I’ve not seen Travis this angry in years.
“Can’t believe you settled for this. Look at her. You could have done so much better. Pity, really.” She looks me up and down.
“You’re a bitch! I’m so happy Drew finally moved on from your skanky ass,” I say between gritted teeth, taking a few steps forward. People turn and look at us, and in any other circumstance I’d be embarrassed, but all I can see is red. My heartbeat rings out in my ears, and I want to punch her in the face, pregnant or not. She hurt my brother; she hurt Travis and me, and the damage she caused was almost irreparable.
Travis grabs my hand and pulls me away from her, but I’m seething to the point that I start crying. I’m pissed I can’t gain control of my emotions, and I hate that people are staring at us. Once the adrenaline courses through me, exhaustion follows with an extra-large dose of doubt.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Travis says, rubbing my back.
After we’re in the car, we sit in silence.
“I’m sorry, princess. You didn’t deserve any of that.”
“Did you hear what she said?”
He looks at me with sad eyes and nods. “You know what? Fuck her.”
“She wanted you to,” I add. All those old fears start flooding back in full force, and it puts me on edge.
“I can guarantee you the only King baby is the one you’re carrying.” He grabs my hand.
“No one else I’ve ever been with has made me feel the way you do. Ever. It’s always been you, Viola. I’ve always reserved that part of myself for you.”
I let out a ragged breath. “But what if you wake up one day and decide I’m not what you want? What if she’s right?”
“And what if I counter that with another scenario? What if I wake up every day, knowing I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life? And what if I honestly believe I’m the luckiest man on earth because I’ve somehow snagged the girl of my dreams—the girl I crushed on as a kid, that forbidden fruit—and she’s going to have my baby? Because that’s the reality we live in, that we will always live in.” He brushes his thumb against my cheek.
“You always do that,” I say.
“What’s that?” he asks as he cranks the car, the low rumble calming me.
“Say exactly the right thing at the right time.” I smile.
On the way home, we share side-glances and the realization of how happy Travis makes me sets in. After being away from him for six months, I don’t dare take moments like this for granted. I cherish each and every one of them, but I know there will be thousands more. No one will ever be able to take this away from us because what we have is more than a stupid crush or a one-night stand.
It’s real.
It’s love in the rawest form.
Chapter 18
Travis
It’s finally the night I’ve been waiting for, and even though Viola’s only been back for a few weeks, it feels like nothing’s changed at all. Well, except that she’s carrying my baby, we’ve been apartment hunting together, and she tells me she loves me every day.
Six months ago, I was at a dead-end job that I no longer felt passionate about. The girl of my dreams had just moved across the country, and my best friend would barely speak to me. I’d screwed up, and I’ll live with that for the rest of my life, but I can’t say I’m not happy about where that has all lead me. Drew and I worked out our differences. King Marketing is becoming a reality, Gryff finally stopped chewing on all my damn expensive shoes, and most importantly, Viola is finally mine. I couldn’t be any fucking happier right now.
New Year’s Eve used to mean going out with friends, getting drunk, and bringing back a random girl for a meaningless night together. I’m not proud of that tradition, but this year I plan to make a new one.
Viola has held onto her promise of finding out the baby’s gender until midnight. We’re going to open it together in the park under the lights. I have a couple more gifts to surprise her with tonight as well, and she has no clue. Tonight’s a night we’ll both remember for the rest of our lives.
Viola sleeps over most nights now, and since she’s restless the majority of the time, I let her sleep in while Gryff and I go for our morning walk and I brew the coffee. She’s been snoring in her sleep, which keeps me up. Gryff sleeps at our feet, and when she’s not kicking him off in the middle of the night, he’s nuzzling his way under the covers and stealing them from me. The first thing we’re getting once we move is a king-sized bed. And a bigger dog bed.
After our chilly walk, I grab the newspaper and pour myself a hot cup of coffee. Gryff sleeps at my feet as I scan the paper. Once I finish the world news section, I flip to the business overview where I see Crawford Marketing in big, bold letters.
Enron was one of the biggest scandals in 2001, and more than a decade later, another company is facing similar charges. Crawford Marketing, founded in 1970, has fallen under the same scrutiny of the Security and Exchange Commission. A formal investigation concerning the $400 million loss reported by the company in the fourth quarter will begin soon. Reliable sources have stated earnings have been misrepresented for an undisclosed time period, and embezzlement charges have been filed against Alyssa Crawford, daughter of the chief executive officer.
I shake my head with a sly smirk on my face. I’m so glad I left when I did. Blake and Alyssa deserve each other after that stunt, and they’ll be together forever—behind bars.
Drew slowly walks down the hall in just his pajama bottoms, his wild hair in a bun, and bags under his eyes.
“Rough night?” I ask, nodding my head to the coffee maker. “There’s some left.”
“You could say that,” he mumbles, grabbing himself a cup. “No offense, man, but when the hell are you two moving out? I can’t take another night of her snoring.”
“Soon, I promise.”
“I don’t know how you sleep next to that.” He shakes his head, walking back over to the table and sitting down next to me. “It’s like a train’s coming right through the house.”
“I don’t.” I sigh. “God, I hope it stops after the baby comes. Otherwise, none of us will ever get to sleep again.”
Drew laughs in agreement.
“What are you two laughing about?” Viola asks, waddling into the dining room.
“Oh, nothing,” I say, reaching a hand out and bringing her to my lap. Drew brings his cup up to his lips and hides a smile behind it.
“How’d you sleep?” I ask her.
“As good as one can with an extra fifty pounds on top of them.”
“Well, hopefully, you’ll lose it all after the baby is here, and we can all sleep again,” Drew comments, and I wince, knowing immediately that Viola is going to chew his ass out.
“I meant the dog, asshole! Gryff kept nudging his way between us.”
“Oh, sorry!” He puts his hands up in an apologetic surrender, and I laugh at his expense.
“And I have not gained fifty pounds, thank you very much,” she says with a scowl. “I’ve gained twenty-one, and the doctor said that was in the perfect range.”