I shook my head. “That’s not happening. If you hurt her again, Bianca, you’ll answer to me.”
We arrived at a Lexus SUV, where she hit the key fob and unlocked the door. She turned to face me.
“Look, Luke, I understand why you doubt me.” She blew out a nervous laugh. “I was not a good person, let alone a good mother. I can’t promise that I’ll do much better now, but the one thing I can say is my intentions, to use my own word, are to do better. I might not have much time left on this earth. There’s no way I could make up for the pain I’ve caused my daughter in the past. But I assure you my goal is to not cause her more pain.”
I stared at her, looking for any kind of a tell that she was lying. She held my gaze steadily.
“I can tell you care about her,” she said, burrowing deeper into her coat as a gust of wind blew through. “She needs someone who has her best interests at heart because God knows Felix and I failed at that.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Well, thank you for looking out for her.”
I bit down on the shitty things I could say on the slim chance she’d genuinely changed. “Good night, Bianca.”
“Good night, Luke.”
As I walked away, it hit me that she wasn’t the only one who’d caused Magnolia pain in the past. I was just as guilty of it. I’d apologized. Magnolia’s mother had done the same. If anyone should be able to give her a second chance, it should be me. And maybe I would someday.
But for now, Magnolia needed someone in her corner, someone to look out for her. She’d never had someone to do that, but now she had me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Magnolia
I’d been looking forward to Rowan’s mini girls’ night all day, but now that it was time to head over there, I thought hard about canceling.
It was going on seven o’clock Friday evening, and I was fuming. I wouldn’t be good company. Rowan’s three-month-old daughter would probably sense my emotions and fuss all night just from my energy being in the same room.
I had my phone out, ready to text Rowan, when it occurred to me that staying home would be a victory for Felix. His entire point was to ruin my life some more. So I didn’t text Rowan. Instead I brushed my hair, pulled a thick sweatshirt on, grabbed my keys, and headed out.
In the Cordovas’ driveway, I sat in my car for a few minutes, coaching myself to shake it off. I forced myself to smile, hoping it would lighten my tension, then climbed out.
“Magnolia, come on in,” Rowan said when she opened the door for me. Lilah Rose was asleep on Rowan’s shoulder, looking angelic and peaceful.
“Ahh,” I breathed out. “I need this so bad.” I smiled at Rowan, and it came out a little more naturally.
“Baby time?” Rowan asked. “Would you like to hold her?”
“I should probably calm down a little more before I try holding your daughter,” I said. “But just seeing her precious little self so content is a good start.”
No, I hadn’t morphed into a big fan of kids and babies after a holiday and a couple of evenings with Addie, but something about the inherent trust and comfort of Lilah Rose worked its way into my heart. It was impossible to want to injure my not-father while watching the baby sleep.
“What’s going on?” Rowan asked as she led me to the family room in the back of the house. “Are you okay?”
“As Presley would say, Felix the Fuck is at it again.” I glanced at the baby. “Oops, sorry.”
“Considering the fact that I’ve never heard you drop an f-bomb, you get a pass,” Rowan said.
“Magnolia used the f-word?” Presley asked as we went down the single step to the sunken room. “What’s going on?”
“Do you need a drink?” Chloe asked.
“More than air,” I said. “If we’re doing drinks.” I glanced at Chloe, who was in her first trimester of pregnancy.
She held up a beautiful martini glass with a thick, creamy beverage and red, green, and white sugared rim. “Sugar cookie martinis. Mine’s a virgin.”
“Virgins for me too,” Rowan said, pointing at her daughter, who I knew she was nursing. “But for you and Presley, full-strength vanilla vodka and amaretto.”
