Then I stepped out of her house and closed the door behind me.
It was still early in the morning, and I hoped Sloane hadn’t taken Harper anywhere yet.
It felt awkward to be just a visitor now. Even though I had been away from home for a month, I used to come and go as I pleased. Now I didn’t have my own keys anymore.
I took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. Sloane was a light sleeper, so even if she were still asleep, she would hear it right away.
There was no response from inside, so I pressed the bell again. Then I heard footsteps running down the stairs. Moments later, Sloane opened the door in her sleep shirt and pajama shorts, still half-asleep.
She looked at me, then turned away without a word, leaving the door open.
“I want to spend time with Harper,” I said quietly to her back as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “If it’s okay with you, I want to spend the entire day with her.”
That made her stop in her tracks. She spun around to face me, her eyes flashing.
“You know this is my day off, too, right? I spend just as much time with her as you do. This is my day with Harper.”
“Please, Sloane. I miss her so much.”
“And why is that? Oh, right. Because you left.”
She turned and marched back upstairs, but not before shouting over her shoulder, “Go back to wherever you came from, Cam.”
I stood there for a long moment, a heavy emotion pressing down on me. Exhaustion gnawed at my resolve, but giving up was not an option. I needed to be with Harper. Determined, I slipped off my shoes quietly and made my way up the stairs for the slight chance to reclaim some of the time I had lost.
But Harper wasn’t in her room.
I knew right away she must have had a nightmare last night. Harper always went to her mom when that happened.
I walked to Sloane’s bedroom—once ours—and gently pushed the door open, half-expecting her to hurl something my way for having the audacity to step inside.
And then I saw them.
Harper was asleep on her back, mouth slightly open, one leg propped up on a pillow. Sloane was curled into a ball beside her, her face tucked into the crook of Harper’s neck.
Looking at them, my heart softened and broke all at once.
I missed being there on Harper’s other side, breathing in her sweet baby scent and simply watching them both, love swelling in my chest. What I loved most was when Harper slept on her side, facing me, while Sloane spooned her from behind, her arms stretched out with one hand resting gently on my waist.
And suddenly, I remembered.
I remembered how Sloane’s hand would always find me, seeking a place to hold, a tender link between us. Even in silence, weighed down by the distance between us, her touch would settle gently on my arm, the back of my hand, my waist, or my back until sleep claimed her, as if feeling me was the only thing that could lull her to rest.
A sudden tightness gripped my chest as emotions surged unexpectedly.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.
“What are you doing there?” Sloane’s sharp whisper cut through the silence, pulling me back.
She glared at me, hair tousled and eyes heavy with sleep, yet she was as beautiful as ever.
“I want to be with my daughter, Sloane,” I pleaded softly. “I really miss her.”
She studied my face for a moment, then sighed, as if something she saw made her give in. “You can sit on her other side, but onlysitting, Cam. Once she wakes, you can spend the day with us at home. That’s my final offer. I’m being very generous.”
God, it felt like I was being handed the entire world. I moved quickly to the other side of the bed, afraid she might change her mind. Lowering myself slowly beside Harper, I made sure not to wake her. Then I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead and closed my eyes, letting it linger for a moment too long.
When I pulled away, Sloane was watching me. She didn’t say a word.
