Serenity (Inevitable #5)(118)

He'd arrived home from work one evening last week to find nearly a hundred people milling about drinking and eating and lounging around the pool. Lindsey had teasingly chastised him about forgetting that they were hosting a party, and had promptly dragged him along with her to greet the guests. More than half the people there had been virtual strangers to Matthew, but there were others that he knew well and who had actually been good friends at one time. Awkwardly, he'd dodged questions about whether he and Lindsey were reconciled now, muttering that he was really here because of the kids, and that the living arrangements were temporary. Lindsey had glowered at him after overhearing a few such comments, and then accused him afterwards of embarrassing her and making her look like a fool in front of their guests.

Matthew had given her a scathing look. "Don't you mean your guests, Linz? I didn't invite any of these people here tonight. In fact, I had no idea you were hosting this party. Because if I had I would have spent the night at the condo. And a word of warning, hmm? If you try to pull a stunt like that on me again, I don't care who I offend or how pissed off you get. I won't get dragged into staying, and I also won't hesitate to tell everyone exactly why I'm living here again. Temporarily, of course."

Lindsey had reacted in mingled anger and panic. "You can be such a cold-hearted bastard at times, Matt," she'd snarled. "And don't you dare tell anyone about Hayley. She hasn't said a word about the baby yet to any of her friends, so if you spill the beans ahead of time she'd never forgive you."

He had thrown up his hands in frustration. "Christ, what's she waiting for - the baby's first birthday? She's not going to be able to keep her little secret hidden for much longer. Once she reaches the four month mark, she's going to start to show."

Lindsey had given a casual shrug. "Maybe not quite that early. Hayley's a tiny little thing, you know, and probably won't gain much weight. It could easily be her seventh month before she starts showing."

"Well, she's going to need to stop hanging out by the pool all day with her friends, or going shopping or out to lunch, and make some hard decisions. If she's serious about raising the baby - which I'm still dead set against - then she'll need to find a nanny at some point. And if she chooses adoption, the far better solution under the circumstances, we should be meeting with a lawyer now and interviewing adoptive parents."

But Lindsey had dismissed his concerns, stating that he was overreacting as usual. "She's got plenty of time for all that, Matt. Though I seriously doubt she's going to consider giving up the baby."

Matthew had stared at her incredulously. "Please tell me that you are not encouraging her to keep this baby," he had said, dumbfounded. "I'm amazed that you would be in favor of your teenaged daughter having a baby, especially since that would make everyone stop and think about how old you are. And for someone who works as hard as you do to look fifteen years younger, and who thinks it's the greatest thing ever when people mistake you for Hayley's sister, that's a little surprising."



       
         
       
        

Lindsey had seemed a bit taken aback, as though that had never occurred to her until now. "Well," she'd demurred, "that's not what's really important, is it? I mean, think of it this way - the baby might be just what we need to bring us all together. To have us all be one big happy family again."

He had burst out laughing at that point - actually, hooted would have more accurately described the noise - and given a shake of his head. "I never figured you to be delusional this way, Linz. So stop spinning your crazy fantasies, hmm? Hayley can have half a dozen babies, and it's not going to bring me back to you. I will always be here for my children, but so far as I'm concerned I no longer have a wife, and haven't for almost a year now. So if you're nudging Hayley to keep this baby as a means to keep me, forget it. You and I are over, done, finished, and there's nothing on this earth that's ever going to change that.

Once again, her green eyes had shimmered with tears, and her voice had sounded hurt. "Why can't you be nice to me once in awhile?" she'd pleaded. "Why are you always so mean, Matt? You never used to be this mean."

"And you never used to sleep with every hot young stud you chatted up in a bar," he'd replied lazily. "You reap what you sow, Linz. Never forget that. Now, you can have as many damned parties here as you like. Just try to give me a heads-up next time, hmm, so I can make other plans for the evening? And don't bother sending me an invitation because I have zero interest in socializing with any of your friends. Or you, for that matter."