I shut my eyes to drown out the hurt of his words. Shit. I was so thirsty for an answer, and now I’d got it. Well, this meant that I was right after all. He’d never come to accept me and Finn no matter what.
I didn’t want to burden myself with the truth that his view on single moms would change a lot of things between us.
“Elaine?” an unsure voice asked behind me.
I whipped my head from Max to the tall, dark-haired perfectionist that was my ex-boyfriend and did a double take. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Of all places to show up.
“Alessandro?” I stuttered, trying so hard to keep myself firm and not throw up right here. My eyes flickered back to Max who was standing now, glancing between Alessandro and me with an unreasonable expression. An introduction wouldn’t be so bad, I decided. “Um, hi Alessandro. This is, uh, Max Sturm. Max, this is Alessandro Valdez,” I murmured, my palms sweaty and itchy all of a sudden.
Alessandro extended a hand from his pocket and Max took it, still staring at me in confusion. “Hello, there.”
“Hello.” His voice could freeze fire.
The universe was fucked up. Of all exes to run into, it had to be Alessandro the worst of them all. The one who treated Finn like dirt and almost forced me to marry him? What a joke.
He wasn’t even making an effort to make this doomed coincidence any less torturous for me. “Quite a surprise to see you here. I thought you moved to New York last month.”
Oh, God. I gulped, clenching my fist. What an annoying jerk face. “Yes, I did.”
Max chirped in now, a mischievous smirk on his lips as he pulled me to his side and snaked an arm around my waist. I swallowed harder, peeking up through my lashes to see Alessandro’s eyes zeroed on Max’s around my waist. When he noticed I’d caught him, he straightened. “I brought her here for the weekend so she could meet my parents.”
I closed my eyes and held my breath, starting up a chant in my head. Please don’t say anything annoying. Please don’t say anything about Finn. Please don’t ask me about him.
“So, is it a truth or dare game thingy or are the two of you dating?” Alessandro snorted.
Why do you care? I wanted to bite back furiously.
Max’s eyes darkened as he tried to grasp what Alessandro meant exactly. God, I had to step in.
“Max and I are just… colleagues as well as old friends, Alessandro. No need to be touchy-feely. Now, if you don’t mind excusing us, we’ve got quite an interesting evening to finish…” I sat back down and took a big swing of my drink. Ugh. Everything was going well until this nitpicks. I didn’t need any drama from Alessandro tonight.
“Of course, I do mind. You just shut the door on us without giving me an explanation, Elaine. What kind of girl does that? Is it because I refuse to accept your back -”
“Lower your voice, man,” Max chided him. “Don’t speak to her like that.”
“I didn’t shut the door on us without an explanation, Alessandro,” I eyed him menacingly, my heart pounding. “You know the reason why we couldn’t work out, and that’s past news. I don’t want to bring any such thing up again. We’re both in different places right now.”
“Well, I’ve moved on alright. But what about Sam? He died three days after you left. He kept barking nonstop and crying that I take him to you and Finn, but I couldn’t because you’d left for New York already.”
My face fell in horror. Sam was Alessandro’s sweet golden retriever and best friend. I felt horrible for not hugging him one last time before I left. “Oh, Alessandro. I’m so sorry. My emotions at that moment were… swirling and uncontrollable. The one thing on my mind was to leave. I should have told Sam goodbye.”
“Yeah.” He hung his head.
This was so sad and… awkward.
“I’m taking it that you’re her ex?” Max asked.
“We were more than just exes. We almost got married.” Alessandro barely spared him any glance. Max looked up to meet my eyes and I resisted the urge to facepalm.
“Uh, Alessandro. Is it alright if I come by tomorrow morning to his grave? You didn’t sell his corpse now, did you?”
Alessandro shook his head vehemently, repulsed by the idea. “Elaine, he was my best friend! What kind of friend would I be if I sell his corpse?”
Shit. Wrong choice of words. “I’m sorry. I’ll bring some flowers over tomorrow so I can drop them off on his… grave. Hope that won’t be a problem?”
“Not at all,” he grunted. I sighed, pulling him into a hug.
“Thank you so much. This is so heartbreaking, and I want you to know that I regret every bit of it. Finn misses him so much.”
“How is the little man doing?” Alessandro asked, genuinely concerned. “Hope he’s still schooling?”
I averted my eyes from Max’s questioning gaze, smiling sheepishly. “Ah, yes of course. He’ll be in grade four by next fall.”
“Awesome. Tell him I said hi,” he held my hands and stared at my face, leaning down to whisper. “There’s never a day that passes that I don’t feel horrible for treating you like dirt, Elaine. I wish I could turn back time, go back to the past, and right all my wrongs. But it’s all gone, and I can only be happy that you’re well and hope that he…” he looked over at Max, “… treats you the way you rightfully deserve.”
“Thanks, Alessandro,” I smiled in return, looking past his huge shoulder to Max who stood with his hands in his pockets and his lips strewn in a thick line. He wasn’t impressed with the proximity between Alessandro and me, but he was trying to act normal since I had no problem with it. What a gentleman. I stood on my tiptoe to reach Alessandro’s cheek, pecking him softly. “Take care.”
With one last lingering look, he exited the bar, without saying goodbye to Max. Which was a theatrical and Alessandro thing to do.
I plopped down on my chair, shaken and feeling fuzzy over what had just happened. I hoped Max hadn’t picked up on the Finn subject from our conversation. I wasn’t ready to tell him anything yet and I’d hate lying to his face. I couldn’t believe that Sam was dead. Finn would be so sad about it.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Max said, peering at me over the rim of his glass. I cleared my throat and tried to act normal enough.
“Sure. Anything.”
“If Alessandro’s your ex, then who is Finn? Is he your baby? Is Alessandro his father? Are the both of you divorced and that’s why you had to move to New York?”
Shit.