Undone by Her Tender Touch (Pregnancy & Passion #4)(32)

Forgive me.

Cam.

She hastily reached into the basket and pulled out a tiny Yankees uniform in a newborn size. She broke out in a smile as her vision blurred with unshed tears. It was adorable. The very first outfit for her baby boy.

There was a teddy bear. A baseball and tiny catcher’s mitt. And two tickets to the next home game at Yankee Stadium.

If Cam had been there she would have thrown her arms around him and all would have been forgiven. Which was why she was glad he was nowhere near her.

It was a fault of hers. She was too forgiving. She couldn’t let herself be a doormat while Cam waffled back and forth like some sick version of Jekyll and Hyde.

But the idea of him hurting, even as much as he’d hurt her, made her heart squeeze. He had five more months to get over this notion that their son was somehow replacing the child he’d lost. Surely that was enough time. Wasn’t it?

“Oh, Cam,” she whispered. “What am I going to do about you? About us?”

All she could do was take it one day at a time and hope and pray that Cam came around. Because if he didn’t? She and their son would lose, and she’d do anything at all to spare her son the pain of a father who didn’t want him.

Fourteen

It was the big day and it felt like Pippa had swallowed a giant rock. She’d been up the entire night before—baking, cleaning, arranging and stressing. Being the wonderful friend she was, Carly had hung out with Pippa until dawn. Pippa had shooed Ashley home much earlier. The poor woman was due to pop any day now and she was miserable.

But everyone had promised to return for the 9:00 a.m. grand opening of Pippa’s Place.

“Your displays are gorgeous, Pip,” Carly said. “What time are your employees coming in?”

Pippa wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “Any moment now. I could have had them in overnight to help, but to be honest, I’m too much of a control freak. I want everything just so for the first day. After this I can leave the shop in capable hands when needed.”

Carly laughed. Then she impulsively hugged Pippa. “You need some rest, hon. You look exhausted.”

“No rest for the weary today,” she said with a crooked grin. “I don’t close until this afternoon and I’m hoping to draw a large crowd. Cam might have gone a little overboard advertising the big event. Let’s just hope he didn’t oversell me and nobody likes my cooking.”

“Not going to happen,” Carly said firmly.

The front bell jangled and Pippa stuck her head through the kitchen door dividing the kitchen from the rest of the space. She waved her employee back and gave her instructions for stocking the displays with the remaining cupcakes and cookies.

She busied herself with cleaning the kitchen while Carly greeted the second employee and put her to work. Pippa thought about the delivery van, which was parked in front of the shop today. It provided great advertising with its cheerful color and the shop name displayed predominately on the side.

After her illegal drive through the city, she’d spent the next few weeks getting her driver’s license even though she hoped she never had to actually drive the thing herself.

Satisfied that her kitchen was in order, she went into the bathroom to repair her appearance. What she really needed was a shower, but she didn’t have time to go home.

“Pippa, you in there?”

She cracked open the bathroom door to see Carly and Tabitha both standing there. They started to crowd in, both carrying cosmetic bags.

“We’re here to do your hair and makeup,” Tabitha announced.

Pippa smiled, put the seat of the toilet down and sat so her friends could fuss over her. Peace replaced the overwhelming sense of panic. This was it. Her dream was coming true today. It hadn’t gone exactly as she planned, but she wouldn’t change a single thing.

Already she loved her son with a fierceness that surprised her. She hadn’t imagined being so connected to another life in quite this way. She talked to him every day. Sang to him at night. Read him stories while she lounged on the sofa after a long day of dealing with business stuff.

Her child had given her a purpose. She was even more determined to succeed. To be a mom her son would be proud of. She never wanted her kid to feel about her the way she felt about her own mother.

Where Miranda was more concerned for her own happiness than that of her child, Pippa was never going to go that route. Her son would be the single most important person in her life.

For the next half hour, Tabitha and Carly kept up a lively stream of chatter as they applied makeup and touched up her hair. Pippa’s heart was full of love for her friends. They were working hard to keep her mind off the impending grand opening and to allay her nervousness.

Just as they finished the last brush of the mascara wand, the door burst open and Ashley and Sylvia tried to shove inside.

“Pippa, you have to come see!” Ashley exclaimed.

She grabbed Pippa’s hand and hauled her toward the front. As they stumbled into the eating area, Pippa’s eyes rounded in shock.

People. Lots and lots of people!

All crowded outside the entrance to her shop. Waiting for her to open. And her employees, bless their hearts, were outside circulating with cups of hot coffee and samples of her baked goods.

Tears gathered and Carly whispered fiercely in her ear. “Don’t you dare mess up that mascara!”