Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“Now, I don’t know about all that, but what I do know is that I’d like a spot in that baby’s life.”
I sucked in a breath at his words. “Meaning I don’t want a spot in my own damn kid’s life?”
Granddaddy sighed. “I don’t know what you want, Gavin, and neither does Suzie. You haven’t been around for anybody to ask you.”
His granddaddy had a point, but that was the past. “Yeah, well, I’m here now.”
“For how long?” he fired back, a challenge in his tone.
A week. Just one week, because that was what I promised Alex. “For as long as I need to be,” I returned, lying because my ego was dinged.
Silence settled on the other end of the call, followed by a loud boom of laughter. “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, son. You’re here on some kind of break, or maybe to do one of those forgiveness tours you famous people always have to do after you screw up big.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“You just thought you could breeze into town with that glittering smile of yours and everyone would welcome you with open arms, Suzie most of all.”
“I didn’t,” I insisted.
“You did,” he insisted in return. “And that’s to be expected, you’ve been treated like you were special damn near your whole life at this point, but not this time. I’ll be home in an hour. We can talk then.”
I stared at the phone screen as it faded to black. Grandaddy had hung up on me. I wanted to scream at the blatant unfairness of it all, but one look at Suzie’s sleeping form and I knew I couldn’t. I knew exactly what I had to do.
Be there for her. Step up.
Whether she wanted me to or not.
Suzie
“Oh no.” I groaned in pain as I woke up, feeling aches in my neck from being propped up on the arm of the sofa all night. My back twinged as I straightened my spine. “No more sleeping on the couch,” I told myself as I struggled to sit, stretching my neck and my arms before I tested my legs.
They were wobbly but not sore, and I stood there for a moment, allowing myself to wake up and blink the world into focus. Looking around the living room, I noticed that my shoes had been placed against the wall beside my attaché case.
Gavin is gone.
My shoulders relaxed, so I gave them a quick roll and froze at the sounds coming from the kitchen. I immediately looked around for a weapon and grabbed an oversized candelabra that was nothing more than decoration. Heart racing, I crept on my tiptoes toward the kitchen, wondering if I should have gone in search of my phone to call the police first.
I froze in the small space between the kitchen and the hall, frowning at the sight before me. Gavin Ross, in my kitchen, making food that smelled so good my stomach growled. He hadn’t stayed the night since he had on different clothes, and seemingly, a different demeanor.
“Gavin. What’s going on? Why are you in my kitchen?”
He looked up with a heart-stopping smile. “Because the kitchen is where the food is.” Without any further explanation, he turned to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of soda that he poured into a glass and pushed into my hand. “You can’t make breakfast without food, so I had to be where the food is. Hungry?”
“No,” I said as my stomach let out a loud growl that a grizzly bear would be proud of. “Maybe,” I amended with a defiant glint in my eyes.
“Egg white omelets with mushrooms and spinach and pecorino romano. Turkey bacon and toast. Sound good?”
I nodded as my mind whirled, trying to figure out what in the hell was going on. Last thing I could recall, we were fighting. Arguing about whether he would be involved in the baby’s life.
“Gavin, stop. What’s going on right now?”
His smile faltered, but when it reappeared, it held a hint of contriteness. “I’m trying to help, Suzie. I know you think I’m an asshole, and I haven’t done anything to disprove that, but I’m not. I’m a good guy, a decent man, and I’m determined to show you that.”
“That’s nice,” I told him because it was. It was almost commendable that he wanted to show me he was a better man than he’d proven over the past few months, but I didn’t want it. Didn’t need it. “The thing is, I don’t want or need you here out of some misplaced sense of obligation. If you want to be here, we can talk about all that after the baby arrives. Otherwise, I’m fine on my own.”
The truth was I’d gotten used to navigating the unknown waters of pregnancy on my own. Figuring it all out by myself was liberating. It made me feel even more independent and capable.