She nodded and smiled. “Yes.”
Unable to help myself, I gave her another quick kiss and then headed off the stage to pack up the band.
Twenty minutes later, I helped Trina into my truck and with her by my side, I drove to my house.
“I’m thinking of getting a new truck,” I said to her, all of a sudden feeling a little awkward.
“Oh? Why?”
“It’s not great for a baby. I was thinking of an extended cab. I don’t think I can do a minivan.” I shivered at the thought.
“Me neither,” she said.
I took her hand in mine and kissed the back of it. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“Will I need to get you back to get your car?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Sinclair drove me. She said you’d forgive me.”
I glanced at her. “You didn’t think I would?”
“I hoped you would, but I was horrendous. I’m not sure I forgive myself.”
“Right now, I have what I want. Why would I push that away?”
She shrugged and I knew at some point we’d need to talk and hash out everything. It was important to do because while I was glad that she was here beside me, I didn’t want to repeat the issues of the past.
I pulled into the driveway of my house.
Her eyes widened and a smile lit her face. “Oh Ryder, look at the porch. It’s so clean and pretty. The flower boxes are lovely.”
I smiled, happy that she noticed. “That’s just the start. The porch has been reinforced, so you don’t need to worry about falling through.”
I helped her out of the truck and up the steps to the front door. I unlocked it and pushed it open for her. She stepped in and her mouth widened into a smile as she took in the living area. I still had most of the old tired furniture, but it was clean and tidy.
She stepped to the fireplace mantel to look at pictures. “Goodness, this is you and me and Alyssa when she was a baby.”
I stood, watching her take it all in, hoping she’d feel at home here. “Sinclair put those there. She and Wyatt helped me.”
“It’s lovely, Ryder.” She turned to me, her expression a bit chagrined.
“There’s more,” I said holding out my hand. She took it and I led her to the kitchen. “This didn’t need much work, but I did get a new coffee maker.”
“Is the coffee good?”
“You’ll have to tell me,” I said hoping I could convince her to stay the night. All the nights. “And look at this.” I opened a cabinet and took down a couple of plates.
“They match,” she said looking down. “God, I really am a bitch, aren’t I?”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting matching plates.” I gave her a quick kiss and then led her back up the hall. “I hope you like this.” I pushed open the door to the room that had been hers during the fake marriage but was now set up as a nursery.
She gasped as the pretty yellow room came into view. She walked in. “It’s for the baby.” Her hand ran along the crib rail.
“That was Alyssa’s crib. I’ve checked and there’s been no recall. All the parts are safe.”
She turned to me. Tears fell on her cheeks.