He picks it up, smiling at me. “Cute cup.”
“Leighton picked it out for Mother’s Day last year.”
“Good man. He chose right.”
We walk to the door, and Travis takes me into his arms again. My knees go weak when his lips meet mine. Even though it takes me a few seconds, I get my wits about me and place my hand on his chest, stopping our kiss and opening the front door.
That’s when I hear, “Mommy!”
Travis jumps to the right as Leighton rushes to my side and hugs me as tight as he can.
“Hey, buddy. I didn’t expect you here so fast,” I say, picking him up and hugging him properly.
“Obviously,” Mom says as she enters my place, checking Travis up and down. “I’m Judy, Michelle’s mom. And you are?” She holds her hand out to Travis and smiles like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Hmm.” She glances at me and then back to Travis. “Your eyes are stunning, just like my—”
“Dr. Rivers!” Leighton says, thankfully interrupting my mom’s thought process. “Why are you here? Did my mom need a doctor?” He places his hand to my forehead, like I do when he says he has a tummy ache. “Are you feeling sick, Mommy?”
Mom laughs, and I eye her to stop.
“I’m okay, baby. Dr. Rivers was just bringing me a paper I forgot to sign.”
“So, Dr. Rivers”—Mom sashays over to him, wrapping her arm around his and bringing him back into my living room—“are you Leighton’s new pediatrician?”
“Yes, ma’am. I sure am,” Travis says, looking over to me to make sure this is okay.
I shrug and shut the door, knowing she’ll keep him here so there’s no need to try to fight it.
She walks to the kitchen, where she pours herself a cup of coffee.
“So, Mom, I thought you guys were making pancakes?” I ask, widening my eyes at her.
“We were, but Susie called and asked that I come earlier, so we only made the two he ate, and I put the rest of the batter in the fridge for later.”
“Then, don’t you have to leave? Is she waiting for you?” I motion toward the door.
“Oh, no worries. She’ll understand why I’m late when I tell her who I met.” The way her grin shines through over her coffee mug makes Travis chuckle into his cup. “So, did you two just meet yesterday?” she asks.
Travis looks at me, and I jump in, making sure she doesn’t know just how long I’ve known him. “Yes, just yesterday really.” As soon as the words slip from my mouth, I want to slap my own forehead when I realize just how bad that sounded.
“Well, I sure am glad to meet you and see you here, bright and early like this. I keep on telling Michelle she needs to date. I don’t think she’s been on one since she split with that horrible husband of hers.”
Travis turns to me with a questioning expression. “Husband?”
My heart beats so hard in my chest that I feel like it might explode. “Oh dear, look at me. Telling her story. I’m sorry. There’s nothing to know though. We like to think of him as the sperm donor since he bailed as soon as Michelle found out she was pregnant.”
I close my eyes, not wanting to see Travis’s expression after my mom so nonchalantly just dropped the bomb. When I finally open them, he’s staring daggers at me.
He holds out his hand to my mom. “Judy, it was nice meeting you, but I think I should be going.” He holds his palm up to Leighton. “Give me five, little man.”
Leighton jumps up to slap his hand, and Travis smiles big as he looks at his son. When his eyes meet mine though, that smile is gone.
“Walk me out?” he asks.
I turn on my heel and lead the way, needing the fresh air to calm the waterfall of emotions rushing through me. I make sure we’re clearly away from my front door before I turn to face him.
He wastes no time. “Please tell me what I think happened didn’t.”
“Let me explain.” I place my hand on his chest, and he tosses it away.
“Were you married the night we met?”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I plead.
He steps back. “No. No. I remember checking multiple times for a ring because I was shocked you weren’t married. You weren’t wearing one.”
I drop my head to my chest. “It’s because I threw it at him when I left that night.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “That’s why you were so upset? Because you’d had a fight with your husband?”
“Yes, but you have to understand, he was a horrible man, and our marriage was not okay. I didn’t see just how unhappy I was until I met you. You showed me that night what it meant to feel normal again.”
“Yeah, normal for one night. God!” He throws his hands up in the air and starts to pace. “That’s why you bailed. Because you had to get back home to your husband! How could I have been so stupid?”
I grab his arm. “Don’t say that. You said you thought I was the one that night. I felt the same way. I’d never felt that way with him.”
He shakes his head. “Really? Is that why you stayed with him? Is that why you never once came back to find me until you found out you were pregnant?” He leans away from me, and I can see the wheels turning in his head. “Wait. How do you even know Leighton’s mine? Why would you not think he was your husband’s?”
I take a deep breath. “I told you, he was a horrible man, who was lying to me. He treated me terribly and was a workaholic. The fight we had that night was over his dinner not being perfectly hot when he walked in the door two hours late. That’s when I threw the ring at him and walked out, heading to that bar. Then, when he found out I was pregnant, seven weeks after we were together, he informed me he’d had a vasectomy a year earlier and never told me.” I drop my head in shame of the memory of standing on the street that day.
“So, he knew you’d cheated on him …”
I glance up, my eyes filling with tears, and nod.
He takes a deep inhale, crossing his arms and staring at me. When he reaches for his keys in his pocket, my heart sinks.
“Look, I meant what I said. I will be in Leighton’s life. But this … this I need to work my way through. Knowing that you made me the other man doesn’t sit well with me. I believe in the sanctity of marriage. Learning you threw that away one night with someone else …”
He stops, and my shoulders sag.
He steps past me and heads toward his car, leaving me helpless.
I reach for him. “Please, don’t leave like this.”
“Just”—he holds up his hands, making sure I don’t touch him—“give me some time. I need to process all of this. I want to see Leighton though. I’d like for him to know I’m his father sooner than later. I’ve already missed so much.” He glares at me, making me feel even guiltier about the situation. “I’ll call you later.”
Tears fall down my face as I watch him get in his car without looking back at me.
Leaving him years ago was easy, but watching him drive away now is the most painful thing I’ve ever felt.
Chapter Eleven