Page 159 of Payoff Pitch
“Pineapples in mine, please.”
“As you wish. You’re going to turn into a pineapple.”
“I want to be like you and Kam. You two always eat pineapples.”
Tanner smirks. “Yep, Bailey sure does eat a lot of pineapples.”
I ignore the innuendo and ask Harper, “Did you go to the bathroom?”
“Yes. Dad definitely won’t know the word today.”
Tanner grumbles, “It’s Daddy, not Dad, and you haven’t stumped me yet, bug.”
Harper rubs her hands together and raises an eyebrow. “Taradiddle.”
Fallon, Harper, and I all turn to Tanner. His face falls. Oh my god. He doesn’t know.
Fallon and I look at each other wide-eyed. Holy. Shit.
Realization hits, and Harper’s face breaks out into the biggest grin I’ve ever seen.
Kam walks in and winks at Harper. I think she may have had something to do with this word.
She pops a pineapple slice into her mouth. “Looks like you stumped him, Harper. Tell your ignoramus father what it means. Better yet, use it in a sentence.”
Harper crosses her arms. “When someone says Daddy knowseveryword in the dictionary, that’s a bit of a taradiddle.”
Kam nods emphatically. “Truth.”
Two hours later,we’re in the gym where Fallon has been kicking my ass. Kam had plans this morning. It’s rare she misses a session. It actually makes me feel good, like she thinks I’m progressing and don’t need constant support from her anymore.
I’m doing a few free weight drills when I look at Fallon. “I’m really sorry about Tanner being so handsy with me in front of you. I’ve told him to stop, but he doesn’tlisten.”
She shrugs. “You two should act how you want in your house. I’m the outsider now.”
“It’s not my house, and you’re never an outsider here. You belong here more than I do.”
She exhales heavily. “He’s different with you than he was with me. He’s a…better partner.”
“Does it bother you?”
Her lips twist a bit. “I’m not going to lie and tell you that I don’t have moments of hurt, because I do, but it’s not because I still want him or anything along those lines. I’m under no illusion whatsoever that I’ll be getting back together with Tanner, whether you’re in the picture or not. I irrevocably broke our marriage. It’s on me. Frankly, I’m happy to see him this way. I was afraid that I broke him in my shame spiral.”
“He doesn’t blame you for anything.”
She tilts her head to the side. “What has he shared with you about the end of our marriage?”
“He told me that you were unfaithful one night, but that he was an absentee husband and father leading up to it. He feels he’s equally, if not more, to blame for the destruction of your marriage.”
Tears fill her eyes. “He’s always been so classy about it.” She shakes her head. “I don’t deserve it.”
I start to defend her, but she holds up her hands.
“He’s spent the past six years against marriage and more kids because of my actions. That’s very clear to me. It’s a burden I’ve carried for what feels like forever.”
“Fallon, you had a moment of weakness with a stranger. Stop beating yourself up about it.”
She takes a few calming breaths. “Have you heard the name David Schumaker?”