Page 25 of To Build a Home
“Yeah.” I take a large gulp of my drink. “So I take it you didn’t tell him I’m a mom, huh?”
Sara Beth’s smile falls. I can’t hear it over the music, but I can read the word “shit” whispered on her lips.
“Umm.” Her eyes frantically search the room. I’m not sure what she’s looking for exactly. Maybe checking to see if Nixon left or not. But I find him over at the bar with Jer, clearly not on a phone call and now flirting with the redheaded bartender with her tits spilling out of her skimpy top. Earlier, I caught a nip slip.
“I’m so sorry, girl.”
“No, it’s fine. I promise.” His reaction is something that I realize I’m going to need to get used to. Is there like a dating website for single parents so it’s not so awkward when you reveal that you have a kid with someone else? “I think I’m going to go, though.” I put my phone back in my purse and try to scoot out of the booth.
“No, you can’t go yet. Stay. Fuck the guys. Come on, you’re already out, and Gabby is in excellent hands with Rhyland. Just come dance with me and live a little.” She grabs my hand and drags me toward the dance floor.
“You know what? Fuck it.” I turn back to the table and down the rest of my drink, wincing at the burn as the vodka slides down my throat.
“Let’s go dance.”
Chapter 14
Rhyland
Payton is out on a date with another man.
How the fuck did this happen? Oh, that’s right. I offered to watch Gabby so that she could go out…with another fucking man. I only have myself to blame.
Just like when I had suggested they move in here, I hadn’t thought before I was opening my big mouth to suggest it.
The look in Pay’s eyes after Sara Beth had walked away made me think we were going to have a chat when we got home, but it never happened. I guess maybe she did actually want to go. She’s young; she should be happy and out there.
When Payton came down the stairs, dressed in a slim-fitting dress, my first thought wasNo, no way.I should have thrown her over my shoulder, firefighter-style, and carried her to my bed and told her there was no way I was allowing her to go out with another man, especially dressed like that.
Instead, I took Gabby from her, told her she looked beautiful, and that Nixon was a lucky guy. It took her almost an hour to actually get out the door with promises of texting and calling with anything that could go wrong—you know, like a volcano eruption, aliens attacking, and any other thing that had less than a billionth chance of happening.
Currently, Gabby and I are lounging on the couch after we both ate our dinner. There is no doubt in my mind that this girl and Oliver Mosby share DNA. Between the loud burps and farts she’s had all night, I feel like I’m hanging out with my friend—only a mini version of him.
Something plays on the TV in the background, but to be honest, my sole focus has been on this little one. I have my legs propped up on the coffee table with bent knees to create the perfect throne for the Princess.
“Do you think Mommy is having a good time? I mean, what kind of name is Nixon, anyway? He was a terrible president,” I scoff.
I know I’m being a little unreasonable here because, well, pot meet kettle. What the fuck kind of name is Rhyland? What were my parents even thinking? Did they ever realize the pain I would face every vacation when all my other friends were getting key chains with their names on it and I never could find mine? It might seem minuscule now, but back then, it was everything.
I hold both of her little hands in mine and play a short version of peekaboo. She coos as I appear and disappear.
“And what kind of guy is okay with his date arriving via an Uber and not having the decency to come to her house and pick her up? An idiot, that’s who, Princess. Your mom deserves to be treated like the queen she is. She deserves everything.”
I continue our game of peekaboo before leaning forward and blowing raspberries on her belly.
The world drops out from under me when the most beautiful sound fills the room, and I freeze.
“Oh my God, did you just—?” No, there’s no way she just did that for me. “Did you just laugh, Princess?”
I repeat the action, and my heart swells. Gabby does it again, letting out a tiny giggle, as if just to prove a fact that she was listening to me. But then my heart drops to my stomach. She just laughed for the first time, and it wasn’t for Payton.Shit, Payton wasn’t even here.She’s going to be crushed.
“Alright, Princess, let’s make a deal, okay?”
Gabby coos, and I’ll take that as an agreement.
“Now, you don’t tell mommy I’ve been struggling all night with her being on a date, and I won’t tell her you just laughed without her. Deal?”
Gabby coos again in response.
