For Their Child's Sake

But, she wondered...what if.

Chapter Fourteen

After four days at the beach and a somewhat relaxing vacation, Sam knew returning to reality would be a harsh slap in the face. He would’ve been perfectly content to stay in that mansion on the ocean with his wife and daughter and Daisy.

But he was back and hitting it hard with a new design for the project he’d been assigned. Marley was visiting his mother and Tara had gone into the office to see some clients.

Sam sat in the office he’d always used when he lived in their home and stared at the blank paper before him. He was a little old-school in that he liked to do a rough sketch by hand before he took it digital.

Nothing was hitting him, though. All he could think of was how Tara had come apart in his arms and then cried on his shoulder moments later. He knew her tears hadn’t been from regrets. Tara was afraid. She was worried about their daughter, but she was also terrified about her feelings for him. She didn’t have to say a word; he knew her as well as he knew himself. She was afraid to fall for him again, but she was...and he was going to use that kernel of information to work on rebuilding their future.

He grabbed the pencil and hovered it over the blank page. His eyes went to the computer screen with the original draft pulled up. His mind had been working overtime to try to get everything perfect and not give the client another reason to change his mind.

After sketching and tossing wadded balls into the corner, Sam glanced at the time on the screen and realized nearly four hours had passed. His mother had said she would keep Marley all day because they were going to do some heavy retail therapy and get their nails done. Tara should be home from work soon, so he figured he should start dinner.

His cell vibrated on the desk and he spotted his boss’s name. After nearly forty-five minutes on the phone with Bill, Sam was glad that he hadn’t gotten too far in the design since there was yet another change. Minor this time, but still.

Sam disconnected the call after making plans to go into the office and meet with Bill and the client. So much for making dinner for Tara. He’d have to call his mom and ask her to keep Marley until Tara was home. He’d tried to keep his mother and Tara separated, but some things were unavoidable. He had a job to do.

The front door opened and closed; heels clicked down the hallway followed by a scurry of dog paws on the hardwood floor.

“Okay, girl, I see you,” Tara cooed. “No, not on the shoes. Not on the new shoes. Damn it.”

Sam laughed as he pocketed his phone and headed to the living room. Tara squatted to pet Daisy, getting a lick to the side of the face.

“I knew you loved her,” Sam stated from the doorway.

Tara’s eyes locked on his as she rose to her full height. That plum-colored skirt and matching jacket hugged her every curve and he wished like hell he didn’t have to go to the office. He’d make use of their alone time together.

“I was going to have dinner ready, but I need to head out to the office.”

Tara’s brows drew in. “I thought you took time off.”

“I did, but there’s a project I’m working on and I need to meet with Bill and the client.”

“Now?” Tara asked.

The hint of disapproval in her tone had him pausing. “I asked Mom to keep Marley for dinner, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

She stared another minute before shaking her head and bending to slip off her heels. “That’s not what I was worried about,” she muttered.

And then he knew. All this time he’d been working on gaining her trust and he might as well have been beating his head against a wall. Clearly, they hadn’t made any progress at all.

“As much as I’d love to stay and discuss the fact you still don’t believe me, I have to get to the office.”

Sam stepped toward the door and grabbed his key from the hook.

“Sam, wait.”

He turned, his shoulder brushing hers as his eyes landed on her. “No, you wait. I’ve done nothing in the past year to make you think I’m doing anything but working my ass off. As much as I’d love to stand here and continue to defend myself again, I have to go.”

Without another word, he jerked the door open and turned to make sure Daisy didn’t try to sneak out. He didn’t slam the door, but that was simply because he’d already fixed the damn thing once after an argument and he didn’t want to waste time doing it again.