When the kids asked about her “date,” she just said Tobias had to go home early. Then she watched a Disney movie with Piper and Everly, ignoring her phone the entire time. She read several chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to them after that and lay down with them until they were asleep. But once she returned to her own room and took her phone from her pocket so she could strip down for her bath, she saw that she’d missed a slew of messages—all of them from Axel.

I hate that you’re with him.

Don’t you dare sleep with him again. I won’t take you back if you do.

Who is this bastard? Our divorce wasn’t even final when he slept with you!

How do you think the girls feel, seeing you with another man? Why are you confusing them like this?

This is stupid, Harper. Where do you think it can go? You don’t even live there.

And don’t tell me you’re considering moving there. My parents would freak out.

Harper felt nauseous as she read those messages. Did she really want to go back to Axel and deal with more of this?

She replayed her last conversation with Tobias as she finished undressing. You want me to go back to Axel?

No. Of course I don’t, he’d said. But I do want you to be happy. And if that’s what it takes…

One man was obviously way more sensitive to what she was feeling than the other.

But she had her girls to think about.

20

Susan was working alone. Tobias had watched the store long enough to be convinced of that. And because it was cold out and getting late, she didn’t have many customers. He’d seen a few people park, get out and hurry in. But the last customer had left twenty minutes ago.

He checked the time on his phone. She’d be closing soon. If he planned to talk to her tonight, he needed to make his move. Otherwise, she’d be locking up and heading out back to her car, and he didn’t want to scare her by approaching her in the alley behind the store.

This was going to be ugly. He knew that. But he had to do it. What had been happening since Maddox married Jada wasn’t right, and Tobias was tired of feeling responsible for the pain they were suffering.

Besides, after taking Harper back to her sister’s, he already felt terrible. Let Susan kick the shit out of him like she did that other time if it made her feel any better.

Steeling himself for what the next few moments would hold, he got out, ducked his head in an effort to draw as little attention as possible and walked down to the store.