Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
As I continued to strain my eyes to see them, I realized hanging out in a truck at a playground didn’t exactly help someone stay under the radar. It was probably best to go back to my spot around the corner from her house. It wasn’t like I was going to confront her at the playground. And maybe there would be someone else there if I returned to her place.
So, I drove back to Blair’s house. There was no other car parked in the driveway, but it was after five now; if she had a partner, they might be coming home soon. I needed gas to get home, so I drove to the gas station real quick before returning for one last pass by her house.
As I approached, I noticed her car in the driveway again. Crap. I cursed myself for missing the opportunity to see if she’d returned with the little boy or alone. I stopped down the block and leaned my head against the back of my seat, pondering what to do next.
But after a moment, I knew. I had to see her. It was now or never. Taylor would be back in a few days, and I needed to take advantage of this opportunity.
I moved my car to park in front of her house, took a deep breath, and walked up to her door. My stomach was in knots, and after I knocked, my heart pounded. It had only ever beaten this way for Blair, whether out of excitement or, as was the case now, fear of the unknown. I hoped she would forgive me for intruding on her privacy.
The door opened, and a look of absolute shock crossed her face. “What are you doing here?” Her voice shook.
This isn’t good. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I needed to see you. And Taylor is away. So it was the best time to come without him seeing us together.”
She swallowed hard. “I told you I needed time before we talked.”
“I understand that. But it’s been a couple of weeks, and honestly, Blair, this situation is never going to be an easy one. I’m going out of my mind. I’ll leave if you really want me to, but…” I lost my train of thought as tears came to her eyes.
She shook her head. “You really shouldn’t have come.”
What the fuck?
I wanted so badly to ask her whose kid she’d been with today. But I couldn’t let her know I’d been following her. As I looked beyond her into the small house, though, it was quiet. “Can I please come in?”
Before she could answer, I heard tiny feet.
He’d come out of nowhere.
I looked down, and my eyes slowly widened as I caught my first glimpse of a face that looked very, very much like mine.
Chapter 23
* * *
TATE
Everything began to spin. When I finally lifted my eyes to Blair’s again, the look on her face told me everything I needed to know.
Rather than scream like I wanted to, I instead vowed not to do or say anything to scare this little boy right now. He didn’t deserve that. And I didn’t want his first impression of me to be a bad one.
Blair continued to stand there frozen.
“Who’s that, Mommy?”
Mommy.
What had been a 99.9-percent certainty now moved to 100 percent.
I knelt, my voice gentle. “I’m a friend of your mom’s.”
Blair cleared her throat. “Nicholas, sweetheart, go play with your toys for a bit, please.” She pointed. “In the living room.”
Nicholas.
He wouldn’t move. Instead, he clung to her leg as if he was trying to protect her. It pulled at my heartstrings, though at the moment it felt like my heart was hanging out of my chest.
“It’s okay. He doesn’t have to go anywhere,” I spoke softly so as not to scare him, staring at his face in awe.
My face. Or at least the one I’d had when I was his age.
When he let go of her and ran over to a corner in the living room, I stepped inside the house without permission. There was no more handling this situation delicately.
Tugging on my hair, I mouthed to her, “What the fuck?”
Her face reddened. “Tate...”
“He’s mine, right?” I asked, my voice choked with emotion.
“Yes,” she whispered.
I closed my eyes for a moment to grasp the enormity of that. To grasp the fact that my life would never be the same. Any plan for how to handle Taylor had gone straight out the window.
I finally opened my eyes. “How did this happen? We were safe.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It just did.”
“I’m so fucking confused right now.” I pulled on my hair again and paced.
She followed me. “I’ve both dreamed about and dreaded this day. Before I knew who you were, I dreamed of finding you and telling you. But then at the wedding, everything changed. That dream became more like a nightmare. And I hadn’t figured out what to do yet. But please know I was going to tell you. I would never keep this from you.”