Free Dear Cupid by Julie Ortolon Page B

taking her energy away from him. Looking back, she realized Edward had seen her as more his personal assistant than his partner in life. His needs had always come first, while hers didn’t even register on his radar.
    How could she have been so blind to fall in love with someone that self-absorbed? Oh, but she had, she remembered with a pang in her heart. She’d been giddy in love with him in the beginning.
    Falling for Edward Bradshaw her freshman year at UT had been the easiest thing she’d ever done, like a sweet, thrilling ride down a silken slide. He’d been a year ahead of her in school and a world above her socially. He’d swept her off her feet with his Prince Charming looks and his family’s dazzling wealth. They’d been inseparable for three years, the perfect college couple from football games to rush dances. He’d proposed on his graduation night in the moonlit garden of his parents’ Tarrytown mansion.
    He’d told her so earnestly that he needed her to keep him from turning into a stuffed shirt like his father. He’d loved her joy and passion and admired her free spirit.
    After the wedding, however, with them out of college and living in his parent’s world, suddenly Kate was “immature,” “unsophisticated,” and needed to “grow up and think about someone other than herself.” Except that “thinking of herself” included taking care of Dylan. As a newlywed, she’d happily run herself into the ground trying to please Edward because he had a budding career as a stock broker, and she was just a pampered, stay-at-home wife. Then Dylan came along and everything changed. She remembered Edward’s eruption the day she’d asked him to pick up his own dry cleaning because Dylan had a doctor’s appointment.
    A tear slipped down her cheek as she remembered all the constant insults she’d endured to stay with Edward for Dylan’s sake. If he’d ever turned that belittling resentment on their son, she probably would have left, but he hadn’t. He’d basically ignored Dylan as nothing more than an irritating inconvenience.
    Surely that would change, though. Just because Edward had announced in the middle of a screaming fight that he’d made a huge mistake marrying her and wanted out, didn’t mean he didn’t want his son. So what if he hadn’t been a great dad when Dylan had been little? A lot of men didn’t care about babies, but Dylan was Edward’s son. At some point, Edward would look at the amazing child they’d produced and fill up with pride. They just needed to spend more time together.
    Which meant, she needed to call Edward and remind him,
again
, about his visitation rights. She cringed at the thought. Her personal discomfort, however, was no reason for her to let him ignore their son, even if his absence made life less painful for her.
    Easing Dylan under the covers, she tucked him in, then made her way down the ladder of the loft. The clock on the mantel read eight p.m., a time when even her workaholic ex-husband would be home from the office. Not that he would have quit working for the night, but he would at least be home.
    She closed the door to her bedroom to keep Dylan from hearing and used the phone at her desk. As she listened to the ringing, she told herself to be calm, and above all civil. Just because Edward had failed once again to make arrangements for his visitation weekend was no reason to get into a screaming match.
    After the fifth ring, the answering machine picked up. She closed her eyes to fight the tightness in her chest as Edward’s voice came on the line.
    “Edward,” she said after the beep. “It’s Kate. If you’re there pick up.” She pictured him at his computer, his hands poised over the keyboard as he debated answering. “Edward, please, this is important. We can’t keep talking to each other through our answering machines.”
    She pinched the bridge of her nose as she waited. Still he didn’t pick up, even though she knew in her gut he was