by Stacy Eaton
Trevor cocked his head slightly. “Um, I was going to call you.”
Yeah, sure you were, I thought to myself.
“Is there any way that you might be able to watch Devon on Thursday? Lucy is going out of town, and my nanny doesn’t start until Friday. I’m in the middle of a class right now, so I can’t take off.”
“You found a nanny,” I stated, and he nodded. I hated that I felt slightly heartbroken at that news. “Um, yeah, I guess I can.”
“You can? Great, I would appreciate that.”
“Sure,” I said, and the two of us continued to stare at one another.
“Well, I should get him home. It’s almost time to eat. Would you believe the doctor told me to start feeding him eight ounces.”
“Eight? Wow.”
Trevor smiled, and I got lost in it for a moment. “Well, I’ll see you guys on Thursday then.”
“I’ll drop him off around seven-thirty if that is alright.”
“That’s fine.”
He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then glanced away. “Night, Davina.”
“Good night, Trevor.”
I watched him head down the steps and turn onto the landing before taking the next flight. He glanced my way, smiling, and then disappeared from view.
I sighed and went to my apartment. Obviously, I had ruined any chance with him. At least I was going to get to see Devon this week. If I could only have one of them once in a while, I’d take it.
On Thursday morning, I was up early and dressed when he arrived. I hated to admit that I was nervous about seeing him, but I was a bundle of nerves. I had checked the mirror about a half dozen times to make sure that I didn’t have anything odd on my face and that my hair was halfway behaving. Of course, it was a bad hair day all around, and even though I kept putting the clip back in, it would start to slide a few minutes later.
Right on time, there was a knock on the door, and I took my time walking the four steps to answer it. I’d been wearing a path in my carpet as I’d paced, wringing my hands.
“Morning,” I said brightly as I pulled back the door. I tried not to let myself look at anything but Trevor’s face, but I couldn’t help myself, and my gaze ran hungrily down his black-clad body. He wore a black polo shirt with some logo I couldn’t read and black cargo pants with boots. I wondered absently if I were drooling when my eyes landed back on his face and I found him smirking.
My cheeks began to color. “Come in. How is our big boy today?”
“He is doing well. He said he was excited to see you today.” Trevor set his car seat on the table, along with the diaper bag and another large bag as I came around to look down at Devon.
“You did!” I said excitedly toward Devon, who smiled at me and kicked his feet under the thin blanket that covered him.
“Yes, he most definitely did. In fact, he was so excited he woke up at five this morning so he could be ready to see you.”
I chuckled as I glanced at Trevor. “Five, huh?”
He nodded, and the two of us stared at one another. I wanted to lean into him but instead inhaled slowly, pulling his scent into my lungs.
“Thanks, Davina,” he said softly, and he touched my cheek with the back of his hand. “I appreciate the help.”
I sighed internally; maybe I had been wrong. Maybe his words meant a lifetime with him. I wanted it to be a lifetime with him.
He inhaled sharply and stepped back, dropping his hand. “Okay, well, I gotta go.” He turned toward the door. “Hey, is there any way that you might be able to drop him off at the office around five? I know that’s asking a lot, but I have someplace I need to be after, and I was hoping I wouldn’t have to come all the way over here to get him first.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem, except I don’t have a base to his car seat.”
He pointed to the table. “That’s what’s in the other bag. I brought my extra one. Had to buy one for the nanny.”
“Oh,” I pursed my lips then forced myself to smile again, “then that should be good. I’ll bring him by around five.”
“See you then, Davina.” He glanced at Devon and then smiled at me slowly.
The minute the door closed, I was all over Devon. “Come here, big guy. Oh, I missed you so much.” I kissed him all over his face as he cooed and grabbed at my wild hair tickling his face.
I loved my time with Devon, and we lay on the floor and played. I fed him his bottles, put him down for his naps, and changed him regularly. As the day wore on, I dreaded having to give him back. Especially when I now knew there was a nanny who would be taking over the babysitting duties.
A little after four, I got Devon ready to go and messed around with the car seat base for ten minutes before I felt it was tight enough to be safe. We drove into town, and I parked in the lot behind the building. After getting Devon out, I unhitched the base again. Why were things so much harder to put together than they were to take apart? I mean really!
I carried his car seat and the other two bags toward the building. Man, I needed to get to the gym. I was seriously out of shape hauling all this crap around.
I went up to the fourth floor and stepped in to be greeted by a wide smile from the receptionist. “Davina, right?”
I nodded, happy that she remembered me.
“Trev mentioned that you were stopping in today with Devon,” she replied. “I’ll let him know you’re here. I think he is in with Jake.”
“Okay.” I set the bags down on the chair, and a moment later, Trevor hustled into the area.
“Hey, you’re a bit early.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t sure how long it would take.”
“Come on; I’ll take you back to my workstation. Can you hang out here a few minutes while I finish up?”
“Yeah, sure.” He took Devon’s seat from me, and I grabbed the two bags. As we walked between the rows of cubicles, he put his hand to my lower back.
“How was he today?”
“He was great. We had a very nice day.”
Trevor smiled down at me, and it made my heart thud a little harder. “I’m glad to hear that. This is my desk. If you can hang out here for a few minutes, I’ll be right back. I want to ask you something, so don’t disappear, okay?”
I chuckled as my brow hiked. He wanted to ask me something? Now, what could that be? “I’ll be right here.”
He winked and then hustled back down the hallway. I removed Devon from his carrier as he began to fuss and heard a child scream near the door.
A woman stood at the reception desk, trying to talk to the woman behind it as a child threw a hissy fit in the stroller beside her. “Don’t you ever be like that, you hear me,” I said to Devon as I bounced him against my chest.
The receptionist stood, lifting the phone to her ear as she glanced my way. I was too far away to hear what she was saying, even though this was an open area. A moment later, Trevor appeared.
The woman threw herself into Trevor’s arms, sobbing slightly as she said, “I finally found you! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Trevor.”
He pushed the woman back from him as I tried to pick my jaw up off the floor.
“I need to speak with you.” She rushed on before the kid began to cry again. I saw Trevor glance toward Alice, and she slowly sat down. I quickly jerked back behind his cubby wall as he started to turn his face toward me.
My heart was hammering in my chest, my hands beginning to sweat. Jesus, how many freaking kids did this man have that he didn’t know about?
I heard the cries of the kid lessen as a door closed. The memory of him taking me into the conference room in a similar fashion was all too familiar. What was I thinking? Nope, I couldn’t do this. I kissed Devon’s forehead and then secured him in his seat.
Quickly, I walked down the walkway with Devon and paused beside the reception desk. “I’m sorry, I know that Mr. Vaughn asked me to wait, but I just remembered that I have an appointment that I need to get to. Would you mind wa
tching Devon?”
She opened her mouth to speak, glanced at the closed conference room door, and then nodded. I handed Devon’s seat over to her and thanked her before quickly spinning and running out the door.
Taking care of my best friend’s kid was one thing, falling in love with the child’s father another, but not knowing what woman was going to show up next with a fatherless child was not something I could handle.
Tears leaked from my eyes as I raced down the steps and out of the building. A few minutes later, I was bleary-eyed in my car and driving away as fast as I could.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Trevor
I was excited that Davina was bringing Devon here. I planned on asking her to come with me to get the keys to my new house and then taking her there with me. I was going to put Devon inside the house, and then I was going to carry her over the threshold and tell her that I loved her, that I wanted her to be part of my life. To start a new life with me in my new house.
When I saw her a few days ago, I knew that I was not going to let her go. I was going to tell her that I was in love with her. I was going to make her listen to me, make sure she understood.
I could picture it down to her whiskey eyes filling with tears, and as I walked away from her at my desk, I couldn’t get this impromptu meeting over with fast enough so I could get back and make it a reality.
Only shit went south fast. I was in Jake’s office with Harvey and Greg going over some details of an upcoming trip when Alice called. Jake put it on speaker, and we all stared at the phone as a wail of a child came over. At first, I thought something was wrong with Devon, but I quickly realized it was not my son making that racket.
“What the fuck, Alice?” Jake growled.
“Sorry, Jake. There is a woman out here demanding to speak with Trevor.”
Jake slammed angry eyes into mine. “Don’t you fucking ever wear a condom?”
“Screw you,” I muttered to him. “I’m coming, Alice.”
I hustled down the hall and to the reception area where Whitney Arenas stood and then threw herself into my arms. I was so taken aback that I didn’t even know what to do as I stared down at the little girl in the stroller who was throwing a fit.
“I finally found you! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Trevor.” She stared up at me, and tears began to crowd her eyes. I pushed her back to arm’s length. “I need to speak with you,” she continued.
“You’re not dying, are you?” Alice asked quietly, and I gave her a what-the-fuck look. She slowly sat down, and I spun my head around to see if Davina was watching this shitshow.
“Come on, let’s go inside the conference room,” I said to Whitney, and she grabbed the stroller and went quickly into the conference room I pointed out. I had just closed the door when I turned to her, and she opened her mouth to speak.
I put my hand up to stop her. “Before you say anything, is that my daughter?” I pointed at the little girl staring at me.
Whitney looked suddenly constipated. “What? Don’t flatter yourself, Trevor. I got back together with Wayne after we went out that one time. God, how could you even think that?”
I could not tell her how relieved I was to hear that. “Okay, then why the hell have you been looking for me?”
“It’s Wayne.”
“What about him?”
“He’s been missing for three weeks. The company won’t tell me anything. They said he’s just deep on a mission right now, and he’ll be back soon, but I know something is wrong, Trevor. I know it deep in my gut.”
And that was all she had to say. “Who does Wayne work for?”
“Protag.”
“Shit,” I muttered. Jake had just been filling us in on the problem. “Hold on, I need to go get Jake.”
She grabbed my arm. “Trevor, you have to help me find him.”
“We’ll do what we can, Whit.” I turned for the door, stopping cold when I saw Alice staring down at the floor where Devon was sitting. “Where is Davina?”
“She left,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. She jutted her chin out toward the room behind me. “Is she dying?”
“No, Alice! When did Davina leave?”
“About thirty seconds after you went into the conference room.”
“Shit!” I stared at the door, and as much as I wanted to chase after her, I knew that I had more pressing matters. “Look, I need you to watch Devon.”
“What’s going on?”
“Tell Jake to get to the conference room ASAP.” I turned and went back inside to find Whitney giving her daughter a juice box.
A moment later, Jake stopped at the door, glaring down at the kid. “Are we running a fucking daycare now?”
“Shut up, Jake, and get in here.”
He came in, followed by Harvey and Greg, and they all stood near the door staring between me and the kid.
“It’s not mine, okay? This is Whitney Arenas, and she’s married to Wayne who works for Protag. He’s one of the guys missing.”
“You knew about it?” Whit asked as she stood up like a jack-in-the-box.
“Aw, fuck,” Jake growled.
“Fuck, fuck,” the little girl echoed, and Whit glared at Jake.
“Do you mind watching your mouth, please.” Whitney growled at him. “Tabitha, that’s not a nice word. How about truck?”
She went back to her juice box as the men took seats around the table.
“Tell us what you know,” Jake said.
“Not much, they won’t tell me anything. They won’t even admit that he’s missing.”
“Are you serious?” Greg asked. “We’ve known about it for a week.”
“How did you all hear?” Whitney asked as she slipped into a chair on the far side.
“Just through the grapevine,” Harvey answered her. “I can’t believe they didn’t tell you. Dirtbags, that’s low.”
“Do you think you can help?”
Jake and I glanced at one another. “Strangely enough, we were just working on a plan for it. They reached out to us today to ask for our assistance. We plan on sending guys over very soon to see if we can find them and bring them home.”
She put her hands flat on the table. “Please! Bring him home.”
As we sat there, the conference door opened, and Alex walked in on the phone, glancing at the stroller, then me. Why does everyone think it’s mine? He hung up as he took a seat.
“What are you doing back? I thought you were still away on your honeymoon,” I asked him.
“Jake called, told me what was up. We came home early,” he replied. “And I just called Lexi; she’s on her way here to get Devon for you.”
“Thanks,” I muttered as I closed my eyes. So much for the plans that I’d had for today.
Man, if these guys were so quick to judge me on this little girl being mine, what had Davina thought? Jesus, I rubbed the bridge of my nose with two fingers. It was going to have to wait.
Whitney went on to tell everyone what she knew about Wayne’s trip. The last time she’d heard from him, the places he’d been, and the bullshit that the company was telling her.
Her daughter started getting agitated again, and I got her number and ushered her out as Lexi breezed in the door. She looked at the woman and the kid, raising a brow at me.
“Don’t even start,” I muttered before I told Whitney we’d be in touch.
Lexi shrugged and then went to Devon. “Do you mind watching him? I don’t know how long we are going to be busy.”
“Sure, I’ll take him home with me.”
“I’ll have to get the seat base.”
“I have one. I went ahead and bought us the same car seat, and I had Alex install the base in case we needed to take him for you.”
“You are a lifesaver, Lexi.” I kissed her cheek.
“That little girl wasn’t yours, was it?”
“No!” Alice chuckled, and I glared at her.
“Her mother, Whit
ney, is an old friend of mine. I know her husband. Alex and I were in the same unit with Wayne a few years ago.”
She nodded, and then I told her his diaper bag was at my desk. She shooed me away to go back to the meeting, and I closed the door behind me as I went in.
“So are we doing this?” I asked.
“Hell yeah, we are doing this,” Jake growled. “Wayne is one of us. We aren’t going to leave one of our own over there on his own.”
“How quickly can we get boots on the ground?” Greg asked.
Jake thought about it for a second. “I can probably book flights on Sunday, so Monday boots on the ground.”
Well, there went my whole moving in plan. I sighed, but then again, moving could wait. Wayne’s life and those with him could not.
We talked over details for a good two hours before Alex asked, “We have any backing from local troops?”
“Maybe. I have to make a few more calls,” Jake replied dryly and looked at Alex carefully. “You sure you want to go?”
“Yeah, I’m in,” he stated firmly. “Lex knows this is important to me. She told me to go. I have her blessing.”
“Okay, well, then the five us are shipping out Sunday. Go take care of your business, and I’ll see you all tomorrow. We’ll meet here at oh-eight-hundred and talk game plans.”
“You’re going too?” I asked, surprised.
“Damn straight, I’m going. That man got me home in one piece. It’s my turn to return the favor.”
After we left, I told Alex I had one errand to run, and then I’d be over. He said he’d have dinner waiting for me, and I hightailed it to the real estate office to collect the keys. Margo wished me well and told me she’d talk to me soon. I made sure to tell her that I was going to be out of the country for a little while, but I’d let her know when I was back.
At Alex’s, I found Devon sleeping in a small playpen set up in the family room.
“I just put him down,” she said quietly. “Is Davina going to be watching him while you are gone, or do you need me to?”
“No, I have a nanny starting tomorrow,” I told her softly as the urge to pick up my son and hold him close struck me.