Love Survives (Love's Suicide #2)(72)

I honestly didn’t know if she’d listen to me, but it was obvious she was exhausted. While we rode the elevator and explored the hotel, I worried about Kat. I wondered if she was rethinking her decision to leave Bobby. I thought about how indecisive she’d always been in the past. As much as it would hurt me, I knew I had to prepare for the worst, just in case it became my reality. I wanted to believe that all this time she was mine to keep, but it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours.

What Kat needed to understand was that I wasn’t going to give up this time. Nope, I planned on sticking around, being the best father my child could have.

B pointed to the vending machine. “Candy!” She knew how to say that word clearly.

“Daddy’s going to get you whatever you want.” I hadn’t realized I called myself that until she turned around and looked at me. She said nothing while staring into my eyes. I wondered if I should address it or leave it be. Finally after a few seconds I pointed to the machine. “Okay, tell me what you want.”

She pointed to at least five things. I kept shoving dollars in, hoping I pushed the right buttons. It wasn’t like she understood the word patience.

By the time I was done I had almost one of everything in the machine. “You’re mother is going to kill me for buying all this junk, kiddo.”

She clapped her hands as if she was amused by my statement. I got a kick out of being with her. It was so funny because I’d never let myself think that I could have a child. It had been some distant fantasy. Now that she was in my life, I couldn’t imagine a different path, and I didn’t want one either.





Chapter 35


“Hey Mama. We’re back,” I announced as we came back into the room with all sorts of goodies.

Kat sat up in the bed and smiled though I could tell she’d been crying again. “I see that. Did you get everything they had?”

“We didn’t know which one you’d want.” I scattered all the items on the bed in front of her, watching B’s excited to the vast selection.

Kat covered her mouth, giggling. “We’ll never be able to eat all of this, and she’ll never go to sleep.”

I tickled B until she screamed and then gave her a second to calm down. “Again,” she requested. I repeated the process, loving the way it sounded to hear her laughing and happy.

Kat opened the package of peanut butter cups and took a bite. “This is so good.”

“Two matching cups, but you only get one.” I opened my mouth so she could feed me while I was preoccupied. What I said to her had meaning. A long time ago, back in high school, I’d written her a little note to go with her candy. I wondered if she’d remember, but from the look on her face I could tell she had.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember when we were in school and you left the peanut butter cups for me?” Obviously! That’s why I made the comment. Was she seriously just figuring this all out?

“One cup,” I corrected.

“Was that note some cryptic way of you telling me to choose you?”

DUH!

“Maybe,” I answered while still giving B all my attention.

She shoved me. “Why couldn’t you just say it to me, instead of leaving me messages that made no sense?”

I had to laugh. She should have been able to figure me out back then. It would have saved us all this grief. “Because I wanted you to choose on your own, not because I persuaded it. Little hints along the way couldn’t hurt. Not that it ever helped anyway. You were too damn stubborn to think that what you were doing was wrong, or who I should say?”

“Brooks! Cut it out.”

Kat got up and walked to the bathroom. I liked seeing her wearing my shirt. It was another reminder that she was so close to being all mine, finally after so long.

I heard her talking to herself when I stood up to check on her. “Jesus woman, you’re lucky he doesn’t go running the other direction.” Outside of the room I began laughing. She obviously didn’t realize how thin the walls were.

I didn’t hear her approaching and was shocked when she opened the door to find me standing there spying. “I think you’re beautiful.”

Her shocked face let me know that she had no clue I was listening. “I think all that sugar is going to your head.”

I allowed her to walk by me without another snarky comment, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking of one.

Kat covered B up, who seemed to be calm even though she’d eaten some chips. “Love you, B,” she whispered as she kissed her.

I made my way to the opposite bed. Watching them together was so comforting. They weren’t the only ones who needed to feel protected. Being with them allowed me to know what it felt like to be fulfilled. I didn’t care where we lived, or what we did to make money, as long as we were together.

Since I recognized it as being time to go to bed, I removed my shirt and got under the covers. It was obvious Kat was going to sleep with B, and as jealous as it made me, I felt content knowing they were an arm’s length away.

When she stood up and gave me a weird look I couldn’t figure her out. “What’s wrong?”

She looked down at my shirt she was wearing and then back to me. “Shut up.”

She was nervous. I didn’t know why. “Kat, get comfortable and get in bed. I’m not going to make fun of you if that’s what you think.” She was crazy. Maybe her awful husband made her feel ugly. I hated him more for damaging my perfect girl.