by Maya Hughes
“Maybe, I will. I don’t tend to interact with lawyers much in LA, but if she’s an entertainment lawyer, I’m sure she’ll pop up at a party or two.” He pulled his laptop out of his bag and placed it on the dark wooden desk.
She gave him a nod and then popped out of the guest room. The room had that same fresh citrus smell that was everywhere in the house. The blue and green patterns from downstairs were also reflected up here with light green walls that made the small room feel airy. There was also an en suite bathroom.
She came back into the room with an armload of folded sheets and pillowcases. He went to take them from her, but she pulled them back to her chest.
“It’s okay. I can do it.”
“I can do it, Alex. I didn’t get to do the dishes. The least I can do is make the bed.”
“Really, it’s no problem,” she said, walking over to one side of the bed.
“Why don’t we do it together?”
She started to say something before she pulled back. “Sure, of course. It seems we’ll have to be doing a lot of that in the future, so why not start now?” She unfolded the fitted sheet and threw him the other half.
“You did really well with Emma today,” she said as she began fitting her half of the dark blue sheet onto the bed.
“She’s a great kid. Truly amazing. When she was showing me her room, she showed me just about every toy she’s ever gotten. She started to read me some books as well. That’s great that she’s reading already. I didn’t know kids read that young,” Gabe said as he slipped his side of the sheets over the mattress.
“Emma enjoys reading. She usually tries to get at least three books out of me at bed time. Sometimes, like a bartender, I have to cut her off,” Alex said, tucking her side under the bed.
“I can imagine. Alex,” he said, pausing. “I can’t apologize enough for what happened.” She snapped up to look at him.
“What do you mean? Sorry for what exactly?” she asked warily.
“I know I just found out about Emma, but I’m sorry that I didn’t try harder to get in touch with you after what happened in LA. I’m sorry that I didn’t come after you and try harder to contact you. But I knew what the contract required and I didn’t think it would be fair to you to come when there would be all these rules about what we could and couldn’t do.”
“So that’s all you’re sorry for?” she practically spat. He was a bit taken aback by her venom and tried to think of what else she could be talking about.
“Alex, I know it couldn’t have been easy. I know I should have known the two of you were out there somewhere, but I’ll do everything I can to be there for Emma and for you from now on. I promise you that,” he said, seeking out her eyes as she evaded his gaze. She shoved the pillows into the cases a bit harder than was necessary.
“Just stick to keeping your promises to Emma and we won’t have an issue,” she said, punching the pillows. Gabe got the sneaking suspicion that she was imagining it was his face.
“Alex,” he said as he started around the bed. She backed out of the room.
“Gabe, I can’t talk to you about this right now,” she said, her eyes glistening. His heart started to race at her reaction. He knew it was an emotional day for all of them, but Alex had seemed to be handling it all well—as well as could be expected—up until then.
“Alex,” he tried again.
“Gabe, I can’t right now. Okay? I need some time alone.” Her voice cracked. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Opening them, she seemed to have composed herself a bit more.
“Keep an ear out for Emma, okay? She should be up from her nap soon. I need a little bit of time in my office. I’ll be back out shortly. I have a few calls to make,” she said before she darted off down the hallway.
He was still standing in the doorway of the guest room wondering what the hell just happened. Knowing that mending what was broken wouldn’t be easy, he started to unpack and looked forward to the time he would get to spend with Alex and Emma over the next week. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it had all been raising her all on her own. He’d seen how much she loved and took care of Emma.
She’d done a wonderful job and his only wish was that he could have been there to help her. He knew that it was unrealistic to believe that he should have known he had a child out there somewhere, but he should have. He shouldn’t have allowed Aaron’s treachery to steal this time away from him and Emma and Alex.
Aaron would be another cluster to deal with. He would need to get out of that contract. He could never work with Aaron again and would rather never work again than help him make another single cent.
Chapter 17
Alex held onto the wall as she flew down the stairs to her office. All the calm she’d put on throughout the day was quickly wearing off. He hadn’t said a word about his cheating. He was sorry he didn’t know about Emma and that was all he was sorry for. She supposed since he didn’t know she knew about Lesley, he didn’t see any reason to apologize to her. Maybe he thought that since they had been broken up that it didn’t count as cheating.
Feeling like a lance had speared her through the heart, Alex ran into her office and slammed the door. She grabbed her phone and hit the speed dial for Jen. It rang once before Jen answered.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to call me,” Jen said from what sounded like a crowded bar.
“Are you out?”
“Yeah, but hold on. I’ll go find some place quiet.”
She could hear Jen making her way through wherever she was. There were glasses clanking and people talking. She paced in her office, her socks sliding a bit on the hardwood floors as she made sharp turns. Suddenly, it was much quieter and a door shut.
“Okay, I can hear you now.”
“I’m freaking out Jen. I’m completely and totally losing my mind here,” Alex said, plopping herself down in her office chair and trying not to hyperventilate.
“Take some deep breaths Alex. Put your head between your legs if you need to.”
“Already there,” Alex said, blood rushing to her head.
“Your text wasn’t exactly long, but you said he showed up and had only recently found out about Emma. How is that possible?”
“Apparently, Aaron, his manager, was treating my letters like fan mail to be kept away from him. He said he found all of my letters in his manager’s office and came here as soon as he could book a ticket.”
“Wow,” Jen said, blowing out a low whistle. “That’s intense. Do you believe him?”
“About only finding out about Emma recently? Yes, I do. You should have seen the way he was with her. And the look on his face when he first saw her. We were in the backyard having a water fight and he appeared out of nowhere. When he saw her … .” She let out a deep breath. “Jen, he was … I don’t know how to explain it. He looked at her like she was his moon and stars. I don’t think he could have faked how he was with her.”
“That’s good. It’s good that he wanted to see her and came to see you both once he found out.”
“It is good, but it’s also scary.”
“I understand, so what now?”
“He’s staying over here for the week. He’s upstairs in the guest room as we speak.”
“Really?” Jen asked surprised. “And you think that’s a good idea?”
“Yes, I think that’s a good idea. It’s better than him going to a hotel and everyone finding out a big celebrity is here. People would start asking questions.”
“Such a good idea that you called me on the verge of a panic attack?” Jen asked.
“Jen, what else was I going to do?”
“Tell him that you would work to arrange for a custody agreement that both of you could agree to and that he should contact your lawyer.”
“You didn’t see him with her. That wouldn’t have worked. Once he saw Emma and she saw him, I knew they needed to spend that time together.”
“How are you going to deal with him being t
here the whole week? I know you two have some unresolved issues.”
“That’s an understatement. He doesn’t know that I know about the cheating. He is here for Emma and if it stays that way, then we will be fine. I don’t think he has any ideas about things happening between us.”
“You really believe that? Alex, you can’t be serious.”
“It’s what I’m going to stick with and I’ll be sure to set him straight if he starts trying to make this about me and him. I’m not going to become my mother. I’m not going to end up with a cheater like her. But that’s not what this is about now. It’s about him and Emma.”
“Alex, you’re nothing like your mother. Don’t even think that for a minute. No matter what happens with Gabe, you could never be that woman.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding since bringing up her mom. The thought of being with a cheater curdled her stomach, no matter how much she might have still cared about him. It was a promise she’d made herself a long time ago.
“Have you thought about custody? Visitation? Things like that?”
“No, we haven’t even touched on that. He’s going to Scotland in a week. He wants Emma to go with him. He wants me and Emma to go with him.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know! Emma would be thrilled. She’s already a daddy’s girl after just one afternoon and I know that being away from him this soon after meeting him would be hard for her. But I don’t know if I can handle that, so soon. And what if he does start talking about custody and visitation?”
“Do you still have the custody papers you had me draw up a few years ago?”
She pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and pushed a few things aside before she came to the large manila envelope. With the issue of the money and what that meant as far as custody of Emma and how it might play out in court, she knew that she’d have to talk to him soon.
She’d had these drawn up when she was afraid of him swooping back in to her life and trying to take Emma from her. Over the years, that fear had waned, but she was happy to have them there, like a security blanket.
Did he know about that money? It had been the only thing that kept her and Emma off the streets when she’d left LA and worked to finish school. Knowing that the money hadn’t come from him, but most likely from Aaron made things even more difficult. The no-contact clause that she’d assumed was from him also made things more difficult. Jen berated her for signing it initially, but that money did a lot of good for Alex and Emma. She’d eventually come around and admitted it had been a good decision.
“Hello? Earth to Alex,” Jen called out from the phone.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked how you’re going to deal with being in such proximity with Gabe for the next week.”
“I don’t know yet and we’ll see how this week goes when it comes to Scotland. I don’t know how Emma is going to react to having him here for the week. And she finishes school on Friday, so it wouldn’t disrupt school for her to go.”
“I’m sure Emma will be fine; I’m more worried about you. How would you handle that? Being around Gabe? I know even with everything that happened, you still care for him. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I know. Neither do I. I just have to remember that he’s there for Emma, and being a good dad to her doesn’t mean that he would be a good boyfriend to me. He’s proven that to me in so many ways. I’ll keep my guard up and ensure that I don’t fall back into that old trap.”
“Okay, give me a call if you need me to go over the paperwork again or if you need to talk. I’m only in the office for a few hours after I leave here and then a little bit tomorrow.”
“Jen! It’s the weekend.”
“No rest for the weary,” she sighed. “But don’t worry, I’m going out tonight for a few drinks with a couple of people. And I will not be stuffy Jen the Lawyer, I will be Jen the Drinker.”
Alex let out a laugh. “I’m glad to see you still let her out every so often.” In the background, a door opened again and someone started to speak to Jen in a raised voice.
“One sec,” Jen said and there was a short, muffled exchange and Jen was back.
“I have to let her out every so often or she tries to take over during lawyer time and gets me into trouble. Take care of yourself Alex and give me a ring if you need anything.”
“Will do, and I can’t wait to hear about Jen the Drinker’s night out. I’m sure it will be epic.”
“I hope so. Bye, Alex.”
“Bye, Jen,” she said, ending the call.
Chapter 18
The day before had gone uneventfully, at least compared to the first half of the day. Emma woke up after her nap, the three of them played some board games, went for a walk, and then eaten dinner.
“Daddy, what’s your favorite food?”
“I’d have to say it’s pancakes … specifically, your mom’s pancakes,” he said, shooting Alex an intense look.
“Me too! Me too! I love Mommy’s pancakes. We only get them on special days though. And it was a super special day yesterday,” she said, bouncing in her chair.
“It definitely was, Emma.”
“What’s your favorite color?” Emma asked with her mouth full.
“Emma, come on, you know not to talk with your mouth full.”
“Sorry, Mommy,” she said after swallowing her food.
“My favorite color is green.”
“Mine is purple.”
“Will you be going away again, Daddy?”
Her question stopped both Gabe and Alex with their forks halfway up to their mouths.
“I’ll get to spend all week with you, Emma. I can take you to school and drop you off. But I have to go to work at the end of the week, so we might not be able to see each other as much when I’m working.”
“But I don’t want you to go away. I want to see you every day. It’s not fair. I’ve never had a daddy, so you can’t just go away again.” Her lower lip trembled. The pit grew in his stomach and the moment he hoped he wouldn’t have to have with her yet was upon them.
“Emma, I swear that we will be able to talk as much as you want and I’ll be here as often as I can.”
“But I want you here all the time, living with us,” Emma moaned.
“Emma, sweetie, remember when we had the talk about different kinds of families? We talked about how not everyone lives with all their family all the time. Do you remember that?”
“But why not? Why can’t we be a together-all-the-time family?”
“It’s not that easy Emma. We are a family and that’s what’s most important, okay? And your daddy and I will do everything we can to make sure that you get to see him as much as you can. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said glumly.
They both put Emma to bed. Apparently, the excitement of the day had gotten to her and she only requested two books that evening instead of trying to negotiate for more as Alex said she always did.
“You’ll be here when I wake up in the morning, won’t you, Daddy?” Emma asked, looking up at him with such big innocent eyes that it nearly broke his heart.
He knelt and gave her another kiss on the head. “Of course, I will Emma. I’ll be here for the whole week. I’ll be here when you wake up.” She gave him a nod and then rolled over onto her side. Emma’s question had cemented his desire to have them come with him to Scotland. He didn’t want Emma to think that he would just disappear on her.
He swore Alex wiped a tear from her eye as she turned off the light and they went back downstairs. He was sure to help her with the dishes this time. They settled into a companionable silence as they went about their work. The spark that zinged through him whenever he was near her came to life. It was hard to think straight when she was near him.
After they cleaned up dinner, she excused herself to her office. He thought she probably went in there to avoid him, not that he blamed her. He didn’t expect the shock to
wear off after only a day. Heading upstairs, he lay down and fired up his laptop. There was a flurry of emails from Aaron, Aaron’s assistant, and a few others. He deleted everything from Aaron and was emailing his assistant about planning for Scotland, when he looked up and saw Alex.
“We’ll go,” Alex whispered so softly that Gabe almost didn’t hear her. She was standing in the doorway to his room, standing rigid like a statue.
“Sorry, what was that?” he said, sitting up in his bed, making sure he’d heard her correctly.
“I said we’ll go. I talked to work and I can take some time off and do remote work, if need be. So, we can stay for a while there. Maybe three weeks or so.”
“Alex, I don’t know what to say! Thank you!” he said, elated that he would be able to put Emma to bed every night and wouldn’t have to be away from her. “You don’t know how much this means to me. Can we tell Emma in the morning?”
She nodded and leaned against the doorjamb.
“There are a few things that you’ll have to arrange for to make things easier when we are there.”
“Of course, anything,” he said, nodding his head emphatically. He put his computer on his lap to add the items to the email he was already sending.
“It would probably be better if we could stay in a house instead of a hotel. A place where Emma can have her own room and a yard to play in. I know you’ll be on-set a lot, so somewhere that’s close to a park or other places for her to play would be ideal.”
“Yes, great suggestions. I’ll make sure it’s all arranged.”
“If you could get someone to get information about kids’ classes and activities in the area, that would also help. She’s a ball of energy and I’m sure there are cool things that we could do while we’re there.”
“Perfect. I’ll make sure it’s all set before we even go. I’ll get us a three-bedroom place—”