Only One Night (Only One 3)

“I’m talking about the circles under your eyes.” Miller points at me. “It means you didn’t sleep.”

“This could be true,” Ralph agrees with him, and I roll my eyes.

“And you didn’t come in dragging your ass, so . . .” He shrugs. “That means you’re happy you stayed up all night.”

“That is definitely true. Remember last week when Ariella kept us up all night teething? I was not a nice person the next day. I definitely didn’t smile.” Ralph looks over at Miller, who nods his head. “Coach sent me home five minutes into practice.”

“He did,” I agree with them, and then I look down, and I look up. “I was with Evelyn last night.” They both look at each other and then back at me. “The redhead.”

“The hot chick from the club,” Miller says, and I’m about to throat punch him when Ralph puts up his hand to stop me.

“What did we talk about?” He looks at Miller. “How do you feel when someone says they love Layla’s ass?” Miller, in turn, glares at him. “Exactly,” he tells him, then turns to look at me. “How the fuck did you find her?”

“Um.” I think about how to word this. “I found her last week. She was with Jaxon.”

“Your son?” Miller asks, and then Ralph gasps, and Miller’s eyes go wide. “Oh my fucking god, you banged a hockey mom.” He doesn’t even give me a chance to answer before he gets off his bike. “Dude, a fucking hockey mom?” His voice goes high, and Ralph shushes him. “A hockey mom?” he whispers. “How big is the father?” he asks with his hands on his hips. “I mean, you’re a monster, so I think you can probably take him unless the guy is like a sumo wrestler or a cop.” He puts his hands to his mouth. “I saw a Dateline episode with Layla the other day. The cop killed the ex-wife’s lover, and they didn’t know for twenty-seven years.”

“Does he come with an off button when he gets like this?” Ralph looks at me and asks, and I shrug. “Miller, can you fucking relax and let him talk?”

“Thank you,” I say to both of them. “She’s the aunt of Jaxon’s best friend.”

“Oh my god,” Ralph now says, laughing. “What are the fucking odds?”

“Slim to none,” Miller says.

“Yeah, well, it went from amazing to see her to miserable when Murielle showed up and was all over me,” I tell them, and Ralph’s and Miller’s face both show disgust.

“That’s why you were dragging your ass last week,” Ralph says, and I nod.

“Jesus, I thought someone killed your dog,” Miller says, and I laugh.

“I don’t have a dog,” I tell him. “Anyway, she sent me away, and yesterday when we got back home, I just went to her.”

“Nice.” Miller smiles and folds his arms over his chest. “Went to get your woman.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I say. “But I’m married, guys.”

“I mean, on paper,” Ralph says.

“What would you do if the roles were reversed?” Miller says, looking at Ralph. “If Candace was married to an asshole and went home to him every night.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” Ralph agrees. “Did you talk to her?”

“I did a bit this morning, and then she had to go, so I’m going to talk to her tonight.” I look down and then look up. “I’ve never felt this connection before. I’ve never wanted to even take that step with anyone. It was Jaxon and me, and in two years, I was going to force Murielle to divorce me. I had a plan, but . . .”

“Sometimes plans change,” Ralph says. “Look at me. I had Ari, and my main goal was to be her dad.” He smiles so big. “And then Candace fell into my lap.”

“Same,” Miller says, and I laugh at him now.

“Dude, Layla fought you for four years. She hated your guts.” I point at him. The two of them, well actually, it was just her that hated him. He was in love with her, and he wasn’t quiet about it.

“Hate is a strong word,” he says, and now he smiles the same smile as Ralph did. I have to wonder if I will ever get to smile like that. “But in the end, I wore her down.”

“I have never felt this way before,” I tell them. “This fucking pull toward one person.” I shake my head. “I just never had it before, so it’s foreign to me. I know I love my son. There is no mistaking that. I would die for him. But with Evelyn, I want to make her happy. I want her to smile at me all the time. I just can’t explain it.”

“Falling in love,” Ralph says. “It’s the best fucking feeling in the world.”

“Waking up next to her,” I say, and I can’t even hide my smile. “I had this fucking feeling as though I’ve been doing it my whole life. Like this is where I’m supposed to be. All that was missing was Jaxon.”