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“The three of them do not need another fly by night guy.” Thomas says this into the darkness while continuing to watch his wife walk toward their car. I stare at his side profile and for the first time I see the concern in his expression. “They don’t need to get wrapped up with someone who doesn’t put them first. What they do need is a man who is dedicated to making them happy. Someone that spends every single day doing all he can to make them each smile and laugh.”
I feel for the guy. To be a father and watch your daughter go through heartache would be torture.
He finally looks away from the direction Luann walked off to and his stare locks on mine once again. “Can you do that Jayson? Can you be that man?”
I nod, feeling my throat grow tight. “Because if you can’t then I’m asking you man to man, walk away before they get hurt more than they’ve already been. I’m not sure I can watch her go through all the heartache and pain again and I think we both know with you it will be so much harder on her than with him.”
“Walking away is not an option,” I tell him. “I don’t think I’ve ever stopped loving your daughter sir. We may have been young, but no one has ever made me feel the things she does. My heart is still hers, and I know now it always will be. Now after meeting those girls I can safely say there is nothing, not a person, place or thing that could make me walk away.”
I meant it, Riley and Regan are not mine, but I feel an attachment to them that cannot be explained.
“They make me feel alive. They make me want to build a life here, they give me hope and when I see my future, I see the three of them, right here with me in Magnolia Grove. I’ll tell you what I told Zoey, I am not Carson. I’m not going anywhere and I hope like hell she gives me the chance to show her what life could be like with me. I don’t just want Zoey; I want all three of them.”
twenty
. . .
Zoey
Thank God for Gigi and her slumber parties with the girls. It’s adorable actually, all in their matching pajamas and slippers. They bake, do crafts, and camp out on a huge air mattress in the middle of her family room where they watch movie after movie until they pass out.
It’s a beautiful tradition, one that the memories I know will last the girls a lifetime.
It also gives me a little me time. Mostly I end up spending it at my shop, feeling creative as I dig into my backlog of never-ending projects. I’m one of those people who watches Pinterest to get ideas so I can turn around, put my own twist on them and sell them in my shop.
So many items within Zoey’s Treasures started with me scrolling through one site or the other, even a picture in a magazine. With a glass of wine, and a tray of cheese and crackers I buckle down and work until my eyes grow heavy.
During the time I was with Carson I barely worked on the things I love. He’d complain and honestly made me feel like my talents were only a waste of time and money. But since the girls were born and I moved back to Magnolia Grove, those talents have provided for Riley and Regan. I do alright for myself, and it’s what I love to do.
My phone chimes from the table at my side and I half expect to have yet another goofy photo sent by Gigi. She’s recently discovered Snapchat and my phone gets flooded when the girls are with her.
Waking it I’m surprised to find a text message from Jay instead. My heart immediately starts to race, remembering the last time I saw him. I left his office, feeling like a fool once again but smiling because he’d kissed me.
I was thrust into my teenage years all over again when the sweet older guy kissed me outside the gym after a basketball game. That’s where it all started. Those kisses, they were always my favorite. They still seem to affect me the same.
Jay: Brought you dinner.
I swivel around in my chair, almost like I expect him to be standing there behind me. The shop is locked up, and I’m alone.
Jay: I was hoping you’d let me in so we can share.
Standing I hurry to smooth my hair and run my hand over my face. Swiping beneath my eyes, wondering if my mascara has run. My pulse quickens with excitement as I walk toward the door that leads to the front of the store.
There he stands, holding up two bags, smiling at me through the solid glass door.
Never once in all the times I was with Carson did he ever make me feel the way Jay does.
I’d be lying to myself if I thought for a second that anyone has.
When I reach the door, I turn the lock and push open the door.
“Sandwiches from the deli,” he holds up one bag. “Desert from the bakery.” He offers by gently tipping the other from side to side.
“Turtle cheesecake?”
His smile widens, and the dimple in his right cheek grows more noticeable. “As if I’d show up here without your favorite.”
He remembers and I don’t know why I ever thought he wouldn’t. If there was one thing he was good at, it was spoiling me. I guess he still is.
