Crystal surprised them all by adding, “He’s your man, so take a stand with Chris if you have to. I almost let my ex-husband drive a wedge between Mark and me. Your relationship is the most vulnerable when things are new and you are still learning about each other. Be protective of that and watch her. Jake may just be glad to have her off his back, but a leopard doesn’t change its spots and she hasn’t changed who she is overnight. Knowledge is power.”

   “You’re right, both of you. I promise I will be on my guard.” Straightening her spine, Lydia added, “I’m in love with Jacob Hay and I won’t let her ruin it for me.” With new resolve, Lydia walked back to her office with Crystal after saying good-bye to Mia in the elevator. She was going to tell Jake how she felt about him. She hadn’t come this far to chicken out now. If she wanted to keep the new life she had made, then risking her pride was a small price to pay.

* * *

   Jacob approached Chris’s table at the country club warily. Their last lunch, where she went nearly postal, was still fresh in his mind. When she’d called earlier asking if they could get together to discuss Casey, he’d hesitated long seconds before finally agreeing. He also felt strange about meeting her without speaking to Lydia first. Even though she’d never been anything but understanding where Chris was concerned, he also knew that it bothered her when he spent time with his ex. And that was something he was sympathetic to. He didn’t think he would handle it well if their positions were reversed and he constantly had Lydia’s ex-boyfriend to contend with. Those thoughts made him feel a bit like an asshole, though, since Brett was dead and that possibility didn’t exist.

   Chris got to her feet and gave him a warm hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek. “Jake, thanks for meeting me.” Then she ran an appreciative glance over him before adding, “You look handsome, as always.” Before he could reply, she quickly inserted, “Casey looks more and more like you every day.” As was always the case, when his daughter was brought up in conversation, he lost track of everything else. God, he loved that little girl so damn much. He waited for Chris to take her seat again, and then politely pushed her chair up to the table before sitting across from her.

   He ignored her flattery and asked instead, “Have you ordered yet?”

   “Of course not.” She smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

   Their server walked up at that moment and Jacob quickly ordered both his drink and his food, not wanting to prolong the encounter any longer than necessary. Chris frowned, looking disgruntled, but finally requested the garden salad with dressing on the side, of course. Would it kill her to just drench that lettuce in ranch dressing for once? He didn’t bother to suggest it; she’d probably pass out. Lydia didn’t have her dressing put on the side. Hell, she even ate pasta. Actually, that was one of her favorite dishes. “So what can I do for you, Chris?” he asked warily as the server placed his glass of water on the table. He was still a bit traumatized from their last visit here, so he wanted to be prepared if she suddenly went ape-shit. Wait—what was brushing against his leg under the table? He glanced at her suspiciously, but her face gave nothing away. He was on the tall side and the table wasn’t that big. It would be easy to accidentally touch each other in passing. So he shifted slightly until whatever had been pressed against him was gone.

   “We have a daughter together, silly. Wouldn’t it be easier if we were friends?” she asked brightly.

   Beware! Minefield ahead, proceed with extreme caution, Jake thought as he processed her words. Friends—really? How was he supposed to answer that? He’d gotten used to battling about everything with the mother of his child. Did he enjoy it? No, not at all. Was it mostly predictable? Yeah, pretty much. Her behavior had done a complete one-eighty lately, and it had made life easier. Although he couldn’t help thinking of the saying Beware a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He hadn’t bothered to look too far below the surface of the recent ease between the two of them, figuring the unpleasantness would fire back up again soon enough. When he caught her staring at him expectantly, he muttered, “Um, sure. I guess so.” Then he attempted to steer the conversation back to their daughter by adding, “So how is Casey doing with the new classmate who was bothering her? Did you go ahead and talk to her teacher like I suggested?” Casey had complained to him and Lydia about a boy in her class who was knocking the pencils from her desk and being a nuisance in general. He figured the kid actually liked her because that was the usual expression of adoration at that age. He’d done the same thing to Maryanne Sullivan until she’d given him a right hook in the neither regions. Apparently, her father had taught his daughter early on how to deal with pushy boys.

   “Yes, Jake, of course I did,” she huffed impatiently before seeming to catch herself. “I handled that the next day and everything is fine.” Before he could reply, she quickly interjected, “So how is your . . . live-in doing? Will she be staying with you much longer?”

   Jacob’s glass halted halfway to his mouth. “Are you talking about Lydia? My wife?”

   Shrugging innocently, she said, “That’s what I said, wasn’t it? I’m just surprised that she’s still there. Your women don’t usually hang around this long.”

   Setting his drink down with a thud, Jacob took a moment to control his temper before saying, “I’m not going to discuss her with you. The only thing I’ll say is that she’s not going anywhere. She’s not some casual hookup. We’re married and I don’t see that changing. Is that a problem for you?”

   And the charming, docile persona kicked in right before his eyes. Reaching out to touch his arm, she said sweetly, “No, not at all, Jake. I think she’s a really nice person and I hope you two will be very happy together.”

   She was saying all the right things, but Jacob didn’t think she actually meant any of them. In their situation, it was probably to be expected. If she’d moved on and gotten married or been in a serious relationship, maybe things would have been different, but she’d done everything up to and including trying to force him into marriage to her. So it wasn’t likely she would suddenly appoint herself as Lydia’s fan club president. He knew that his wife had also had concerns about Chris’s new and improved disposition. It was suspicious considering they still hadn’t resolved the issue of joint custody. Something that Chris strangely hadn’t mentioned lately. It was a slippery slope indeed to travel. He’d never allow Chris to be ugly to Lydia again. But he also had to maintain a halfway passable relationship with the mother of his child for Casey’s sake. He’d just go ahead and admit that most men weren’t really that good at straddling the fence in that way. “I appreciate that, Chris,” he said diplomatically. “I know it’s been an adjustment, but we’ll all get there.”