both fought about who would pick them up from the airport until I, begrudgingly , agreed we could go together.
With Davian, I had to be cautious because I was still unclear about his intentions. One minute he was every scrumptious bit the man I fell in love with, and the next minute he was a vindictive jackhole. So no way in hell was I letting him pick up Jacob from the airport.
“He’s calling JK Daddy.”
Dropping my eyes to my plate, I stuffed my mouth with bread pudding to eschew responding because I could so see where this was going.
Bracing one hand on the island, he leaned over and used the other to tilt my chin up so our gazes met again. “How am I supposed to feel about my son calling another man Daddy, Alina?”
Deliberately slow, I chewed for as long as I could, refusing to swallow, hoping he’d quit burning me with that accusatory stare.
Plain and simple, I did not have the energy for another argument right then. Not when I had a massive headache and the crappiest feeling in the world that bore the moniker “hangover”.
I never had a hangover before, but I sure as hell learned my lesson never to drink that much again.
Davian, realizing I had no intention of answering him, let go of my chin and ran his hand down his face. “I don’t want to take Jacob away from you. I don’t want to battle you in court. I don’t want to listen to my lawyer rip you to shreds and paint an awful picture of you. I love you too much to do that.
“But I want my son to know who I am. I want him to call me Daddy. I want to make up for lost times. All I’m asking is that you let me keep him for a while, at least until he has no doubt in his mind who I am to him. I can’t afford to see him on a schedule. Not now. Later on, sure, we can do all that. But for now, please, Ally, let me keep him.”
Despite his most recent behaviors, Davian was a decent man. I had no doubt in my mind he would be a great father. Putting myself in his shoes, I imagined how I would feel if Jacob started calling Saskia “Mommy” instead of me. Yeah, it wasn’t pleasant.
Where our son was concerned, I’d wronged Davian in many ways. What he was asking wasn’t unreasonable, but he’d been acting a bit out of character of late, and I could no longer tell when he was being genuine or not. Therein my reservations lie.
He stared at me, waiting for a response.
I swallowed, and then promptly stuffed my mouth again.
Frustrated, Davian threw up his hands. “You’re really gonna do this. You’re really gonna let us settle this in court, aren’t you?”
Just then, the elevator pinged.
Both our heads swung to the left. I sat erect, wishing it was and at the same time praying it wasn’t Xavier. He hadn’t returned my keycard, and I hadn’t asked him to give it back, hoping he would use it, surprise me by crawling into bed beside me in the middle of the night.
Waste of hope.
But holy saggyballs, why use it now ? When Davian was here? He would think we had sex. Think we were back together. All chances of making up would be shot to shit because then he would assume this was what I wanted all along. To find an excuse to leave him and run back to Davian.
I waited, heart drumming a haunting tattoo in my chest.
When I heard no footfalls whatsoever, I relaxed, knowing by the silence alone who it was. The only reason we were even aware someone was in the penthouse was that the elevator made a “ping” each time it opened.
Otherwise, our visitor would be a ghost within these walls.
I went back to finish my delicious pudding.
In the next few seconds, I heard Davian groan. “Christ, Ally, when I said you can run to your cousin, I didn’t actually mean it, you know. I was using reverse psychology. You know that subject I helped you with once?”
“Relax,” I heard Cousin Chad mutter in a surprisingly light tone. “I’m not here to kill you...yet.”
I raised my head, and... Wow . Cousin Chad was causal. Novelty. In a simple white T-shirt, plaid shorts, and…
With Davian, I had to be cautious because I was still unclear about his intentions. One minute he was every scrumptious bit the man I fell in love with, and the next minute he was a vindictive jackhole. So no way in hell was I letting him pick up Jacob from the airport.
“He’s calling JK Daddy.”
Dropping my eyes to my plate, I stuffed my mouth with bread pudding to eschew responding because I could so see where this was going.
Bracing one hand on the island, he leaned over and used the other to tilt my chin up so our gazes met again. “How am I supposed to feel about my son calling another man Daddy, Alina?”
Deliberately slow, I chewed for as long as I could, refusing to swallow, hoping he’d quit burning me with that accusatory stare.
Plain and simple, I did not have the energy for another argument right then. Not when I had a massive headache and the crappiest feeling in the world that bore the moniker “hangover”.
I never had a hangover before, but I sure as hell learned my lesson never to drink that much again.
Davian, realizing I had no intention of answering him, let go of my chin and ran his hand down his face. “I don’t want to take Jacob away from you. I don’t want to battle you in court. I don’t want to listen to my lawyer rip you to shreds and paint an awful picture of you. I love you too much to do that.
“But I want my son to know who I am. I want him to call me Daddy. I want to make up for lost times. All I’m asking is that you let me keep him for a while, at least until he has no doubt in his mind who I am to him. I can’t afford to see him on a schedule. Not now. Later on, sure, we can do all that. But for now, please, Ally, let me keep him.”
Despite his most recent behaviors, Davian was a decent man. I had no doubt in my mind he would be a great father. Putting myself in his shoes, I imagined how I would feel if Jacob started calling Saskia “Mommy” instead of me. Yeah, it wasn’t pleasant.
Where our son was concerned, I’d wronged Davian in many ways. What he was asking wasn’t unreasonable, but he’d been acting a bit out of character of late, and I could no longer tell when he was being genuine or not. Therein my reservations lie.
He stared at me, waiting for a response.
I swallowed, and then promptly stuffed my mouth again.
Frustrated, Davian threw up his hands. “You’re really gonna do this. You’re really gonna let us settle this in court, aren’t you?”
Just then, the elevator pinged.
Both our heads swung to the left. I sat erect, wishing it was and at the same time praying it wasn’t Xavier. He hadn’t returned my keycard, and I hadn’t asked him to give it back, hoping he would use it, surprise me by crawling into bed beside me in the middle of the night.
Waste of hope.
But holy saggyballs, why use it now ? When Davian was here? He would think we had sex. Think we were back together. All chances of making up would be shot to shit because then he would assume this was what I wanted all along. To find an excuse to leave him and run back to Davian.
I waited, heart drumming a haunting tattoo in my chest.
When I heard no footfalls whatsoever, I relaxed, knowing by the silence alone who it was. The only reason we were even aware someone was in the penthouse was that the elevator made a “ping” each time it opened.
Otherwise, our visitor would be a ghost within these walls.
I went back to finish my delicious pudding.
In the next few seconds, I heard Davian groan. “Christ, Ally, when I said you can run to your cousin, I didn’t actually mean it, you know. I was using reverse psychology. You know that subject I helped you with once?”
“Relax,” I heard Cousin Chad mutter in a surprisingly light tone. “I’m not here to kill you...yet.”
I raised my head, and... Wow . Cousin Chad was causal. Novelty. In a simple white T-shirt, plaid shorts, and…
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