When she paused for breath Kyle jumped in.
“I admire how you’ve coped with a father as difficult as Siggy. And I remember what a hard time you had when your mother left you with him after the divorce.”
Melody grimaced. “We’ve both been through a lot with our families.”
“It’s made us pretty gun-shy.” Was it any wonder that neither one of them reacted well to their first major dustup.
“Can I tell you something without you getting upset?” she asked him.
“Of course.” No matter what she had to say he would not take offense.
“When I was making this list, I got sidetracked into some things that I didn’t like about you.”
Kyle was amused by how horrified she was to admit this. “You don’t think I know there are things about me that drive you crazy.” He paused, thinking about his jealous reaction to her continued connection with Hunter. “Like everything baseball.”
“You are obsessed.” She exhaled as if his reaction, or lack of one, was a huge relief. “I just found it interesting that even though I didn’t mean to I couldn’t think about the good without thinking about the bad.”
“Nobody is one thing or another. Although I think it’s human nature to dwell on what’s wrong rather than focus on what’s good or right.” It was something he’d done a lot of while they’d been apart.
“I’m glad we did this exercise. It really opened my eyes to who you are and why I fell in love with you.”
“And also why you stayed away?” he prompted.
“A bit. I’ve been pretty overwhelmed these last few months. The tour took more out of me physically and emotionally than I realized and then I was nonstop writ
ing, recording and producing my album.” Her smile came and went. “Not to mention the fact that I’m pregnant and that has made me a little more reactionary than usual.”
Kyle reached across the table and took her hand. “So shall we consider this exercise successfully accomplished?”
“I think we should.” Her beautiful smile bloomed. “I’m happy with the results.”
So was he. Kyle only hoped the next thirteen exercises went as well.
* * *
A huge yawn seized Melody just as she was pulling into the third stall in Trent’s garage and she almost bumped up against the back wall. She shouldn’t have stayed at the studio so late. In the last hour and a half she hadn’t accomplished much of anything. Her mind kept wandering back to the prior evening with Kyle.
After the dinner had gone so well, neither one had been in a hurry for the night to end. They’d strolled through the extensive grounds behind the three interconnected Fontaine Resort hotels for almost two hours, talking about everything and nothing. She’d told him about her favorite parts of the tour and how much fun she’d had watching Nate and Mia fall in love. They rehashed what each knew about Trent’s clever takeover of his family’s company, West Coast Records. After seeing her back to her car, Kyle had given her a friendly kiss on the forehead and she’d driven away feeling achy and unsatisfied.
Now weariness dragged at her as she slipped through the door that led into the side yard, following the softly lit path to the guest cottage. Trent had spent a fortune landscaping the nearly one-acre backyard, tucking lights in every nook and cranny. Pathways, shrubs and trees were softly illuminated. The Monday after Thanksgiving, he’d hired a crew to wrap colored Christmas lights around the palm trees and fill the empty spaces on the lawn with lighted reindeer pulling Santa’s sled and a train. For the past two days workers had been bustling around like elves.
He was pulling out all the stops both here and in LA so his son would have a memorable Christmas. Melody had refrained from pointing out that Dylan was only a year old and wouldn’t remember any of it. Why spoil anything for Trent. He deserved to be happy. So did Savannah. Melody wanted nothing but the best for both of them. They’d traveled a long path to arrive at their destination.
Melody wondered if she and Kyle would ever get back to a place where they looked at each other with the sort of dreamy lust that marked the nonverbal exchanges between Trent and Savannah. For her part, she couldn’t stop guarding her emotions. She wanted to trust Kyle, but was afraid if she opened herself up, he would say something that disappointed her. It was no way to build a relationship. But she couldn’t figure out how to move on.
A large basket, wrapped in cellophane, sat on the porch beside the front door. She stared at it in wonder. How had he gotten here? Kyle had keys to Trent’s house as well as the gate code to let himself into the backyard. Had he put it here as a surprise for her? As she drew closer, she could see baby items through the clear plastic wrap. Her heart gave a funny little leap.
She unlocked her front door and brought the basket inside, setting it on the dining room table where the roses had sat until Thanksgiving night when she and Kyle had argued over them.
A ribbon held the plastic wrap closed. The knot wouldn’t yield to her fingers, so she fetched a pair of small scissors. Until she told Kyle about the baby, Melody hadn’t been able to start planning for her future. Once they’d gone to the ultrasound and she’d seen the child growing inside of her, her nerves had transformed into flutters of excitement. But still, she hadn’t started buying any of the multitude of things a baby would need. It was too early. Besides, shopping would be more fun if she shared the experience with Kyle.
The wrapping fell away and Melody admired the collection of onesies, bibs, tiny socks and books. And there was an adorable teddy bear. All the clothes were in neutral shades of yellow and green as if the giver didn’t know the sex of the child. Did that mean Kyle hadn’t given her the basket? Surely he would’ve chosen something in shades of pink to celebrate their baby girl.
She quickly checked over everything, but still didn’t find a card. Another anonymous gift like the flowers. What the heck was going on? Should she be worried? Especially the way the basket had appeared on her doorstep. On the other hand, there could be a simple explanation. Savannah and Trent knew she’d told Kyle. Maybe they’d had the basket delivered. A quick way to find out would be to give them a call. Melody dialed Savannah’s number. She didn’t want to upset her brother for no reason.
“How is the filming going?” She asked when her sister-in-law answered.
“Pretty good. Just a few more scenes before we wrap. It’s been a lot of fun. I really miss acting.”