Page 26 of Always Right

I’d missed so much.

“I found a few paintings I want,” Lisa said, breaking the conversation and for the first time, I was thankful. The regret at being absent all of Hannah’s pregnancy and their first months clawed at my insides, and it was unbearable. Nothing I did would make up for the time lost.

“Which ones?”

Hannah looked away, hugging herself with her arms…as if the mere presence of Lisa and me together was too much. She still had so much to say.

“So many. You have done an incredible job arranging everything, Hannah. Nathan tells me you’re in charge of marketing and setting everything up. It’s brilliant.”

I wanted nothing more than to take her into my arms and ease her pain, but Hannah pursed her lips before speaking up once more. “Don’t do this. Just pick whatever you want to buy and let us know. I’ll be in the office when you decide.”

Her beautiful eyes ablaze with an anger that was palpable in the air. She didn’t say anything else and simply walked away.

Lisa sighed…she’d hurt Hannah with her accusation so many months ago, and now, that friendship was over.

“Sorry…too much, I guess.”

Or not enough.

***

“You know…the diapers are usually easier to change if you do them one at a time.” Evie stood by the door, laughing as I struggled to change Annie and Isa’s diaper. Changing them both at the same time was by far, the stupidest idea I’d gotten.

“Well, thanks for telling me before I started,” I muttered, struggling to get anything done as the girls kicked their tiny legs. Their squeals filled the room and though I should have been frustrated, I couldn’t help but chuckle when they found the situation amusing. Evie approached us, handling Isa’s diaper while I finished with Annie.

“I have to say, Derek…being a dad suits you.” Pride swelled in my chest at her words. I wasn’t fucking sure if I was even a good man, but I needed to be a good father to them. “I’m proud of you.”

I sat down on the bed, looking at my daughter’s eyes. I would fight to keep their innocence. Fight to keep them happy despite the issues Hannah and I could have.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about them.” Evie’s apology carried through the silence of the room. The words lingered heavy in the air…but I didn’t want them. I didn’t need them. None of this was her fault, and I couldn’t blame her for keeping Hannah’s secret. After all, I hadn’t exactly been the easiest person to talk to during our fallout. “Hannah didn’t want me to tell you. She was hurt…angry. And you wouldn’t listen to anyone.”

“Evie…I understand. I wouldn’t have told me, either.”

“I’m trying to be impartial,” she whispered. “But it’s difficult. She’s hurt, Derek…but I know she’s hurting you in the process, too, and I’m not sure what to do with that.”

I glanced at my sister, watching how her gaze lingered on her nieces, but I didn’t answer. There was nothing I could say. The relationship between Hannah and me was too broken…too fractured. There weren’t enough apologies in the world to fucking save it.

I wasn’t sure Hannah wanted to.

Nathan’s footsteps carried throughout the house as he approached the bedroom. He walked into the room, eyeing us curiously before pulling Evie into his arms and giving her a kiss.

“I’m glad to see you two talking, but Lily and Noah are waiting downstairs for a family bedtime story,” he said.

I chuckled. I took both girls into my arms and followed behind the happy couple downstairs. Lily was indeed, waiting with her little feet swinging from the couch while Noah sat on a blanket on the floor, playing with a large construction toy I’d given him when I returned.

“What story are we reading today?” I asked, sitting next to Lily.

Lily beamed, holding out a book. “Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Feeling dark today, aren’t we?”

“Uh huh. And I want you to be the big bad wolf.”

“How fitting,” Nathan muttered with a smirk.

I shot him a glare that said “shut the fuck up” but all he could do was shrug while Evie laughed softly next to him.

I was, indeed, the big bad wolf, and Nathan played the grandma—ironic—while Evie was Little Red Riding Hood.

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