TAYLOR
Taylor left Lincoln to his call and went to Bella’s bedroom to check on Victor and Vicky. He was sitting in her comfy La-Z-Boy, feeding the baby. She stood in the doorway and watching the way he interacted with their daughter made her love him a million times more than she thought possible.
Vicky let out a little squeak when he pulled the near-empty bottle from her mouth. He tossed a burp cloth over his shoulder and lifted her to his chest. She squirmed in his arms and stuck her little butt out.
Victor was a natural. The way he protected her head while burping her would make it hard for someone to believe he was a first-time dad.
“You are so much better at this than me,” she said from the doorway.
“I know,” Victor teased.
“Haha. You might wanna put the baby in her bassinet and go check on your brother.”
“Which brother?”
“Lucas. He’s gonna propose to Bella.”
Victor threw his head back with a sigh. “Ohhh, my God,” he groaned.
“There she is!” Victoria crowed, pushing past her. “My little namesake.”
Carefully, she stole Vicky from Victor’s arms. Without even speaking to them, she walked right out of the room. Victor sat, still holding his baby-less arms up.
“Well, damn,” he marveled.
Taylor grinned and sat in his lap. “Oh, I get to hold my other baby,” he flirted before tucking his face in the crook of her neck. She giggled between kisses, thinking they were never gonna make it to her six-week checkup without having sex.
“Babe, is Nicole coming?”
Taylor’s smile fell. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in months. “She was invited, but I doubt she’ll show.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Taylor shrugged. “It is what it is.”
Lincoln rushed into the bedroom, grabbed the remote from the footboard, and turned on the local 24-hour news station.
“What’s going on, Linc?” Victor asked, puzzled by his brother’s behavior.
“Watch.”
Taylor got up from Victor’s lap and went to sit on the footboard. Her mouth flew open when footage of Bill Thornton and her sister’s fiancé being perp-walked out of their homes. Sadly, she could see Nicole crying in the background. After everything Jeffrey had done to Victor, she had no love for him. Frankly, she hadn’t liked him before that. But she loved her sister, and never wanted to see her in pain.
“City officials, William “Bill” Thornton, and Jeffrey Morgan, were arrested in a south suburban brothel after video of deviant sexual behavior lands into the hands of the authorities.”
As Taylor listened to the news anchor, her heart went out to Nicole. But Nicole wasn’t taking her calls, and she’d made it very clear that she didn’t want to talk to her. And there was nothing Taylor could do to change that. That didn’t stop her from trying again.
She reached behind her and grabbed her purse from Bella’s bed. She fished her phone and dialed Nicole. As expected, she was sent to voicemail.
“Couldn’t have happened to better people,” Victor muttered. “Now, I’m really gonna enjoy the party.” He stood to leave but stopped at the doorway. “You okay?”
“Yep.” Taylor hopped to her feet and followed Victor down the hall.
