thrown him for a loop. He didn’t know which end was up anymore. She still kept him up at night, still tormented him with memories of the two of them, of her. It all twisted like a knife in his chest, the pain that insisted he shouldn’t want her at all.
The worst of his guilt lay with Karen. He was ready to take the first step, ready to breathe, to feel the sun on his face again, but he wasn’t ready for much more than that. He’d only stopped wearing his ring a few months ago. To move into the future with someone else somehow mocked the vows he’d taken seven years ago.
Candy had been what he’d needed—a weekend fling—but Angela…was so much more complicated.
When the phone vibrated again, he punched a button and held it to his ear. “Hello, Angela.”
A moment of silence played over the line. “How’d you know it was me?”
The sound of her voice assaulted his senses, soft and velvety, with an uncertain catch at the end that wrapped around him. Alex closed his eyes as an image of her flared to life in his mind. The way she’d looked showing up at his hotel room that night. Her glorious hair cascading down her back in soft waves he’d longed to sift his fingers through. The hunger in those big blue eyes when she’d looked at him.
Heart pounding, he opened his eyes and dragged a hand through his hair. “Recognized the number,” he said, calmer than he felt. “Did you have a good day?”
She sighed. “I had a busy day. Three of the guys on my team took the day off. I ran the help desk all by myself. Everybody in the building seemed to have a problem. You?”
“No. It’s been a long exhausting day. It didn’t end well for anyone except the damn defense.” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, releasing the pent up frustration coiled in his stomach. “I had a case thrown out on a technicality today. It’s not sitting too well with me.”
It ate a hole in his gut, actually, to know the bastard was getting a reprieve from the things he’d done to his daughter, simply because someone along the lines had forgotten to dot their I’s and cross their T’s.
“I’m sorry.”
The soft empathy in her voice wrapped around him, soothed his ragged nerves. A part of him relaxed in a way he found disconcerting, because along with it came the memories. He’d felt so peaceful and content lying in her arms. Like he could tell her anything and it would be safe with her. The odd desire to lay his head in her lap and tell her about his day rose in the pit of his stomach.
Which had him envisioning exactly that.
“Mm. Not as sorry as I am. How’d your appointment go?”
“I have something to show you,” she said, soft and timid. “Can you check your email at home?”
“I do a lot of work from home, yeah.”
“Another workaholic,” she murmured. “Keeps the demons at bay.”
Working was the only thing that kept the demons at bay. Keeping himself so busy with his cases he didn’t have time to think about the past let alone wallow in all those things he couldn’t change. Like how much he wished he and Karen hadn’t argued that morning. Or that he shouldn’t have let work interrupt a family weekend. “Mm.”
“What’s your email address?”
After he gave it to her, the sound of a chair rolling across a hard floor drifted over the line, followed by the ticking of keys. “All right. Check your email.”
“Hang on.” He pushed off the sofa and moved through the house, winding his way through the rooms into his home office. There he sank into the chair behind his desk and opened his email program. Angela’s name popped into his inbox. He clicked the link attached. A black and white ultrasound picture popped up onto his screen moments later.
A herd of wild elephants stampeded through his chest as his mind processed the image in front of him. Two distinct gestational sacs, two distinct babies.
Alex squinted at the monitor. Blinked in disbelief. “Is that what I think it
The worst of his guilt lay with Karen. He was ready to take the first step, ready to breathe, to feel the sun on his face again, but he wasn’t ready for much more than that. He’d only stopped wearing his ring a few months ago. To move into the future with someone else somehow mocked the vows he’d taken seven years ago.
Candy had been what he’d needed—a weekend fling—but Angela…was so much more complicated.
When the phone vibrated again, he punched a button and held it to his ear. “Hello, Angela.”
A moment of silence played over the line. “How’d you know it was me?”
The sound of her voice assaulted his senses, soft and velvety, with an uncertain catch at the end that wrapped around him. Alex closed his eyes as an image of her flared to life in his mind. The way she’d looked showing up at his hotel room that night. Her glorious hair cascading down her back in soft waves he’d longed to sift his fingers through. The hunger in those big blue eyes when she’d looked at him.
Heart pounding, he opened his eyes and dragged a hand through his hair. “Recognized the number,” he said, calmer than he felt. “Did you have a good day?”
She sighed. “I had a busy day. Three of the guys on my team took the day off. I ran the help desk all by myself. Everybody in the building seemed to have a problem. You?”
“No. It’s been a long exhausting day. It didn’t end well for anyone except the damn defense.” He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, releasing the pent up frustration coiled in his stomach. “I had a case thrown out on a technicality today. It’s not sitting too well with me.”
It ate a hole in his gut, actually, to know the bastard was getting a reprieve from the things he’d done to his daughter, simply because someone along the lines had forgotten to dot their I’s and cross their T’s.
“I’m sorry.”
The soft empathy in her voice wrapped around him, soothed his ragged nerves. A part of him relaxed in a way he found disconcerting, because along with it came the memories. He’d felt so peaceful and content lying in her arms. Like he could tell her anything and it would be safe with her. The odd desire to lay his head in her lap and tell her about his day rose in the pit of his stomach.
Which had him envisioning exactly that.
“Mm. Not as sorry as I am. How’d your appointment go?”
“I have something to show you,” she said, soft and timid. “Can you check your email at home?”
“I do a lot of work from home, yeah.”
“Another workaholic,” she murmured. “Keeps the demons at bay.”
Working was the only thing that kept the demons at bay. Keeping himself so busy with his cases he didn’t have time to think about the past let alone wallow in all those things he couldn’t change. Like how much he wished he and Karen hadn’t argued that morning. Or that he shouldn’t have let work interrupt a family weekend. “Mm.”
“What’s your email address?”
After he gave it to her, the sound of a chair rolling across a hard floor drifted over the line, followed by the ticking of keys. “All right. Check your email.”
“Hang on.” He pushed off the sofa and moved through the house, winding his way through the rooms into his home office. There he sank into the chair behind his desk and opened his email program. Angela’s name popped into his inbox. He clicked the link attached. A black and white ultrasound picture popped up onto his screen moments later.
A herd of wild elephants stampeded through his chest as his mind processed the image in front of him. Two distinct gestational sacs, two distinct babies.
Alex squinted at the monitor. Blinked in disbelief. “Is that what I think it
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