Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
I nod, and she glances at him, her face lighting up with what looks like genuine happiness.
“Hey, Monkey!” She sits on the couch with him and hands him his bottle.
Usually, he takes the bottle and crawls over to his blanket to drink it, wanting to exert his newly found independence, but he doesn’t do that, choosing to climb into her lap and snuggle into her while drinking it.
She smiles softly at him, gently stroking the hair out of his eyes, and resentment churns in my gut at the tender moment. Instead of Vanessa holding him, it should be his mother. Only she viewed him as an accessory, a means to an end. Instead of her recognizing that having a baby—bringing a fucking human into this world—shouldn’t be treated lightly, she only thought about her damn self.
“If you grind your teeth any harder, you might chip a tooth,” Vanessa says, bringing me out of my thoughts. “I know you aren’t a fan of mine, but—”
“Not everything is about you,” I snap, then exhale a harsh breath, needing to backtrack.
She deserves my hostility for a lot of things, but not for taking care of my son and treating him with tenderness when my shoulder is out of commission.
“I was thinking about his egg donor,” I admit. “She lied about being on birth control so she could trap me, and when she realized I would never be with her after she screwed me over, she used him to steal money from me.”
Vanessa glances down at Leo, her eyes turning sympathetic. “You have to get approved for almost everything … a car, a house … a credit card. Most jobs won’t even hire you without doing a background check. But anyone can get pregnant and have a baby.” She glides her fingers down the side of his face, and his eyes flutter shut. “Even those who shouldn’t be moms.”
Her words are filled with raw emotion, and I have a feeling she’s not just referring to Leo’s mom, but I don’t ask, not wanting to cross any lines with her. She’s already starting to worm her way past the walls I’ve put up, and the last thing I need is to sympathize with her.
She takes the bottle from Leo, setting it on the end table, but continues to hold him, and my heart breaks for my son. I had a good mom, growing up. She was loving and caring, and she gave Dani and me everything she had. And because of Hillary being reckless with people’s lives, my son will never know what it’s like to have a mother who loves him.
I stand and walk over to them, ready to take him from her and bring him to my office while I try to get a bit of work done, when Vanessa shocks me by saying, “If it’s okay, I think I’ll hold him for a little while.”
“You sure?” I ask through the emotion that’s clogging my throat and making it hard to breathe properly.
“Yeah.” She leans over and kisses his forehead. “If you want to get some work done, we’re good here.” She situates him in her arms so they’re both more comfortable. “Go on. It’s not like I’m going to take off with him or anything.” She rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t even know what to do with a baby on my own.”
“Okay, thanks.” I stand. “If he needs anything, I’ll be in my office,” I say, trying not to think about the fact that she’s acted like more of a mother to my son in the past half hour than I ever saw his own mother act the entire time she was living here.
11
Vanessa
Nicole
Hey, Bri said you’re staying with Lorenzo. Can we talk?
I stare at the screen for a few seconds, debating what to type, when Leo shrieks, sending his pacifier flying out of his mouth and onto the floor, excited to take a bath.
The pacifier slides behind the toilet, and I groan. Leo only uses the pacifier when he’s cranky or tired, but then he forgets it’s in his mouth and drops it onto the floor, and I have to sterilize it so he can have it back. Even though Lorenzo’s cleaning service does a good job, I’m not risking him getting sick by letting him put a dirty pacifier back into his mouth.
“Okay, silly.”
I lift and set him into the mini bathtub that’s situated in the bigger bathtub. Since he can sit up on his own, I lean him against the edge, and he splashes water all over the place.
“Is that how you feel?” I laugh, scooping up some bubbles from the tub and blowing them at him.
He squeals louder, and his hands slap the water, sending it all over the both of us.
“I’m starting to think you’re less of a monkey and more like a fish.”