After that incredible victory with the lawyer and the bright light at the end of the tunnel now rushing in on me, I didn’t have any reason to back down from them. They had no leverage anymore. Nothing to hang over my head. I overcame what they put in front of me and forced them to back down. That awkwardness was far preferable in that moment than trying to figure out how to interact with Vince.
But when I got out into the parking lot and saw that Grant’s parents were already gone, something inside me changed. All that was sitting there in the parking lot were my car and Vince’s truck. I wouldn’t quite jump right to calling it poetic, but something about it made me stop. We needed to talk. Now more than ever. And there didn’t seem to be any reason why we should have to wait.
I stood by his truck to make sure there was no way he could avoid me. He stayed inside for several minutes longer than I did. In the back of my mind, I knew he was in there paying my legal bills. I couldn’t bring myself to feel guilty about it. After all, he took that on himself. I didn’t ask for him to introduce me to Charlie, and I certainly didn’t ask him to pay the bill for me. It was his idea, something done to show he, and his family, were there for me during the stressful time I was going through.
Even if I might have been inclined to feel guilty, the results would have been worth it for me. I didn’t have to worry about not having my son in my life anymore. And now that I knew I was carrying another stunning little surprise, that seemed somehow more important. It was as if finding out I was pregnant made me worry more about not seeing Remy. I never wanted him to feel like he was replaced, or somehow not special to me.
I had to talk to Vince about everything. I didn’t know how I was going to say it or how he was going to react. My expectations made me nervous. But it had to be done. Even if Vince wasn’t ready to hear any of it. Which, by the look on his face when he walked out of the office and saw me, he didn’t seem to be.
He came out of the office and started toward the truck like he was going to try to pretend I wasn’t there. If he could get away with slipping around me and into the truck, that’s what he was going to do. But I wasn’t going to let that fly. I was officially a new person. No more being a doormat for me. He wasn’t going to make me uncomfortable or get me out of his way.
Stepping in front of the door stopped him from getting in and running away, and Vince stopped. His expression was drawn, his eyes clouded with layers of emotion I couldn’t fully decipher. Crossing my arms over my chest, I narrowed my eyes, tilting my head slightly. No words needed to be exchanged for him to know exactly what I was thinking. He nodded and hit the button on his key fob to unlock the doors. I walked around to the passenger side and climbed in, relieved we wouldn’t be hashing everything out right out there in the open. Charlotte might not have been a tiny town or anything, but the grapevine was alive and well. As cautious as I had been about letting people know the details of my life, I didn’t want to throw everything out in the open with one conversation.
As soon as we closed the doors behind us, I turned to Vince.
“So, tell me why you ghosted me,” I said.
I figured that was as good an introduction to the conversation as any. Part of me thought maybe I should have led with the baby. But I still needed to think about that. I felt protective of that information and wanted to really know how I felt and what I wanted to do before I brought it up to anyone.
“Just going to get right to the point, aren’t you?” Vince asked.
I shrugged. “Is there any reason not to?” I asked.
“I guess not,” he said, then let out a heavy breath. “A few weeks ago, I went into the bar and you looked really upset. I didn’t know what was going on, and I wanted to protect you. It was the first time I felt like that. I just suddenly had this desire to take care of you and make sure everything was all right. But I didn’t say anything to you at the time. It’s not like you and I were ever especially close or anything. But after that, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I was worried about you and wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”