Page 40 of Deception
She’s forgiven him enough to let him inside her at night. As long as he was home by ten, he was guaranteed to get laid. It wasalmost a reward for doing well, and he hopes she understands he still loves her.
He loves her, but he’s a weak man. But he vows to repent, starting with making her moan as she rides his face.
Chapter Thirteen
Griffin’s Beach
Gavin
Waking in the middle of the night, Gavin reaches across the bed for Hailey. She officially moved in with him the weekend Emme left Nancy with him permanently, and he doesn’t know how he could have done any of this without her. She’s an angel, even though he knows it still hurts her that he had a baby with someone else.
He knows if she’d been the one to have a baby with someone else, he’d have a difficult time dealing with it. It’s probably something he couldn’t get over, and it bothers him to know he caused her pain of any kind. It’s one thing to mess around with someone else—even if they weren’t together—but it’s another tohave a product of that affair around every day for the rest of their lives.
His hand hits the still damp spot from their lovemaking earlier, but the bed is otherwise empty on her side.
Climbing out of bed, he slips on his boxers and walks out of the room. No matter how many times she says she’s not going anywhere, he finds himself having a small panic attack when she’s not where she should be. If she ever takes off on him again, he doesn’t know if he’ll make it. There’s so much more at stake now.
The dim light from the nursery calms his nerves as it illuminates the hallway. Walking over, Gavin leans against the doorframe as he watches his two ladies.
Hailey sits in a fuzzy robe on the rocking chair she insisted they buy. His baby sleeps in her arms with an empty bottle on the dresser beside them. They rock together, and Hailey looks down at her with a smile on her face.
“Hey,” he says, his voice quiet.
“Hey,” she responds, looking up at him. “It was feeding time.”
“I didn’t even hear her.”
Smiling, she nods. “I know.”
“You’re really good with her.”
“She’s an easy baby. I still can’t figure out how the waitress signed her rights over so easily. I don’t know that I could ever walk away from this little angel, and I didn’t give birth to her.”
Moving into the room, Gavin kneels before them and stares at his daughter. When he first learned Emme was pregnant, he thought he would lose everything. He was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and he had no idea how to be a father.
Hailey just came back to him, and they were starting a real relationship. One where she didn’t always have one foot out the door at all times to protect herself. Then BAM! He gets hit with one of the ultimate surprises.
Even though she claims she played a part in everything, Gavin doesn’t feel the same. He was the one who chose to sleep with a woman he didn’t love. One he knew he’d never love, either. Hailey left him behind, and he was sad. He was sad, and Emme was convenient.
He’s not proud of it, but it’s the truth. The pain became unbearable, and Emme offered herself up on a platter. No matter how evolved he may see himself, he’s still a man. And the sex was good, but nothing beyond that happened between them. He’d never experienced anything like that before, and it unsettled him how empty he felt.
“I don’t know, either,” Gavin says, and it’s the truth. Even though he panicked when Nancy was left with him, he knows he could never just walk away from her. “I do know that Nancy is really lucky to have you in her life. Just like I am.”
Hailey smiles. “I have fallen so hard for this little girl. Love doesn’t feel like a strong enough word. I look at her, and I swear, my heart feels like it could explode. It’s unfamiliar but amazing.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re her mom, Hails. I know this isn’t what we planned, and I love you so fucking much for sticking it out with me. And for staying when a new twist shook us. No matter what happens with us, Nancy will know you as her mother.”
“Already planning on getting rid of me, huh?” she jokes with a small chuckle.
Standing, she lays Nancy gently in her crib, careful not to wake her. A skill Gavin has yet to perfect. Every attempt to put his sleeping daughter in the crib wakes her, and he has to start the process all over until Hailey comes home.
He runs his hand over Nancy’s dark hair before taking Hailey’s hand, leading her from the room. “I plan to keep you forever,” he says and kisses her. “And you will forever be her mom. The one who chose her. I honestly still don’t know how you do it.”
“I had a pretty good role model,” she says with a small smile. “No matter how much I tried to push Lex away, she never gave up on me. Even though she had every right to.”
Caressing her face, he smiles. “God, am I glad she didn’t.”
“She showed me it’s possible to be a mother to a child you didn’t give birth to. I never understood it until now, and I always thought she was just pretending. This kind of love is awe-inspiring, and there’s nothing else like it. I get it now.”
