“Maybe I should throw him out,” Mama said. “I don’t know if I can do that without making a scene.”
“It’ll be all right, Mama,” I said. “I’ll avoid him. He’ll get bored and leave sooner than later.”
“All right. I’ll see you soon, dear.”
* * *
Avoid my ex-husband. Sure, it was at my mother’s house, but she didn’t exactly have a small house. I figured it wouldn’t be that hard.
Right until I stepped into the foyer and spotted Lionel’s smug grin. He was wearing a black tuxedo. The fit was perfect. Then again, it always was. About the only time he wasn’t cheap was when it came to making himself look good.
“Lord help me,” I murmured to myself. I sucked in a deep breath. Though my heart was keeping a steady, normal beat, being around my ex threatened to send my heart pounding at any second. Mostly because I had to resist the urge to slap his cheating face.
“May I take your coat, ma’am?” a young woman in a uniform said near the door. I didn’t recognize her, so she must have been hired for the party. I took my coat off and helped Juniper out of hers before handing them both to the woman.
She gave me a bright smile and disappeared into a side room. That left me facing my ex-husband with only a naïve little girl as my backup, a little girl who loved her daddy and still didn’t understand why he couldn’t live with us anymore.
As if he could read my mind, Lionel smirked right at me. Oh, the bastard. He didn’t even have the decency to be ashamed of his behavior.
Lionel was a good-looking man, but he ruined it with all his constant smirking and smug looks. Staring at him, I wondered why he couldn’t be more like Logan, a good-looking man who didn’t always wear some stupid, arrogant look.
I blinked. Why was I suddenly thinking of Logan? Yes, the man had been tall, dark, and handsome and all that, but we’d had a ten-minute coffee break together, which I ran away from. For good reasons, mind you, but the last thing I wanted to do was start thinking about Logan Hawkins everywhere.
I didn’t need a man, and he sounded like he didn’t have time for a woman. Besides, right then, I stood there glaring at my ex-husband, a living reminder of why men can be more trouble than they are worth. He’d given me Juniper, and I loved my daughter, but other than that, I didn’t want to have to share the same room with him. Bless his heart. The bastard.
Juniper squealed and rushed over to her father. He swept her up into his arms and hugged her.
“How’s my little sweet pea?” he said, his voice almost a coo.
“I’m good, Daddy.”
“That’s great, Juniper. I have someone special for you to meet later.”
“Who, Daddy?”
“Oh, you’ll see. I also have a present for you.”
She let out a giggle of delight, and he set her down.
“Now, you go along and find your grandmother,” he said. “I have a few things I need to talk to your mama about.”
Juniper nodded quickly, gave me a wave, and hurried out of the foyer.
The woman who took my coat returned, and Lionel nodded toward the door.
“Why don’t we go outside and talk for a bit, Emily?”
I shrugged. It wasn’t that chilly outside, so I wouldn’t miss my coat for a few minutes.
He opened the door for me, the closest he’d come to be a gentleman in a long time, and I stepped through.
“What did you want to talk about, Lionel?” I said once we were outside.
“I’m here with a date.”
“And I care because?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t screw this up for me, Emily,” he said, his voice filled with venom.