The Doctor Who Has No Chance (Soulless 11)

Twenty-Five

Sicily

I got a text message from a number I didn’t recognize. Hello, Sicily. This is Deacon. Was wondering if the two of us could talk?

I never imagined Dex’s father would reach out to me like this. It was obviously about Dex because there was no other reason he would contact me. The man bent over backward when it came to his kids, even got arrested for them, so it was no surprise he got involved in this too.

He texted again when I didn’t say anything. Let me know if you change your mind.

One of the hardest things about this breakup was his family. They were the best. They were the most dedicated and loving people on the planet. I didn’t just break up with Dex, but all of them, and that really sucked. I liked that Deacon reached out to me in a text instead of coming to my door. I liked that he backed off when there was no response, like I didn’t owe him anything. Men just weren’t like that anymore. They didn’t respect boundaries or respect you at all. Yeah, I can meet you.

Great. There’s a bar right on the corner of your block. I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes.

I walked down there and stepped inside, seeing Deacon sitting alone at one of the booths in a shirt and jeans, appearing decades younger than the age of his body. There were a couple lines in the corners of his eyes, but because he was a man, it made him even more attractive.

A woman my age approached his table, and they shared a few words.

As I came closer, I could overhear their conversation.

“I’m married.” Deacon was curt and short, his annoyance loud in the silence between his words.

“Ooh…my bad. I didn’t see the ring.”

“Yes, you did.” He turned away and ignored her, like their conversation was done.

She was rooted to the spot for a bit, shocked that some guy had the audacity to call her out, but she eventually walked away.

I came to the table, feeling a little awkward that I’d walked in right when that exchange happened.

His hands were on the table, and he was fingering his ring, spinning it around his knuckle. When he looked at me, his visage immediately changed, like the interaction with the woman had never happened.

I wanted a man like that, who wouldn’t even be tempted by a woman half his age, and I knew Dex was that kind of man. The loss suddenly hit me hard, because I knew I’d lost someone who could never be replaced.

“Can I get you a glass of wine?”

“Uh, sure.”

He went to the bar and got it for me, treating me the way he treated Daisy, going out of his way to take care of me like a daughter.

“Thank you.” I took a drink and let the alcohol sting my tongue a little. “Does that happen a lot?”

He gave me a confused look.

“With the woman…”

At the mention of her, his expression tightened again. “After the bar fight, yes. I’ve gotten a lot of publicity for that, publicity I don’t want or need.” His fingers continued to spin his ring. “Thanks for meeting me.”

“Yeah, sure.” It was a bit weird, not because of him, but because we’d never really done this before. I spent time with Cleo but not Deacon.

“How are you?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been better…but it’ll get better.”

He looked down at his ring for a moment. “Dex asked me to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I suspected.” Dex was unable to get to me in person and he hadn’t called, so he probably had no other choice.

“You know I was married before Cleo. You know Derek is from that marriage. You know I was unhappy with my ex-wife. What you don’t know is my ex-wife repeatedly tried to get me to come back to her by leveraging my relationship with my son against me, and it got to the point where I just had to move away for my own sanity. I came to New York and left Derek behind…even though it practically broke my heart. I tried to do the right thing by staying in that marriage so Derek would have both parents, or at least one good parent. I spent many years in that miserable relationship, unhappy every single day of my life, doing the right thing for both her and Derek. I thought I might love her in time, that we would grow as a family, all of that stuff…but it never happened.” He grabbed his beer and took a drink to wet his throat. “Ironically, the first person I met when I came to New York was Cleo. I left the airport in an SUV, and when I stepped out of that SUV, she was waiting for me. I literally left my old life and came into my new life when I opened that door. It was fast, really fast. Cleo and I clicked right away, she fell in love with me instantly, loved my son…but I was not in a good place. I never wanted to get remarried, at least not that quickly, and I knew if I had a relationship with Cleo, that was where it would lead. Bottom line, I was not ready. But when you meet the right person, it doesn’t necessarily happen at the right time.”