One More Chance

“Miss Dreyden and Miss Quinton were out here a short while ago talking about things, sir,” the young valet said out of the blue. Those were two of Nan’s friends. I recognized their last names.

“And?” I asked as he straightened his tie and stood up straighter. He glanced around to make sure we were alone.

“They were discussing Miss Manning’s pregnancy, sir, and her relationship—or lack thereof—with you.”

Lack thereof? What did he mean by lack thereof? There was no f**king lack in our relationship. It was f**king full-blown and all-consuming. “Not sure what you mean,” I told him just as my truck pulled up. I would find out from Harlow what those two nosy bitches had said to send her running. I headed for my truck.

“They may have mentioned the lack of a diamond, sir,” the valet called out.

I paused and glanced back at him. His face was red, as if he hated telling me something like that. But I understood exactly what he was saying. Harlow never would have admitted to me that she had heard something like that.

“Thank you,” I told him.

He nodded. “Yes, sir. Miss Manning is always real nice to me. I didn’t like hearing it any more than she did.”

That kid was getting a raise. I was calling Woods tomorrow. I glanced at his name tag. “Thanks, Henry. I’ll remember that.”

Then I jumped into the truck and hurried home.

The front-porch light was on, and so was the bedroom light upstairs. She had gotten home safely. I could at least catch my breath now. I went inside as quickly as possible, then headed straight for the stairs. I could hear the water running, and I knew she was back in her large Jacuzzi tub. The smell of her lavender bath salts hit me as I stepped into our bedroom. Her phone lay forgotten by her clutch on the bed. She hadn’t been ignoring me; she’d just been too busy getting her bath ready. At least, I hoped so.

“Harlow,” I called out. I didn’t want to frighten her by walking into the bathroom unannounced.

She was lying back in the tub, watching me closely. I couldn’t tell if she was mad at me or hurt. There was no real expression on her face for me to read. It was like she was closing me off to her feelings. After what we had gone through, and after I had persuaded her to let me back inside her heart, I couldn’t go back to being on the outside. I needed to be able to know what she was thinking.

“You left without me,” I said as I took the next few steps in her direction. Her toes peeped up and touched the stream of running water from the faucet.

“I wanted you to enjoy yourself,” she said softly.

“Not possible if you’re not with me,” I said, then sat down on the edge of the tub so I was closer to her eye level.

“You’ll get your tux wet,” she said with a concerned frown.

“Not worried about the tux. I’m worried about you.”

She lifted her gaze to meet my eyes. “I’m fine. I was just tired, and all those people just became too much.”

Just like I had known. She would never tell me what she had heard. She was either embarrassed or worried that I would think she was pushing me into marriage, into something I didn’t want. I wasn’t sure which, but I knew her well enough to know that it was one or the other.

Forcing her to tell me wouldn’t help her. I just had to prove to her that what those catty girls had said wasn’t true. I had already been thinking about a ring and how to ask her. I was scared to push her too far too fast. She didn’t need any extra stress. But it wasn’t like I wasn’t thinking about it. I hadn’t bought this house for her to be a live-in girlfriend—I had bought it for us. Harlow, Lila Kate, and me. This was our home.

I thought she understood all that. But then, I also knew how vicious those girls could be, and if they were at all convinced of what they were saying, then it would sound pretty damn convincing to Harlow. I’d thought that shoving Bailey off me and telling Nan that my relationship with Harlow wasn’t her business would be the worst parts of my night. I’d been wrong. Harlow being upset was by far the worst.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. I just needed to get away and rest.”

I brushed the hair that had fallen from her topknot out of her face. “I love you,” I told her.

“I love you, too.”

But I knew that wasn’t enough. I had to prove to her just how much.

My sweet Lila Kate,

I’ve bought you more clothes than you’ll ever wear. I’ve folded them and refolded them a million times. I keep making sure your little dresses are hanging properly in your closet and that you have shoes to match every outfit. Silly things that a baby wouldn’t care about. But it gives me something to do while I wait for you.

I’m also making you a scrapbook with pictures of your daddy and me. There are even some with the three of us. I love the one where your daddy has his hand resting on my stomach. It’s like he’s holding you, too. Your daddy hired a photographer to come to the house and take photos of us yesterday—a surprise for me. We now have the most wonderful family photos in all my favorite parts of the house.

Actually, the swing under the tree is my favorite part of the house, and I can say I got to swing you on it first. I have photographic proof of that, too. It’s the picture on the cover of your scrapbook. You’ll recognize it right away.

One day, I imagine sitting outside with you on our porch and looking through this book. I expect it to be well worn with love over the years. You’ll get to see just how much love you were brought into this world with.