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“The order actually reads that due to the fact that I hid from her who I really was, she fears for her and her family’s safety.”
“I thought you had to have proof of harm, or threat of harm, in order to get a restraining order.”
“You only have to say you fear harm to get the initial order. The accused then has a chance to rebut the charge before the court and then the order’s either granted or dismissed. If I don’t go to court, it’ll be automatically granted and become a permanent part of my record. Anytime someone did a background check, it would show up and I’d look like I’m an abuser.”
“What a bitch.” The words were out before she could stop them. She wasn’t proud of them.
Flint’s grin surprised her. “Thank you.”
He didn’t say any more about the situation and she didn’t ask. He’d been honest with her, but she was lying to him every single second she was with him, by not telling him who she was. And she’d be breaking her word to her father if she did.
She felt like crap. She could blame Stella What’s-Her-Name for wronging Flint, but she’d have to shoot recrimination at herself, too. Even after these weeks of getting to know him, she’d doubted him. The second he’d told her he was going to court, she’d assumed he’d done something wrong.
It could’ve been a simple traffic ticket he’d had to defend. That had never entered her mind.
And yet...she was drawn to him. To be with him.
So much it hurt.
Chapter Sixteen
Public restrooms. Something else Flint had failed to consider in his new life. He was a man with a baby girl and he had to pee.
They’d been at the festival for an hour, had a couple of chai lattes and, together with the coffee he’d had before they’d left home, his situation was becoming critical.
He could take Diamond with him. Just wheel her right in. It wasn’t like she’d know the difference.
But he would.
He didn’t want her in a men’s restroom, sleeping there close to the urinals or...in there at all.
His only other option was to leave her with Tamara. Which wasn’t fair.
Urgency won out over fairness. “Can you just hold on to this while I pop in here?” he asked as they approached the cement building that housed the facilities. Not giving her much choice, he pushed the handle of the stroller in her direction and made his break.
Three minutes later, when he rushed back out again, his hands still wet from a brisk wash, they were exactly as he’d left them. Tamara hadn’t moved. Taken a step. She was standing there, her hand on the stroller, staring at the men’s restroom door.
And when he got close, he saw the tears in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry.” He took the stroller, wheeled them out of the crowd and off to a bench not far from the festivities but far enough to give them privacy. With darkness having fallen, a chill had entered the air, although it wasn’t cold enough to warrant the shiver he felt running through her as they sat.
“I should’ve thought ahead,” he said, not sure what he could have done differently. Even without the latte, he’d have had to go at some point. It was what people did.
And what he’d need to do again before the evening was over.
“This isn’t going to work, is it?” he asked her, not ready to give up but not willing to hurt her any more, either. “This is too hard for you.”
She shook her head and, in a season filled with hope, he felt his dwindling once again. No matter how many times that happened, he never got used to it. It never got easier.
He wasn’t going to try to convince her, though. He cared about her too much to watch her suffer.
“I’m the one who needs to apologize,” she told him, turning so that she was looking him in the eye. “I need to try harder, Flint.”
She’d lost four babies. Heartache wasn’t something that could be brushed off or ignored. On the contrary, broken heart syndrome was a medically proved reality, as he’d discovered when doing some research on her situation.
“You’re doing great, sweetie. I just...” What? He just what? He’d called her “sweetie.” As if they were a couple.
She was still looking at him, all wide-eyed and filled with emotion. So close. He leaned in. She did, too. And their lips touched.
