A Redo (Sterling Shore 6)

“I thought they grew out of that within the first couple of months.”

Tag grabs a fresh diaper from his bottom drawer before pointing a commanding finger at Trip. “No more,” he warns the little guy who laughs as though he finds Tag’s agitation amusing. Then he answers me while trying to situate the new diaper under Trip.

“He only does it to me. I swear it’s intentional.”

Allie smiles as though she’s enjoying his struggle, and I snicker while saying, “Definitely just like his father.”

Tag covers Trip’s eyes with one hand before flipping me off with the other, and I grin while sitting down.

“I hate these stupid snappy things on all these clothes,” he grumbles.

“Here,” Allie says while coming over to take Trip away. “I’ll handle this while you two do your business.”

“Thank you,” he says in relief, sagging onto his massive chair.

He lets her take him, and I watch her while Tag assembles the paperwork.

“Where’s Ash?” I ask, curious.

“Sleeping. Trip was up half the night. I think he’s teething or something. She stayed up with him, so I’m taking over and making her get some sleep. Her parents are coming by to steal him for a few days. We’re finally getting a few nights alone. They’re staying at one of my homes while they’re visiting.”

Allie talks softly and sweetly to Trip as he gurgles and coos at her, smiling as though she’s a familiar face, even though he still refuses to say the few words he knows. She’s good at this—really good. Though that doesn’t surprise me, because Angel is an amazing kid.

But seeing her finish dressing him and bouncing him while he makes sounds he believes are words… It makes something inside me falter. I missed all of this with my own daughter.

Tag starts going over the key points we’ve already discussed. Numerous meetings have been held on this matter, so I know everything already on the document. Which is fortunate, since my head isn’t really here right now.

I sign the paperwork just as Marvin Walters, our joint lawyer, walks in to make it all official. We say quick goodbyes, and Allie hands a happy Trip back over to Tag who effortlessly shifts from powerful businessman to happy father within seconds, making it all seem easy.

Allie rejoins me at my side as we walk out, and I look at her the second we get in my car.

“Will you do me a favor?” I ask her quietly as I pull out of the driveway.

“Sure. What?”

Taking a deep breath, I try to think of how to ask this without pissing her off. I don’t have a right to ask this of her.

“I want to know.”

That didn’t make any sense.

“If this is about my dream—”

I grunt out a laugh while interrupting her. “Not about that. It’s… I know I don’t deserve to know anything about the years I missed, but I want to know. Every detail you can think of. One day, maybe you can come over and tell me everything I didn’t get to see.”

I look over to see her eyes watering, but she averts my gaze quickly while nodding. “I’d like that.”

Relaxing in my seat, the feeling of control starts coming back to me for the first time in so long. But it’s eclipsed by the weight of the guilt that will never subside. I’ll always know I missed those years because of how I acted. Because of how I handled everything.

Allie is the exact opposite of Erica. Erica would be using this as a weapon against me right now, but Allie seems… Touched? Maybe that’s the wrong word. But that’s not the only thing different between the two.

Allie hates attention about as much as I do. She keeps herself next to Bella all the time because Bella tends to steal the spotlight, even though Bella doesn’t mean to. Allie intentionally hides in her shadow.

It’s the same thing I’ve subconsciously done over the years—surround myself with powerful, shiny people the world loves to see.

Allie’s complicated personality draws me in, which is… confusing. The second Erica got complicated, I was done. She went from being a seamless part of my life to being a pile of wrinkles in my way at every turn. She went from easy-to-appease to demanding and needy.

And I never forgave her for destroying what little bit of a relationship I had with my brother. I doubt I ever will.

“Can I ask another question?”

Allie turns her head to me with a small smile on her face, looking content and peaceful as we make our way into the heart of Sterling Shore traffic.

“Sure.”

The only thing easy about Allie is how effortless it seems to be in her presence now. What’s difficult is how much I’m starting to want to be around her. It’s not a feeling I’m used to, because it’s not something I’ve ever had.