Page 36 of Keep This Promise
“Hello, my love.”
I scoop her up and kiss her cheeks. “Did you have a good nap?”
“I got to ride a pony in my dream.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Is Holden here?”
Another man that seems to have made an impression on her. She wakes up before me each day, careful to get out of the room without stirring me, and has breakfast with him. This morning, they had pancakes and bacon. Bacon is always included.
I gave her a bit more time before I came out, wanting her to have a chance to know her father.
“He’s not home yet, but he should be back any minute now.”
“Can I colour?”
“Of course.”
She’s gone within a moment, off to the area in the living room where Holden put a few colouring books he purchased and a few dolls. Each day, there ends up being another thing for her in the home.
When I hear a car door slam, I walk to the window, and sure enough, Holden is walking up the steps.
He smiles when he sees me, and I wave a little, a flutter stirring in my chest.
I wish the man weren’t so damn handsome.
That smile is what I remember most. When we danced, his eyes never left mine, and throughout that night, he was always happy. It didn’t matter how little I remembered the next day, I could never get that grin out of my mind.
I grab the note that is sitting on the table, shove it in my back pocket, and stand there, waiting. When he walks in, the energy in the room shifts. “Hey,” he says, dropping a backpack but keeping his hold on a shopping bag.
“How was your shift?”
“Exhausting, but . . . I’ll be fine. How was your day?”
“It was . . . good. I feel like I’m settling in well.”
Holden’s face brightens. “Do you think you’ll settle a little more?”
Do I want to stay here and make friends? At this moment, I have nowhere else to go, but I do have Holden, who has missed three years of Eden’s life. It wouldn’t be fair for me to take her away now that he just found her.
It wouldn’t be fair to Eden either, who has lost so much.
I give Holden a soft smile. “We probably should since we’ll be staying in town for a while.”
When his eyes brighten, I know I’m making the right choice.
ChapterEleven
SOPHIE
Iam so nervous. I know it’s just lunch, but it feels incredibly strange. I am going out on my own today for the first time since I arrived in town. But . . . baby steps. When Brielle and Blakely asked me to go to lunch with them, Holden was insistent that he and Eden would have a grand time at Mama James’s and that I should accept the invitation.
I get to the door, exhale deeply, and enter.
Brie spots me right away and waves. I smile and head to her and Blakely. “Hello.”
“Hey! I’m so glad you could meet us. I had the day off, and I like to pry Blakely out of the office once a week to eat a meal instead of trying to solve the world’s issues on an empty stomach. We’ve been doing our lunches for a few months now.”
