Loving the Ice Queen

Chapter 22

Ryan

It had all gone wrong.

I had been in the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and thinking about calling Barbara to see if I should pick her up, when the front door opened and Miranda came rushing in.

"Where's Jeremy?" I asked, putting my phone on the counter.

Miranda had not mentioned getting back together again. She had simply told me that I had time to think about it, that she would be moving to New York whether we were back together or not, and that she would do what was best for Jeremy.

I'd been stewing in my own thoughts for the last couple of days.

If Miranda had told me this before I met Barbara, would I have agreed? I didn't know, but I would've given her a chance, of that I was sure.

So was it simply Barbara's presence that made me hesitate? Was it Barbara's presence that made me resent Miranda for wanting to start over?

I couldn't blame Barbara, it was myself I needed to figure out. My own feelings and needs took a backseat to Jeremy's, that was a rule I lived by so far.

So why was I hesitant to apply that rule to this situation? Having Miranda and me living under one roof with him would make Jeremy the happiest child alive. Would it?

So why was I hesitating?

Barbara did not deserve someone who would not put her first.

"He's with Lia and Jenny," Miranda replied, smiling broadly. "I was wondering if you could drive me somewhere?"

I looked at my watch. I still had a couple of hours until the movie. "Alright, let me change."

The first mistake I made was leaving my phone there on the island.

After I changed and went back down, Miranda looked like she was about to cry.

"I'm so, so sorry," she said, handing me my phone. The screen was shattered. The phone couldn't turn on.

I cursed. "What the hell happened?"

"I accidentally knocked it off the counter," she said. "I'm sorry."

I rubbed my face and put the phone in my pocket. "Let's just go."

I drove her to a restaurant we used to come to whenever we came to New York during our marriage. She looked excited. "Can you come with me for a second?"

I glanced at my watch. "I have to be somewhere."

"Just for a little while," she said. "Please? It has to do with Jeremy."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You'll know when we get there!" she said, grinning. "Come on, I don't want us to be late."

With a sigh, I went in with her. There was a big private room in the back of the restaurant, if I'd recalled correctly. I could hear noise as we drew closer to it. Miranda opened the door.

The room was full of children and several adults. I recognized most of the kids as Jeremy's school buddies.

"Dad! Surprise!" Jeremy said from the centre of the room, where he was wearing a birthday hat. He stood with the rest of the children around the massive cake set on the table.

And then I was sucked into the vortex of a birthday party.

It was an early birthday party for Jeremy, Miranda explained. Jeremy's actual birthday was in the middle of January and she would be in L.A. finalizing her move to New York.