Page 36 of Mine To Honor (Southern Wedding)

Getting to work, I put on my smile as I walk in, making sure no one knows that anything is wrong. This is my workplace, and if I expect everyone to leave their problems at the door, I can’t very well drag my ass into work and wallow. Nope, no one has time for that. “Good morning,” I greet, walking back toward my office, saying hello to a couple of people along the way. I put my purse in the chair in front of my desk before walking around it toward my office chair.

The knock on the door has me pausing as I sit down. Raquel comes in with a binder in her hand. “Are you ready?”

“I forgot that I was off today,” I say to her. “I mean not off, but I wasn’t going to be with clients but instead going over admin work.” I clap my hands. “Love this time of the month.”

“No, you don’t,” Raquel reminds me, “the last time, you booked clients that day just to be rid of this duty.”

“Well, good news,” I tell her, leaning back in my chair, “no clients today.”

She nods at me as she opens her binder. “Good, because we have two months to get through.” She smiles at me. “Also, it’s wedding season soon.”

The day flies by faster than I thought it would. There were a couple of minor issues we had to deal with. At four o’clock we are wrapping up our meeting and I’m about to grab my purse and leave when my phone beeps with a text.

Levi:Be home at five and will help with dinner.

I smile at that, then text him back.

Me:So domesticated. What do you want to have for dinner?

Levi:If you want something I can throw on the grill, then I can cook.

Me:Oh, steak sounds good.

Levi:I’ll leave work now and head over to the butcher. Let me know if you think of anything else.

I ignore the way my heart speeds up and the way my stomach knots.

Me:Will do.

I carry my phone to my purse, grabbing it and walking out of the office. I stop by every room and station before heading out to make sure everything is okay. I drive with the windows open all the way to the daycare, walking in without bumping into anyone. When I walk over to Cici’s class, she is sitting on the floor clapping her hands as Sylvia sings a song. I smile at the sight and she must sense me because she looks at me, and gone is the smile on her face and in its place is her crying. “Oh, that’s a faker right there,” I say as Sylvia gets her and brings her over to me. “Hey there, baby girl,” I greet, kissing her neck. “How was her day?”

“Rough.” She is honest with me. “She wanted to be in my arms more than not.” I don’t know what to say. “It’s okay, she’ll readjust.”

“Fingers crossed,” I reply as she hands me her diaper bag. “See you tomorrow.”

“Are you ready to go home?” I ask as I walk down the hallway. The door opens and in comes the man from this morning.

“Hey,” he says, his suit jacket off, his cuffs rolled up to his elbows, “we have to stop meeting like this.” He laughs, putting his hands in his pockets. Leaving me speechless and, luckily, I don’t have to say anything to him when a little girl yells, “Daddy!” I look over at the girl running to her father.

“Have a great night,” I say as he squats down to grab his daughter in his arms.

“You, too, Eva,” he says my name as I walk out of the daycare.

“That was weird, right?” I ask Cici, who slaps my chest and babbles to me. “Yeah, I thought so, too. He is hot, though.” I look back, seeing him walking out with his daughter toward a black Range Rover. “There must be something in the water,” I say as I buckle her into her car seat.

It doesn’t take us long to get home, pulling into the driveway I’m shocked that Levi is already here. I grab her bag and her and walk up the stairs. “Hello,” I call as I shut the door behind me. Levi stands in the kitchen, his suit still on, the bags from the grocery store on the counter in front of him.

“Hey,” he says, looking up from his phone. Then he looks at Cici and smiles. “Well, hello, you.” He smiles at her and she squeals. “I like to hear that better than you crying.”

I put the bag down on the kitchen table, looking at the big box on the table. “What is this?” I ask, trying to remember if I ordered anything lately. I’ve been known in the past to order things in the middle of the night.

“Oh, that’s something I bought for you.” He walks over to me. “Nothing big. I was hoping to have it installed before you got here, but I had a work call.”

“What is it?” I ask, looking at the box.

“It’s a baby monitor, but it’s a camera one. So you put a camera over her bed or facing her bed,” he explains, opening the box, “and then you can watch her.”

“What?” I whisper, sitting down on the chair because I feel like my legs will give out.

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