AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Envisioning the most.
Our dynamic had always been confusing as much as it was simple. From the first conversation we had, it came easy to be around each other.
“Darlin’, I can feel your mind reeling.”
“What do you think is going to happen while we’re here, Caleb?”
“I want to bond with my kids. Be the father they deserve.”
“You expect that to happen in a couple of days?”
“No, but it’s a start.”
“So what happens after this trip?”
“Evie, we’ve never been on a family vacation. I can’t even think of the last time we ate dinner together. I’ve wanted to be present for my kids for as long as I could remember, but I didn’t know how or where to begin.”
My heart clenched. Hearing my confessions was a lot harder than I imagined it would be, but she needed to hear it. Finally, I had to admit to her what I’d become.
What I’d lost.
Her.
“I worked so fucking hard to be the man my family wanted me to be. I didn’t want to marry Tessa, but I had to. After that, I stopped smiling, I stopped laughing, I stopped living… I coped the only way I knew how—by drowning myself in work. It was the only control I had over my life. For a man who thrives on control, I was lost in my very own home.”
She shuddered, feeling the weight of my truths.
“I told you there’s a lot you don’t know, but after this trip, I want you to know everything.”
“Why now, huh? Why are you doing this to me now?”
“I’ve already lost you once. For eight years, Evie. I won’t lose you again. I can’t. I won’t survive it.”
She opened her mouth to reply, though quickly shut it.
“I couldn’t tell you then, but I can now. I’ll say it to you every day for the rest of our lives if that’s what it takes to have you in my life.”
“Caleb.” She adamantly shook her head. “You say you barely survived it the first time. Well, I’m barely surviving it now. I can’t do this with you again. I refuse to.”
With that, she stood and left, and I let her. Silently praying she’d understand once I told her the truth. However, I was coming to the hard realization…
I’d have to show her instead.
Chapter Twenty-Three
—Evie—
“Evie! Daddy!” Ariel shouted. “Wait for me! I have little legs!”
I laughed, and before I could bend down to pick her up, Caleb did instead, throwing her up on his big, broad shoulders.
“Whoa, Daddy! I’m tall like you now!”
We were heading up to the deck of the yacht for dinner and a movie. The crew put together a huge projector screen under the stars for us. For the last three days, we’d spent most of our time on the island. Caleb played with the kids while I sunbathed and caught up on the book I was reading.
It was extremely relaxing, and I was enjoying every second of it. Everyone was. The kids truly warmed up to their father. It was quite a sight to see how involved he was with them. Every night, he read them a bedtime story, checking under Ariel’s bed for monsters. He was an attentive parent, making sure their needs and wants were met.
My favorite memories of the last couple of days stirred in my mind.
