Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
He knew he shouldn’t care about the ex, but right now, he wanted to know more about this woman.
“What did you do?” he asked.
“I celebrated everything I wanted to. So, my ex was not a big fan of making a deal out of special occasions. On Valentine’s Day, he gave me this long, detailed explanation as to why he wouldn’t be participating. He didn’t believe in the commercial part of the whole thing. Then he told me he didn’t need one single day to show his love, when he had our whole lives. That man never showed an ounce of love, unless it was fake.” She shook her head. “Then let’s talk Easter, he didn’t allow it, not even chocolate of any kind. So, we didn’t eat chocolate, nor did we celebrate. Moving onto Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and just about every single other tradition, he’d work or make some excuse. I wasn’t allowed to decorate the house.”
He thought about the past year, and how she had lit her entire house up like a Christmas tree, and now it made a lot more sense to him. She had even made the effort at Halloween, and her house had looked like some kind of scary monster trap. He remembered asking her how old she was, and grumping at her for being so childish. From what he recalled, the kids had loved going by her house as Robin had completely spoiled them with all the candy she had to offer. On Thanksgiving she had a wreath on her door, as well as more display pumpkins and trinkets around her door.
Every time he’d seen her, she’d been in a chirpy mood, but had she really?
“You stopped being you?” Dylan asked.
“For my husband, that is exactly what I did, and it made me feel like a fool. While I tried to accommodate him, all he cared about was screwing his mistress. I don’t know. I was used and taken for a fool, and I lost years on that mess. I’m not wasting another minute, so if I want to decorate my kitchen three times to get it the way I want it, then that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Good for you.”
“What about you?” she asked. “Are you doing anything you had stopped doing for your ex-wife?”
He thought about it and the truth was, no, he wasn’t. His ex-wife had hated Christmas, other than the gift giving—she was very much into presents and being spoiled. Dylan remembered he had to always do one better than the previous year. She always seemed to know how expensive everything was. Flowers were a no, as were chocolates because she was constantly watching her figure.
“No, I’m not,” he said.
There was a time he’d have loved to dress his house up for the holidays, all of them. In fact, he recalled telling his wife to do so, and he’d been so looking forward to when he got home, but when he did, he found all the decorations in the trash. Her response when he asked her why was that she wasn’t a child and didn’t do nonsense like that.
So they never did anything for Halloween or Thanksgiving. In fact, if he even suggested they celebrate Thanksgiving, he’d get a whole night of her screaming and yelling at him about her weight. Christmas was a definite no, unless he got someone else to bring a tree and then clean it. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?
He’d done it all, because he had thought he was doing the right thing, marrying the woman who was potentially carrying his baby, but he’d been taken for a fool.
Robin stopped in front of him and took his hands in hers. “Then don’t you think it’s time you embraced who you are, and remember it? That’s what I’ve been trying to do. I have this period of time before my ex, then I have my ex, and now I’m me again. It has taken me time to realize that we don’t have to be different people. We can be free.”
He looked into her beautiful brown eyes. Dylan knew if given the chance, he could stare into them for the rest of his life. Robin’s gaze brought him a sense of peace he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“So, you won’t have any problem if I do this.” Dylan reached down and picked her up.
Robin instantly began to scream. She wriggled in his arms but he heard the laughter in her voice.
“No, Dylan, no, put me down. Don’t you dare.”
“You said to put you down.” He’d already walked several feet into the ocean, and then he dropped them both down.
Robin wriggled out of his arms, and before she could get to her feet, he got to his and began to take off.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Robin said. She had caught up to him, jumping on his back, attempting to take him down, but he wouldn’t let her.