Page 27 of Snow Harm, No Foul

“I might just throw it back up,” I say in warning.

The corner of his mouth twitches like it wants to lift into a smile but can’t quite get there. “Worth a shot. Come.”

I hover a hand over my mouth when he brings his face closer to mine. “Are there breath mints somewhere by chance?”

“I’ll get you one once we’ve made it to the kitchen.”

“To the kitchen, then.”

The place where we’ll decide the next steps for the rest of our lives.

8

NIKO

Adad.Again.

I’m going to be a dad for a second time.

I hadn’t expected to have Travis. Young and stupid were the only two adjectives in my vocabulary back then. I didn’t have a damn clue where life was taking me during those nine months with his mother, but the only destination was him. And as time moved forward and I grew up alongside him through the trials I faced as not only a father but as a man, I knew that if I got this chance again, I’d take it with open arms.

I am who I am today because of what I went through. Sure, I don’t have a heavy savings or a big fancy house. My relationship with Travis’s mother ceased to exist early on in his childhood, and I’ve never been father of the year. But I am proud of the way I grew and the battles I won. Of my small three-bedroom bungalow in a quiet cul-de-sac and this bar.

I made mistakes that I know how to avoid this time around. I’m calm when I was short-tempered and focused when I was distracted.

There were a fuck ton of things I thought Ivy and I would speak about today, but this? This wasn’t even close to what I expected.

Our emails the past three weeks have been short and to the point, regardless of how many times I tried to hint at seeing her again. She never fell for my traps, and maybe I should have taken that as a sign, but I refused to because not having Ivy Bell as mine is simply not an option any longer.

And now, I’m only surer about my decision. It’s the right one, without a doubt.

This woman was put into my life for a reason, and we’ve been granted a chance for a do-over. An opportunity for me not to let her slip into another man’s arms and to take her into mine instead. I’m not letting her go again. Not going to torture myself with watching her with my son at every holiday and family event, knowing that if things had been just a little different, she’d be with me instead.

The fallout that could come with Travis learning of all this and hating me is always there in the back of my mind. The news of a baby may very well destroy our relationship.

A better man would heed the warning. That’s not me.

We’re all adults. And I know my son. If he wanted Ivy as badly as I do, we wouldn’t be in this position right now. He didn’t treat her right, and if he weren’t my son, I’d have buried my knuckles in his teeth for what he did to her.

There’s a discussion to be had soon, but today isn’t the day for it. The only plan I have for the rest of my afternoon is to take care of the woman who’s carrying my baby while trying to convince her that I’m worth a spot in her life.

“I didn’t know there was a kitchen in here,” Ivy says, now perched on the kitchen counter, legs dangling off the edge.

“Doesn’t get used much.”

The sizzle of the scrambled eggs I’m cooking on the skillet fills the space as I use a spatula to mix the chopped peppers around.

“Do you ever sell burgers here or anything like that?”

“Just fries.”

“Why not more? You could bring in more customers if they could grab a bite to eat as well as a drink.”

“I tried. There were no cooks to hire. Got lucky that Matty is handy with the fryer.”

The few who applied for a serious position were better-qualified scrubbing floors. It was more hassle than it was worth. Now, the kitchen sits mostly empty until I find myself cooking something at the end of a late night.

At least it was stocked for today. There are plenty of other meals to cook if the eggs are no good for her stomach.

---