Page 54 of Thank you, Next
“I don’t think what I’m doing with Alex is any of your business.”
“Well, it’s hurting my plans for my business, and I don’t like her for you.”
Will started to get a headache from trying to figure out what women wanted this morning and accounting for the ways in which he’d pissed them off. He didn’t care that his ex-wife didn’t like his new girlfriend. He squeezed the bridge of his nose between two fingers. “I don’t think you understand what divorce means.”
“I didn’t want to be married to you anymore, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you.”
That was nice, and he was glad that they could be in a room together without wanting to kill each other—that had never been their problem anyway—but he didn’t need her making judgments on his life choices. Especially whom he dated and when.
“I’m glad you care about me, but we can’t do the show together. And we can’t work in the same restaurant. It wouldn’t be good for either of us. If there is any other way for me to help you with your business, I will. But I’m not pretending to still be in a relationship with you for the publicity.”
April sighed and stepped back from him. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
“I’m not talking about this with you.” Will shook his head and walked toward the kitchen to snag his coffee. “Can I get you a coffee?”
He hoped that she wouldn’t say yes, but she did. As he fixed her a latte, she looked around his new place. For obvious reasons, she hadn’t visited before. “You really like things bare-bones, don’t you?”
Will just didn’t like to have a thing unless it was meaningful or useful. He could think more clearly when he wasn’t surrounded by stuff. It was the same reason he wore the same clothes pretty much every day. It made things simple. Maybe it was because he’d grown up amid chaos that he craved order, but it was just something about him.
“I just like what I like.” He shrugged. April had never appreciated his penchant for simplicity. She came from the “more is more” school of home decorating, and that seemed to be part of her philosophy of life. He’d been attracted to how voracious she was for new experiences, but they’d never been able to come into agreement on their differing desires for things.
It had made it easy for him to walk away from their shared home after the divorce, though.
He didn’t see the use for rehashing that now, so he decided to ask about her business in order to keep things simple. “Tell me about this new business.”
“I’m starting a wine club that will serve both individuals and businesses. I’m sick of staying in one place all the time, and I want to travel more.”
For the first time, he thought that maybe the end of their marriage had been good for both of them. Even though she’d initiated the divorce, it was only after she’d begged him multiple times to go back to couple’s therapy. He really didn’t see the use of it. They’d talked and talked about their problems until there were no words left and nothing seemed worth discussing anymore.
“I’m glad you’ll get to do that.” Will put down his cup of coffee and met her gaze. “I do really want you to be happy.”
“That’s a change from during our marriage when you just wanted me to be Alex.”
Will shook his head. “That’s not true, and you know it. There was nothing between me and Alex while I was married to you. Unlike my father, I took that commitment seriously. But I think we got married way too young, before we really knew ourselves.”
“But I always sensed that there was this crackling thing”—she made a motion with her hands—“between you and her.”
“For a long time, it wasn’t crackling. I was committed to you.” Will wasn’t going to deny his feelings for Alex now, but he didn’t have anything to feel guilty about during his marriage. He’d been committed to his wife from the time they’d started dating seriously until the very end. “And neither of us ever acted on it. I’m not sure that either of us knew that there was anything else underneath all the stuff that we’d been through together.”
“So how’d you get together now?” April seemed genuinely curious. And since the energy had calmed down considerably since she’d come in, he told her the story. Minus the really intimate details.
When he was finished, she blew out a stream of air that was half whistle. “None of her relationships have worked out because she’s just as emotionally constipated as you are. I get why her exes called her a cold fish, and I get why she was cold with them.” April knew enough about Alex’s family from fragments of history she’d gathered through Lexi. “You realize that she’s going to use my showing up here to clam up on you. Just like you used to punish me with silence when you felt like I was asking too much. Honestly, I find it astonishing that you two ever ended up getting together in the first place.”
It was funny, but Will didn’t feel the pressure to run away when it was Alex. He wouldn’t say that to April, because that would be hurtful. But it was true. “I think maybe she’s just benefiting from all the therapy that we had.”
“Or you should have been with her to start with.” There was a wisp of hurt in April’s voice, and he didn’t want her to feel that way. But another thing he’d learned in therapy was that you can’t control other people’s feelings.
“I’m grateful that I got to misspend my youth with you,” he said, knowing that it wasn’t adequate. But he needed to say it, and it made April smile.
“I should go.” She got up and grabbed her purse. “I’m sorry if I caused any problems with Alex. I just—”
Will gave her a hug and kissed her on the top of her head. It was friendly and didn’t hold any sexual tension. A showmance between the two of them would not have played well on television anyway. Too much water under the bridge.
“Good luck with the restaurant,” she said as she opened the door. “And with Alex.”
As risky and uncertain as the restaurant business was, Will felt as though he probably needed more luck to make things work with Alex.
TWENTY-THREE