“Look, I’m going to the same gala Carys is at. My colleague told me she was there, so I wondered if I could just stop by to see Sunny without having to upset her. I don’t mean any harm.”
He tried to look beyond my shoulders, but I adjusted my body so he couldn’t see past me.
I crossed my arms. “Well, it’s not gonna happen—not without Carys’s permission.”
He grimaced. “Who did you say you were?”
“The name’s Dick. And I suggest you leave before I show you exactly why they call me that.”
He let out a frustrated breath, huffed, and made his way back down the hall.
After he was out of sight, I shut the door, locked it, and went over to where Sunny was still playing on the floor.
I lifted her up and held her for a while, feeling protective. It angered me that Carys’s ex tried to pull that shit, and now I’d have to tell her.
Sunny stared up at me, this time not smiling as she normally did. Maybe she sensed I was pissed.
“You deserve better than that dude. I’m sorry you have a crappy dad. But your mom makes up for it.”
I walked over to the window with her, and we looked out at the traffic below. “Can I tell you a secret, Sunny?” After pausing for her response, I said, “Okay. I’m gonna tell you anyway.” I looked at her. “I really screwed up with your mother. You got any tips for how I can make it right?”
A few seconds later, I felt a vibration from her bottom.
Well, I guess that’s my answer.
CHAPTER 15
Carys
SUCK IT UP
I ended up leaving the gala early. I couldn’t relax knowing Deacon was stuck taking care of Sunny. Maybe if things had been different between us, I would’ve been more comfortable with the situation.
And when Charles showed up, I knew that was my signal to leave. I wasn’t surprised to see him—it was an industry event—but that didn’t make having to deal with him any easier. I managed to avoid him while doing the remainder of my obligatory schmoozing. Then I told Cynthia I needed to leave. She seemed fine with it, since I had shown my face for a while.
It was eleven when I walked into my apartment. I was surprised to see Sunny not in her crib, but lying on her stomach atop Deacon’s chest. Both of them were asleep on the couch. I stopped for a moment to take in the sight, which tugged at my heart in a bittersweet way.
Why do you have to be so sweet and such an asshole at the same time, Deacon?
I tiptoed over to them and slowly worked to remove her from his grasp.
Deacon’s eyes blinked open. “Hey. Did you just get in?” he whispered groggily.
“Yes. Gonna put her to bed. Be right back.”
I placed Sunny in the crib and waited to make sure she didn’t wake up. After confirming she was asleep, I returned to living room. Deacon was now standing, his thick, copper hair a tousled mess. He slid his hands into his pockets, seeming tense.
“There’s something I have to tell you,” he said.
My heart sank. “Did something happen?”
“Your ex came by tonight. He knew you were out. He tried to take advantage and see Sunny.”
“Oh my God. What?” My heart began to race. “He knew I was at the arts gala. He showed up late. Now it makes sense why. I can’t believe he’d do that.”
“I wanted to punch him, but instead I scared him away. He definitely wasn’t expecting to find me here.”
“No. I’m sure he wasn’t.” I clutched my chest.
“I don’t mean to upset you, but obviously I had to tell you.”
“Thank you for handling that.”
“Sunny was on her playmat when he came by. I don’t think she sensed the drama. Has he ever pulled anything like this before?”
I shook my head. “No, but he called me the other night, out of the blue, asking if he could visit her. I told him I had to think about it. Apparently, that answer wasn’t good enough.”
“Why does he want to see her all of a sudden?”
“I haven’t figured out if his intentions are genuine, or if there’s something more to it. He mentioned that he’s having problems with his wife.”
Deacon pursed his lips. “You think he’s trying to use Sunny to get back together with you?”
“I don’t think so. I just think his ex was the driving force in his staying away from Sunny all this time. And now that they’re having trouble, he probably sees it as an opportunity to do something he should’ve done a long time ago. Maybe he has a heart in there somewhere and feels guilty.”
Deacon’s eyes narrowed. “You won’t ever trust him again, will you? After all the shit he’s put you through? Tell me you won’t let him into your life again.”
“Not romantically.” I exhaled. “While I don’t like what he tried to pull tonight, I’ve been torn ever since he called. Sunny deserves to know who her father is and see him, even if he’s not worthy of her love. I hadn’t decided what to do, but him showing up like that certainly doesn’t help his case.” I sighed. “Thank you again for protecting Sunny.”
“There was no way I would’ve let him near her.”
Closing my eyes, I let out a breath and fell back onto the couch. “Charles was the second man I ever trusted. And both of them let me down.”
“Your father was the first.” He guessed correctly.
I nodded.
As Deacon took a seat across the sofa, it hit me how much I’d missed talking to him. I needed to repair our friendship, so I opened up a little. “You wanna know the weird part? My mother had gotten involved with an older guy, too, when she was around my age. That was my dad. He also left Mom to go back to his wife. How freaky is that?”
“No shit?”
“Yup. Talk about history repeating itself. Except unlike my situation with Charles, my father was still with his wife when he started dating my mother. He had three kids. It’s a very similar scenario, though Charles has two kids and not three.”
“Have you ever met your father’s other kids?”
“No.”
He’d touched upon a sore subject. My dad had come around a tiny bit when I was little, but by the time I was old enough to remember anything, he was gone. He lived in Delaware, and his children were in the same area. No one ever reached out to me, though I did find out through a mutual friend that my father ended up telling his kids about me. It is what it is. But I wanted better for Sunny. I just didn’t know what that was as it related to Charles.
“You said you have a brother,” Deacon said. “Different fathers?”
I nodded. “My mother married my stepfather a few years after I was born. He’s my brother Aaron’s biological dad. Then they got divorced, and I never saw him much after, either. Nice family life, huh?”
“Everybody’s got their shit, Carys.” He placed his arm over the top of the couch and settled into his seat. “My parents have a pretty good relationship on the surface, but my father’s focus was always his football-coaching career and not their marriage. I know he and my mom have had their share of troubles over the years. Pretty sure there was some infidelity on his part that he never owned up to. No family is perfect. But I do realize how lucky I was to grow up with two parents when so many people don’t.”