Wonder With Me (With Me in Seattle 12.5)

But you know what? I don’t care. I’m not usually a risk-taker. I always follow the rules.

But something tells me Reed’s worth it. And you only live once, right?Chapter Four~Reed~“One more book.”

Piper looks up at me with pleading, brown eyes, but I remain strong in my resolve.

“I read one more book twice,” I remind her and scoot off of her bed, then tuck her in. “And you can hardly keep your eyes open.”

“I’m not sleepy.”

Her eyes are closed now, her face softening as slumber begins to take over. I take a moment to watch her, the way her dark lashes lie on the soft white skin of her cheeks, her pink lips slightly parted. Her bunny is tucked under her chin.

My daughter is the prettiest little thing I’ve ever seen.

I turn off the light and quietly walk to the door, leaving it ajar several inches so I can hear her if she needs me.

The lights of Seattle wink at me through the glass of the windows. I was so excited when I bought this condo five years ago. I never thought I’d leave it. Imagined the heart of the hustle and bustle of the city was exactly where I’d always be.

I didn’t do relationships and, in hindsight, I regret the way I treated Vanessa. I never lied to her, she knew the score, and if you’d asked me at the time, I would have said I wasn’t doing anything wrong. She eventually got tired of me and moved on. At least, that’s what I thought.

But I didn’t do anything to stop her.

I also didn’t respect her enough to ask her if she was okay. I was too self-absorbed to think of it.

Having Piper with me has jerked me out of that self-centered mindset. Made me consider more than my job, my needs. It’s made me have more care with those around me.

Jesus, I feel like I was sleep-walking for the first thirty years of my life, and I’m only now fully awake.

I’m not proud of it. If I think of a man treating Piper the way I did Vanessa, well…it makes me want to punch a hole in the wall.

I wish Vanessa were still here so I could apologize to her. She deserved better than what I gave her.

I hear Piper cough, so I go poke my head in to check on her. But she doesn’t wake up, she just turns to her side and goes right back to sleep.

The only thing I can do for Vanessa now is to make sure Piper is not only well taken care of, but also loved more than anything. And it’s more than a little surprising for me to admit that I’ve fallen more in love with Piper than I ever thought I could.

She’s mine. My flesh and blood.

There are days that it feels like it’s still sinking in.

My phone buzzes with a text from Noel, and I sit on the couch, facing the lights of the city, and smile at my screen.

Noel: How was your pizza?

Rather than text her back, I call her.

“If the story about pizza warrants a phone call, it must not have been good,” she says into my ear. She sounds sleepy.

“Are you in bed?” I ask her softly.

“I’m lying here reading. It’s a little early for sleep, even for me.”

“What are you reading?” I ask her.

“It’s a romance novel.”

“I probably haven’t read it.” I feel my lips twitch.

“No, I don’t think you have. So how was the pizza?”

“It was fine. The conversation I was having with a certain interior designer was better than the pizza.”

“Yeah? How come?”

“I got naked photos of her.”

She laughs. “I know for certain I didn’t send you a naked photo.”

“You were in a towel, that’s close enough. I can use my imagination.”

She sighs in my ear and even that quiet sound has something stirring inside me. “You’re quite the flirt, you know that, right?”

“I never really have been before,” I admit. “But I like talking with you. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Hmm, let me check my schedule. Ah, yes, that’s right, I’m decorating your house.”

“Do you have a tree picked out for the living room yet?”

“Yes, I have all of the trees.”

“Is it real?”

She’s quiet for a moment. “No, they’re all fake trees. They can be reused that way, and you don’t have to worry about watering them. Also, no fire hazard.”

“Well, I think Piper should have a real tree in the living room.”

“I don’t have—”

“And you should go with us tomorrow to pick one out.”

I hear her sigh again. I lean my head back on the couch, wishing she were sitting next to me rather than a block away.

“Reed, I have a full day ahead of me.”

“Duck out around four,” I urge her. “That’s not too early. I’ll pick up Piper, and we can go get a tree. We’re learning to make time, remember?”