Merry Ex-Mas Read Online Free Page B

faced me and said, "Asia, we need to talk."
    That was when it came back to me. Seeing Bobby had almost made me forget — we were about to have the talk . I was giddy again and wondered if Bobby had brought the engagement ring already, or were we going to buy it together?
    Bobby sat on the couch, and I eased down next to him. After he let a couple of moments pass, he said, "We've been together for a long time, and I never meant for things to go on like this for so long."
    I pouted, just a little, but only because he loved it when I did that with my lips. "Baby, it's okay. The past doesn't matter. It's all about what's happening now."
    His forehead creased, and that was when I realized that he really thought that I didn't know why he was here.
    I laughed. "Baby, I know what you're going to say."
    His frown deepened.
    I said, "I knew it when you said that you wanted to come over." I cupped my hands over his. "I know this is gonna be hard, but it's best for Caroline."
    Bobby flinched, but I knew why. I'd kinda broken the unspoken rule — that his wife's name was never to be spoken. But since he was about to divorce her, it didn't matter.
    I said, "And this is definitely best for me and Angel."
    His eyes narrowed.
    I guess I just needed to come out and say it. "Angel is going to be so excited when we tell her that we're getting married."
    Bobby snatched his hands away from me and jumped up like he'd been bitten by a snake. "No!" He started pacing back and forth.
    "What is wrong with you, baby?" I asked him.
    He was breathing heavy when he said, "You don't understand … I've decided … to stay … with my wife."
    Okay, now see, I had to figure out why my man had stopped speaking English.
    He said, "I'm going to be working at ESPN, and I want to change every part of my life. I want to honor my wife."
    His words literally took my breath away. But I had enough air to ask, "What did you say?"
    "I want to honor … my wife. I owe this to her."
    That fool had gone and said the wrong thing! I sprang up from the couch and got right in his face. "Owe it to your wife? What about me? What do you owe me?"
    "You'll never have to worry. I'll take care of you."
    "You think that's enough?" I could feel my neck rolling with each word. I may have been living the high life for the last ten years, but right now, every bit of my Compton-life-before-Bobby was coming out of me.
    "I'll take care of Angel, too."
    "Damn straight since she's your daughter." I glared at him. "I cannot believe this. I thought you were coming here to tell me that we were getting married."
    He looked at me as if I were the one who was speaking a different language. "I never made you that promise."
    That was when I went all the way off. I reminded him that I'd had his baby. He reminded me that he had a wife. I told him that I thought he loved me. And he said nothing — just turned his back on me.
    I don't know what made me do it. Maybe it was the ten years that we spent together or the fact that he was actually leaving me for his wife . But my fists started flying, hitting his face, his chest, anyplace where I could connect. It wasn't like I really thought my hands were lethal weapons, but I sure hoped that I would kill him. Or at the very least, I wanted to give him the beat down of his life.
    But Bobby was stronger; he held me until I calmed down, but then he was smart enough to back out of the apartment and never take his eyes off of me … .
    "Mom! You've got to talk to Dad!" Angel said pushing her phone into my hand.
    I blinked. It was just a couple of seconds, but with all the emotions that I'd just relived from that morning six years ago, I really didn't feel like talking to Bobby. But with Angel standing there, staring in my face, I took the phone from her.
    "Be nice," she whispered.
    With a tilt of my head, I painted on as fake a smile as I could. “ Hello, Bobby," I said in an exaggerated, affected tone that was meant to mimic his wife's.
    “Hey, Asia, what’s