Alex held onto the wall as she flew down the stairs to her office. All the calm she’d put on throughout the day was quickly wearing off. He hadn’t said a word about his cheating. He was sorry he didn’t know about Emma and that was all he was sorry for. She supposed since he didn’t know she knew about Lesley, he didn’t see any reason to apologize to her. Maybe he thought that since they had been broken up that it didn’t count as cheating.

Feeling like a lance had speared her through the heart, Alex ran into her office and slammed the door. She grabbed her phone and hit the speed dial for Jen. It rang once before Jen answered.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to call me,” Jen said from what sounded like a crowded bar.

“Are you out?”

“Yeah, but hold on. I’ll go find some place quiet.”

She could hear Jen making her way through wherever she was. There were glasses clanking and people talking. She paced in her office, her socks sliding a bit on the hardwood floors as she made sharp turns. Suddenly, it was much quieter and a door shut.

“Okay, I can hear you now.”

“I’m freaking out Jen. I’m completely and totally losing my mind here,” Alex said, plopping herself down in her office chair and trying not to hyperventilate.

“Take some deep breaths Alex. Put your head between your legs if you need to.”

“Already there,” Alex said, blood rushing to her head.

“Your text wasn’t exactly long, but you said he showed up and had only recently found out about Emma. How is that possible?”

“Apparently, Aaron, his manager, was treating my letters like fan mail to be kept away from him. He said he found all of my letters in his manager’s office and came here as soon as he could book a ticket.”

“Wow,” Jen said, blowing out a low whistle. “That’s intense. Do you believe him?”

“About only finding out about Emma recently? Yes, I do. You should have seen the way he was with her. And the look on his face when he first saw her. We were in the backyard having a water fight and he appeared out of nowhere. When he saw her … .” She let out a deep breath. “Jen, he was ... I don’t know how to explain it. He looked at her like she was his moon and stars. I don’t think he could have faked how he was with her.”

“That’s good. It’s good that he wanted to see her and came to see you both once he found out.”

“It is good, but it’s also scary.”

“I understand, so what now?”

“He’s staying over here for the week. He’s upstairs in the guest room as we speak.”

“Really?” Jen asked surprised. “And you think that’s a good idea?”

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea. It’s better than him going to a hotel and everyone finding out a big celebrity is here. People would start asking questions.”

“Such a good idea that you called me on the verge of a panic attack?” Jen asked.

“Jen, what else was I going to do?”

“Tell him that you would work to arrange for a custody agreement that both of you could agree to and that he should contact your lawyer.”

“You didn’t see him with her. That wouldn’t have worked. Once he saw Emma and she saw him, I knew they needed to spend that time together.”

“How are you going to deal with him being there the whole week? I know you two have some unresolved issues.”

“That’s an understatement. He doesn’t know that I know about the cheating. He is here for Emma and if it stays that way, then we will be fine. I don’t think he has any ideas about things happening between us.”

“You really believe that? Alex, you can’t be serious.”

“It’s what I’m going to stick with and I’ll be sure to set him straight if he starts trying to make this about me and him. I’m not going to become my mother. I’m not going to end up with a cheater like her. But that’s not what this is about now. It’s about him and Emma.”

“Alex, you’re nothing like your mother. Don’t even think that for a minute. No matter what happens with Gabe, you could never be that woman.”

She let out the breath she’d been holding since bringing up her mom. The thought of being with a cheater curdled her stomach, no matter how much she might have still cared about him. It was a promise she’d made herself a long time ago.

“Have you thought about custody? Visitation? Things like that?”

“No, we haven’t even touched on that. He’s going to Scotland in a week. He wants Emma to go with him. He wants me and Emma to go with him.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know! Emma would be thrilled. She’s already a daddy’s girl after just one afternoon and I know that being away from him this soon after meeting him would be hard for her. But I don’t know if I can handle that, so soon. And what if he does start talking about custody and visitation?”

“Do you still have the custody papers you had me draw up a few years ago?”

She pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and pushed a few things aside before she came to the large manila envelope. With the issue of the money and what that meant as far as custody of Emma and how it might play out in court, she knew that she’d have to talk to him soon.

She’d had these drawn up when she was afraid of him swooping back in to her life and trying to take Emma from her. Over the years, that fear had waned, but she was happy to have them there, like a security blanket.

Did he know about that money? It had been the only thing that kept her and Emma off the streets when she’d left LA and worked to finish school. Knowing that the money hadn’t come from him, but most likely from Aaron made things even more difficult. The no-contact clause that she’d assumed was from him also made things more difficult. Jen berated her for signing it initially, but that money did a lot of good for Alex and Emma. She’d eventually come around and admitted it had been a good decision.

“Hello? Earth to Alex,” Jen called out from the phone.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked how you’re going to deal with being in such proximity with Gabe for the next week.”

“I don’t know yet and we’ll see how this week goes when it comes to Scotland. I don’t know how Emma is going to react to having him here for the week. And she finishes school on Friday, so it wouldn’t disrupt school for her to go.”

“I’m sure Emma will be fine; I’m more worried about you. How would you handle that? Being around Gabe? I know even with everything that happened, you still care for him. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I know. Neither do I. I just have to remember that he’s there for Emma, and being a good dad to her doesn’t mean that he would be a good boyfriend to me. He’s proven that to me in so many ways. I’ll keep my guard up and ensure that I don’t fall back into that old trap.”

“Okay, give me a call if you need me to go over the paperwork again or if you need to talk. I’m only in the office for a few hours after I leave here and then a little bit tomorrow.”

“Jen! It’s the weekend.”

“No rest for the weary,” she sighed. “But don’t worry, I’m going out tonight for a few drinks with a couple of people. And I will not be stuffy Jen the Lawyer, I will be Jen the Drinker.”

Alex let out a laugh. “I’m glad to see you still let her out every so often.” In the background, a door opened again and someone started to speak to Jen in a raised voice.

“One sec,” Jen said and there was a short, muffled exchange and Jen was back.

“I have to let her out every so often or she tries to take over during lawyer time and gets me into trouble. Take care of yourself Alex and give me a ring if you need anything.”

“Will do, and I can’t wait to hear about Jen the Drinker’s night out. I’m sure it will be epic.”

“I hope so. Bye, Alex.”

“Bye, Jen,” she said, ending the call.