Belong (Seven Year Itch #3)(37)

"What about Harper?" I asked as I nestled my body against his.

"It will get complicated, but don't worry. I'll fight for both of you."

"What if she wins, Chad? What if Harper has to go back to California?” I shook my head. “I won’t let you choose. You’ll have to go with her.”

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it, together. I’m not going to let it eat me up inside. We’re living in the now until further notice. I think we deserve some us time."

"Okay."

He kissed me slowly, deeply, and passionately. "I love you, Rach. Saying it will never get old." He wiped his face and rested on his back. “I still can’t believe this is happening. I never expected to come home to reconnect with you.”

I rolled over and placed my chin on his chest. “Is it everything you imagined?”

“So far. You’re still hardheaded.”

“Some things never change.”

“I’m good with that.

I wasn’t sure about Chad, but for me, all I could think about was how much harder a divorce was going to be than he was making it sound. I wanted to say we were moving too fast, but we’d already been together before. We’d picked up where we’d left off. We just had a lot more baggage to sort out before we could begin to consider it a happy ending.





Chapter 19


Neither of us expected this. When I woke up to find Rachel in the bed next to me I was in shock. It was hard to imagine it being anything but a fulfilling dream. For so long I’d wondered what it would be like if we had a second chance. Now that it was happening fear had begun to set in, crippling me from the inside out.

Things had gone fast, becoming out of my control quickly. Once we were alone there was nothing I could do to keep from going forward. I had to make her mine again, and so far I was doing a pretty good job.

Without waking her, I pressed my lips against her forehead and climbed out of bed. I needed to get up before Harper came looking for me and discovered someone else sleeping with her daddy. After her discovery last night, I was afraid of how I was going to handle it if she wanted nothing to do with Rachel.

I decided I was going to have to bribe my daughter, not with material things, but something she couldn’t refuse enjoying. I crept in my mother’s old room, finding my daughter sound asleep, still tucked into the bed. I tickled her nose while sitting on the edge. Her little eyes fluttered open and she flashed me a bright smile. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hey, pumpkin. I was wondering if you were going to ever wake up.”

“Why were you with that lady last night?”

Like I’d been kicked, I took in a deep breath and decided lying to her wasn’t an option. “About that. Harper things are complicated.”

“Is she a special friend like Shelly is to Mommy?”

“What? You know about Shelly?” To say I was shocked would have been an understatement.

“I saw her kiss Mommy before.” She looked like she was uncomfortable talking about it.

“Sweetie,” I reached for her hand, holding it tight as I spoke. “I think you’re a big enough girl to know what’s going on.”

“Are you getting divorced? My friend Shelby has two dads. She lives with her mom, though. She said her Daddy didn’t love her anymore.”

“Well, that’s never going to happen to us. I’d never leave you.”

“Is Mommy leaving us? Is that why she went home?” She looked down and began to sniffle. “I miss my mommy.”

“I know you do. Your mom and I are trying to be happy, but sometimes it’s better when we aren’t together. I know it’s hard to understand, but we’ll still be friends. She didn’t leave you. She left me.”

“Will she come back?”

“I don’t know, Harper.”

“Will I have a new Mommy?”

At that exact second I saw Rachel trying to sneak out of the house. She was creeping by the bedroom, only to have a floorboard give her away. Her eyes caught mine, and I knew we’d been discovered by Harper.

I patted my daughter on the head, still thinking I could turn things around. “I was thinking we could do something special today. How about we go to the Museum and see the dinosaurs? Would you like that?”

A smile came alive across her face. “Really? Can Mommy come too?”

“You know she went home.”

“Well, when I called her last night she said she’d see me today.”

“Oh really?” Had Veronica lied about going to California? I’d have to find out.

“She said she’d take me out for dinner if I was a good girl all day.”

“How about we worry about today first. If Mommy calls we’ll figure it out then.”

“Can Gracie come?”

“Gracie isn’t here.” I knew Rachel was still in the house, probably listening to us talk. “What if Miss Rachel came with us instead?”

Harper shrugged. “Okay. Do you like her, Daddy?”

“I’ll tell you a secret. When I was younger, before I met your mother, Miss Rachel was my girlfriend.”

Harper giggled, like it was a taboo topic. It was actually cute. “But you didn’t marry her?”