Written with Regret (The Regret Duet #1)(24)

“Caven,” Ian growled, I assumed to scold me for my outburst.

That is until I heard, “Daddy?”

Clearing my throat and tamping down my anger, I walked toward the mouth of the stairway, calling up, “Yeah, baby?”

Her little feet appeared first. Then her favorite polka-dot Minnie Mouse nightgown brushed her shins as she made her way down. She had a plush baby doll in one hand, the other firmly anchored to the rail like I’d taught her the day I’d taken the baby gate off the top stair.

I had no idea what my blood pressure was, but based on the throbbing of my head, I’d definitely say it was in the red zone. Despite feeling like my head was in a vise that wasn’t planning to let up anytime soon, I plastered on a mega-watt smile and asked, “Is everything okay?”

She pouted her bottom lip. “Nobody gave me a ferret for my birthday.”

I chuckled, the tiniest bit of tension leaving my chest. “This is probably for the best. I’d hate for you to have to move into your own apartment now. You haven’t even started kindergarten yet.”

She yawned, taking the last few steps down, and lifted her arms for me to pick her up. It was an offer I never refused. “At my new birthday party, can we ride ferrets instead of ponies?”

“You have no clue what a ferret looks like, do you?”

“I do too,” she argued and then yawned again. “Can I sleep in your bed tonight? It’s still Rosie Posie Day.”

A pang of guilt struck me. This was the first year she really understood all the traditions we did on her birthday. Up until then, they were all just silly things I’d done to feel like a decent parent. Now, she expected them, and because of Hadley, I’d failed on nearly all of them.

I wasn’t going to sleep a wink that night; my swirling mind would never allow it. But the least I could do was lie down with my daughter to ensure she could.

“Yeah, babe. Uncle Ian and Doug were just leaving. Go ahead and get in bed. I’ll be up in a minute.”

As I was setting her back on her feet, she dropped her doll. I picked it up and started to hand it back only to freeze when I got a good look at it.

The name Keira was embroidered in pink script letters across the front of the doll’s dress.

“Where did you get this?” I asked entirely too roughly.

“For my birthday.” She extended a hand up to take it back, but I moved it out of her reach.

What the fucking hell? Hadley had brought a gift. Nothing said “sorry for handing you off to a prostitute when you were less than a day old” like a twenty-five-dollar doll she’d had personalized with a meaningless name.

Fucking, fucking Hadley.

“Hey, I think this needs to go in the washer,” I told her. Even if it was for a completely and utterly selfish reason, I needed to get that damn thing away from her.

“Why?” Rosalee complained.

“You dropped her and she’s all dirty now.”

“No, she’s not. Let me see?” She jumped, but I tossed it to Ian.

His eyes flashed wide as he looked at the doll, but in the very next beat, he faked a smile. “Yeah. She definitely needs a wash. Why don’t you sleep with the ferret stuffed animal I got you instead?”

“Ew, no! That was a long mouse, not a ferret.”

Jesus, I needed to buy the kid some books about animals.

Ian kept on grinning, tucking the doll behind his back. “Right. My mistake. What about that unicorn Molly got you then?”

“Oh, yeah!” she breathed, turning on a toe and racing up the stairs.

“Hold on to the rail,” I called after her.

She groaned, reluctantly taking the wooden bar before disappearing again.

The minute she was out of sight, my smile fell away and the shit storm that was my life rained down all over again.

I went straight to Ian, snatching the piece-of-shit doll from his hands before throwing it into the garbage.

“This has to end,” I barked. “Doug, gather a team. Fuck that Beth woman. Figure out who has beaten her in the past and hire them. All of them. I don’t know what Hadley was hoping to gain by showing up here today, but I can promise you it’s not going to be my daughter.”





HADLEY


“You want to stop and get something to eat? My fridge is pretty bare,” Beth asked, never taking her eyes off the road.

I stared out the window, the world passing me in a blur, but all I could see was the disgust on Caven’s face when he’d seen me at the party. He was still as ridiculously gorgeous as I’d remembered—the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Though it was his blue eyes that I’d never forget. I’d felt him the minute he’d gotten close to me at the party. The hum in my veins was followed by the calm I’d never felt outside of his arms.

But she was bigger than any history he and I may have had together.

Even the one where he’d saved my life.

“I’m not going back to your place. I want to go home.”

Beth sighed. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone tonight.”

“I’ll be fine. I just…need some space.”

I was exhausted both mentally and physically. I hadn’t run a marathon or anything, but between the peaks and valleys of adrenaline and the near-constant pounding of my heart, I was spent. It was all I could do to stay awake. Though, with his eyes and her bright smile on the backs of my lids each and every time I blinked, it was for the best that I kept them open a while longer.