Vivian by Bernadette Marie Read Free Book Online Page B

thing on his mind. Vivian had taken that place this morning.
     
    ~*~
     
    Sam had called and let Vivian know that the man who had lent them the townhouse had a renter. It was official. She had four days to get out. Luckily they had nothing and Penelope was all moved out of the old house. She just wished all the bedrooms had been finished.
    Really, why did she care? It was still nicer than the house she lived in that she and Adam had bought.
    Every box she packed she set by the front door and checked her phone for the time. The entire day had passed and Clayton hadn’t called, texted, or dropped by.
    Every time she checked the time, a part of her heart began to harden. It had been a mistake that kiss Clayton had planted on her. It had been wrong to inhale it, hold it, to want it. She should have socked him in the gut.
    But she hadn’t, so now she was nursing a broken heart.
    It was nearly six o’clock when Emma tugged on her shirt. “Are we having dinner?”
    The question only added to her heartbreak. She’d neglected her children all day as she’d packed. She’d thrown together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Cut up an apple for snack. They’d watched movies, packed up their toys, and stayed out of her way. It wasn’t that she was too busy—they didn’t have very many possessions. She was just preoccupied in thought—about Clayton.
    “ I’m sorry, sweetheart. Why don’t we drive over to McDonald’s? I’ll buy you a Happy Meal since you’ve been so patient with me today.”
    Emma’s eyes opened wide and she immediately ran to collect her sister. Vivian decided that might have been the only thing that had made her smile all day.
    They were on the road in less than five minutes. She thought it was funny how easily you could bribe children with junk food. She was smart to save the bribe though. She figured her kids had only had maybe three Happy Meals ever. Yes, it was better kept for a treat.
    Once their order was placed they found a table near the play yard. She’d remembered how Clayton had reacted to the ball pit at the pizza restaurant. She wondered how he’d react to something like a playground like this.
    “ I guess we parent alike.”
    Vivian looked up at the voice that had been in her head all day. Her mouth was full of hamburger, so all she could do was swallow hard when she saw Clayton standing above her with a tray of food.
    “ What are you guys doing here?”
    He set the tray down at the table next to them as the girls went about gabbing as if they hadn’t seen each other less than twenty-four hours ago.
    “ I’m bribing kids. They’ve never had a Happy Meal and I wasn’t in the mood to cook. Though I now have clean dishes, thank you.”
    “ They’ve never had a Happy Meal?”
    He shook his head as he handed each girl her box. “No. Linda was very specific about it. I would have let them junk out a few times, but it wasn’t part of her parenting model.”
    “ And you’ve stuck to it?”
    “ It was one of the best ways I could honor her.”
    She couldn’t help but notice his voice dragged when he spoke and his eyes were sad. Suddenly she wondered what might have happened.
    He sat next to her on the bench, though at the other table with his girls. In what seemed like a quick moment, the girls were done and had run off to play in the play yard, leaving only trash and half eaten hamburgers in their wake.
    Clayton’s hunched shoulders and quiet mannerism had her worried. She wasn’t one to not stick her nose into things. However, now wasn’t the time to start sitting back and being quiet.
    “ Is everything okay? You look upset.”
    He lifted his head and looked at her. With a forced smile, he slid across the booth until he was seated next to her.
    Even though he looked miserable, just having him sitting right next to her made her body buzz just as it had last night.
    “ I got a phone call this morning from Linda’s mom.”
    “ Oh,” she said as she felt her