Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Hey! I’m talking to you,” Tyler rumbles, pushing Dom’s shoulder. “You’re not his dad, so quit fucking acting like it.”
“Language,” one of the other moms chastises. But Tyler waves her off with a grunt about minding her own business.
“Neither are you,” Dominic says, casual as you please. His voice is smooth and calm, he might as well have said it’s going to be sunny tomorrow. But the words themselves are dynamite, and I inhale sharply. The fireworks show is starting.
My first instinct is to tell Dominic to let it go, that engaging with Tyler is what he wants. But then, for the first time in my whole life, I decide . . . fuck it. I have sat back for years and let Tyler walk all over me in some misguided attempt to maintain peace with a man who doesn’t want peace. He wants power . . . over me, over Harley, over everything.
I should fight this battle myself, and maybe one day, I’ll be able to. But for now, it’s enough that I don’t say a word to Dominic. I let him go to war for me. I feel nauseated and powerful, all at the same time, as my body and mind argue with each other about this decision.
“What?” Tyler seethes, outraged. “Yes, I am. She tell you that?”
Dominic turns his attention to Tyler, the first time he’s truly taken his eyes off the game since the puck dropped. “No. She never said that. She rarely talks about you to be honest. But a father wouldn’t use a child against his mother. A father wouldn’t ignore the very important game his son is playing in order to make childish comments about his ex-wife’s new friend.” Dominic pointedly looks back to the ice, his eyes finding Harley instantly. “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Is he quoting motivational posters at a time like this?
No, I think he’s truly cheering the kids on, throwing out tidbits to encourage them while never coaching from the sideline.
Tyler shuts up temporarily, but inwardly, his anger’s growing like a volcano ready to erupt. I can still sense it just as acutely as I could when we were married. I don’t think that skill set ever goes away. Back then, I could hear his truck coming and know if he’d had a bad day or a good one, I could tell by his steps down the hall if he was looking for an argument, and I could feel his moods as accurately as I felt my own.
“You think you know?” he spits back after a moment. “You’re not even a dad.”
“Nope. But I have one. A great one, so I know it when I see it.” Dominic dramatically looks around. “All I see is a weak man who gets his rocks off trying to control a woman who already demonstrated that she’s strong enough to not only leave your sorry butt, but be better without you.”
Is that how Dominic sees me? I’m actually pretty sure that’s accurate, at least in his mind. And maybe in mine, too, I’m starting to realize.
“She didn’t . . . I left—”
Tyler tries to speak, but Dominic keeps talking right over him, flat and emotionless as if reciting the weather forecast. “And it pisses you off because it highlights that the only thing holding her back from greatness was the worthless anchor dragging her down—you.” A hint of a cocky smirk lifts one side of his lips. “You fumbled the best thing to ever happen to you. Trust me, I won’t make that mistake.”
Tyler’s had enough, and explodes, “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
The woman who scolded Tyler about his language doesn’t say a word this time. No, she’s leaning in closer to make sure she doesn’t miss a bit of the action, and I’m not talking about the Squirts’ game. I quickly glance around, realizing that other people are watching too. I don’t want this. Harley doesn’t need this. This is what I’ve fought to prevent, yet here I am, not only letting it happen, but egging it on with my silence.
“I’m Dominic Lee,” he replies evenly, the difference in the two men’s temperaments highlighted by the ease with which Dom speaks. “And I know exactly who I am, which is why I’m not at all concerned with who you think I am.”
“You can’t just come in here and take my family, my wife.”
Dom chuckles like that’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “Not your family, not your wife. And there’s no competition here. Respectfully, you can never be me. Disrespectfully, I would never want to be you.” He gives Tyler a sneering up and down glance, making it obvious he finds him lacking. “And you already have someone else, remember?”
Tyler completely misses the reference to Amber, who is watching the whole exchange with a confused look on her face, and focuses on me. “Babe, are you gonna let him talk to me like this?”