“No, of course not. I—”
“Where’d you meet him?”
“Lou and Mickey’s down at Gaslamp.”
“You met him at a bar?”
“It’s a steakhouse too.”
“So you were on a date with him?” AJ paced the kitchen, trying desperately not to lose it.
“No,” she insisted adamantly, walking over to him and touching his arm. “I remembered the place is kind of dark, and I didn’t wanna be seen with him, but at the same time, wanted it to be somewhere public so I knew I’d be safe?”
“Why? You feel threatened by him?”
“No,” she said again, slipping her hand into his and squeezing. “I just figured it’s always safer to meet someone you don’t trust entirely somewhere public, especially when no one knows you’re meeting him. He’s never given me any reason to feel threatened, but he’s not exactly on the top of my list of people I trust. I was just playing it safe.”
AJ searched her eyes, breathing in deeply in an effort to remain calm, but one thing was for damn sure. The food he’d ordered was a waste. At least for him it was because he’d completely lost his appetite. In fact, he’d had visions of knocking the whole fucking bag off the counter more than once already, but he was determined not to let Addison see that ugly side of him, not this close up. “Alright, so what now? Anytime he calls and says he wants to meet with you, you’re going to go running to him?”
“No.” She shook her head, almost annoyed.
Damn straight no. There were things he might go along with—for now. This was not one of them.
“He’s gone now. He had a plane to catch just a few hours after I met with him.”
She brought her hand around his waist, forcing him to lean back against the counter, and stared up at him. AJ did his best to relax his already overworked tense muscles as he stared down at her.
“After the second time he brought up the possibility of us, I told him there was no possibility and, if he was going to insist we discuss it, that I was leaving. We then discussed his meeting Clair. He wants to arrange something where he’d come out here and Clair and I could spend the day with him at the beach or something.”
“Fuck no!” AJ said, straightening out suddenly, done with trying to remain cool about this. He pulled free of her embrace and stormed away. It felt impossible to stand in one place anymore. He ran his fingers through his hair before turning back to face her. “The three of you spending a cozy family day at the beach? That’s not happening.”
“I’m not leaving her alone with him,” she said firmly.
“You don’t have to. I’ll go with you guys, but you’re not spending the day with a guy who’s in love with you and just using her so he can be around you. I can be reasonable about some things, Addison, but this is bullshit!”
“I’m still holding out for the possibility that he’ll just drop the whole idea,” she said, her eyes glistening again. “I actually thought for a moment when he kept changing the subject back to the possibility of us working things out, that maybe if he met her and saw how high maintenance she is with all her allergies he’d bail for sure. I’d hate to do that to her, but if it means getting rid of him, I’d be willing. He’s that self-absorbed and has never wanted to be bothered by anything.”
“Are you kidding me?” AJ asked because that last comment infuriated him as much as it worried him. “He spends a couple of hours with her, and he’ll be in love. You’ll never get rid of him.” This was a fucking nightmare. AJ’s worst. “Promise me you won’t do anything without at least telling me first. I know I’m not her father, Addison, but I love that little girl as much as I love you. I think I deserve to at least know what you plan to do. And I’m sorry. I’ll deal with not knowing who this guy is, but I will not tolerate you lying to me again.”
“I won’t and I’ll tell you before I decide anything.” She walked up to him, her lip quivering now, so he pulled her to him. “I love that you love her as much you love me.”
“How could I not?” he said, squeezing her tighter and kissing the top of her head. “She’s impossible not to love and she’s a part of you.”
The sound of Isaiah’s crutches got their attention, and they both turned to see him entering the kitchen. “Everything okay?” he asked when he saw Addison wiping away the tears.
“Everything’s fine,” she said, walking over to grab a paper towel.
Isaiah peered at her for a moment, noticeably unconvinced, but when he glanced at AJ questioningly, AJ shook his head in a silent gesture to let it go.
“Is that Chinese?” Isaiah asked, turning his attention to the bag on the counter.
“Yeah, Lucky Dragon,” AJ said, turning to the untouched food. “Help yourself. I ordered a lot.”
They made small talk about today’s game and Isaiah’s physical therapy as Isaiah munched on some of the Chinese food straight out of the boxes. After a short while of chatting, Isaiah finally excused himself, saying he shouldn’t eat too much because he had a dinner date. That instantly annoyed AJ. “You’re not supposed to be driving,” AJ reminded him.
“Who said I’m driving?” Isaiah smirked, winking at Addison, saying it was nice to see her again as he hobbled out of the kitchen.
“Seriously,” AJ muttered under his breath as he grabbed two beers from the fridge. “What’s so hard about staying put for a few weeks? Would it really kill the guy to just relax and enjoy being catered to? I told you he let go of the nurse I hired to wait on him, right?”
“I probably would’ve too,” Addison said with a sympathetic pout. “It’s a broken leg, baby, not a brain injury. Thank God. And obviously he’s well enough for extracurricular activities; it’s why he probably felt guilty having you spend money on someone to wait on him hand and foot.”
“He knows money is not an issue.”
He handed Addison a beer and then grabbed one of the Chinese takeout boxes and told Addison to grab whatever she wanted. They were moving this into the bedroom. AJ still wasn’t done with the conversation Isaiah had interrupted. Not by a long shot.
Just as he put down his beer and the takeout box on his nightstand, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He was ready to ignore it until he saw it was from his sister Emi. She didn’t call too often, usually just texted if it were something quick she needed to ask or tell him, so he answered it.
“What’s up, Em?” he said, tossing the remote closer on the bed for Addison.
“Where are you?”
“Home,” he said, instantly feeling slightly alarmed. She sounded weird. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Is anyone within hearing range?”
“Addison’s here.” Addison glanced up curiously at the sound of her name.
He heard Em smack her lips. “Can you go somewhere where she won’t hear your conversation?”
That got his heart going again. What could Emi have to tell him that she didn’t want Addison to hear? The possibility that maybe she’d seen Addison today with her ex or maybe knew something about it got him moving.
“I’m not sure,” he said, motioning to Addison that he’d be right back as he headed for his bedroom door. “I’ll check if it’s here.” The moment he was sure he was far enough, he slowed down. “I’m in another room now. What’s going on?”
“Are Nathan or Isaiah anywhere nearby?”
“Nathan’s at work,” he said, already losing his patience. “Isaiah’s on a date. What is it, Em?”
“You gotta promise you’re not gonna do what you always do and start interrogating anyone, because I don’t have all the facts yet.”
“I promise,” he said, knowing full well that was bullshit, but she was making him nervous, so he needed her to spit it out already.