Emily scrunched up her face. “Why are we going to Reece’s house to sleep?”
Taylor sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Because he invited us to.” She knew she was avoiding Emily’s real question, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to wait just a little longer before she had to explain the complicated situation to her daughter.
“Why did he invite us?”
She knew enough about Emily to recognize the stubborn streak when it started. Her little girl would keep asking questions until she got the answers she was looking for.
“There are strangers who are very curious about our family right now, and Reece thinks that it is better if we stay at his house so they don’t bother us.”
“What do they want to know? I can tell them and then they will leave us alone and we can stay home.”
“It’s not that simple, sweetie.”
Taylor reached across to her nightstand, grabbed her purse, then took out the picture of Alyssa. Emily scrambled onto the bed beside her and leaned in to look at the photo.
“Do you remember us talking about Alyssa?”
“Alyssa was my stepsister.”
“Yes, she was.”
Emily put a hand on her sleeve. “Why?”
“Well, Emy, that is the part that makes everyone so curious about our family. She got to be your sister because she’s my daughter, too. When you were a baby, Reece was your father, but he didn’t get to take you home from the hospital. Instead he took home Alyssa and became her father.”
Emily stared at her with big round eyes. “Alyssa was your baby, too?”
“Yes, she was my other daughter, just like you are Reece’s daughter.”
Her little brow puckered in hurt. “Did you love her more than me?”
Emily’s unexpected question stole her breath away. Taylor expected she would want to know how things had happened. But to doubt her love, that was crushing. “What?”
Emily ducked her head and looked at her shoes. “Did you love her more than me?”
Taylor tipped her daughter’s chin up so that their gazes met. She laid her hand on Emily’s cheek. “I don’t think I could love anyone more than you.” She hugged Emily tight.
Emily gave a resigned sigh. “So Reece is my daddy?”
Ouch. She was going to have to get used to it, and realize she wasn’t the only parent in Emily’s life anymore. “Yes.”
A slight pink blush tinged Emily’s skin. “Then why did you say he was your friend?”
Taylor inwardly groaned. This is what she’d dreaded. “He is. But he is also your father. I wasn’t sure you would like him and I wanted to make sure he could be a good parent first.”
Emily crossed her arms. “I don’t like that you didn’t tell me. That wasn’t nice.”
She tried to pull her close, but Emily resisted, scooting farther away. Emily had never pushed her away before. It caused a deep ache to settle in her bones.
Emily glared at her. “Do I have another mommy?”
The question sliced her in half like a pair of sharp shears. Part of her wanted to be honest and detached so she could give Emily the answers she needed. The other part howled in frustration that the child she had loved and raised would so willingly search out another.
“You did, but she went to heaven to take care of Alyssa.”
Taylor set the photo of Alyssa down on the bedspread between them. For an instant Emily glanced at it.
“What was my other mommy like?”
Taylor folded her hands, squeezing them together to help retain her composure. “Her name was Rebecca, but I never got to meet her. You might have to ask Reece those questions.”
“If you are my mommy, then why aren’t you married to my daddy, like Mason’s mommy and daddy? I thought you said Mr. Severin helped you make me.”
Ooh. The tough questions just keep coming. Couldn’t Emily see how this was grinding her emotionally into dust? Taylor picked up Alyssa’s picture and tucked it back into her purse. “Not all mommies are married to daddies. Sometimes it can be hard. Rebecca was married to Reece before she became an angel. And I was wrong about Mr. Severin. He had nothing to do with you.”
When she turned to look at Emily, fat tears started to well up in her little girl’s eyes and trickle over the edges, tumbling down, leaving glistening trails on her daughter’s cheeks.
Any pain she felt was instantly eclipsed by her daughter’s needs. Taylor reached to brush them away. “Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“You aren’t going to die like my other mommy, are you?”
Taylor’s heart broke. There was simply no other way to express it. She pressed her cheek to Emily’s dark head and hugged her close. This time Emily didn’t resist and cuddled into her. “No, Emy. Not for a very long time. I’ll be here until you are an old woman.”
Emily wrapped her little arms around her mother’s waist and squeezed her tight. “That’s good, Mommy. ’Cause I love you.”
Taylor held on to her, savoring the moment and the feeling of Emily tucked against her side. “I love you, too, Emy, and I always will.”
Far too quickly, Emily wiggled up to her knees and picked out all the animals except for Eddie and Jessie. “I think we’re ready to go to Daddy’s house.”
The word “daddy” cut swift and deep like a glass shard. Taylor sucked in a quick breath, shocked at how much it hurt. Now that she had told Emily about Reece’s biological connection to her, she couldn’t take the information back. She would just have to get used to it…and everything that came with it.
Even though she was reminding herself of all the reasons why this was a good idea, Taylor’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as she passed through the open gates into Reece’s drive. All the good intentions in the world couldn’t subdue her anxiety at moving under a man’s control. Taylor took a deep breath and blew it out.
This is just a short visit. We’re only staying long enough to get away from the media. This is just a short visit. Reece isn’t Michael. He isn’t my dad. We can leave whenever we want.
Emily’s eyes were bright with excitement. Taylor chose to focus on that.
Reece appeared at the door as she parked the car and he began opening Emily’s door and unbuckling the car seat.
“Hi, sunshine!”
Emily cocked her head to one side and sized him up with a glance. “Are you really my daddy?” she asked bluntly.
Taylor lay her head down on the steering wheel and wanted to curl up into a ball. She turned her head enough to catch the questioning glance Reece threw at her.
“Now that was a very special secret. Did you figure that out all by yourself?” he asked, his tone neutral.
Emily hopped out of her car seat and avoided his touch as she clambered out of the car with her bear and zebra. “No. And I don’t like that you and Mommy kept it a secret, especially when it was about me.”
The little girl lifted her chin and attempted to stalk past Reece, but he grasped her by the shoulder.
“Emily…”
She stopped, but she didn’t turn around. Taylor opened her door and walked around to crouch in front of her daughter, but Emily refused to make eye contact.
Taylor was concerned. Even in her terrible twos Emily had never avoided her completely as she was doing now.
Reece released his touch on Emily. “I think we’ve all had a very tough day. How about we go inside and have some chocolate milk and graham crackers?”
Emily turned and looked up at him. “I want to have chocolate milk, but I’m still mad at you.”
Reece shrugged, but Taylor could see that Emy’s words had pierced him to the core. “Well, that’s okay. The last time I heard, you could still drink milk even when you were angry, so I guess that will work.”
Emily nodded and then looked Taylor head-on, a flicker of anger still smoldering in her brown eyes. “Excuse me. I’m going to have chocolate milk.”
Taylor wanted to crumple. She’d never had Em
ily all-out snub her like this before and it wounded her. She felt like she was losing everything that mattered to her: her child, her freedom, her life. She eased aside and let Emily walk past her.
Reece’s hand came down warm and reassuring on her shoulder. He gave her a slight squeeze, then moved his hand to her elbow to help her up from the ground. The touch was meant to be supportive and friendly, but it was electrifying just to be near him.
“Hey. Don’t worry, she’ll get past this. There are just a lot of things changing all at once. Give her some time to adjust and it will all smooth out. We just happen to be handy targets for her anger at the moment. No one likes feeling left out, and I imagine that’s precisely what she feels like we did.”
Taylor sniffed and glanced up at him. “Not only an attorney but a child psychologist, too?”
He grinned, but his eyes still held the sting of Emily’s rebuff. “Nah. But I’ve been around enough of them in court to explain this.”
She moved away from him, uncomfortable with the response his touch elicited and fearful that perhaps she’d gone about telling Emily the wrong way, screwing things up for all of them in the process. Taylor unlocked the trunk of her car. “Look, I’m really sorry. She was just asking questions and wouldn’t stop, so I told her. You…I—we didn’t want it coming from someone else, right?” She pulled out Emily’s small suitcase.
Reece reached past her and hauled her suitcase out. He tried to take Emily’s case from her hand, but she held on to it.
“I can take care of this.”
He locked his gaze with hers. “Taylor, we’re supposed to be in this together for more than just responsibility. I’m here for support, too. It might have been easier if we’d both been there. But it had to come out sometime, so don’t beat yourself up about it. She’s going to be fine and so are we. Now, how about some chocolate?”
Taylor gave him a small smile and hugged Emily’s case a little closer. “I don’t think chocolate milk is going to cut it tonight.”
Reece’s grin got bigger. “That’s why I had Gino bring over a chocolate tiramisu before you got here.”
Taylor nibbled at her lip. It was very thoughtful of him. How he knew that it would be the perfect thing to soothe her—and that he cared enough to do something for her, not just for Emily—surprised her. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “Hey, it was no troub—”
“Not for the chocolate, Reece. Thank you for being all right with this, even though it hurts and for us being here.”
He gave her a quick nod. “When I say there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you two, Taylor, I mean it.”
After chocolate milk, a bit of tiramisu, and a soothing cup of hot tea, Taylor bundled Emily off to the guest bedroom they were going to share. She tucked Emily in, sang her their nightly lullaby, and watched Emily’s eyelids grow heavy and finally flutter shut. Carefully and quietly she climbed in beside her little girl, listening to her smooth, even breathing as she stared at the ceiling.
It had been a long time since she’d slept in a bed other than her own. Having Emily beside her helped. She’d refused Reece’s offer of another room for herself, saying it would be better for Emily if she were close by, which was true. But it was just as true for herself. Emily’s warmth and presence helped calm the fears tightening within her chest.
So much of what had gone wrong in her last relationship had started the moment she’d left her own place to move in with Michael. She remembered him going through her suitcases and her closet, pulling out what he didn’t like and getting rid of it. Sure, he gave her his credit card to go get new things, but then he also went shopping with her, told her what he liked and expected her to buy it. At first it had seemed like such a small thing, but she knew better now.
At least Reece hadn’t touched her luggage except to bring it into the room. And when she’d refused another room and told him she wanted to share with Emily, he’d shrugged and gone along with that, too. So far, he wasn’t anything like Michael. Taylor just hoped it stayed that way.
For the first three weeks they stayed at Reece’s home, Taylor was on edge. News vans were becoming a regular sight outside the gates and in the parking lot of her business, but so far they’d only yelled questions at her and Reece, not taken more pictures of Emily. She woke in the mornings, waiting for things to get worse, for Reece to become demanding, for Emily to beg to go home. But it never happened. Slowly, it began to settle in that this time things were different.
She still took her daughter to preschool in the mornings, a new school they’d chosen near Reece’s home. He still picked up Emily in the afternoons and spent them reading to her, playing multiple games of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, or swinging on the porch swing he had installed for them on the back patio, completely secure from prying eyes.
The added help with Emily gave her time to pick up the bits and pieces that had fallen through the cracks at work and had caused her to fall behind on several design proposals for clients. Reece had even let her take over the living room as her own home office, where her sketches, books of fabric swatches, and paint chips went undisturbed. She’d had Jane take over most of the day-to-day activity at her office, just to avoid running into the media when she could.
Her little girl actually seemed to be flourishing in the new arrangement and was happier than she had ever seen her, now that she was speaking to both of them again. Having both parents seemed to give Emily a balance that she lacked before.
In some small way, it hurt to know she couldn’t give Emily everything a child needed. When this was all over and the need to protect her from the media died down, they would move back to the condo. She was sure Emily would be disappointed. Taylor was even becoming accustomed to hearing Reece move about in the house and found his presence comforting…and distracting.
At night they ate together, like the family they could have been had the situation been different. Reece would say good night and let her tuck Emily into bed. She had seen the longing look in his eye to be part of their little ritual, but was touched by his willingness to leave them time alone as mother and daughter.
That night, as she finished singing to Emily, Taylor felt the odd weight of someone watching her. She leaned over and gave her baby a final kiss good night and looked behind her to see him standing in the doorway, his shoulder resting against the jamb.
Taylor gently pulled the covers over Emily’s shoulder and tiptoed to him. She put her finger to her lips, then pointed out into the hall. Reece nodded.
…
They walked in silence until they came to the rec room upstairs. Taylor walked past the old, upright player piano and sank into the overstuffed fawn-colored leather sofa. Reece went to the wet bar and snagged a diet soda out of the mini-fridge for her and a microbrew for himself.
He handed the ice-cold can to Taylor and watched as she shut her eyes and set it against her forehead for a moment before opening the can to take a drink.
She had to be exhausted, but even now was intoxicatingly beautiful. He sat down beside her. “You have an incredible voice.”
Taylor gave him a wan smile. “Thanks.”
“Do you sing to her every night?”
“Um-hm. Have since the day she was born.”
Reece felt his gut flex against the invisible punch. It was only a week until the girls’ birthday. One week, and once again he would ache uncontrollably as he recalled the sweet child he would never see reach another birthday. He took a swig of the beer, hoping it would ease some of the pain settling deep down in his stomach.
“What are we going to do for their—I mean, Emily’s birthday?”
Taylor laid a warm hand lightly on his arm. The touch was comforting. “It still is their birthday. It always will be.” Her lip trembled and Reece watched as glistening tears welled up in her eyes and slid in shiny, little paths down her cheeks. “I’m just so sorry I never got to be there for one of Alyssa’s birthdays.”
She started to sob. Ree
ce felt helpless, the pain was too deep for both of them. He pulled Taylor into his arms and held her as her body shuddered and jerked with her crying.
Reece focused on Taylor, stuffing his pain back as he concentrated on her. He was keenly aware of every curve of her body and the warmth of her, but also knew that all he could offer at the moment was a shoulder to cry on. He stroked her back until the sobs grew further apart and Taylor’s breath became even again. She looked up at him. Her eyes were swollen and her nose red. He cupped her head in his hand and brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek.
“I miss her, too, but part of her is always here.” He took her hand and laid it over his heart. Her lips tipped up in a sad smile.
The desire to kiss her increased. Reece mustered every shred of control he had and resisted his inclination. She leaned toward him, her lips barely parted and her eyes misty and soft, making temptation overwhelming.
Reece nuzzled her cheek, inhaling the sweet, floral-and-vanilla scent of her silky skin. Then he gently kissed her. She felt warm, delicate, and soft beneath his touch. He could taste the lingering sweetness of the soda on her lips. Taylor wrapped her hand around his neck, her fingers rubbing against his skin, and the rush in his blood began to build. She snuggled closer, her breasts softly pressing against his chest. The sensation nearly lifted him up off the couch.
Reece deepened the kiss, delving into her, their kiss turning from innocent to intimate. Taylor made a little noise in her throat that sped up the pounding in his veins. His hands slipped beneath the edge of her sweater and glided up along her ribs, feeling the dips and hollows of her form beneath his questing fingers.
She leaned into his touch and moved so his hand connected with the silky fabric and whispery lace of her bra. He gently caressed the edge of the soft swell with his thumb. She shivered. Reece fought off his desire to feel her naked against him, to feel her surround him.
From the hall a small cry broke the spell that held them. Taylor yanked away from him. “It’s Emily.” In an instant she had darted out of the room and was gone.
The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) Page 11