“I didn’t know they were going to do all that.”
“But you knew they were going to rob me! You brought them to where your daughter—your daughter—lives and gave no shits about what happened to her. You are despicable, and I want you out.”
“Roe, please.” She had tears streaming down her face, but they weren’t going to soften my anger. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m so sorry.”
I glared at her. “Sorry won’t fix it this time. Sorry won’t fix what little trust that remained between us that your actions shattered into millions of tiny pieces.”
“Everything all right?” Thane called out from the doorway, startling Ryn and making her jump.
“I should go,” she said.
“Yes, you should. And don’t come back,” I hissed. “After what you did, I don’t want to see you again.”
“Roe, no. I don’t have anyone,” she pleaded.
“And whose fault is that? Now, get out.”
She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. She gave one last look back. “I really am sorry. For everything.”
As soon as she was gone, as soon as the door was closed, a sob left me and we fell into Thane’s arms.
“Shh, calm down. It’s okay,” Thane said, pulling me against his chest.
“But it’s not. It’s not okay, and now she’s seen you and she’s just going to do it all over again.” If I had any doubts before about adopting Kinsey and making her fully legally mine, they were gone. Kinsey was my daughter, and nobody was going to take her from me.
“It’s okay. We’ll be fine.” He placed a kiss on top of my head, his arms securely holding us up.
The effect of his embrace hit both me and Kinsey.
Why was there always such peace in his arms? How was it he always made me feel loved and cared for? I felt secure in his warmth.
After Ryn’s surprise arrival, it took Roe a while to calm down. By the time her mom arrived, she was back to celebration mode.
Kinsey had a great day, having no understanding what was going on, but she did take a hilarious and adorable face dive into her cake when that first taste of sugar hit.
Which was followed shortly by Oliver doing something similar. They were both covered in icing in seconds.
“This has been nice,” James said as he stepped up next to me. “Thank you for inviting us.”
I nodded. “It’s been a great day.”
“You two are getting quite cozy.”
The words hit me hard, and not in a good way. I covered it up, because I refused to acknowledge my growing worry at the walls that Roe had built back up after our run-in with Liv. “And?”
“Lizzie thinks you’ll make beautiful babies, and she can’t wait. I think she’s getting baby fever.”
I quirked a brow at him. “Lizzie is? Are you sure it isn’t you that wants more little Donovans?” I asked, a chuckle leaving me as I watched Kinsey stick her whole hand into her mouth.
He grinned. “It’s a team effort.”
“What kind of team? Baseball?” I asked.
“Not that many, ass. When we first started dating, Lizzie told me she wanted four kids, and time is flying. We’re not getting any younger.”
Bailey was sitting nearby, happily munching on a piece of cake and making faces at Kinsey and Oliver. They both giggled before returning to their sugary treats.
I wanted more times like this with our friends and their families. Again, that unease rolled in my stomach.
“Go for a girl. I bet Bailey would love a baby sister.”
James started like he suddenly remembered something. “Lizzie reminded me that Roe’s birthday is coming up, and we didn’t know if there was anything planned for that.”
Roe’s birthday was soon? How did I not know? “It is?” The slice of pain this news brought me was swift and deep. I was beginning to see that when Roe put walls around herself, she fortified them until they were nearly impenetrable.
He nodded. “She’s a Halloween baby.”
“That explains some things.”
“Like how she put a spell on you?” James said with a chuckle.
“Asshole.”
“Pretty sure that’s your name.” He continued to taunt me.
“Then what’s yours?”
He grinned at me. “That’s between me and my wife.”
A few hours later, we were carting a sugar-coma’ed one-year-old out of the zoo and back toward home. Roe said goodbye to her mom before she headed to the station, and we continued on to her apartment.
“Good day today.”
Roe smiled. “It was. Kinsey got lots of presents. Yours may be the best. I love it. She’s going to get so much use out of it.”
“I’m really glad you like it, because shopping for a one-year-old is not easy.” Kinsey was almost walking, and I’d found a toy where the wheels could flip, and it could change from a rocker to a riding or push toy.
“And I can’t believe that dress you got her. It’s beautiful. I don’t know when she’ll ever wear it.”
“It’s just a dress. Cloth. She can wear it whenever. Every girl needs to feel like a princess now and then.”
Roe moved a fussy Kinsey into the bathroom, stripping her as the tub filled up. I leaned against the doorframe, watching as she patiently cared for the beautiful little girl who had taken over both our hearts.
I was still stunned at the amazing woman I called mine. The way she was with Kinsey told me she would be the most wonderful mother to my children as well. And fuck, if that idea didn’t make me want to drag her to bed and make some.
“What sounds good for dinner, baby?” I asked just as Kinsey splashed the water, hitting Roe right in the face. It was hard to hold back my laugh, but Roe didn’t seem to notice, her attention on Kinsey.
“I’m still so full of cake. I might just whip up some toast or something small.”
“There’s that tapas place down the street. I could get us something from there?”
“That could work.”
“How about you and Kinsey come stay at my place tonight?” I twisted, trying to work the kink out of my muscles that had bothered me all day. “Your bed kills my back.”
“I’d prefer if we stayed here; all of Kinsey’s stuff is here. It just makes things easier.”
That made a thought strike my brain, and I wondered if it were possible.
“You should go sleep at your place. It’s fine. I don’t want your back to hurt. We can just see you in the morning.”
There it was again. That push.
The thinly veiled, passive-aggressive, very unlike Roe words that only solidified my growing concern that she was pushing me away.
I needed to do something to open her back up, to gain the ground I’d for some reason lost.
The next morning my back felt better, but my heart did not. I hated the distance that separated us both physically and emotionally. After having some coffee and before heading over to Roe’s, I pulled out my phone.
If I was going to pull off my idea, I needed help from the one woman who was always there for me.
“Hi, Mom,” I said.