“Now we shower.”
She nodded. “And morning nap?”
“Whatever you want.” I started down the hall.
She took my face in her hands and gazed deep into my eyes as we stopped in front of the master suite. “I want this, Asher. This is what I’ve always wanted. I wanted you to come back to me.”
My chest contorted with the pain I had caused her. The pain I had put us through.
“I’m back and I’m not going anywhere.”
Fourteen
Journey
He had a daughter. A child. A little person in the world with half his DNA. I couldn’t deny the pain the news caused me. I was caught off guard. I was shocked. I wondered how I had managed to exist for two years without knowing something so crucial and important had happened in Asher’s life.
I had wanted that dream for us. Only, when we were together I had never stopped to consider when. The future was such a vague and nebulous concept for me. I handled one project at a time. One script. One movie. I hadn’t penciled in time to have a baby. There was no good time to have a baby in Hollywood.
I knew Asher hadn’t done this without me. It wasn’t as if we fought about it. Or disagreed about the timing. I wanted to have his baby. I did, I just never committed to it. I thought it would happen one day.
Asher’s plunge into fatherhood happened before me. He had a past that was filled with dark memories and mistakes. I had accepted that when I fell in love with him. But this? A little girl?
He walked into the bathroom as I applied the last strokes of mascara.
“All the bags are packed,” he announced. “Are you sure you want to leave? We could stay longer and track that mama bear.”
I laughed. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Smart girl.” He strolled toward me. “I won’t let you near that bear.”
I placed the tube of mascara on the counter as Asher’s arms circled my waist. “Tell me something about her.”
“The bear? They eat honey, and insects I guess.”
I slapped him on the chest. “No. About Avajean. What is she like?”
“She’s into super heroes. But she likes all the women. Supergirl. Wonder Woman. Poison Ivy.”
“Poison Ivy is not a hero,” I teased.
He chuckled. “She doesn’t care. She likes the ones who don’t need to be rescued.”
“Sounds a lot like her father. Have you ever been rescued?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Once,” he answered.
“When?” I challenged.
“When I met you.” His eyes darkened. “You’re why the nightmares stopped. You brought me back from the edge and you didn’t even know it.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know how to answer him.
“But yes, I guess she’s like me a little. She also knows how to make a mean mud pie.”
I giggled. “It sounds like you’ve tasted the mud pie.”
“Only in the land of make believe.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I try to leave a lot of that stuff to Nicole.”