Page 78 of His Fake Fiancé

Olivia yelled and reached for him again. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his coat to stop from reaching for her. This was Gina’s decision. But he’d be damned if he was going to do anything more to make her want to deny him.

He swallowed and thought about each word he wanted to say. “I came to talk, and to see Olivia. Bring over a few of her things.” Although slow, the words came out smooth.

Gina stared at him, her gaze hard, the edges sharp. It was the least of what he deserved. It made him feel self-conscious, like she was peeling back all the layers that made up Jake Callahan. He knew they weren’t pretty, especially the deeper you got, but he hoped she’d still take some pity on him. Maybe see the bit of good that was left.

Finally, she sighed again, and then held out the baby for him. “Come on in.”

He took Olivia, his eyes burning. Blinking hard, he smiled at his daughter. “Hello, Peanut. I’ve missed you.”

Olivia let out one of her patented ear-piercing squeals, and smacked his cheeks with her chubby little hands. He growled and pretended to bite her fingers, and she laughed. The sound of her laughter settled into his soul, lighting him up from the inside.

Gina turned and headed into the townhouse. He balanced the baby on one hip, picked up the bag, and followed, closing the door behind him. The place was small, but homey, even if it looked like a baby bomb had gone off. Kind of like the guest house had when he and Claire had lived there with Olivia.

An ache spiraled through his chest, threatening to consume him, but he shut those thoughts down tight before they could grab hold.

Gina rushed through the living room, picking up toys and blankets, tossing them onto one of the armchairs. There was a pack and play, similar to the one at his house, tucked in the corner.

“Have a seat,” Gina said with a sweep of her arm. “Do you want something to drink?”

He placed the bag on the floor and sat on the sofa, balancing a standing Olivia on his knees, his hands wrapped around her middle. She bounced up and down, shoving her hand into her mouth. “I’m good, thanks.”

Gina sat in the empty armchair across from him. She looked frazzled and tired, which he could finally understand. His daughter was the cutest thing on the planet, but she was also a handful. He glanced around. “Where’s Josh?”

Gina’s shoulders went tense and she pressed her lips together in a thin line. “He’s working.” The defensiveness in her voice was as sharp as glass.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, Gina. I promise.” He kept his gaze locked with hers, hoping he could see how sincere he was. “I was just curious.”

She glanced away and smoothed back her hair. Her shoulders inched down and she blew out a breath. One side of her mouth scrunched up. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off. This is just all…” She waved her hands, clearly at a loss to describe the mess he’d made.

He nodded, his stomach diving around like it was avoiding a video game trap. “Yeah. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m here.” It was his turn to glance away. Gather his courage, and hopefully his wits. He took a deep breath and looked back at her. “I came to apologize to you.”

Gina sat there, staring at him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, so he barreled on.

“I’m sorry for being such a di—” He glanced at Olivia, who was still bouncing on his knee to a beat only she could hear ”—jerk. It was wrong of me to keep Olivia from you, and to hire a lawyer and make such a mess out of everything. And I hope that one day, you’ll be able to forgive me.”

Gina blinked a couple of times, like she was trying to absorb what he said. Then, she blew out a breath. “Thank you for apologizing, but neither of us is blameless in this whole mess. I should have told you I was pregnant in the very beginning.” She glanced at Olivia, who was done bouncing and had sort of fallen into Jake’s chest. The baby tucked her head under his chin and stuffed her thumb in her mouth. “And I never should have left her. Especially how I did.” She looked up at him and the pain and regret in her eyes nearly gutted him.

“We’ve both made mistakes,” he said, patting Olivia on the back. “This whole thing is new to us, so it’s understandable. I think, as long as we’re honest with each other from here on out, we’ll be good.”

She nodded, one side of her mouth tilting up in the hint of a smile. It was the nicest expression he’d gotten from her since their night together almost two years ago. And in that moment, he could see little bits of Olivia in her. The shape of her mouth, the beautiful dark brown eyes.

He stood and walked over to the pack and play, lowering the baby into it. She made a distressed noise, and her eyelids fluttered, but then she settled down. He stood there, watching her sleep, his chest feeling like it was about to burst.

“So, you and Claire, huh?”

The pain was the kind that took a second to feel, but once it did, it cut deep. And then, it quickly morphed into an all over ache. He sucked in a quiet breath and pulled out his patented Jake Callahan grin before he turned around.

“Yeah, although I’m not sure it’s going to work out after all.” He spoke slowly, tried to keep his voice neutral, like he didn’t care. Like the way things ended between them this afternoon hadn’t killed him. Like he could forget the look on Claire’s face when he’d shattered her heart.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Gina stood and started picking up the toys still strewn across the floor. For someone so little, Olivia made a hell of a mess. “You guys looked good together. I just assumed you’d always end up together.”

“You did?” He bent down and picked up a couple of small stuffed animals.

“Sure,” Gina said, pointing to a plastic bin in the corner. “I mean, you were always together, and it was clear you guys cared about each other.”

He dumped the toys in the bin. “We’ve been friends a long time.”

Gina shrugged. “Yeah, but…”