The Match (It Happened in Charleston 1)

“She’s spending the weekend with June.”

Natalie makes a disgusted face. “With June? I hope you’re not letting your sister rub off on Sam.”

I bite the side of my cheek so hard that I taste blood. In an attempt to not lose my cool with Natalie, I turn around and start unlocking my front door. “You lost the right to make parenting decisions when you left last year. And if you have any hope of talking to me about whatever it is you’re doing here, you’ll want to talk nicer about my sister who has sacrificed an enormous amount of her life to help me raise my daughter.”

I go in the house and think it would feel really good to slam the door in Natalie’s face, but she’s following me too closely. I’d end up slamming the door onto her face, and Natalie having a good reason to fight for custody of Sam is the last thing I need right now.

“You’re right; I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Natalie comes in the house and looks around, wide-eyed, as I turn on the lights. Oh, right. This is the first time she’s been in here. I was in the process of building this house when she left, so she never got a chance to enjoy it. It’s a good thing, too. It gave me and Sam a clean start. A place where we could move on and not have to be plagued with memories of what our life was like before in that old house. The one that was much smaller. And older. And probably part of the reason Natalie left me.

She always had an eye for new and shiny things, and when Dr. I-Don’t-Care-to-Remember-His-Name offered her a new life, she took it.

“Wow, Jake. This house is gorgeous.” She smiles at me, and I try to squint to see the woman I used to love. But nope. She’s not there anymore. This raven-haired woman with overly full lips and a whole new bra size is not the woman I loved. She looks plastic now. Even her smile looks too tight to be real.

“So, I’m guessing you’re here to see Sam?”

She frowns and lets her too-skinny shoulders slump. “You don’t have to be so gruff with me. I know I messed up, okay?”

I cross my arms, not giving in to her wounded-bird act. “Natalie, are you trying to tell me that you’re ready to be a part of Sam’s life again?”

She tips a shoulder and gives a light grin that I realize is supposed to be flirtatious. She starts advancing toward me. “And yours.”

HA! When hell freezes over, maybe.

I shake my head and give Natalie a look that conveys my dislike of her nearness. “First of all, you can’t just do this, Natalie. You can’t leave us with barely any contact for a whole year, then surprise me on my front porch late at night, hoping to play house whenever you want to. You needed to call, give us some notice, and I would have arranged a time for you and Sam to spend together. I’ve never kept you from her; you’re the one who abandoned her, and honestly, I don’t know if she will even want to see you. Second, you and I are done for good, so let’s just get that out of the way now.”

“Arrange a time for me and my daughter to spend together? You’ve got to be kidding me, Jake. Sam is just as much my daughter as she is yours, and I have a right to come and see her whenever I want to.”

“Really? Because it seems to me that if she was just as much your daughter as she is mine, you would have been here when she had the flu…or when she won first place in her school talent show…or when she was diagnosed with epilepsy. I don’t remember seeing you sleeping beside me on the floor in her room every night for the past six months.” I’m fighting hard to keep my voice from raising, but I don’t know how much longer I can stand in front of Natalie and keep it even.

Natalie doesn’t seem to sense that every muscle in my body is flexed with anger, because she steps closer and tries to press herself up against me. I keep perfectly still because I’m afraid that any movement I make will end up being rough and hurting her.

“Jake, I know that I haven’t been the mom that I should be for Sam. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I left you to deal with this all alone. But I’m here now, and I’ve changed. I’m ready to be a family again.”

I laugh, but it doesn’t sound cheery. “Just when did this change take place? On your flight back from Hawaii? And what did your latest boyfriend have to say about you wanting to become a family woman again?”

She casts her long, fake eyelashes down to my chest. “He and I broke up.”

“Mmhmm. I see. So, are you out of money now?”

Her eyes shoot back up to me. “Jake! What a mean thing to say. I’m not here for your money.” Yes, she is. “I want to be with our daughter again. With you again!” Maybe for a minute she does. But it won’t last. I can’t trust her, and I know it.

I take a deep breath and force my muscles to relax before I slowly extract myself from her grasp and the new fake boobs that she’s trying to press on me. “Tell you what, Natalie. You rent a hotel and stick around here for one whole week, and I want you to call and talk to Sam every single one of those days. If you can do that, I’ll think about letting you spend more time with Sam. But what I won’t do is let you jump in and out of her life whenever you want and crush her little heart more than you already have.”

“But Jake! It’s late. You really want me to go get a hotel right now?” She’s pressing up against me again. “Surely I can stay here with you. I mean…we were married, for goodness’ sake.” Yeah, I know what she’s implying.

And guess what? Not gonna happen.

I abruptly step away from Natalie and head toward my room to pack a bag. “You can stay here tonight since Sam is with June,” I yell while quickly tossing a few pieces of clothing in a duffel bag.

When I reemerge in the living room, I see that Natalie is already lounging on my couch with a glass of MY wine in her hand, and she’s also already changed into a tiny tank top that flaunts her newest accessories. She sees my bag and frowns. “Wait. You’re leaving?”

I nod and start heading toward the door because I’m not falling for any more traps tonight. “Yep. Surely, you didn’t think I was going to stay here with you. I told you, Natalie, we’re over.”

She shoots up to her feet, looking angry, and crosses her arms. “Who is she?”

I sigh and pause only long enough to turn the thermostat down to 55. If she’s going to be here, I want her to be so cold she has to wear a parka. “She is none of your business.”