Chapter 30
Daniel
“I feel you, man,” said Chuck, as he gave my back another good slap. “I have never understood these guys who end up with one woman.”
“What’s the fun in that?” I asked.
“Right? No fucking thanks. And then after the woman reels you in, they want a ring. They drop those little hints and take you through Tiffany’s innocently.” Chuck held his hand out and wiggled his fingers and batted his eyelashes.
“All part of their master plan,” I agreed.
“Then they get that. Then they want the big, white wedding, and yadayada. It’s always take-take-take.”
I nodded and took a sip of champagne, hoping no one would hear me to pretend to agree with this guy.
He was a complete prick, but I needed to appeal to his good side for an upcoming business deal.
The way he talked about women, it was no wonder he couldn’t lock one down.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to, it was because no one wanted him.
His ego would never let him admit the harsh truth, though.
“A wedding in the Hamptons probably.”
“Exactly. And then they want babies. God, those things are so loud. Not to mention needy. That whole daddy daycare thing. Leave that to the women.”
Oof. He just kept getting worse. If it got me a business deal, I’d play along.
“I wouldn’t even know what to do with a baby.” I shrugged, half playing along and half pondering my situation with Heart. I really wouldn’t know, but the day I would need to was approaching faster than I liked.
“I know what you do. You hand it back to its mother.”
I forced a laugh before lifting my glass. “Cheers to the bachelor life,” I said.
“Now hold on there,” said Chuck, putting his hand up and raising a skeptical eyebrow.
I looked at him curiously.
“You talk a big talk, but I heard you’re off the market with that Shipley girl…”
“Oh, that?” I waved him off. “I’m just telling the poor girl what she wants to hear.”
“Ahh,” said Chuck, impressed. “Well played for a swell lay.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, cheers to that.” Chuck raised his glass and clinked it to mine before he downed it.
“It’s nice to meet another businessman with their eye on the prize. We should sit down for a meeting sometime,” I offered.
I had cast my line and now I just needed to reel him in.
“I’ll have my assistant call yours.”
He bit.
“Uh-oh,” he said suddenly, looking behind me. “Your fiancée is headed this way. Man, does she look like a real dime. You’re a lucky man.”
“We’ll talk soon,” I said, shaking his hand firmly.
“Count on it.”
I turned and spotted Kiera walking toward me with determination and a martini in her freshly manicured hand. She wore a black silk dress that plunged at the neckline, revealing her sun-kissed tan that was probably sprayed on. Her teeth peeked out from her red lipstick in a seductive smile.
“Daniel,” she purred, draping her arms around my neck. “I thought I would run into you here.”
“Kiera.” I nodded as I looked around the room for Heart. The last thing I needed her to see was Kiera all over me, giving off a very wrong impression. But I didn’t see her. I figured I would get this over with quickly and then go find her.
“Not up for bid tonight?” asked Kiera with a smirk.
“Sorry to disappoint,” I said.
“I had my checkbook and everything.” She pouted.
“There’s plenty to bid on tonight. You could put it to use.”
“Oh, you know I don’t really care about all this charity bullshit,” she said, lowering her voice so no one would hear.
Then she leaned in close and whispered. “You know, charity or not…if you liked what you saw, I wouldn’t charge you.”
“Tempting, but I’m here on business tonight.”
She pulled back and rolled her eyes. “When did you become so serious?”
“Probably around the same time you got married for the second time. Or was it the third?”
She gave me a playful shove. “You’re the worst.”
I put my hands on her upper arms and gave her a gentle squeeze. It probably seemed like a kind gesture, but it was really to hold her back from hanging all over me.
“I really am here on business, but it was great to see you, Kiera.”
She pulled herself from my grip and stood on her tiptoes. She was anything if not persistent. She wrapped her hands around my neck before giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“Call me when you want to have some fun,” she said before slinking off.
I watched her go and then scanned the room for Heart and the pink dress I had helped take off just over an hour ago.
I was ready for round two now that my business was done.
I wandered around the room, giving smiles to some acquaintances, while I looked for her.
She wasn’t at the bar, which was a given.
She wasn’t at the buffet table. She wasn’t at the silent auction table where they were now compiling all the bids.
I didn’t know where she was.
I slipped my phone out of my jacket pocket and texted her: Where are you? I waited for a few minutes, drumming my fingers against my phone. She didn’t reply. I tried calling her, but it went to voicemail. I furrowed my brow. That was strange. I didn’t think she would leave without saying goodbye.
After our time up in my suite tonight, I thought maybe we had sorted everything out. I knew we hadn’t gotten a lot of talking done, which we probably should have, but she was just as eager as I was on that bed. I thought she would stay the night with me tonight after she was done working.
An hour later, the charity event was starting to wind down. I texted Heart again, but received no reply. Disappointed, I said my goodbyes and went upstairs to my suite. I thought maybe she would come join me, but when midnight came around, I realized she wasn’t coming.
The only explanation I had was that maybe she had gotten sick. I knew she would still get bouts of morning sickness, even at night, which was weird. Why did they even call it morning sickness?
I took a hot shower and climbed into the plush bed that still smelled like her. I breathed her in as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
The next few days, I tried calling Heart again, but all I got was her voicemail. I left a few messages, but then gave up wasting my breath. I didn’t understand why she had disappeared at the charity event and why I was now getting the silent treatment.
Repeatedly, I replayed the conversation we had in the hallway.
She had been so angry. She hardly ever cussed, but harsh words flowed off her tongue easily then.
All the things she had said were true. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I knew that it was taking a toll on her.
I wished I would have told her how I was feeling rather than taking her to bed.
Well, I didn’t regret that part completely. I just knew we had things to fix, and now it felt like I tried to slap a Band-Aid on it with sex. I just couldn’t help myself around her. I knew the feeling was mutual, or we wouldn’t have wound up having wildly angry, passionate sex that night.
Whatever flip switched, clearly my texts and phone calls weren’t working. I picked up the phone at my desk and dialed Margaret at the front desk.
“Yes, Mr. Jacobs?” she answered.
“I need you to put an order in at the florist on Fifth Ave. I want three dozen red roses. And they have to be delivered today.”
“But it’s already four o’clock…”
“Pay double. Triple. I don’t care. It has to be today.”
“Okay. Where should they be sent?”
“Ms. Heartly’s home address.”
“Yes, sir.”
I ended the call and wondered if it would be enough to fix whatever I had done.
It wasn’t.
Three days had gone by and I didn’t hear from Heart. I was starting to go crazy. It had been a week since the charity event, and nothing. I didn’t realize how much I needed her until now. I was completely infatuated with her. Perhaps even falling for her, which was something I did not do.
That night, in my apartment, I poured a generous serving of whiskey on ice. Images of Heart and our first night together flashed through my mind, as they usually did in this space. I took a sip and gripped the counter’s edge as I studied myself in the mirror.
The word “asshole” was all that came to mind when I saw my face.
Had I really lost her again?
I thought back to what she said in the hallway, trying desperately to retrace my footsteps and see where I had stumbled. She said she didn’t know if I was in this or not. Being without her for the past week made me realize I was. I was all in, and I decided to finally show her that.
I took my drink over to the couch and sat down, sinking into the plush sage green cushions. Getting my laptop from the concrete coffee table, I started Googling the best baby stores in Manhattan. I scrolled through website after website, reading reviews for cribs and safety ratings for car seats.
I was completely lost in all things baby. No wonder Heart had been so overwhelmed. She already had so much to learn about being pregnant, and so many adjustments to make to her life. And then you throw shopping for everything on top of all that. It was no wonder she was pissed at me.
After two hours of browsing, I purchased a crib from Bergdorf Goodman and a car seat from Nordstrom.
I ordered some wooden toys from a little boutique on Warren Street.
The one where all the celebrities go. I even ordered a few newborn onesies in neutral colors.
I had everything gift wrapped and sent to her apartment in Brooklyn.
I wanted our baby to have the best of the best, and I wanted Heart to know that I was trying.
I wondered when Heart would find out if we were having a boy or girl, or if she knew already. Then, I wondered if she would tell me. I never thought about what I would want because I was never with someone where starting a family was on the table. Hell, it wasn’t even on the menu.
Kiera and I had been together awhile, but she wasn’t exactly maternal.
I saw her hold her baby niece once. It was so unnatural.
She held the poor thing out like it was a dog who had just left a doodoo on her expensive fur rug.
Come to think of it, when a baby would cry, she seemed to instinctively twitch. As if she were malfunctioning.
Somehow, I knew Heart would make a good mother.
I sighed as I leaned back into the couch and thought about everything she was going through.
I should have asked her more questions. I should have offered to go with her to her doctor appointments.
Now that I thought about it, I should have done a lot of things, including picking up that ultrasound off my desk and looking at our baby together.
I knew buying things wasn’t going to fix everything, but I hoped it was enough to show her that I was really in this. I might not know how to be a father, but I was going to give it all I had. I wanted to. And I wanted to do it with Heart.