Chapter Twenty #2
“Hey, guys,” he greets us with a wide smile as we sit down.
“Hi!” Lilah exclaims happily.
“How are you, little miss?” Carter asks.
“Good.” She takes the coloring book and crayons I brought for her and sets them out on the table. “Jake and I having fun. Where Chase?”
Carter chuckles. “Glad to hear you’re having fun. Chase is at daycare, otherwise I’d definitely have brought him.”
She slumps her shoulders and sticks out her bottom lip in a disappointed pout.
A waitress comes over and takes our order, and once she leaves, Carter looks at me and hesitantly asks, “So, uh, what exactly is going on with you and…” He glances down at Lilah before silently mouthing, “ Abbie ?”
I sneak a look at Lilah. I don’t want to say anything explicit, and I definitely don’t want to say anything she might repeat back to her mom.
Choosing my words carefully, I answer, “We’ve, uh, reconnected. Kind of back to how things used to be, but it’s somehow more than that this time.”
“Oh?” Carter raises his brows in surprise. “Is that a good thing or not?”
I glance at Lilah again. She’s coloring away, lost in her own little world, happy as can be. She’s so perfect. So sweet and funny and loving.
“I’m not sure,” I murmur, my heart aching.
“It’s kind of crazy how much she looks like you.”
I pause, emotion rushing through me, but I swallow and shake my head, meeting Carter’s eyes again.
“Abbie said she wasn’t mine,” I reply sharply. Then, needing to change the subject, I ask, “How are things at the rink?”
A little before three, I walk into the clinic with Lilah in my arms. As we step through the door, Abbie comes out from the back hallway where the exam rooms are located.She’s walking with a patient, a tall, thin man who’s older.
The way he’s watching her so intently puts me on edge, but Abbie is perfectly professional.
She’s smiling politely and nodding as he speaks to her.
She looks tired, though. Her smile strained and her eyes heavy.
A stab of concern goes through me. I hope she’s not overworking herself.
“All right, well, I’ll put you on the schedule for two weeks from now for your follow-up.”
The man nods and smiles. It seems a little too happy for a doctor’s appointment, I think.
“Sounds good,” he says. “Thank you, Abbie.”
“You have a good day,” she tells him. She catches sight of us at that moment and her gaze lingers on me, taking in my pre-game navy suit. If I’m not mistaken, I see a flash of appreciation cross her eyes.
The patient leaves and I watch him go, keeping my gaze on him until he gets into his gray car and drives away. Then I cross to where Abbie is standing.
“Mommy!” Lilah exclaims.
“Hi, baby girl. Did you have a good day?”
“Yeah! So fun!”
Abbie chuckles. “Oh, good, I’m glad.” Grinning at me, she says, “Thanks for sending pictures throughout the day.”
“No problem. Figured you’d need some Lilah smiles to brighten things up for you.”
I hand her the keys to her car, and she pulls mine from her pocket.
“How did you manage to look so put together while watching a two-and-a-half-year-old?” Her tone has a teasing note to it.
“Oh, you like this?” I smirk, and give a slow once over. “I plopped her in front of the TV and put on the show with the little blue dog.”
She laughs and the sound is rich and warm. “That’s my favorite one.”
Suddenly, her eyes land on my shoulder and she lifts her hand, as if to touch it, but then appears to think better of it and pulls back.
“You, uh, have some glitter on you.”
I look down and chuckle, wiping my shoulder, even though I know there’s no way I’m getting rid of it that easily.
“Thanks,” I say, but when I see the door to the exam rooms open behind her, I stiffen and instinctively squeeze Lilah tighter in my arms.
Dr. Westbrook steps out and glances from me to Lilah. Something in me wants to turn away so that Westbrook can’t see her. I’m not sure where that urge comes from, but I chalk it up to jealousy. Stupid, immature jealousy.
Still, when he moves to stand next to Abbie, I can’t help but clench my teeth in irritation.
“Heyyy, there’s Lilah!” Westbrook exclaims.
To my immense satisfaction, Lilah doesn’t respond and instead buries her face against my shoulder. Abbie frowns for a moment but then quickly tries to laugh it off.
“Why are you being shy, sweetie?” she asks.
Lilah just shakes her head without looking up. I have to admit, I kinda love this. Looks like me and her both get the same weird vibes from this guy.
Abbie rubs her hand over Lilah’s back. “Why don’t you go ask Mrs. Parks for a piece of candy?”
Lilah looks up and beams, nodding. “Candy!”
I put her down and she runs to the reception desk, where the part-time receptionist I just hired, Mrs. Parks, is sitting with a bright smile and her glasses perched on her nose. Since Lilah is distracted, I turn my attention back to Abbie and this doctor.
Westbrook gives me a polite but tight smile. “Are you Lilah’s dad?”
Motherfucker, pretending he doesn’t remember me. Abbie looks shocked by his question and opens her mouth for a moment, as if to say something, but then Mrs. Parks suddenly calls out, “Miss Wixx, could you show me how to input for Medicare again? I’m still a bit confused.”
Abbie immediately replies, “Sure thing, Mrs. Parker! Just a second.” She looks between me and Westbrook, doing a bad job of hiding her relief. “Sorry. I need to go help her.”
Before either of us can say a word, she dashes toward the reception desk. Westbrook and I stand awkwardly together for a moment.
“Well, it’s good to meet you,” Westbrook finally says, his voice tight. “I should get back to it.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” I reply through gritted teeth. Sure, act like we’ve never met before, asshole. Wouldn’t be the first doctor I know with a conveniently bad memory.
He turns and walks back through the door to the exam rooms. Once he’s gone, Lilah hurries back toward me clutching a sucker in one hand.
“Jake, look!”
I chuckle. “Ohhhh, cherry. That’s my favorite.”
Abbie makes her way back over as well and smiles down at Lilah, reaching down for her free hand. “All right, sweetie. We need to let Jake get going.”
Lilah throws her arms around my leg, squeezing like her life depends on it. “I love you, Yake! Bye!”
“Love you too, princess.” The words are out of my mouth before I realize what I’m saying.
Abbie looks as shocked as I feel when what I’ve said fully registers. My heart starts racing a million miles an hour, and I realize that I meant it. I really do love Lilah.
I have no fucking idea what to do with this revelation.
“Uh, I’ll see you guys later,” I quickly say. “Wish me luck tonight.”
“Good luck,” Abbie murmurs.
I turn and make my way toward the clinic’s main doors but stop and glance over my shoulder to find Abbie still staring at me.
For a moment, I don’t want to go. Tonight is the first night she’ll really be alone since everything happened with her stalker at the apartment.
I remind myself that we have the camera and reinforced locks, and the security company will call the police if they see anyone try to break in or if the camera becomes disconnected.
It’s only a couple of hours. Everything will be okay.
Still, next time, it would put my mind at ease if she just came with me.
“You, uh, wouldn’t want to come to one of my games sometime, would you?” I ask, trying not to sound super lame as I talk to her across the room.
She hesitates for a moment and nervously licks her lips.
“Yes,” she finally replies. “I’d like that.”
I can’t keep myself from smiling. “All right. I’ll see you guys later.”
Turning, I head out of the clinic, feeling like I’m walking on air.