The Favor

He eyed me suspiciously. “Why? Where do you want to go?”

“The Museum of Natural History. I’m not asking you to go with me—I know you won’t want to. I was just hoping you’d agree to free me up a few hours so I can go.”

His brows pulled together. “You can’t go strolling around New York on your own.”

“Why? It’s not a warzone, it’s a city.”

“Where any number of things could happen to you while you’re alone. If we can find the time to go, we’ll go.”

“We?”

“We.”

I put a hand to my mouth. “Oh, God, you really are sick, aren’t you? How bad is it? Should we be picking out eulogies?”

He tugged on my hair. “Brat.”

Once we were ready to continue our walk around the zoo, I threw our bag of rubbish in the trash. “I need to use the bathroom. You?”

“No, I’m good.”

“According to the map, the closest restroom’s over there,” I said, pointing to the nearby restaurant.

He walked me to the entrance. “I’ll wait here. Don’t be long.”

Like I planned to paint my toenails in there or something? I just shook my head and went inside. Just as I’d anticipated, the place was packed with people ordering their lunch and searching for empty tables. Yep, I’d made the right choice by bringing a pre-packed lunch.

I made a beeline for the bathroom, where I quickly did my business, and then walked back into the restaurant. I carefully shouldered my way through the throngs of people, not wanting to crash into someone who might be holding a tray of food or drinks.

“Excuse me,” I said to one particular man, who was tall and heavily built. He slid out of my way with an apology, and then my stomach sank. Because Owen stood mere feet away, and he was staring right at me. Shit.

“Vee,” he said in surprise and swallowed hard.

I gave him a curt, awkward nod. “Owen.”

“You … you look good—”

“Daddy, I need the fork.”

I twisted to see a little girl sitting at the nearby table with a plate of food in front of her. The same little girl whose picture Owen had once shown me.

“Sorry, honey.” Owen handed her the plastic cutlery and then gave me a weak smile. “This is my daughter.”

“Hi,” I said to her, feeling super uncomfortable.

She used her fork to wave at me, her expression curious.

I forced a bright smile. “Well, you two have a good day.”

“Wait, Vee. Who are you here with?”

I sighed. “Owen, just focus on having fun with your little girl. Okay?”

“Have you realized it yet?” he asked when I tried to shrug past him.

“What?”

“That marrying Davenport was a mistake,” he said too quietly for his daughter to hear. “Because if you haven’t, you will eventually.”

“Forget about me and what’s going on in my life, Owen. Concentrate on fixing your own.”

“Did he tell you that he had me banned from o-Verve? I went there to see you a few weeks ago. I didn’t even get past the security checkpoint. He didn’t tell you, huh? Well then, he probably also didn’t tell you that he called me later that day and said he’d make sure I lost my job if I ever tried to get near his wife again. Not ‘Vienna.’ His wife. Like you’re a thing. A possession.”

I rubbed my temple. “Owen—”

“He’s going to hurt you, Vee. He probably won’t mean to. He probably won’t even particularly want to. But he’ll do it, because that’s what people like him do. They hurt. They betray. They don’t think past their own wants.”

“This again? Seriously?” I shook my head. “I’m going to go now.” I pushed past him, but he grabbed my arm.

“Wait, I—” He cut off, his lips thinning as he caught sight of something.

I tracked his gaze to see Dane heading our way, his eyes hard, his expression cold.

Owen dropped my arm and took a step toward the table at which his daughter sat, as if to protect her from the newcomer.

Dane stopped in front of me. “I came to see what was taking you so long,” he said to me, but his eyes were on Owen.

I fisted Dane’s tee and gave it a little tug to get his full attention. “His kid is sitting right there,” I told him, my voice low. “For her sake, can we just walk away?” He hit me with that unblinking hunter stare, saying nothing. Tension thickened the air, winding me tight. “Please, Dane.”

Something flickered across his face. He reached up and untangled my fingers from his tee. Instead of dropping my hand, he clasped it tight. “Come on.”

Thank fuck for that. Without a backward look at my ex, I let Dane lead me out of the restaurant.

Outside, he turned to me, his expression still cold. “What did he want?”

“To tell me it was a mistake to marry you. Did you really have him banned from o-Verve?”