She wouldn’t get to witness those nights. She’d miss the moments where he learned to be an amazing dad. And he would be. She’d seen the evidence when he was with Lyon. He loved his nephew, had spoiled him rotten. He’d do the same or more for their baby.
With a sad smile, she imagined what would have happened if she’d said yes to his offer. Yes to the idea to moving her store, moving in with him. To having a partner at her side when she became a mother, the most difficult job on the planet.
But she hadn’t said yes. She’d refused. She’d opted to work and struggle and keep up with her apartment, the business, and the schedule, and be a full-time mom. Because if their story didn’t have a fairy-tale ending, she couldn’t bear tearing her child away from him. Leaving angry, fighting for custody, being embittered like her mom or fading away like her dad.
Landon had been right about one thing—probably many things—but at the moment she’d grant him the one. Kimber needed help. She’d have to hire someone else to work at Hobo Chic in her place. She’d have to lessen her hours. That would cost money, time. Sacrifice.
She would sacrifice. Because she knew what waited at the end of the road if she stayed with Landon. She knew what became of a relationship that started and ended for the sake of a child. With her emotions and hormones wreaking havoc in her body, how could she trust her heart? How could she believe that she and Landon could have—against all odds—formed an unbreakable, forever bond in such a short span of time?
She couldn’t.
And because she couldn’t trust herself, she would have to trust the people around her who loved her. Her mother, Gloria. Neither of them had a thing to gain by steering her in the wrong direction.
She glanced at her drawing again—at the smooth lines of the skirt, the arching ruffles over the neckline, the marks meant to emulate winking rhinestones—tore the page from the sketchbook, and crumbled it in one fist.
A tear slid down her face, but she wasn’t crying about the lost opportunities of her youth or about the life of motherhood she’d chosen with open eyes. No, the regret swimming in her stomach had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Landon.
And how much she would miss him. Her heart said she loved him… and more than anything she wished she could allow herself to believe it.
* * *
“I’m leaving in an hour,” Landon told Evan over the phone. He closed the boardroom door behind him, leaving his capable team in charge while he was away. He wouldn’t miss Lyon turning seven for anything. Not even a Cheez-Bitts account.
He ended the call and allowed himself to feel a modicum of pride at successfully breaking into the food industry. Windy City had helped Downey Design have a reputation for being capable of selling the common man’s brands.
The memory of landing the Windy City account brought with it memories he’d prefer to forget. Like the moment he and Kimber had eaten potato chips in his bed. The way he’d shoved a handful into his mouth and she’d laughed as she brushed crumbs off his body. The cute way she wrinkled her nose and smiled whenever he did something she didn’t expect.
Way to go, bonehead. You’ve tied a painfully present memory to something you can’t escape for the rest of your days. Windy City’s brand was everywhere. Every local sandwich shop, grocery store, the framed ads adorning the walls of his office building. He studied the ad for the jalapeño ranch flavor hanging outside his office, his thoughts on Kimber.
He hadn’t spoken to her since he left her apartment that night. She’d e-mailed him about a doctor’s appointment she had coming up. He’d entered it in his calendar, unsure if she wanted him there, but he planned on showing up anyway. If for no other reason than to catch a glimpse of her when she walked outside. If something went wrong, even if it didn’t, he wouldn’t let her go through her pregnancy alone. He was here for her. And if that didn’t matter to her, it mattered to him.
After an uneventful flight to Osborn, Ohio, he drove to his father’s house with the radio loud. But like during the plane ride, he couldn’t keep his mind off Kimber. He turned the rental car onto his father’s street, when his phone rang.
Lissa? What the hell?
He pulled the car over at the end of the street, a few houses away. No way did he want Dad overhearing this conversation… whatever it was about.
He cleared his throat and answered with a curt, “This is Landon.”
“Hi. It’s Lissa. Francine.”
“I don’t think a last name is necessary.”