Page 66 of Waiting to Love You

Normally, I’d stop by the dance studio and shoot the shit with Selina for a little while, but since she’s going to lunch with Audrey, I doubt she’s there. With her belly growing every day, it's getting harder and harder for her to keep up with her students, let alone dance. Thankfully, Emersyn has stepped up and started teaching a lot of the classes, so Selina only has to worry about the more advanced ones.

The bell over the door chimes loudly as I stride into the coffee shop. I catch sight of Mom and Rebekah sitting in a corner. I wave at them before making a beeline for the counter.

“What’s up, Bristol?” Katie says with a smile.

“Don’t you ever take a day off?” I laugh as I drop my bag on a table near the counter.

“I work almost every day during the week, but you won’t catch me in this place after dinner or on a weekend, unless it’s as a customer.”

“Can I get a caramel macchiato with extra caramel and whipped cream, please?”

“Coming right up,” she says with a smile before turning to make my drink. “Here you go. I also added a butter croissant for the little one.”

“You’re too good to us,” I reply before heading over to where my mom is sitting.

She’s spending more time here this week than usual, more than likely because she heard what happened between Seth and me. I don’t know how she found out, but I have a feeling that one of the girls gave her a call. And I’m glad they did, because right now, I need my momma.

“Hey, little one,” I say, dropping to my knees so I can give Rebekah a kiss. She giggles softly, placing both her hands on my cheeks and squeezing them together. “Did you miss Mommy?”

“Of course, she did,” my mom replies for her as Rebekah leans forward and plants a sloppy kiss on the end of my nose.

“Hi, Mom.” I smile up at her before taking the seat right next to Rebekah. “Thanks for bringing her to visit. I needed a pick-me-up today.”

“I know.”

“Who called you?” I ask, taking a sip from my coffee.

“Audrey,” my mom grabs the croissant off the plate and breaking it into pieces for Rebekah.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Have you ever messed up?”

Mom stills, probably trying to figure out where my question came from. “Um, you need to give me more information, Bristol. Everyone messes up, but it’s never as bad as we think it is.”

“I don’t know if there’s any way for me to fix things with Seth.” I take another sip of coffee, trying to get my thoughts in order. “He won’t respond to my texts or answer my calls, and it’s been a week.”

“I’m sure Seth understands you were protecting your daughter,” she says matter-of-factly. “Anyone who spends ten minutes with you and Rebekah knows how much you love her.”

I down the last bit of my coffee before shoving back from the table and heading toward the trashcan a few feet away.

“Does he know how you feel about him?”

I pause, my hand hovering over the trash as I think about her question. I open and close my mouth a few times before I spin around, my eyes wide in shock.

“No.” I drop the cup on the floor and cover my mouth with both hands.

I never told Seth how I felt about him. Yeah, we have a daughter together, and I’ve been desperately in love with him for the last year or so, but he doesn’t know that. Well, unless he’s a mind-reader.

I’ve spent so much time guarding my heart and worrying about what he would say if he found out about Rebekah, but I’ve never let him know how much I love him. How my heart has yearned for its other half since the day I walked away from him before deployment.

Mom giggles softly before pushing back from the table and coming toward me. She bends down to pick up the cup and tosses it into the trash before speaking.

“There’s your problem. That man moved heaven and earth to come home to you, but he doesn’t know how you feel. Put that on top of finding out he has a daughter he never knew about? Any man would have doubts.”

“I didn’t plan on keeping her from him forever.” Tears stream down my face as the weight of everything crashes down on my shoulders.

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