Page 39 of One More Heartbeat
A daughter. They have a daughter together.
“There wasn’t anything to tell you. We both agreed it was a one-time thing.”
That might be true, but…
I sit up straighter and gape at him for a flutter of a heartbeat. “Are you telling me you had sex with Kenda but didn’t know you’d knocked her up?” Because the Garrett I know would not ignore his responsibilities, including if a one-night stand had resulted in a child.
And he certainly wouldn’t keep her a secret from his family and close friends.
“She might have tried telling me when she first found out, but I never called her after she texted me. And she never reached out again.”
That’s weird—that doesn’t sound like Kenda.
The Kenda I was friends with in college wouldn’t have done that, but the world-weary Kenda…well, who knows what she was thinking.
“Why didn’t you return her call?” Because that doesn’t sound like Garrett either.
Regardless, I can’t believe this is happening. The man I’ve been in love with for most of my life is a father—and one of my closest friends in college is the little girl’s mama.
14
ZARA
“I didn’t returnKenda’s call because…” Garrett winces next to me on the large sectional couch, his gaze on the ceiling. “Because it’s complicated.”
Right.Complicated.The code word for “I fucked up” or “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Despite my curiosity and so many unspoken questions, I respect his wishes and push up from the couch. “I need to get to work on the snacks.”
A daughter. He and Kenda had a daughter. Together.
A hot urge to chop something, anything, thrums through my veins, and I head for Garrett’s kitchen. My thoughts are a train wreck, and the cars keep piling up. Even the idea of working in my dream kitchen doesn’t put them back on the track.
Being dumped by a boyfriend who was still in love with his ex-wife doesn’t seem so big anymore. Not in comparison to finding out Kenda is dead and she left behind a daughter who belongs to Garrett. And given what Garrett is currently going through, it’s hardly the time to bring up what happened between Joseph and me.
I remove a knife from Garrett’s knife block and begin chopping the onions I brought with me. Now all the tears can be blamed on the onionsand not on how the truth—Kenda is dead and Garrett has a daughter—has left me gutted, bleeding out across the floor.
He joins me in the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
I point the knife at the carrots. “They need peeling and chopping.”Sniff.“Where’s your daughter right now?” I look around the kitchen as if that will make her magically appear.Sniff.
“She’s staying in the hotel with her nanny.”
“Nanny?”
“Athena. The woman who brought Peony here.”
I guess that would make sense. Kenda needed someone to look after her daughter while she was making a difference in the world. But why not bring the little girl home to stay with her father while she did that? Garrett’s mother would’ve been overjoyed to help out and look after her granddaughter.
But instead of saying any of that, I splutter, “Your daughter’s name is Peony?”
He nods, and I smile at him through a new round of tears. “That’s a pretty name. When do I get to meet her?” When do I get to meet the little girl who is breaking my heart for so many reasons?
“Tomorrow? Will that work for you?”
“It does. I can’t wait to see her.” A picture of what she’ll look like pops in my head. An adorable little girl with Garrett’s brown eyes and Kenda’s coils. In my mind, she’s a sweet combination of the two people who once were everything to me.
Garrett pours me a glass of Shiraz, grabs a beer for himself, and helps me prepare the snacks for tonight. While we work, he tells me about his daughter and how she’s super shy with him. About his parents’ reaction to the news they’re now grandparents. About Kenda’s letter. About how he bought furniture and supplies for Peony, even though he’s waiting for the paternity results.
