He''d always thought that taking a family trip together once a year was something he did well-as a husband, and as a father.
Buttely, maybe because Cedric rke was such an exemry dad, Stewart found himself reflecting more and more during his rare moments of downtime.
Except, when he actually looked back, he realized he hadn''t been all that present in those five years of marriage...
"Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"
Snapping out of it, Stewart cleared his throat. "Got time to grab a drink?"
"Drinks?" Cedric rke shot back without hesitation. "No way. If my wife finds out, I''ll be sleeping on the couch for a week!"
Stewart just stared at his phone.
"Wait, aren''t your wife and daughter home too? How do you even have the nerve to go out drinking?"
"They''re at Skybreeze Retreat today."
"Don''t tell me―mother and daughter packed up and ran away?"
Stewart pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Mrs. Winslow''s visiting. They''ll probably be staying at the retreat all week."
Now Cedric finally caught a whiff of something off.
"Stewart, you sound a little jealous, you know."
" Juste out for a drink with me."
Cedric hesitated, but in the end, they were friends. Seeing Stewart all alone, he felt a pang of sympathy.
"I''ll try to negotiate with my boss at home, but I can''t promise anything. I''ll call you back."
Stewart hung up and rolled down his car window.
The night air drifted in, cool and restless.
He yanked off his tie and undid two buttons of his shirt, but that tightness in his chest wouldn''t go away.
So he simply stepped out of the car.
Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it, lit a cigarette, and took a slow drag.
Under the glow of the streemp, his profile was sharp and cold, lips pressed together as he smoked, jawline clean and defined.
A red Ferrari pulled up nearby. The driver, a morous heiress, rolled down her window.
She whistled at him. "Hey, handsome! Out here all alone? Want to take a spin up the hill with me?"
Stewart nced over, expression cool and distant.
His eyes narrowed, dark and unreadable in the streetlight.
The heiress froze, startled by his icy gaze. She floored the elerator and sped off without another word.
It wasn''t until she was far down the
til she
road that she pulled out her phone and called a friend. "Girl, you won''t believe who I just saw-absolute ten. Gorgeous, I swear! Flirt with him? Are you kidding? I didn''t even dare get out of the car! The man is impossible to approach. Forget it, forget it..."
By the time Cedric arrived at the lounge, Stewart was already halfway through a bottle of whiskey by himself.
Seeing the ss half-empty, Cedric sat down beside him and snatched the tumbler from Stewart''s hand.
"Drowning your sorrows just makes it worse, you know. Don''t forget you''re still on medication take it easy!"
Stewart looked up at Cedric, a faint, wry smile tugging at his lips. "You reek of baby powder."
"Do I?" Cedric sniffed his shirt, puzzled. "I don''t smell anything."
"Of course you don''t. You''re used to it."
Cedric shot back, "Well, do you smell a hint of jealousy?"
Stewart pressed his lips together.
"I got a whiff the minute I walked in!" Cedric teased, grinning. "What''s wrong?
Wife and daughter noting home tonight? Feeling lonely?"
Stewart''s handsome face turned stormy.
Cedric shook his head, determined to twist the knife. "Honestly, if you hadn''t screwed things up back then, you''d have three kids by
Ling
now-including Irwin! A family of five, can you imagine how cozy that''d be? I''m jealous just about it!"
Stewart lowered his gaze, brow furrowed deep in thought.
Cedric finally realized that Stewart was truly off tonight.
"Hey, you drag me out here and then m up on me?"
He set down the whiskey and poured himself a soda instead. "Just a reminder—-
my wife only granted me a one-hour pass. You''d better make the most of it!"
At that, Stewart snatched back his ss and downed the rest in one gulp.
His long fingers clenched around the empty ss. Adam''s apple bobbing, he cleared his throat and,
awkwardly, forced out the words, "How do you make your wife happy?"