Page 55 of Nightclub Surprise
Tawny spun around. “I’ll let Tara knowthen.”
As she walked away, I sensed something off with her—there was a frigidness about her. Her eyes, usually so full of love, seemed dull. My heart thumped in my chest at the thought that she might be getting tired of dealing with me and my problemsalready.
Our love was new—fragile—maybe so new it was something she could easily walk away from. Maybe the doc was right. Maybe I shouldn’t make her do things she didn’t want to, like leaving mybed.
“Dad, am I gonna meet your parents?” Calum asked me with a wide grin on his cute littleface.
“You are,” I said, kissing his rosy red cheek. “They’re going to love you almost as much as Ido.”
“I bet I’ll love ‘em, too, then.” He was finally ready for me to put him down, and I placed him on the floor. “So, how was it in there,Dad?”
“Pretty good. Not as bad as I thought it might be. I missed you and your momma a lot tough.” My eyes darted to Tawny as she came back into the room. “It’s nearly hisbedtime.”
“Yep,” she said, as she came and took Calum’s hand. “Bath time, then bedtime. Come on,kiddo.”
As they walked away, I realized Tawny hadn’t even given me a kiss hello. Now the chill was evident. There was something wronghere.
“I’ll meet you guys in Calum’s room at eight, then.” I shoved my hands into my pockets, rocking back and forth on my feet, feelinguneasy.
“’Kay,” Tawny called back without turning to look atme.
Had I really gone too far when I’d forced her out of my room despite herprotests?
Strolling to the bar, I made myself a small glass of Scotch and took a seat. All my adult life I’d been making decisions for more than just myself. Had that made mehard?
Tawny and I had a connection—that much was true. But was it strong enough to withstand this hard time? And would she be able to love a man who was used to having things hisway?
The truth was that Tawny and I were great together when it came to sex. And we were doing a great job at co-parenting Calum, I’d say. But what about the rest of the stuff that came with being a couple? Relationships were hard enough to sustain; could she handle all the extra baggage that came along withme?
After finishing the drink, I headed to Calum’s room, finding him dressed in some Paw Patrol pajamas and picking out a book from his bookshelf. “Hey, Dad. Here’s one Momma said is calledThe Princess and the Pea. Wanna read this one tome?”
“Sure do,” I said, and looked at Tawny, who seemed to be leaving the room. “Hey, you goingsomewhere?”
“Yeah, I’m going to my bedroom where I’m taking a long hot bath with a glass of wine, then turning in for the night. See you both tomorrow. Goodnight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite. Love you both.” She blew us a kiss before sheleft.
Now I knew I’d made hermad.
Gulping, I took a seat on the edge of Calum’s bed as he climbed in, snuggling under the blankets. “Momma said you and I should have father-son time from now on when you read me my bedtimestory.”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t happy about that at all. She wasn’t even talking to me about anything. She’d just gone and made decisions all on her own—and she’d already done that for six years where Calum wasconcerned.
But I swallowed my anger and read the story to our son. As soon as he’d fallen asleep, I went to her bedroom door. It waslocked.
Now the anger came back, and I knocked on the door with a loud bang. ‘Tawny!”
No response came, and I knocked harder, my voice louder when I called out to her. Yet still, there was no response. Pulling my cell out, I typed out a message, telling her to come to my bedroom because we needed to talk. But even that didn’t get an immediateresponse.
I headed to my bedroom, shucked my suit and got into the shower. My head was a mess, worry mixed with anger, and I hated how I felt. I finished my shower and headed out into my bedroom, wearing nothing more than a towel around my waist, and found Tawny sitting on one of the small sofas. She was wearing a fluffy white robe and sipping a glass of redwine.
“Why aren’t you in the bed waiting for me, Tawny?” I walked toward herslowly.
“I thought I’d let you get some sleep. What did you want?” She looked past me for some reason, deliberately avoiding mygaze.
“You thought you’d let me sleep?” I went to take a seat on the othersofa.
“Yeah. I’m tired. If we havesex…”
I interrupted her. “You mean, if we makelove.”
