Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

“I figured he was delusional, but I thought I’d better ask.”

“It’s… Of course it’s delusional. Why would he say that? Our divorce was finalized a year ago!”

“Have you been nicer to him lately?”

“No! We’ve hardly even talked. I mean, when we first separated, he kept insisting that he didn’t want a divorce, but he dropped that and seemed to move on.”

Gwen nodded. “I’ve seen this happen with other friends before. Haven’t you?”

Olivia had no idea what she was talking about and her confusion must have shown.

“Men can be totally reasonable about a divorce when they’re getting the sudden chance to sow their oats. They feel free and young again. Sure, the divorce hurts, but there are nubile ways to soothe those wounds. So everything is steady and reasonable, going along just fine. Then the wife starts to date, and it all changes.”

“But that’s not fair.”

“I’m sure it happens the other way around, too, but yeah, it’s not fair. I had one friend who’d been getting along just fine with her ex for two years. They shared custody and they were a model for how divorced parents should behave. I was so impressed.”

“And then?”

“And then she met someone and fell in love, and suddenly the ex was taking her back to court for stricter visitation rules and lower child support payments. He’d never give an inch on any scheduling compromises. It got ugly. The moment she stopped dating the new guy, things settled down again.”

Olivia rubbed her forehead. “I just…I’m sure it’s not that serious with Victor. I talked to him about Lewis. Maybe he was only trying to find a way to help me.”

“Maybe.”

But Olivia found it hard to believe her own words. Especially with the ugly things he’d said to her a few days ago. “So your friend said Victor definitely wasn’t the one who’d called Lewis in the first place?”

“She didn’t know anything about it. I can ask her to try to find out, but…”

“No, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I suppose it wasn’t Victor after all. Unless he created an elaborate plan to get me in trouble and then save my job.”

“And then you’d fall at his feet in gratitude. It’s possible.”

“It is not!” Olivia laughed, picking up her glass for a much-needed drink. “Plus he wouldn’t take the chance of looking like a crazy person to Lewis.”

“Good point.”

“Even if he has gone stark raving mad.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Gwen finished her drink with a sigh. “If you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t you and Victor have kids?”

Olivia rearranged her silverware and considered the question. “I don’t know. At first, I thought we’d have kids, but Victor wanted to wait until his career was more established. After a while, he seemed to want to just wait. I guess I just had to let the idea go. It was probably for the best. I’m an only child. Babies make me a little nervous.”

“Is your family here?”

“No. They’re in St. Paul. And my mom wouldn’t have been any help. She didn’t quite know what to do with her own child. Anyway, now I’m too old.”

“You are not.”

“I’m thirty-five! Do you know how many years it would take for me to meet the right guy and get married?”

Gwen grinned. “Maybe you could have Jamie Donovan’s love child.”

It was Olivia’s turn to choke on her drink. “Good Lord. Yes, that’s just what I want to be is one of Jamie’s baby mamas.”

“Does he have more?”

“Not that I know of. He’s certainly got protection handy no matter where we find ourselves. So what about you? Do you want kids?”