Chapter Two

Kevin

I never expected to see her here…

This tapas place was miles from anywhere my ex-wife was likely to want to spend time and even farther from her practice. As an attorney and a dedicated volunteer at a local teen outreach, April kept busy.

I considered not saying anything, but it was too cold to completely ignore someone who once was not only my wife but my little. "April?" I reached out and touched her arm. "What are you doing on this side of town?"

"Kevin, hi." She paused by the table where I sat with two friends. April was one of those littles who had two very different sides and never the twain should meet. Her work occupied her daytime life and in it she was the consummate professional, never a crack in her facade to show the intense stress she carried. Today, she wore pressed gray slacks and a white blouse ironed within an inch of its life. Impossibly high heels she'd always thought hid her shorter stature, a subtle tweed blazer, and her hair smoothed into a bun, along with subtle and expensive makeup completed the look. "How have you been?"

At home, in private, she was an adorable little, all about bows and stuffies and spending time together in the nursery we put together for her. And there was a time where I thought we were the perfect pair, until I learned that her fear of one part of her life spilling into another was paralyzing her. And me. "Doing well, thanks. You're looking gorgeous as always." And tense. Those fine lines that bracketed her lips gave it away every time. "Business good?"

"Very." She scanned past me. "In fact, I see my new client in the corner over there. Why they wanted to come to this dive, I'll never know. I offered that new French place, but they preferred tacos."

La Ciudad del Oro was one of the best restaurants in the city. True, it was informal, but the food was incredible. But I had no reason to argue with her now that we were not joined in holy matrimony or anything else. "Ah, well. No accounting for taste, I guess. Good to see you anyway."

"Mm-hmm." She brushed an air kiss near my cheek and strode off before I could respond.

"That must have been uncomfortable," Cliff said once she'd reached her client's table. "How long since you've seen April Esquire?"

"Since the divorce was final, so a few years." I watched her sit down, back straight, head held high on the long, swanlike neck that had been so sweet to nuzzle once upon a time. I hadn't realized how unbending the rest of her could be… "She looks good."

"She looks stressed out." Arnhof shook his head. "But that's not your problem anymore."

No, but it still made me sad. Especially because I no longer had the right to help her ease that tension. "I guess not." More nights than not, she'd come home from her associate position at the large law firm at nine or ten o'clock, completely wound up and scared she'd never make partner. The competition had been fierce, but April's brilliant mind won her that position. She'd always said that once she achieved that goal, she'd be able to relax, take the occasional vacation or weekend off, and our entire life both as a couple and a daddy/little relationship wouldn't consist of a stolen hour here and there designed to relieve her stress.

But six months into her partnership, I realized that her assessment had not been correct—she was working even longer hours, and despite her obvious need for little time, she rarely had the energy.

I wasn't in love with her anymore, hadn't been by the time we went our separate ways, but I couldn't shut off any level of caring about her. Hoping she found the daddy who could truly meet her needs because I still held guilt for my part in our divorce. I'd been too insistent that she take it easy before she drove herself into the heart attack that seemed to hit so many people at her firm. She was too young to have such high blood pressure and I couldn't just sit back and watch. But despite being a daddy, I was also her partner and as my worries grew, so did my frustration.

"Kevin?" Cliff spoke a little louder than usual, making me believe it wasn't his first attempt to get my attention. Shoot, April hadn't acknowledged either of the guys—and they were in our wedding.

"Yeah? Sorry, woolgathering."

"I don't blame you. I was just asking if you want to get the tasting menu or order individual dishes?"

"Whatever you two want." I took a sip of my margarita. "I'm not all that hungry anymore."

Arnhof slapped me on the shoulder. "Give yourself a few minutes and you will be. Didn't you say you skipped lunch?"

"Yeah. I did." I had also skipped breakfast, gobbling a donut from the break room, and despite my discomfort with the encounter with April, my stomach's growl let me know it was not going to tolerate any more of that nonsense. "And, you know what? I'm not letting a chance encounter with the past stop me from enjoying my favorite restaurant with you two clowns. We don't do this often enough."

The server came by and took our order—we went for the tasting menu—and soon we had our first plate of amazing authentic Mexican food in front of us. Anyone who called this place a dive was not taking into account the chef's training and the quality of everything they served. Not that I minded a dive. I'd had some of the best tacos of my life at dives. This just was not that.

"Gonna eat?" Arnhof asked. "Because if not, I'm taking your share."

I laughed. These friends were loyal to the bone and knew as much about my life as anyone. They were not bisexual like me and had never been with a woman, but that was not why they had been less than enthusiastic about my relationship with April. They'd tried hard to be supportive, but watching me go from the generally cheerful guy they knew before April to the cranky, unhappy man I'd become by the time my marriage ended must have been hard. "Don't touch my food." The tiny pastry cups with a shrimp and red pepper filling were exquisite.

Despite myself, I glanced over one more time at my ex who was sitting with a small salad in front of her, while her clients were indulging in multiple small plates of the fine cuisine of this place. "She's not going to change, is she?"

"No, but I think you have." Cliff pushed a small bowl of mole sauce toward me. This restaurant had several versions, all incredible. "And you can do more, too. April has to lead her own life, and so do you."

"And so do I." I spooned a tiny bit of sauce onto one of the pastries and ate it slowly, savoring the flavor and becoming more determined by the moment. "I think it's time I went back to Chained." April never wanted to go, and I'd missed it…