“She told me all the time that she wished we could go back to Argentina to be with her grandmother. Her grandmother was all she had, but she passed away two years after Eloise did. But when Eloise was alive, I suggested she look for something to do that could fill her time. So ... she got a job as a designer’s assistant. And that is how she met Rafael—her new boss.”
“How did you find out about him?” I asked.
“Eloise told me everything about them a few weeks after we found out she was pregnant. Rafael is wrong about the timing. Eloise and I may have been on shaky ground, but we were still sleeping together. And back then, before she found out, I had no idea she had even cheated.” He paused for a second, brows stitching together. “I remember she made this really big breakfast one day, then she sat down at the table with me and said, ‘Javier, I have something to tell you.’ I knew by the look in her eyes it was not something good. But she told me everything. She told me how a relationship started with Rafael. How she did not mean for it to happen. She kept saying that she felt so alone when I was away and that he made her laugh and kept her spirits up. Just so many things that I did not even realize.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, and I was angry for a while,” he said. “But she was pregnant, and it felt best to work on our marriage and figure out how to become a better man for her. She said she had ended things with him way before finding out, so I just assumed that Aleesa was mine. I ... I mean, Ihad no doubts, and she never said there may have been a possibility of him being the father. Things seemed okay after we got past that rough patch and focused on becoming a family. We made plans and tried not to think about those negative things.”
He went quiet for a bit.
“I feel like a man would know if a baby were not theirs. I mean, there would have to be some kind of doubt, right? I never had that feeling with Aleesa. In fact, when I held her in my arms for the first time, I truly felt like she belonged with me. Her eyes were so big, and she was so alert. And it was like we had connected in a soulful way. She did not cry. She just stared at me, as if I were the only person in the world she wanted to look at. I was so proud that I helped create someone so beautiful.”
He paused, drawing in a shaky breath. “But with all of that overflowing joy came immense pain. Eloise hemorrhaged and died the same day.”
“Oh my God.” I cupped my mouth. “Did she birth her at a hospital? Couldn’t they stop the bleeding?”
“No. They tried but could not stop it. There was just too much. She became nonresponsive, and they told me to leave the room with Aleesa. The next thing I know, a doctor is telling me she could not be saved. But what really gets me is that only a few minutes before it happened, Eloise looked at me and smiled with tears in her eyes. She told me she loved me and that I was going to be a great father. It was almost like she knew something bad was going to happen to her.”
“Oh, Javier.” I leaned in and hugged him tight. “I’m so, so sorry. That’s so traumatic. I can’t believe that happened.”
“Sometimes I cannot believe it either.”
I held on to him for a solid minute, my mind racing about that tragedy. No parent deserved that after giving birth. Though beautiful, our bodies had a bad habit of betraying us when we least expected. This was absolutely horrible to hear.
I leaned back and held his hands again, blinking my tears away. “What Eloise said is true. You are a great father, and no matter whathappens, we’re going to fightreallyhard for Aleesa. Okay? No matter what that paternity test says, we’re fighting.”
His eyes crinkled around the edges as he peered into mine. “You would fight for me?”
“Of course I would. And if I need to, I will vouch for you in court. We’re not letting that arrogant dick take her away. Fuck that.”
Javier laughed. “Well, that is good. I appreciate you saying that, babe.”
Once again, my stomach was full of butterflies. “Did you just call mebabe?”
“I did. Why? Do you not like that name?”
“No, no. I do like it,” I said. “I just didn’t think that word was a part of your vocabulary.”
“Would you rather I call youbaby?” he asked, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Orhoney? Oh, wait, no—sweetie pie, or however Americans say it?”
I snorted. “Please stop. If you call mesweetie, I’ll get the ick.”
“The ick? From me?”
“Yes, ’cause then you’ll sound like a sixty-year-old man trying to holler at me.”
He chuckled as he reeled me toward him. I eased onto his lap, draping my arms over his shoulders while he sat back.
“I’m here for you. You know that, right?” I asked in a soft voice.
“I do. Thank you.”
“Good.” I kissed his warm, soft lips.
“And I promise you are safe with me,” he murmured, grazing his mouth across my chin. His lips pressed to the crook of my neck, then he created a trail of hot, delicate kisses to my collarbone. When he skimmed his hand up my back, I tipped my head back, absorbing all his affections.
“So does this mean I’m not fired?”
