by Amy Brent
“No, it’s not a boarding school,” I said. “My mother lives near us, and she gets her to school and is taking care of her while I’m away. She’s there to help wherever she can, and when she heard me talking about this woman who I thought was unbelievable, she was more than happy to send me packing in your direction. She wants me to be happy, and so does my daughter, so they’re back home rooting me on.”
“They sound like they really love you,” she said.
“They do, and I’m a very lucky man for having them in my life,” I said. “And now for having you in my life.”
I watched as she stood up and moved around the room, collecting her clothes. Slowly, she got dressed, blushing when she noticed my eyes on her. She fixed her dress and looked at herself in the mirror, combing her hair with her fingers. She was stunning, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, taking my hands in hers. I loved the way it felt to be holding her tiny little hands in mine. She was so strong, yet so fragile at the same time.
“I want you to know,” I said, “no matter what happens between us, I will be there for that child. We will always figure out a way to make things work. A child is a blessing, no matter how long or short of a time that I knew you before we conceived. There’s a purpose for all of this, I can feel it. I will never abandon our child, and you’ll always be taken care of. I don’t want you to ever have that worry again. It’s important to me that you know I’m a good, decent man.”
“It’s really good to hear that,” she said, smiling.
I leaned up and ran my hand through her hair and cupped the back of her neck. I pressed my lips against hers and pulled her close, passionately showing her I meant every word that I said and more. She was the most beautiful woman in the world and the only one I wanted. I may have been moving fast in my own head, but when I knew it was right, there was nothing that could really change that. She was the right girl for me, and now I was able to relax and really get to know her.
We pulled apart and she smiled, running her hand over her belly. It was that moment that it all really hit me. I was going to be a father to another child. I was going to have a baby with this woman. I was so happy about that fact. While other men would be running for the hills, all I could do was run straight toward Emma. She and that baby were my future, along with my daughter, Sicily.
“This was meant to be,” she whispered.
“I agree,” I said, pulling back and stretching. “Meet me for dinner tomorrow night.”
“I will,” she said writing her number down and giving it to me. “Just in case. But I have to go. I have work in the morning. Sweet dreams.”
I watched her walk out of the room, and I lay back on the bed. I had done it. I had found her, and my feelings were stronger than ever. This was definitely a surprise, especially with the baby, but I was floating on cloud nine.
Chapter 20
Emma
Work had seemed to creep by, and I found myself staring at the clock every five minutes. I couldn’t believe Brandt was there in Camden and that I was going to see him in a few hours. I left work right when the clock hit five to meet Caroline and Gillian at my house so they could help me get ready for my dinner date. My hands were shaking, I was so nervous, and I had especially enlisted Caroline to help me pick out my clothes. I had a lot of clothes. What girl didn’t? But not all of them fit even before I was pregnant and showing. I was always a really simple girl, with really simple taste, at least when it came to fashion. I had a few pieces that Caroline liked, and most likely she had bought them for me. She looked through my closet, pulling out different items and holding different tops up to them. She turned around and smiled at me.
“Here. Try these jeans and this flowy top.” Caroline tossed me a pair of jeans.
I put down the jewelry in my hand and pulled the jeans on, hopping to get them to come over my ever-widening hips. I took in a deep breath and tried to close them, but I couldn’t. Caroline and Gillian watched me as I struggled, trying to even get the zipper up.
“Maybe if I lie down,” I said.
“No, no,” Caroline replied. “We don’t want to suffocate that poor child. I’ll find something else.”
I struggled to get them back off and threw them across the room in frustration. I sat down on the edge of the bed and pouted. Gillian raced over and put her arm around my shoulders.
“Damn it. None of my jeans fit anymore,” I said.
“Here,” Caroline replied. “Wear this. It’s super cute.”
I slipped on the blue and yellow long strappy sundress and was happy to see that it still hit the floor on me. I looked in the mirror and smiled, happy with the choice. It wasn’t like I was trying to hide my pregnancy. Brandt and the entire town already knew all about it. What I was really trying to do was look as hot as I could for him.
“I love that,” Gillian said.
“Yeah?”
“Yes,” Caroline replied, handing me a silver bohemian necklace of hers. “Wear this with it and pull your hair back and up in a loose bun. You will look like a sun-kissed queen. Oh, and these sandals, even though you really can’t see them in that dress.”
I pulled the necklace on and looked at myself in the mirror, smiling. I looked like I should have walked off some California beach, smelling like suntan lotion and telling surfing stories. I liked it, and I was sure he would really like it too.
“So, tell us about what’s happened,” Gillian said. “All we know is he showed up last night.”
“Yeah,” I said, sitting down on the bed. “So that picture was from over two years ago. His wife is now his ex. Apparently, she got up one day and just left him and his daughter without a word from her that entire time. He said she came by last week, and his daughter wanted nothing to do with her.”
“What a bitch,” Gillian gasped. “The ex, not the little girl.”
“So, he’s not married?” Caroline asked.
“No,” I said. “Apparently, he’s been looking for me ever since I left his apartment. The only reason he found me is because I dropped an old business card, and he found it under his couch. He got right on a plane and flew here to find me the same day. He said he saw me a day or so before but couldn’t get to me in time. He happened to be out looking for me when he saw me walking to the café yesterday.”
“That is nuts,” Gillian said. “And so romantic.”
“I know.” I fell back on the bed. “But terrifying too.”
“No,” Caroline said. “You will not talk yourself out of this. This is so amazing, Emma. This guy makes you light up like no one I have ever met before. It’s like he can change the way you feel just by being around you. You need to open up to him, give him a real chance this time.”
“If nothing else,” Gillian said. “Even if you aren’t crazy about him, which we can tell you are, do it for the baby. That child will want to know about its father.”
“As far as me being crazy about him, I’m not,” I said. “I’m getting to know him. And you guys are right. I need to give him a chance, for no other reason than I’m pregnant with his child.”
The truth was I had butterflies floating all through my stomach and up into my chest. I knew they were more for the fact that I liked him so much than anything to do with the baby. I didn’t want to tell the girls that, though. I didn’t want to get mine or their hopes up, just in case nothing about this worked out in the end. Sure, last night was amazing and hot, but it wasn’t reality. Reality was me barfing every other morning and looking like hell when I woke up. We hadn’t gotten that far, and that would be the tester if it really was meant to be.
Caroline sat me up and did my hair, pulling a few wavy pieces to the front. I finished up my makeup with a little light gloss on my lips and smiled, swirling around at the sound of Gillian’s gasp. She was standing at my bedroom window looking down at the street.
“He’s here,” she said excitedly
“Ahh,” Caroline squealed. “
Okay, let me see you. Emma, you look amazing.”
“Okay, let’s go.” I turned to grab my clutch.
I made my way down the stairs listening to the girls tromp down behind me, giggling and talking all the way down. They were more excited about my date with Brandt than I was, which was hard to do since I was ecstatic about it. I opened the door and smiled at Brandt.
“Wow,” he said. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I replied, looking back at the girls as they giggled.
“You ready?”
“Yep,” I said.
“Bye, ladies,” Brandt said.
“Bye,” they said in unison. “Have fun, you two.”
We went into town to a nice restaurant that hadn’t been there very long. It was my first time inside, and I was surprised by how busy it was. Luckily, I didn’t recognize anyone I knew. The hostess sat us in the corner, and Brandt pulled out my chair for me, pressing it in as I sat. He was such a gentleman. He passed on the wine since I wouldn’t be able to drink any, and we both had iced tea and water instead. He was being incredibly sweet, especially when he ordered almost all the appetizers because I couldn’t decide what I wanted. The waiter looked at us like we were crazy but went ahead and put the orders in, knowing it would yield him a nice tip at the end of the night.
“That night I met you in New York, it was one of the best nights of my life,” he said. “Before you left, of course. I’ll tell you a secret. I saw you when you first arrived. I was so overcome by you that I just stared, dead in the middle of a conversation with another woman. She eventually walked away.”
“Oh, no.” I laughed. “That’s terrible.”
“Yeah, well, it was worth it,” he said, taking my hand. “I stood around watching you for a while, trying to get up the nerve to talk to you. When I walked up to the bar, I thought I’d lost you in the crowd.”
“But there I was,” I said, smiling.
“There you were,” he replied. “From the next day until the moment I saw you in front of that café, I couldn’t get you off my mind. My friends thought I was nuts. Hell, I thought I was nuts, but I had to see you again.”
“I thought about you a lot too,” I said. “It’s been hard here, and I had a whole master plan to find you, but you found me first.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you,” he said. “Especially with the baby. I’m sure it has been difficult for you thinking I was married. You were pregnant, and I know you probably felt all alone. It hurts me to know I could have been there for you, been happy with you when you got the news.”
“So, you are happy?”
“How could I not be? I’m going to have a child with an amazing woman,” he said. “Children are a blessing, and I don’t know what I would do without my Sicily. She holds the house together. Hopefully, you’ll meet her soon.”
“I would like that,” I said. “Where does she stay when you aren’t there?”
“I moved my mother from upstate to live in the same complex,” he explained. “My father died when I was younger, she was all alone, and we needed her after Josie left. She helps take care of her a lot, especially with my company being so crazy. Cogent takes a lot of love and care.”
“Wait,” I said, shaking my head. “You own Cogent Technologies? I didn’t know you owned something so huge.”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “I started it right out of college. I went to Yale and got my degree in IT. Started Cogent the day I graduated. It’s really been something watching it grow and blossom into what it is today.”
“That’s great,” I said. “I’d like to have my own graphic design firm one day.”
“That’s an amazing idea,” he said.
I went on about my ideas, laughing, talking and getting to know each other more. It was an amazing dinner, and I didn’t want it to end. We ate our food and then got dessert, again ordering everything on the dessert menu because I couldn’t decide. When we were done, he paid the bill and drove me back to the house, holding my hand tightly in his. He came around and opened my door and helped me out of the car, giving me his arm as he walked me to my door.
“I had a fantastic time,” he said, cupping my face and giving me a gentle and sweet kiss. “You have sweet dreams tonight.”
“You too,” I said, smiling.
I turned and opened the door, waving one last time before closing it. I leaned my back against the wood and closed my eyes, squealing to myself. I was smitten, completely and totally lost in him. He was such a gentleman, and his response to me being pregnant was unbelievable. It was like a romantic movie or something. I really hoped, with all my heart, that he was as good of a guy as he was acting. If he was, I knew I was going to fall and fall really fast.
Chapter 21
Brandt
It was Sunday, and I was whistling around my room at the inn, getting ready to meet Emma for our lunch date. I could feel the excitement in my chest, knowing I was going to get to see her soon. I glanced out the window at the clouds in the distance and hoped the weather would hold out for us. Everything had been so perfect up to that point, and I didn’t want anything, including the weather, to spoil that for us. On Saturday, I had picked her up after going shopping at the local market and took her for lunch in the park. I laid down a beautiful quilt that the innkeeper let me use and unpacked an array of meats, cheeses, crackers, and fruits for us to eat. I could tell she enjoyed being there with me. We stayed there until the sun started going down, watching a local ball game in the distance at the park’s baseball diamond. It felt like we lived in our own little world, nothing there to get in the way of our life together.
We sat on the blanket with her head in my lap and our shoes off, talking about Camden and how it was for her growing up there. She told me about her family and how her father was a fisherman and her mother an artist. She told me about all the trouble she would get into with the girls when they were teenagers running around town. I could almost imagine her young and wild in a small town with nothing else to do but torture the other people in town. It was comical, and it fit her perfectly.
When the sun started to make its descent, the hues of pinks, oranges, and blues that colored the sky were stunning. The evening light had hit Emma’s skin, and she glowed, sitting there happier than I had ever seen her before. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and it was hard to let her go after I drove her back to her house. It was a moment that I would remember for the rest of my life. My mind came out of my daydream and focused down on my phone, which was ringing. It was Sicily’s cell phone.
“Hey there, rotten girl,” I said, answering with a laugh.
“Daddy!” she yelled. “How is Maine? I looked it up while you were gone, and it doesn’t look like a real town. I think you’re in Tahiti or something, trying to fool me.”
“It’s beautiful, little bug,” I said. “There are little shops, beautiful parks, woods, one main street through town, and no buildings bigger than three stories. Tahiti? I’ve been there before, and it’s pretty gorgeous too. You might have talked me into going there next.”
“Wow,” she gasped, ignoring my Tahiti comment. “Does everyone know each other? Is there an ice cream parlor like in that old movie you showed me?”
“As a matter of fact, there is one.” I chuckled. “And yes, for the most part, everyone knows each other here. It’s a really nice place to be. I’ll bring you here some time.”
“That would be awesome,” she said, getting quiet for a moment. “Sooo, how is that girl you went to see?”
“How did you …?”
“I know everything,” she said, giggling more.
“You need to notice the homework you still need to do,” I said. “And not be focusing on my love life, you stinker.”
“I’m almost done with my homework,” she said.
“How’s Grandma?”
“She’s good,” Sicily said. “We’re going to get frozen yogurt if I can get my reading done in time.”
“Well,
you better get on it then.” I laughed. “You don’t want to miss out on gummy bears and chocolate sprinkles.”
“Yeah and grandma gets a bunch of stuff too. She isn’t like you with your dainty fruit ice cream.”
“I’m going to get you when I get home,” I said. “What else have you been doing?”
“We went shopping and then visited Grandma’s church friends.” She sighed. “Those ladies are hard to deal with. They talk to me like I’m a baby.”
“No, they talk to you like you’re a seven-year-old girl, and that is what you are.” I laughed. “They don’t need to know that you’re smarter than most everyone in the city. Besides, it’s good for you to do some normal stuff every once in a while. Let loose, girl. Don’t always have your head in the books, or you’ll miss the rest of life.”
“I like the books,” she said. “They just happen to go along with what we’re learning. No one would say anything if I read fiction.”
“You know what? You’re right,” I said. “Be yourself, Sicily. Be proud of who you are, and do what makes you happy. You have a lot of time ahead of you for the rest.”
“I really miss you, Daddy,” she said with a sigh. “When are you coming home?”
“Soon, bug, soon,” I said. “I have some things I have to take care of here first. And I miss the heck out of you too! I promise when I get back, we’ll go do something fun like the zoo or find an aquarium and go there.”