that, but he was tired of staying at his mother's. He wanted to get back to life with his son. Of course, everything was different now, but he wanted to find some form of normalicy with Christopher.

And, now he could ask Buck to move in with him.

Was that a step to far?

He wanted to fall asleep next to Buck every night and to wake up to him in the morning. But it was a big step. Especially considering that his son would be there.

Not now. He told himself. Now was not the time to be thinking about that.

Focus on Christopher, he thought. Focus on what's best for him.

"I have to go," Shannon said, pulling him back to the now. She wiped under her eyes and stood. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye,"

He stood to hug her.

"I hope you find happiness with him." She murmured before pulling away. She turned away from him and was gone.