Read Online Forever An Ex by Victoria Christopher Murray - Free Book Online Page A

you”—Caroline paused—“as her mother.” She gave me a tiny smile.
    The two spoke like a tag-team, as if they’d rehearsed. But I could tell that Caroline hadn’t liked her last line. Bobby had probably told her to say it.
    Bobby said, “I think as parents, we have to do whatever we can to help our children reach their greatest heights. I remember how my parents let me go to basketball camp every single summer. I found out later that they’d taken out all kinds of loans so that I could do it.”
    â€œBut obviously, we don’t have to do that,” Caroline said. “All we have to do is make it all accessible to Angel . . . and be supportive of her.”
    I had been listening, going from one to the other, but now I had to say, “I’ve always been supportive of my daughter.” As I spoke, I tapped my left hand against my right arm. “And, I always will be.”
    My eyes were on Caroline and her eyes were on my ring. My hope was that the sunlight that shone from the outside hit my ring at the perfect angle. And maybe, just maybe, Caroline would be blinded by it. Literally.
    â€œOf course,” Bobby said. He was such a man; he was totally oblivious to what was going on between me and his wife. “You’ve done an amazing job raising Angel. It’s because of you that she even has goals. So, I understand that this would be hard. I just want you to know that if you agree, we’ll do everything we can to work it out.”
    I said, “Okay, let’s say that I were to go along with this.”
    I stopped and watched smiles spread onto their faces.
    â€œWho’s going to take care of Angel?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Now Bobby and Caroline frowned together.
    â€œI mean, who’s going to take care of my daughter? Who’s going to help her through her life? Who’s going to be there when none of the kids at school want to be her friend, or when the girls are jealous of her? Or who’s gonna be there when she meets that first boy and wants to go on a date?”
    Bobby said, “She’ll be living with us.”
    â€œThat’s what I mean.” Turning to Caroline, I said, “She’ll be living with you when she’ll need me”—I let a beat pass—“. . . her mother.”
    Now their faces looked like I’d socked both of them in their eyes.
    â€œIf that was meant for me,” Caroline said, pressing her hand to her chest, “I know that you’re her mother, and I would never try to replace you.”
    Yeah, right.
    â€œBut you should know that I would be there for Angel for all of that. You may not know this, but Angel and I are very close. Of course, it was hard when I found out that Bobby’d had a child outside of our marriage. But once he apologized and promised me that nothing like that would ever happen again . . .” She paused as if she wanted to make sure that I’d heard her. “. . . I was able to forgive him. That meant accepting his daughter because I love him, and since she’s a part of him, I love her.” Then, to rub it in, she reached for Bobby’s hand and held it. What was worse—he held her back.
    She continued, “Over the years, Angel and I have developed a wonderful relationship.” As she spoke, my eyes were on their hands. I stared, hardly hearing when she said, “When Angel’s with us, she spends more time with me than she does with Bobby. And when she’s with you, she calls me every day.”
    Those words shocked me back to my senses.
    â€œYeah.” Bobby grinned, as if he was proud. “Angel speaks to Caroline more than she speaks to me.”
    Forget about what Bobby said, I couldn’t get past . . . Angel called Caroline every day?
    Caroline continued, “All of those things you mentioned—Angel and I have already talked about. I know that