The sun illuminated the flowers and glowed on her fair skin, darkening the faint freckles ever so slightly. Her hair gleamed richly and her smile was happier than he’d seen it since he’d arrived. He longed to photograph her and capture the joy sparkling in her eyes.
Unfortunately all the outdoor activity took its toll on his eyes, and they burned and stung by the time they got into the car. He sat in the passenger seat with his head leaned back, eyes closed, felt the tears gather. Christ, he was like a baby. Maybe Krissa wouldn’t notice.
But of course she did, and fretted all the way home. They walked inside and set down all their purchases, and she turned to him. “Get your drops.”
And again, she ministered to him, handing him tissues to mop his face, drawing all the blinds and curtains so the whole house was dim.
“Fuck. This is never going to get better.” He clenched his fists at his side, sitting on the couch, head back.
“It will.” She laid a soft hand on his forehead. “It will, Nate. I thought it had been better lately.”
“Only because I’ve been stuck inside here like a goddamm vampire, afraid to go out in the daylight.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry. What can I do?”
“Nothing.” The word snapped out of him mouth. Shit. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound rude.”
“You’re entitled. I’ve done my share of bitching and whininglately.”
Well, it was nice that he could make at least one of them happy. Or two of them, even, considering Derek. Hopefully he was going to be happy. Meanwhile, his own life was still in the toilet, career on hold, wife dead—oh yeah, cheating wife—carrying a baby he didn’t even know for sure was his.
He was going to create another life. It might be his only chance to do that, and Krissa and Derek would be great parents to him or her.
Krissa bustled around the kitchen, cleaning the mussels, making a salad. When Nate’s eyes had calmed down and stopped burning and watering, he helped her. They decided to grill the fish with some fresh lemons and herbs, and they opened a bottle of wine to drink while they worked together side by side at the counter, talking and laughing.
Derek never called.
Krissa let herself into her parents’ home in Hope Ranch. Her dad was at work of course, but she’d called her mom to see if she could come over and visit. She had exciting news, she’d told her.
She had to share with someone. As with Cameron, Krissa had never confided their attempts to have a baby to her mother. For similar reasons. Krissa’s mother Lizbeth wasn’t one of those mothers who wanted to be a grandmother. Not like Derek’s mother, who thankfully lived on the other side of the continent so they didn’t have to endure her constant nosy questions about their family. No, Mom constantly reminded her about the sacrifices a mother made for her children. She’d despaired of Krissa’s job-hopping over the years. She’d envisioned Krissa taking after her father, who’d worked his way up through Capitol First Bank to President and CEO. Because, that’s what Mom had always wanted for herself. She and Dad had met in college, both pursing business degrees. Except she’d gotten pregnant before they’d even graduated. And somehow that had knocked her off her career track.
“Kris!” Her mother greeted her with a hug. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“I know. We’ve been kind of busy with Nate staying with us.”
“I suppose. Come in. Would you like some coffee?’
“Sure.”
Krissa dropped her purse on the living room floor and followed her mother into the kitchen. Their home in Hope Ranch was even bigger than hers and Derek’s. Her parents did entertain a lot, though, with her father’s business networking and her mother’s charity work.
“I ran into Cameron the other day.” Mom poured coffee into two mugs.
“Oh. Where?”
“At the hospital.” Her mother did a lot of volunteer work with the hospital’s charitable foundation. “She had her twins there for some kind of testing.”
“Oh, that’s right. At the Child Development Clinic. She was all worried about them because they were still in diapers, until a few weeks ago.”
Mom shook her head. “Diapers. My God. I’m so glad you and your sisters haven’t forced us to deal with that.”
Krissa’s two younger sisters, one traveling in Australia, the other trying to make it as an actress in L.A., were definitely not on the mommy track. But Krissa was. Her stomach fluttered with excitement. It would feel so good to finallytellsomeone.
“Don’t worry, Mom, if I have kids I won’t make you change diapers.”
Her mother handed her a cup of steaming fragrant coffee and wrinkled her pretty nose. “Thank goodness.” She shuddered. “It was bad enough going through that once—or rather, three times—I have no desire to do it again. I’m so glad you’re not rushing into having children.”
Krissa sighed. She’d just walked in the door and they were there already. “I know, Mom. But …”
