Mafia's Ex Wife

Chapter Fourteen

"Mike working late tonight?" He asks, sliding one of the glasses across the counter to me as I set the plates down. 

"Uh, no, actually, he takes Harper out for dinner once a week, just the two of them. I think they're bowling tonight." 

"He sounds like a good father." Jax eyes me as I dish up the pizza, and I can't bring myself to look up at him. 

I nod. "He is." 

"I'm glad." He leans back, folding his arms across his chest. There's a faraway look in his eye that steals my breath, and panic settles in my chest. "I'm glad you two have him." 

Jax

Lizzie turns her back to me, desperate to hide the flush on her cheeks. Talking with me about her family makes her uncomfortable, and honestly, it does the same to me. Every time I see her husband's smug face, a sharp pang of jealousy strikes me right in the heart. 

It was supposed to be mine. It was supposed to be me. 

I tell her I'm glad she has him, and in a way I am, but only because I know that he's what she thinks she wants. The stability. The maturity. The safety. 

At least she's taken care of. That's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night. 

They make them a lot worse than Mike Mason. I'm living proof of that.

"So, should we... um..." Lizzie stumbles over her words, biting her lip out of nervous habit. 

Jesus Christ. 

If either one of us is going to get out of this unscathed, she's going to have to stop that. Right fucking now. 

Working with Lizzie is testing every bit of restraint I think I have. It's even worse when I've had a bit to drink. That's why I opted for the wine tonight instead of whiskey. I hate this shit, but it slows me down, and maybe I'll be able to keep my wits about me. 

While the sight of Lizzie flustered gets me hot, I decide to throw her a bone. "Have you looked at the files yet?" 

She shakes her head. "I thought we should do it together."

"Thank you." I say. 

Lizzie grabs her laptop and sets it on the counter. Right as she does, the front door opens. 

"Mama!" A tiny voice calls, followed by the sound of child size footsteps down the hallway. 

Lizzie's eye widen, and she looks as if she's about to pass out when Harper rounds the corner. 

"Hi baby. What are you doing here?" 

"Who is he?" Harper stares up at me skeptically, brows furrowed in a tiny scowl that mimics her mother. The same dark curls. The same cupid's bow smile. But those eyes....those belong to someone else. 

Without waiting for Lizzie to take the lead, I bend down and hold out my hand. "My name is Jax. I'm a friend of your mom's." 

Harper is skeptical at first, but then she grabs my hand and shakes it. "It's nice to meet you." 

"It's nice to meet you, too." My chest tightens. 

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I can't do this. 

"Well, the bowling alley had a water leak. Of course, no one around there is tech savvy enough to put an email out so we drove all the way there before..." Mike stops dead in his tracks when he sees me. "Jax. Hi." 

"Hey Mike." 

"I got the police reports back this afternoon. Jax came over so we could read through them." Lizzie jumps right up to explain herself and I realize how this must look. I'm too disregulated to enjoy the resentful look in his eye. 

"Oh,"  Mike softens a little, and, when he looks at me with that stupid pity in his eyes, I gather that she must have filled him in on exactly the extent of our arrangement. "Well, don't let us interrupt you. I think we'll head to the park for a picnic instead." 

"A picnic?" Harper lights up, nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "Can I ride my bike?"

Damn, does she look like Lizzie. Exactly how I always imagined. 

"Only if you wear a helmet, Harper." Lizzie reminds her, arching an eyebrow at her. 

Seeing the two of them together knocks me off of me feet more than I ever could have imagined. 

"I'll make sure she does, babe." Mike sweeps a kiss across Lizzie's cheek, wrapping a possessive arm around her in a clear message. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Come on squirt!" 

Harper waves goodbye before following Mike out the door. Lizzie watches until they've disappeared and when she turns back to me, she refuses to meet my eyes. 

"Where were we?"