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He twisted toward her, unable to hide his proud smile. “Excellent. I made eggs with toast.” He grabbed her plate and set it down in front of her with flare, then added a small bowl of fruit next to it. “With your favorite fruit.”
She looked a combination of surprised and touched. “I feel special this morning. What’s this all for?”
He grabbed his plate and fruit and sat down next to her. “Because I can.”
They leaned forward at the same time, pressing their lips together. Oh, how he ached to do so much more, but of course, none of that could occur with Amelie awake and in the room. Having sex was going to prove to be difficult with a child around all the time.
His fork stabbed a cut strawberry. “Plus, it’s Mother’s Day.”
He shoved the strawberry in his mouth, chewing slowly as the confusion flooded her face.
“I mean, I know you’re not Amelie’s mom, but you know, you’re the closest thing she has to one right now. You do a lot for her. For me. You should be recognized for that.”
Genevieve’s knuckles turned white as she held the fork, her eyes darting from Amelie to him. “It’s Mother’s Day?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled, hoping to dispel the sudden tension that swarmed the small space. “Dane said he let Gabby pick the wedding date, and he approved it because he knew it’d be easy to remember once their anniversary passed that Mother’s Day would follow soon after. He’d never forget two important dates.”
She didn’t smile as he’d hoped. If anything, her frown deepened, a sadness filling her eyes.
“Did you get your mom anything?” Maybe that’s why she seemed so sad.
He never had to worry about the holiday anymore because his mom had been dead the past five years. Of course, it didn’t mean the holiday was an easy one for him. It made him think of her more, and a lot of the times he had to force himself not to. It only brought his pain front and center and the ache to take it away that much stronger. Losing his mother had set him on the path of drugs. He’d taken her death hard and had yet to get over it.
He was grateful he had Amelie this year. He could focus on her—on Genevieve—rather than his mom.
“Oh, yeah, I have a card for her, and a plant that Mrs. Reverson insisted would be perfect for her.”
He reached out and took her free hand, wishing he could rip the fork out of her other one because if she held it any tighter it’d merge as one into her hand.
“What’s the matter? I’ve upset you somehow.”
“Well, like you said, I’m not her mom. Melanie is.”
His grip tightened, the anger slicing through him so suddenly, it surprised him as much as her because she flinched. He knew he didn’t have a pleasant expression on his face either.
“She lost that title the moment she gave Amelie up.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“She abandoned her in a bar, Genevieve. She didn’t even make sure someone saw her. She set her on the ground and left without telling anyone. Anyone could’ve stolen her. I could’ve lost Amelie before even knowing about her. She didn’t give me a damn thing either. No paperwork, no birth certificate. Just dumped her on my lap and walked away.”
Genevieve pulled at her hand. Despite not wanting to, he let her go.
It was as if she had taken his heart in her hand and crushed it to pieces. The loss of her touch was swift and brutal, gutting him to the core.
“I know she made mistakes, dumb ones, but that doesn’t erase the fact she is Amelie’s mother.”
He clenched his jaw, telling himself to keep calm and not say anything to elevate this argument. An argument they shouldn’t be having. How could she not see how selfish and reckless Melanie’s actions were? He didn’t care that they were best friends. What Melanie had done he’d never forgive her for.
“We should honor that, too. We should visit her grave with Amelie.”
“Hell, no.”
Genevieve flinched at his immediate response. He didn’t even have to think about it.
“Amelie’s going to grow up wanting to know about her mom. Are you always going to keep her from that? Would you want to be kept from knowing about your mother?”
His lips thinned. “We’re not talking about my mother. And I’ll worry about that issue when Amelie gets older. As far as I’m concerned, Melanie isn’t her mother.”
