Page 46 of Sweet Escape
“I have some time. Why? You gonna miss me?”
“Maybe a little. I’m…not ready to be alone yet.”
I place two fingers under her chin and tilt her head at a slight upward angle. Her blue eyes have deepened somehow. I could get lost in their depths. My lips touch her forehead in a tender kiss.
“Did you want kids?” I ask. “Before, I mean.”
“I did. I do. I don’t regret how it happened.”
“I always wanted Emmy to have a sibling. Shame we didn’t have the chance to join the mile high club, though.”
She sits up quickly, spinning to face me. “You would have done… that?”
“Liv, I wanted to take you the second your ass touched the seat.”
“I call bullshit. I was a mess.”
“A beautiful mess… all gorgeous curves and that sassy fucking mouth. I’m getting hard just thinking about it.”
She swats my chest with the back of her hand, but her eyes are full of fire. “Down, boy. I’m exhausted.”
“It was worth the wait,” I murmur against the shell of her ear, eliciting an involuntary shiver. I study her face as she stifles a yawn, her gaze unfocused. “I should go. Let you get some sleep.”
She chews on the inside of her cheek, and I know instantly what she needs before she even says a word.
“Unless you want me to stay,” I say. “Just until you fall asleep?”
“Please.”
I pull her head to my chest and reach behind us to drape a massive crochet blanket over her legs. “You never have to beg, Pretty Girl. Well… not for this, anyway.”
Her soft laugh is muffled by my shirt as she sinks further into me. “This is nice,” she murmurs.
“Go to sleep, Livie.”
“‘Night, Big Guy.”
Chapter 12
This Ain’t Her First Rodeo
?Somebody Like You - Keith Urban
Wilder
I glancearound at the massive celebration, in awe of everything Olivia put together for my girl. There’s a giant balloon arch set up in front of a backdrop with Emmy Lou’s name, and a huge marquee number three that stands taller than my toddler. Off to the side is a long buffet table with finger foods, and hay bales covered with mismatched quilts set up for seating.
Anyone who means anything to my family is here celebrating Emmy’s third birthday. If only I’d come home sooner, Emmy’s first and second birthdays could’ve been like this. I was so deep in my grief that I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
Every milestone with Emmy is a bittersweet reminder that Jess is missing out on all of it. She doesn’t get to see our baby girl grow up. She won’t be there for the first day of kindergarten; she won't watch her graduate, or cry tears of joy when I walk her down the aisle to some man who doesn’t deserve her.
As I look over at Emmy in her denim skirt and pink cowboy boots, clutching cotton candy in her fist, the loss tempers into a dull ache. I’ll always mourn the time we didn’t get to spend together as a family, but I can’t take anything for granted going forward. If losing Jess has taught me anything, it’s that I need to grab onto the memories we have and never let go.
A soft hand lands on my bicep, and I don’t even have to look to know it’s her. “What do you think?” Olivia asks, her teeth digging into her bottom lip as she waits for my reaction.
“It’s incredible, Cupcake. Way more than any three-year-old could ever hope for.”
Something sullen passes over her expression before she clears her throat, sobering slightly. “She deserves to be celebrated on her birthday.”
