Toe the Line(65)

“I’m impressed, Remington.”

“What can I say? I learned from the best.”

That evening, the three of us had a blast at dinner. Archie made spaghetti, and I took great interest in all of the various ways Clancy could twirl the pasta around her fork or slurp a noodle into her mouth. And Archie never missed a beat—catching her cup before it spilled all over the floor, wiping her face when she got too much sauce on the side of her mouth. Those were the little things. But there were so many bigger things that made him a great dad—his attentiveness to her every word, the way he always put her first. Seeing this firsthand was one of many reasons I was emotional tonight. Before I came out here, I’d had it in my head that I would raise this baby alone. Now that I’d seen what he or she would be missing by not having Archie present in their life, it made me doubt everything.

Later, I waited in the living room and surfed the net on my phone while Archie put Clancy to bed.

After he came out of her room, he walked over to join me on the couch. “Are you tired?”

I put my phone aside. “Not really.”

“Then stay for a bit. I’ll call you a car whenever you want to go back.”

“Okay,” I said, unable to stop smiling.

He noticed. “What’s that all about?”

“It was really cool to see you in action tonight. You’re a great dad.”

“I look like I have my shit together, but some days I feel like an imposter—making up shit as I go along.”

I smacked his arm. “Stop it.”

“I try to make sure she never sees me down or stressed, you know? When you’re a parent, you put your child first. Your own wants and needs fade into the background. But I haven’t been as happy as I am now in a while. This whole thing—what we’re doing, and having one of my best friends here with me—it makes me happy.”

I yearned to touch him. “It makes me happy, too.”

He leaned his head on the back of the couch and exhaled. “My father would’ve had all sorts of things to say about this situation. He would’ve told me I barely had enough time for one kid, that I was irresponsible having a child out of wedlock.” Archie turned to me, his beautiful eyes smoldering. “But it feels right. And that’s what matters to me.”

I felt a little choked up. “I’m glad you still feel that way.”

He smiled. “This is it for me. I don’t plan on getting married again—not gonna make the same mistake twice. But becoming a dad again? That’s something I wanted pretty much from the moment my daughter was born. And what better way to experience another child than to have one with you? This is a win-win situation.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you say you’d thought about having another child before this.”

“Don’t get me wrong. It wouldn’t be happening now if it wasn’t with you… But no, you’re not the only one who wants this, Noelle. Not by a long shot.”

His words washed over me like a warm bath. “Today was pretty amazing, the whole experience—as nerve-wracking as it was,” I said.

“Sitting in that waiting area while I knew what was happening in the other room wasn’t anything I’ll ever forget.”

“Did it freak you out a little?” I asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “I was kind of in awe.”

“Do you think Clancy will be okay with this?”

He thought for a moment. “She’ll be very surprised, and it will take some explaining for sure. But she’s alluded to wanting a sibling in the past—even after she knew Mariah and I were splitting. So that’s encouraging. Honestly, though, I don’t have a clue how she’ll react.”

I nodded. “If this first round of IUI didn’t work out, what would you think about coming into the room with me next time?”

His mouth curved into a smile. “I thought you’d never ask. I would love that. I wished I was in there with you this time, but I wasn’t sure how you felt.”

“Now that I know what it’s like, I think you should be in there. I was sorry you weren’t.”

“Thank you. Next time we’ll do it differently—if there is a next time.”

“Oh! They showed me the vial of your sperm so I could check the label to make sure it was the right name.”

He snorted. “Were you like, ‘Why the fuck are you showing me this?’”

“I just laughed and confirmed it was correct.”

He arched a brow. “Did it look…presentable?”

“Yes.” I chuckled.

“Good to know. I would hate for it to embarrass me when I couldn’t be there to defend myself.”

I cracked up. That felt so good after a long day. “Thank you for the laugh,” I said after a moment, wiping my eyes. “Thank you for everything.”

“Of course, beautiful. Thank you for letting me go on this adventure with you.”





CHAPTER 24


ARCHIE


I HADN’T BEEN that nervous the first time we came to the fertility clinic, but this visit was a different story. Noelle and I were currently waiting—anxiously—to be called in to find out whether our first IUI attempt had resulted in a pregnancy. She’d given her blood sample a couple of days ago, and the office required you to come in for the results.