“Sierra and I are truly grateful.” He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist. The look he gave her seemed tender and full of affection.
“ We are very fortunate to be able to be here together at this moment. As some of you know, Sierra and I parted ways and divorced early in our marriage. But since then, the medical crisis our daughter endured has brought us together again. She has been amazing throughout all this with her dedication to Kaitlyn, unwavering. I am so proud of her resilience, selflessness, and determination with everything she does and her care for me, our daughter, family and others. Words cannot express what it means to have you in our lives again and the second chance both you and I have now found once again together.
“To my fiancée and soon-to-be wife, I thank you.” He lowered his head, and his lips took hers in a gentle kiss. She heard the collective surprised gasp of the crowd, but Sierra stood there, stunned; she didn’t even respond at first to his kiss.
He sounded so heartfelt, but she knew this was just a performance to the crowd. It was clever of him because the information of their engagement would spread like wildfire. His lips traced hers and he pulled her close; Sierra allowed herself a tiny hope that his words meant something and perhaps he genuinely felt that way.
Maybe if she gave it time, like her father suggested, he would really come to care for her and his words would have meaning. She let go of her doubts for the moment and leaned against him, accepting his kiss.
When he pulled away, it took her a minute to catch her breath. His kiss had been gentle and seeking at the same time. His eyes were dark with emotion that she’d never seen before,but then he turned face the crowd, nodding to the audience’s cheers.
Chapter 26
Jacob sat in the waiting area with the Senator, both waiting on news for how the bone marrow retrieval had gone with Sierra. After he gave the speech at the charity gala, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the changes in their relationship. The surgery on Sierra had been pushed back for Kaitlyn to receive more chemotherapy—called conditioning therapy—to prepare her for receiving new stem cells from Sierra’s bone marrow. Kaitlyn’s treatment was now done, and she waited on day zero, which would happen within twenty-four hours to forty-eight hours after retrieval. Dr. Hayes said everything looked good for Kaitlyn to receive the bone marrow within the twenty-four-hour window.
With the twins stepping in for his absence, he’d taken time off work to be home and to help take care of Kaitlyn during her treatment again. He hadn’t found a caregiver yet to replace Marissa. So far, Jacob was finding the interview process frustrating. One afternoon, he had been rubbing his neck after another fruitless attempt when Sierra knocked on the door and poked her head into the office.
“How did it go?” She had pushed the door open and continued inside. He’d noted her appearance, baggy sweats and damp hair. He’d guessed she’d done some laps in the pool to continue strengthening her legs. “From the look on your face and your telltale sign, I suppose it didn’t go well.”
He sat back in his chair and kneaded the back of his neck; she sat down across from him and eyed him expectantly. He let out a sigh and an annoyed sound of anger. “One asked me if one of her duties was going to be attending to me in bed.” He glared when Sierra let out a burst of laughter.
Every day he was learning that the dark, drunken and jealous Sierra was gone. Of course, she still fought her addiction every day, on the phone with Mik or attending AA. And the jealousy—he remembered the look she’d given Diana at the charity event. The old Sierra would have made a scene and the evening would have ended with them arguing all the way home. But the ride back had been pleasant, and he watched her in the limo after she’d fallen asleep. The day hadn’t allowed for a moment of rest, and they’d stayed at the gala longer than planned. She’d passed out as soon as they got into the car, but not from alcohol. He watched her lips part as she slept, the way her lashes fell onto her cheek, her curls now scrunched from the headrest. He touched a curl gently and wrapped it around his finger; he allowed it to tether her to him as they rode home. He'd looked out the window, thoughts racing with new emotions swirling around in him.
Jacob had sat back in his chair and smiled, enjoying her laughter. “This one gave me a list of things she was not going to do before we even got started. What a waste of my time.”
Sierra had moved to sit in one of the nearby chairs, her mirth softening to a serious expression. “You know, I can help you with this. I have a lot of time on my hands until the, umm, until the retrieval.”
He frowned because it sounded like she was going to say something else. But he pushed down the question in case it led to a fight.
“You can’t do everything alone; you have me, and I want to help in any way I can.” Sierra rested her elbows on her legs, leaning slightly forward, and he read in her brown eyes eagerness and sincerity
Assuming she had meant she would take on the interviewing, Jacob felt his mood lighten. Then she’d continued. “How about we do this together as a united front? I’m sure we can find someone in no time.”
His mood sank again; he’d hoped this would be a chance to get back to his business affairs, but he knew she was right. They should decide together who would help to take care of their child.
And he was glad they did. Working with her, he got to see a different side of how intuitive and smart and witty she was. In their time apart, she had done a lot of maturing; he’d learned that she was now firm but not condescending. She would listen to any arguments he had and consider them. She was also insightful on some things he missed when it came to asking questions for the nannies they were interviewing.
He began to open up to her more. After their interviews would end, they would discuss what they thought, and inevitably their conversations would turn to Kaitlyn, his family and his brothers’ plans for marriage. She spoke to him about her time living with Pat and on the island. When she had said she actually enjoyed living there over the city, it surprised the hell out of him.
He was enjoying their conversations and time together instead of running from them. He would finish work early and join her for dinner or they would both work together to take care of Kaitlyn, who was still doing well, despite her treatment. He even purchased another single bed and added it to the playroom Sierra occupied so that Kaitlyn could sleep next to her mother at night to be closer to her. He would stand there and listen to her either read Kaitlyn a story or watch her be animated as she made one up in her head.
He wondered if she knew how talented she was at making up kid stories and finally suggested she should start writing them down after she recuperated from the surgery.
The Senator’s voice brought Jacob out of his contemplation. “Jacob, you know I love you like a son.”
Jacob tensed as he turned to face him with a frown. “Where is this going?”
“This idea of your marriage being in name only is bullshit. You both still have feelings for each other and this time around Jacob, it is different; she is different.” The Senator folded his arms across his chest and looked at Jacob sternly, a look that he’d no doubt perfected in his line of work. “The way I’ve caught how the both of you are looking at each other. I would go blind from the heat between you. There always has been, but this time it is brighter, not clouded. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“I don’t—”
His father-in-law glared him into silence. “Then why are you sitting here about to make the back of your head bald, son?”
He sighed, immediately yanking his hand away from his hair. “Because if I give her another chance and she burns me again—”
“What if she doesn’t? Don’t put obstacles in your way that don’t need to be there.” The Senator paused, opening his arms and leaning toward Jacob. “I’m not saying what she did in the past was right, but let’s not pretend you didn’t burn her too. She is an amazing, strong woman because she is still here working on making it right and trying with you and Kaitlyn again.”
Jacob shifted in his seat, not wanting to think about the past right now. “I—” But he didn’t have to. The doctor pushed open the waiting room doors, and they both looked up at her.
