29. Millie #2
Oh my god. I truly was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but is she high? Who talks about another woman, in front of that woman, no less, like she’s a fucking child?
“She really is perfect, Gavin,” my dad says. “Couldn’t be happier for you. Can I hold her?”
My mouth falls open, and I miss a step. What the hell have they been smoking? I have to clutch the banister as I continue, because at this point, my knees are a wobbly mess.
“Of course. She loves everyone, and my arm could probably use the break. Right, Vivi girl? Daddy could also use a whiskey.”
My stomach rolls. Gross . He calls himself Daddy?
“I’ll get you one,” Lake says. “Ford, you want a whiskey, too? I’ll see if Millie wants a margarita. I think we have the peach mix she likes.”
My timing couldn’t be any better. I’m just crossing the threshold into the kitchen when Lake says my name.
Gavin’s back is turned, but he goes ramrod straight then.
“Millie?” he says, his voice hoarse. And then, as if he can sense my presence, he spins.
When he zeroes in on me, his gaze narrows, almost in accusation.
I barely spare him a glance, though. Not once I catch sight of the most adorable baby girl cradled in his arms.
My stomach does a bit of a somersault as I scan the kitchen. Lake is in front of the sink, her bright smile slipping with every second I remain stunned and silent. Beside her, my father, dressed in a black shirt and jeans, looks even more joyful than he did when I arrived.
Okay, two people accounted for.
The only other adult in the vicinity is Gavin. I continue my perusal, though, searching for another woman—perhaps this child’s mother. I only stop when Lake clears her throat.
“We were just gushing about Vivi. It’s hard to handle how beautiful his daughter is, don’t you think?”
I’m pretty sure my eyes do one of those cartoon things where they get really wide, and I kind of feel like my entire body falls forward in shock.
I’m actually surprised when I don’t hit the ground.
No one seems to notice my out-of-body experience, though, so maybe it’s just that I’ve actually lost my mind.
Because surely Lake didn’t just say that Gavin has a daughter.
“Y—” I clear the disbelief from my throat.
“Your daughter?” The words somehow find their way out of my mouth, but if I’m acting like a lunatic, Gavin has joined me in the mental ward, because he’s yet to say a word.
He’s staring at me, mouth ajar, like I’m the one who just handed him the damn kid in his arms.
“Here,” my father interrupts, reaching for Gavin’s daughter— okay , I’m not sure when that word will come out easily, but right now, I feel like there’s cement in my mouth. “Hi, Vivi girl. I’m your Uncle Ford. It’s good to meet you.”
Gavin blinks twice, and his eyes clear. Then he turns to my dad, and his expression softens. The shift is probably imperceptible to anyone but me, but I know that smile. Those crinkles, the joy that radiates, the love. It’s the way Gavin looked at me for all those months.
“I’ll take that whiskey now,” he mumbles as he leans against the counter, his gaze decidedly roving in any direction but mine.
“Margarita, Mills?” Lake asks, shaking me from my stupor.
When I turn to her, the look on her face is pure pity.
She knows. She’s known for a while.
And now it’s probably obvious to her that I had no idea who Vivi was. That things with Gavin and I are so over that he went and had a baby with someone else, and I had no idea.
My nod is barely a bob of my head.
“She sleeping at night?” my father asks.
“She sleeps great. It’s me who needs to get a grip.”
“I remember those days. Wondering if they’re breathing, if the sound they made is going to result in a cry. Certain you shouldn’t even bother closing your eyes, because as soon as you do, they’ll need you.” My dad chuckles. “Shit, I can’t believe I’m doing this again.”
“Duck,” Gavin mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.
My dad throws his head back and laughs, making Vivi startle, but she doesn’t fuss. “Oh, I see you’re like your brother now, huh?”
Gavin shrugs. “Figure since I’m all Vivi’s got, I better do as many things right as I can.”
My swallow is heavy. So there is no mother? I take a step farther into the kitchen, shuffling through all I’ve learned in the last few minutes. But as I ease closer to Gavin, the smell of him and his proximity steal all the thoughts from my brain, and somehow, everything else just fades away.
It’s just him…and her.
Vivi. I like that.
As I come close, she turns and focuses those deep brown eyes on me. Her cheeks—so rosy and pudgy it’s an effort not to pinch them—lift, and she claps her hands twice and squeals. She’s wearing a purple onesie, and her wavy brown hair is disheveled.
With a smile on my face, I keep my gaze on her and ask, “How old is she?”
Gavin still hasn’t answered my first question, and if he doesn’t stop acting like a complete asshole, my father is going to question why he hasn’t even said hello to me.
When Lake pushes a whiskey glass into his hand, he takes a long, slow sip. Then he clears his throat. “About six months.”
Six months. So she was born in the fall. I count back nine months and quickly determine that Gavin must have hooked up with her mother during the year we didn’t speak.
It shouldn’t bother me. We aren’t together now, and we certainly weren’t together then, but my stomach sours just the same.
Then again, the idea of Gavin with anyone but me makes my stomach roll.
“Ford, can you help me find the good tequila?” Lake interrupts.
My father spins Vivi in his arms and pushes her toward me. “Want to hold her?”
I reach for her before Gavin can object, swallowing down the painful thoughts. I’m the reason we’re not together. I’m the reason we weren’t together back then too. My immaturity. My problems .
I seduced the man and then left the country. I can’t fault him for any of it. And now there’s this sweet little girl…
In awe, I coo at her, brushing a hand over her soft hair. “Well, hello, beautiful.”
Lake practically drags my father to the bar, yammering on about the ingredients she needs like she’s doing her best to keep him distracted.
The sweet little girl in my arms tips her head back, studying me.
“Did you steal this baby?” I whisper.
Gavin’s eyes bulge and he chokes on his drink. “Excuse me?”
I scoff and hold her close to my chest. “Come on, Gavin. Where’s her mother?”
His gaze sharpens. “That’s hardly your business.”
I smile. I can’t help but rile him up. This isn’t the way I wanted to go about it, but if I can get under his skin, maybe we can get somewhere. “Gavin Langfield, where did you get this baby?”
A sound that could almost be categorized as a laugh comes from his throat. But then he clears it again. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Me? You have a baby ?” I whisper. “Last time I saw you, which was only four months ago, if you remember, you said you wanted to have kids. Now listen, I know I didn’t handle the conversation well, but this is…” I hold up Vivi and smile at her. “Well, I mean, it’s certainly one way to go about it.”
Gavin’s brown eyes narrow on me, his annoyance palpable.
I lean in closer to him, my voice a teasing whisper. “You can be honest. I won’t tell anyone that you stole her.”
“Are you high?” He grunts and holds his arms out. “Give me back my daughter.”
Oh my god, the way he says my daughter has parts of me tingling that have no business being affected.
Why is that so hot? I know I should be all sorts of things right now—upset that he had a child with someone else, annoyed that he isn’t at least a little happy to see me, worried that he’ll never forgive me—but I can be nothing but happy right now, because Vivi is a baby.
Not his girlfriend . She’s the daughter who now lives with him, not a woman he moved into his apartment.
“No. She likes me.” I spin her away from him and rest my cheek on the top of her head. “Don’t you, Viv? We’re going to be best friends.”
“You’re delusional.” He sets his whiskey glass on the counter and steps up to me, holding his arms out again.
I pull Vivi back. “Now, now. I’m spending time with my new bestie. Give us time to bond.” I press my lips to her cheek and blow a raspberry, causing the sweetest giggle to escape her.
“You are not bonding with my baby,” Gavin practically growls.
I hold her up so we’re cheek to cheek and smile, hoping she’s doing the same. “Come on now. Tell me this wasn’t your plan all along.”
“I have no idea what the?—”
“Aw, Millie.” My father suddenly materializes by my side and squeezes my shoulder. “Look at you. You were always so good with babies.”
I tip my head back and smile up at him, happy he’s interrupted grumpy Gavin. “Thanks, Daddy. She’s adorable.”
“Want to help me with the margarita? I got the ingredients.” Lake motions toward the bar.
“Sure, Viv and I will help out.”
“Vivi.” This time the sound that leaves Gavin’s mouth is a full-blown growl.
I shrug and focus on Vivi. “Maybe. But I think she likes when her bestie Millie calls her Viv.”
As if in confirmation, Vivi presses a chubby palm against my cheek and squeezes. Her sharp nails dig in a little painfully. Even so, I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out of me.
With one more grin at Gavin, I follow Lake out of the room, knowing full well that Gavin is tracking my every move. Maybe it’s a bit devious and calculated that I’ve stolen his daughter to keep his attention on me, but now that I know Gavin is still single, I don’t plan to go easy on him.
I will get Gavin back, and my new bestie, Vivi, is going to help me do it.