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We hadn’t done much talking since I came home, so I asked about the obvious event in her life. “How’s Conway and Sapphire?”
“Oh yeah.” She dropped her spoon back into the bowl. “They had a boy and named him Reid. He’s so cute.” She pulled up a picture on her phone. It was an image of her holding the baby in her arms. “Look. He has Barsetti eyes.”
I looked at the baby in her arms. I didn’t care about babies, but he seemed healthy and happy. He was staring at Vanessa, transfixed by his aunt. “Nice.”
She pulled the phone away. “Sapphire was in labor for like twelve hours before Reid came. She was so tired. She went home yesterday. But Conway was so happy. I could see it on his face. He was never the fatherly type, and then when his son arrived, he turned into a different person. And my parents are so happy. I haven’t seen them this excited in a long time.”
“I’m glad everyone is doing well.” In situations like this, I didn’t know what to say. I’d never known anyone who’d had a kid or been a part of a family like this. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but it was a big deal to Vanessa, so I had to pretend I cared.
“You have a nephew. I can’t wait for you to meet him. I wish you were there…”
I felt guilty for not being by her side when it was important to her, but at least I would never miss anything again. Now I would be by her side every single day. “My nephew?”
“Yeah, of course.” She looked at me with surprise. “Whether we’re married or not, you’re family, Griffin. You’re his uncle. Conway said the same thing to me in the hospital. He wished you were there to meet his son.”
Her words were jarring because my hatred for the Barsettis had lasted so long. Now they considered me to be family, making me an uncle to their nephew. I wasn’t sure how to process those feelings. I’d only been part of a family for a short time, and it didn’t last long enough for me to really remember it.
Vanessa continued to watch me, as if she could read my thoughts like they were words that appeared on my face. “Yes, Griffin. You’re an uncle.” She turned back to her cereal, which had gotten mushy since she’d spent so much time talking to me. She probably looked the other way to give me a moment to process my thoughts.
I went back to drinking my coffee when my phone rang. If it was Max, I didn’t want to talk about the business anymore since I was no longer a part of the group. I just got home and wanted to devote all my time to Vanessa since I’d left her for four days. I fished the phone out of my pocket and saw Crow’s name.
I answered. “Crow, what’s up?” I used to answer his calls with silence, but since I’d dropped our feud, I spoke to him like a normal person. Letting go of my hate helped me relax. It took a lot more work to hate someone rather than to just accept them.
“I know you got in late last night. Just wanted to see how you were doing. Everything good?”
Was he calling to check up on me? When my eyes darted to Vanessa’s face, she was grinning so wide, like she couldn’t control it. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Why?”
“Vanessa told me you had to stay an extra day. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
I’d never had someone check on me before. It was a little strange. “Yeah. I did the job then came home.” I’d never had anyone look over my shoulder. Vanessa was the only one who was obsessed with my well-being.
Vanessa grabbed her phone and wrote a message on it before she pushed it in front of me. He’s checking on you the way he checks on me.
I read the words and finally understood what was happening.
“Take any damage?” Crow asked.
“Not a scratch. Just a little tired.”
“I can imagine. Conway and Sapphire are staying with us for a while until the house is ready and they’ve recuperated. The two of you should come by and see Reid. Conway and Sapphire really want you to meet him.”
A lifetime of loneliness and solitude had hardened my heart so much that it was still difficult to thaw. Vanessa was my first love, my first passion in life. She showed me all the things I’d been missing, giving me the life I used to envy. I’d hated her because she had everything that should have been mine, but despite what I’d done to her, she was willing to share it with me. “I’ll talk to Vanessa about it.”
