Dream Keeper (Dream Team 4)

“So, when you scrape this woman off,” I began, “and she’s pissed or heartbroken or whatever she’s going to be, and her girl knows her business, which is your business and then she’ll be negatively affected by that business, Juno is no doubt going to be wrapped up in all that mess, what then?”

“I’m scraping her off, as you so enchantingly put it, tonight. Since the girls aren’t really involved, there won’t be any issue. But it doesn’t matter. We’re done because you and me are going to try again.”

Okay.

All right.

“What?” I shrieked.

He took another step to me, but I pivoted and took three steps from him, lifted my arm his way in a back off gesture and shook my head for good measure.

“Stay where you are,” I demanded.

“Listen to me,” he demanded in return, but at least he stopped moving.

I dropped my arm but only to put both hands on my hips.

“No, Corbin. It’s over between us.”

“We were good together.”

“We were never good together.”

He looked hurt. “How can you say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, because you were fucking another woman the whole time we were together?”

“Baby—”

“Stop it,” I hissed, taking my hands from my hips and crossing my arms on my chest.

In other words, closed for goddamn business, buddy. You’re never getting back in.

I’d forgotten that not only was Corbin astute, he was also confident, stubborn, and if there was something he wanted, he pulled out all the stops to get it.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “I’ll admit it. Realizing I’d made a massive fuckup. I’ll admit that too. But when I heard ‘stepdad,’ it all clicked into place. My part in this, my responsibility for it, but most importantly, my responsibility for putting it right.”

Now we were getting somewhere.

“When you heard ‘stepdad’ you had this epiphany?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re jealous.”

To my shock, he copped to that immediately, just not in a way I’d expect.

“Of course I’m jealous. You’re the mother of my child and the love of my life.”

My eyelids closed even as my eyebrows went up.

The love of his life?

“Pepper, honey—”

I opened my eyes quickly because his voice was closer.

“Not another step,” I warned.

He stopped again.

“The love of your life?” I asked.

“I know I didn’t act like it, but we were young. I wasn’t ready for that commitment. Settling down. Being a father.”

I opened my mouth, but he got there before me.

“I’m not blaming you for getting pregnant. It takes two. I’m just saying, shit happened, and I wasn’t ready to deal. And instead of getting it together, I tore things apart.” The persuasive voice came back. “I mean, Pepper, honey, I was only twenty-three when we got pregnant with Juno. And you were nineteen. Thinking on it now, that’s young. No one has it together that young.”

“It’s good for you in your future growth and for your future relationships that you understand your part in that, but that does not negate the fact that what we had is done,” I informed him.

“It’s not done,” he informed me.

“It is, Corbin. It’s done. It’s over. It’s dead. It cannot be resurrected.”

“You can’t say that unless you try.”

“I so totally can.”

“Really? Then tell me why, since we ended, you haven’t had another man.”

That wasn’t true.

I had.

Auggie.

But I didn’t think throwing Auggie in his face would be a sterling move at this juncture.

“That’s none of your business.”

Another expression change, this one not hopeful, but borderline triumphant, and he took one step toward me then stopped.

“You lost your shit when we ended,” he said softly.

“Yes, because the man I loved, the man I lived with, the man I committed to, the man I gave a beautiful daughter was fucking another woman and had been since I met him.”

He winced at that.

But his recovery was quick.

So I had to be quicker. “Now I’ve found my shit, and I’m happy.” Not entirely. “Juno’s happy.” Though, that was in question after what happened at her school that day. “And I’m not going back, not because I don’t want to rock the boat. I’m not going back because I no longer wanna be in that boat.”

“You know what we had was good,” he remarked…firmly.

There it was.

The explanation for the triumphant look.

He thought he’d ruined me for other men.

“What we had is over.”

“So why haven’t you moved on?” he asked, a smile playing at his mouth.

“Because my daughter has to put up with the women who drift in and out of your life. She’s social. She’s got a big heart. She likes people first and asks questions later. So the four, five, six, how many has it been, Corbin?” I didn’t let him answer, I kept talking. “Women who’ve drifted in and out of your life did the same in hers and I’m not going to make her deal with that when she’s with me.”

His smile was now gone. “I was trying to replace you.”