“What do you meanhandled?”
“I mean, you and I are flying back to LA tonight, and after I go in there and have a word with your parents, I doubt they’ll want me to stay anyway.”
Ashlie comes out then, rolling Willa’s suitcase and her own. I start toward the door, but Willa grabs my wrist.
“Trevor, you really don’t need to say anything.”
“Yep. I do. I should have said it an hour ago.” Squeezing her shoulder, I give a reassuring smile. “It’ll only take a second, then we can leave.” I don’t wait for her response before I head up the porch and into the house.
Hunter meets me in the foyer, holding my bag and his. “You’re leaving?” I ask.
“Hell, yeah. Bruh, there’s no way we’re staying after that shit show. I hate it here.” He hands me my bag, and I stick it on the floor next to the door, ignoring the confused look on his face. “You good?”
“Yep, just need to handle something.” I take a step toward the kitchen.
“You need backup?”
“Nah, I got it.”
I’ve never felt as determined as I do now, walking through the first floor of the Willis house, following the sounds of dishes clanking in the kitchen. The shaggy brown carpet quiets my footsteps so I unintentionally surprise Rob and Jackie when I step onto the vinyl floor. I clear my throat, and they both start.
“Oh! Trevor, you scared the living daylights out of me,” Jackie says. She dries her hands and holds her arms out to me, as if hugging it out can make up for anything. The thought of her touching me makes my skin crawl. “I apologize for my daughter’s tantrum at the dinner table. Wilhelmina is?—”
“—Carrying my child,” I finish for her. The pleasant smiles drop from their faces. Robert and Jackeline have always welcomed me with open arms. I’ve never had reason to think they weren’t decent people, until tonight. And now, I have to remind myself tobreathe deeply, trying to hold on to a modicum of self-control while watching an array of emotions contort their faces.
“Y-you?” Robert’s voice matches the surprise creasing his face
Nodding, I cross my arms over my chest, removing all the friendliness from my voice. “And to address your concerns, Willa won’t need your help with a damn thing. She’s resilient and strong, and the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. She has everything covered, and I havehercovered.” Stepping forward with rage settling into my jaw, I juggle my measured stare between them until I’m sure my message is received loud and clear.This won’t happen again.“Despite the mediocre examples she obviously had in you two, she’ll be an amazing mom. So you can go ahead and keep those projections about your own parenting to yourselves. We’re good on that. Wouldn’t want to stress the baby, now would you?” An arrogant smile slides across my lips as I wait for them to fill the silence swallowing up the kitchen. They don’t. “Thanks for having me. We have a flight to catch.” I turn on my heel, and I’m met with a gaping, wide-eyed Willa. Her expression remains as I walk toward her and slip my hand around hers. “Ready?” I ask.
She nods, turns her back on her parents, and after I grab my bag, we head outside to the waiting rental in the driveway. Before climbing into the car, she stops me with a hand on my chest.
“You didn’t have to say all that… Thank you.” Her eyes give just enough vulnerability to seize my heart.Has no one ever fought for her? If she doesn’t think I’d do that ten times over, she’s dead wrong.
I pull her into a hug, expecting her usual stiffened reaction, but she surprises me by fully wrapping her arms around my waist. Burying my face in her hair, I kiss the top of her head. “I meant every word, Willa. I want you to know that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
WILLA
This whole peeing every thirty minutes is pissing me off. I’ve barely made it through each holiday mini-session before beelining to the bathroom. I swear I’ve run back there ten times today. Yet, here I am, sipping water at my desk because I’ve never been this damn thirsty in my life.
“Hey, Willa!” Cara strolls through the door with a smile and a newly dyed lavender bob framing her face. My junior photographer is taking over the rest of the holiday minis today so I can get to my twelve-week appointment. She just doesn’t know that’s the reason.
I still haven’t told anyone at work about being pregnant, and luckily, my assistant Emily is too much of a space cadet to notice my frequent breaks. At first, I didn’t want to jinx anything, knowing how iffy the first trimester can be. But after my parent’s reaction last week, I don’t have any interest in sharing baby news with anyone else.
“Hey!” I minimize the seven mommy blogs on my computer screen as she passes by. I’ve channeled my anger from Thanksgiving into researching how to travel through Europe with an infant in tow. There are a few bloggers who’ve done it, and itseems doable for me with some adjustments. Excitement sparks in my chest, my teeth stifling the smile threatening my lips.I don’t have to give up Europe.I can make this work.
“Who’s coming in today?” Cara asks, her hip leaning against the edge of my desk. I stand to show her today’s setup.
“The Barlow family is first. They requested candy canes and snowmen, which I’ve already laid out.” I gesture toward the snowy backdrop hanging on the wall.
“Ooh, the kids will love that!”
“My thoughts exactly.” The little Barlow twins are going to lose it over the tiny snowman stuffies I found. “Emily confirmed the pet deposit went through for Mrs. Albert, so we should be all set there. Just remember, her dog tries to eat everything.”
“Got it. Thanks for trusting me with this on my own, Willa. I really appreciate it.”
“You’ve come so far this year.” Squeezing her arm, I give her a reassuring smile, mentally sending her all the good luck I can. “You’ll do great. We’ll work together on edits later this week.” These will be her first solo sessions, and even though it’s only two, I remember how nerve-racking it can be. That’s why I haven’t told her this is a trial run for when I leave on my trip.
