Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The doorbell rang, making Adalyn jump and causing her heart rate to double.
Jaclyn continued to play on the floor, undisturbed by the sound.
Pushing off the couch, Adalyn headed toward the front door, dread sitting like a lead ball in her stomach.
Even through the narrow, frosted pane of glass in the door, there was no mistaking Jaxon’s broad form.
Drawing in a fortifying breath, Adalyn unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Jaxon stood there, larger than life, his presence dominating the entire front porch.
Face unreadable, he silently stepped inside.
Without waiting for an invitation, he toed off his boots, then turned to Adalyn, holding out a plastic shopping bag of Chinese takeout. A peace offering?
Adalyn slipped the handles from his fingers, careful not to touch him.
“Thank you,” she said. Her stomach rumbled as the delicious smells wafted up to her.
She’d gotten home barely fifteen minutes ago, giving her just enough time to change out of her work clothes and into a pair of comfy sweats and a T-shirt.
Closing the door, she flipped the lock, then gestured down the hallway.
Instead of preceding her down the hall, Jaxon tipped his chin, gesturing for her to go first. Adalyn felt his gaze on her the whole way, like he was painting a bull’s-eye on her back, just waiting for her to slip up.
So far, nothing she had done was good enough.
He hadn’t allowed her to explain herself, had only thought the absolute worst.
Maybe tonight would go better since their previous two encounters had been less than successful—an understatement of the year.
Tonight he’d brought dinner. The fact that he’d gone out of his way to do something nice amped up her guilt.
It was an uncomfortable situation at best, but she was determined to play nice, for Jaclyn’s sake.
If he could come halfway, she could too.
Rounding the corner to the living room, Adalyn saw Jaclyn was still in her spot, eyes glued to the cartoon playing on TV. She set the food on the counter and began to remove the containers.
She felt Jaxon come up beside her, his huge form moving into her peripheral vision. “You leave her alone like that all the time?” he asked.
Adalyn bristled at his words. So much for that peace offering. She wanted to speak up in her defense, but instead, she swallowed the words down. She knew he was still angry, but it wouldn’t do either of them any good to feed into it. Be the bigger person, Adalyn.
“I was gone for thirty seconds. Besides,” she gestured around the room, “everything’s baby-proofed.”
“It only takes a few seconds for them to get into something and get hurt,” he replied.
Adalyn barely held back a snort. Now he suddenly had a wealth of knowledge about raising kids from some Google search he’d come across in the last two days? Was he out of his mind? What did he think she’d been doing for the past year?
“You know, that never occurred to me. You’re absolutely right.” She turned toward him and pasted on a sweet smile, a direct contradiction to the sarcasm flowing from her tongue. “Next time, I guess I just won’t answer the door.”
Intense blue eyes narrowed on her, and she glared right back. If he thought he could just walk in here and start criticizing her parenting skills, he had another thing coming.
She could practically feel the animosity vibrating off his tense body, and her gaze skittered away, back to Jaclyn. She’d hoped they could at least be civil for her sake, but gauging from the attitude he was carrying around, she didn’t think that was very likely.
Appetite gone, Adalyn shoved away from the counter. Brushing him off, she made her way around the couch and settled on the plush cushion. Her book still lay on the armrest where she had discarded it when the doorbell rang, and she picked it up and began to read again.
For several long moments, Jaxon stood rooted to the floor, and Adalyn could feel his angry gaze on her, burning into the back of her head. Finally, with an irritated sound, he entered the living room and settled beside her on the couch. Her muscles tensed, acutely aware of him.
Finally noticing his presence, Jaclyn turned and peered warily at Jaxon.
Adalyn watched surreptitiously over the pages of her book as Jaclyn studied him.
The sight sent a little pain of regret shooting through her heart.
For both their sakes, she wanted Jaclyn to be comfortable with him.
She wanted Jaclyn to know her father, and he deserved to know his intelligent, sweet little girl.
With a soft sigh, Adalyn set her book aside.
Infusing as much enthusiasm into her voice as possible, she directed her words to Jaclyn.
“Why don’t you come see Daddy?” Her eyes flitted to Adalyn for a moment before darting back to Jaxon, and she shook her head emphatically.
Next to Adalyn, Jaxon tensed, his hands clenched into fists where they rested on his thighs.
“Don’t take it personally,” Adalyn said, gently resting a hand on his forearm. Thick cords of muscle tensed under her touch, and she pulled her hand away, tucking it into her lap.
Jaxon leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. For a long moment, he stared at the ground, then lifted his eyes to Jaclyn.
His voice was quiet when he spoke. “I’m sorry. I’ve been a jerk.” He spread his hands wide. “I don’t have a good excuse. I’m just… lost.”
Adalyn knew how that felt. “I understand.”
He watched Jaclyn for a moment before speaking. “What’s she like?”
“Smart. Too smart.” Adalyn smiled. “She watches everything and everyone. She loves to play, especially with things she can build.”
A grin cracked Jaxon’s face, transforming him into the handsome man Adalyn remembered. “That’s probably my fault. I was always that way, too.”
Jaclyn continued to play on the floor, intermittently watching whatever was currently on the Disney channel. “She’s always taken after you,” Adalyn admitted. “Do you want to see some pictures?”
“Of course.”
Adalyn couldn’t tell if he was being genuine or just trying to appease her, but he moved closer regardless. She opened up the photo app on her phone and began to scroll. “Just so you know,” she warned him, “I have a lot of pictures.”
She started at the beginning, on the day Jaclyn was born. Jaxon slipped the phone from her fingers and enlarged the image, a look of pure awe crossing his face. “She’s changed so much.”
A smile lifted Adalyn’s lips. “I know. It’s gone so fast.” Her gaze darted to Jaclyn, her eyes glued to the TV.
What would happen if Jaxon and Adalyn ended up sharing custody?
He deserved to spend time with his daughter, but she couldn’t imagine not seeing her every day.
“She’s constantly growing and changing. But there’s no denying she got most of your looks with that hair. ”
Adalyn didn’t mean for the words to come out so sad, but she felt Jaxon’s gaze on her. “I see a little bit of you in her, too.”
Adalyn rolled her eyes but managed a small smile. “Ha. Maybe a drop.”
Jaxon shook his head. “I mean, she’s pretty much my clone, but…” He laughed when Adalyn lightly backhanded his bicep, then sobered. “Seriously. She’s beautiful and vibrant, just like you.”
Adalyn felt her face heat as a blush spread up her neck and over her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she deflected his attention from her and back to the pictures on her phone. “Here’s her first bath.”
They sifted through hundreds of photos, dozens of frilly, cute little outfits and fluffy bows. Adalyn laughed as she pointed at a picture she’d taken around Christmas. “She was so good, letting me dress her up and change outfits a dozen times. I must have taken a hundred photos that day alone.”
Jaxon smiled. “I’ll bet.”
Leaning back, he slung one arm over the back of the couch.
Curled up on the cushion next to him, Adalyn was almost within his embrace, and her breath caught in her chest. They weren’t touching, yet an electrical current connected them.
She turned her head and found him looking right at her, those cobalt eyes cutting straight to her soul.
Suddenly, it was too much. Adalyn needed to put some space between them. “I—I should serve dinner.”
She popped up from the couch, her heart beating a million miles a minute. She was terrified of Jaxon coming back into their lives and disrupting their peaceful environment. What scared her more than anything, though, was her reaction anytime he got close—and the fact that she wanted more of it.