Page 66 of Second Chance Baby
Then she was gone.
Frustration seeped into the shock. What about Carrington? And if Bridget was carrying another baby, I didn’t want her overworking.
If she wasn’t, I would be the one working overtime to ensure she was very soon.
Seeing my face, Bridget stepped forward, her laughter long gone. Now worry lined her brow. “I knew we’d have to do a reshoot. Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, first thing. No one planned on this unexpected reshoot, so the clock is ticking money-wise, but the crazy thing is they want even more. More ofus.”
Bridget linked her hands under her chin as if she was praying. For what, I wasn’t sure. “Yeah, I kinda got that vibe from Elaine too, but I got off the phone fast. I can’t really believe it.”
I gripped the back of my neck. “Daphne kept talking as if people couldn’t get enough of ustogether. Rita wants us to be on the cover of her next book, too.” I exhaled then scrubbed my hands over my face. “I planned on basically being done modeling. I wanted to stay home with my girl. With mygirls,”I said, emphasizing the plural of the word, so she understood exactly what I was saying.
No more confusion. We’d both made assumptions long ago, and then we’d lived as if they were pure fact for too freaking long.
Everything was going to be out in the open now. Nothing hidden. Leaving absolutely nothing to chance.
Pure pleasure filled her gorgeous eyes as her lips curved. “Gotta say I’ve never enjoyed a shoot so much before.” The tip of her tongue peeked out between her lips in obvious amusement.
I couldn’t hold back my low growl as I tugged her against me, hard. “I damn well hope you haven’t.”
Her helpless giggle as she pressed her face into my neck made me hug her tightly. I simply couldn’t get enough of having her in my arms.
“I need to put on something more comfortable after a quick shower.” She eased back and winced. “Playing basketball with this whiz kid was not my smartest move. I hate having to go back to the hotel, but now I’m all sweaty from running around in a damn sweater.”
“Just go on in and check out the bottom drawer of the left-hand side of my bedroom dresser. You should be good with what’s in there. And if not, just note what you need, and we’ll get you more.”
Hesitantly, she looked up at me. “Trav, what did you do?”
I just couldn’t move on.
I’d never been able to face the idea of a future without her, so I’d pretended as if we’d just hit pause instead. Worse than the idea of spending the rest of my life alone had been the mere possibility of trying to love someone else.
Since I hadn’t ever believed it was possible, I never bothered to try. Hooking up with the occasional woman was one thing—I distracted myself with a crazy schedule, so it was definitely on the rare side. Bringing a woman home to confuse my young daughter was not an option.
“I just kept what you left here.”
“In case I came back?” she asked, her voice breaking. “What if there was someone else…”
“There was no one else who needed room in my dresser.” I cupped her chin in my fingers. “That space always belonged to you. I never considered otherwise.”
She shut her eyes. “I made so many mistakes. But I swear, I never stopped loving you. Not for one day.”
As much as I wanted her to elaborate, I brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Go change. We’ll be out here waiting for you to check out our amazing, incredible, still-in-progress Halloween display.”
She hurried off, ducking her head probably so I couldn’t see her tears. Good thing. Her tears wrecked me as completely as Carrington’s.
But then I looked up and discovered our daughter was forlornly dribbling her basketball. What was up with her? From what I’d overhead when I’d re-entered the yard, she’d certainly seemed on-board with us getting back together.
Even more so than when I’d sprung it on her this morning. Maybe being with her mom all day long had unlocked some things inside her I’d missed.
Maybe she was overwhelmed? Too many changes all at once.
“Hey, kiddo,” I said quietly, tapping her on the shoulder. “What’s going on with you?”
“Daddy, I want her to stay. What if she decides not to? Even if she says yes, how can we be sure she won’t change her mind later?”
I pulled my little girl into my arms, bending down to rest my cheek on the top of her head. “Honey, we have to trust her.” Saying it out loud made me realize I needed to do the same. I had to believe she was going to stick this time. “She loves us. And you know what? It’s only been two days.”