“Hey, buddy, it’s over. You can breathe. It’s all good,” Cooper whispers over to him.
“Mom?” he asks, but I don’t answer because he sees me with a huge ass smile on my face, and I know he knows I’m okay.
We are luckily seated on the other side of James and Tiffany, so we all ease out of our nervousness.
Cooper has ordered a beer, I have my martini, the kids have their Shirley Temples, extra cherries for Allison, and we toast to new beginnings.
The boys talk about hockey while Allison is coloring the placemat when I get a text message. I’m not even thinking about it before I pull out my phone and see that it’s from James.
Meet me near the washrooms!!!
What the ever-loving fuck is this all about? I look over at Cooper and notice that he saw the message when I excuse myself. Walking to the bathroom, I take in the sight of Tiffany looking at the menu. And for the first time I don’t have the bitterness anymore. Am I pissed that she broke up my family? Yes. But, if he was actually a man, he would have never gone there.
I see James leaning against the wall near the bathrooms and brace myself for what is to come.
“What’s up, James?” I ask, not really caring if he actually needs anything. I’m annoyed if I’m being completely honest.
“Parker, I wanted to ask if maybe you wanted to have dinner with the kids and me tomorrow. Tiffany is going away for the weekend, so I was thinking we could grab some pizza. I could maybe come over. We could eat outside or we could go out.”
“Excuse me a second. Let me see if I got this straight. You want to have pizza with me and the kids tomorrow night because your girlfriend is going out of town. You did not just text me while I was on a date to ask me this, did you?”
“Parker, seeing you here, it stumped me a little. I wasn’t ready for you to come back here. I wasn’t ready for me to see you with someone else.”
“Get used to it, because from what I’ve heard the kids love it here,” Cooper’s voice interjects, and he’s angry. “I also admit I like when Parker dresses up for me, but truth be told it’s what is underneath that I love more. Of course I don’t have to tell you what a good thing you threw away.”
He leans down, kissing me with tongue, not long but just enough for James to know that this isn’t just a date.
It’s a statement that it’s more than just one night.
“Now if you will excuse us once again, the kids are waiting for us, and if you’re wondering about tomorrow that would be a no, she isn’t free. She’ll be with me. All weekend. I’ll give Matthew my number, so if he or Allison need anything they can text me directly.”
I’m standing here blinking, my cheeks flushed from the martini and the kiss, more so from the kiss than from anything else.
“Bye, James,” I say, walking past him, holding hands with my man.
When we are far enough away, this is when I get mad. I can’t believe the fucking nerve of him. I can’t believe what a fucking idiot he is. Well, I know what a fucking idiot he is, I just can’t believe he would do that. Did he really think I would just jump at the chance to have dinner with him and the kids? Did he expect me to fall to my knees and thank him? He probably did, that is the funny thing. He probably thought I would jump at the chance.
“Babe, you can relax now, it’s over.”
“I can’t believe he would pull that. I mean, I’m on a date or whatever this is, and he’s sitting at a table with the woman he cheated on me with. That he is engaged to!”
He stops me right where we are, in the middle of the restaurant halfway from James’s table and halfway to ours, spinning me into his arms.
“Babe, it’s over. Whatever play he thought he had to make he made it. I am giving you a warning. He tries that again, it’s not going to be so nice next time.”
And with that, he kisses me again, this time without tongue but with the same intensity of the other one.
“Cooper, you are always kissing Mommy,” she says aloud, breaking up our kiss, making us look over and smile at her.
“Mommy always wants me to kiss her,” he informs her while we walk back to the table.
I look over at Matthew, and he finally has a smile on his face. I’m not sure if he is relaxing with me or if it’s from the open-mouthed couple that has just witnessed our kiss. Either way, all I know is that it settles both of us.