“What then?”
“After we’d been out a few times and…I’d spent a couple of nights with him, he stopped calling as much. I was out to dinner with one of my neighbors, and I saw him pick up a redhead. When they left together, I knew where they were going, and sure enough, her car was parked in front of his apartment for the next few hours. Cash and I weren’t exclusive or anything, but…” She shrugged. “I’d convinced myself what we had meant something. Clearly, it didn’t. I called him the next morning and left him a message not to call me anymore.”
“Did he?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t answer. And he didn’t come around. It seemed fine, until I realized I was pregnant. So I had to call him again. He didn’t say much when I told him, but he promised he’d be there for me.”
“Was he?”
“For a while.” He’d certainly stayed for the hormone-induced sex at the beginning of her second trimester. In fact, he’d been so there for her then, she’d convinced herself that maybe they had a good relationship after all. “He disappeared for good around the middle of January. Hallie was born February fourth. I hadn’t seen him again until today.”
“He just showed up? Wanting what?”
“To see Hallie, according to him. But he seemed all too happy to tell me that he’d left because, by the end of my pregnancy, I looked like the side of a barn. But lucky for me, I’d got my body back and he wanted to pay particular attention to my breasts.”
Zy scowled. “What the…”
“Fuck? You can say it.”
“Since he sounds like a first-class asshole, I don’t know how to avoid saying it. The colonel said he threatened you?”
“Vaguely. ‘I’ll be back and I’ll make you pay.’ That kind of stuff.”
“Is he mean enough to follow through?”
Tessa considered the question. “Mean? I don’t know. Vain? Yes. I kicked him out and had him arrested. There’s one thing that man can’t take, and that’s an insult to his pride.”
“I know his type. He’ll be back.”
“I expect so. But you’ll have to be careful.”
“I will. I heard about Cash’s uncle, but all I have to do is get the bastard to throw the first punch.”
They finished their dinner, and just as she pushed her plate away, Hallie started to fuss. “I’d better go get her.”
“Do what you need. I might have seconds.”
Tessa smiled back at Zy. Despite the fact she was feeling awkward and too aware in his presence, she found him surprisingly easy to talk to. Easy to be with. But that only made her more aware of him. And she wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him. He might seem polite, but under his facade, he was all warrior.
If she weren’t a single mother who shared office space with him, she’d be damn interested in unleashing him between the sheets. But that was impossible.
“Help yourself.” She eased away and headed into her bedroom, where Hallie lay in her lacy bassinet, little legs kicking and tiny hands flailing as she gave her lungs a workout.
“Hey, sweet pea. Good nap? You hungry?”
The sudden dampening of her shirt with Hallie’s next cry told her it was definitely time for her daughter to eat.
After scooping up the infant, she kissed her forehead and sat in the glider in the corner, opening her shirt and nursing bra as she settled in and flipped on the TV. As Hallie latched on hungrily, Tessa held her tighter and changed channels until she found a semi-entertaining cooking show.
Twenty minutes and a good burp later, she changed Hallie in her attached bathroom, then peppered her baby’s soft face with kisses. “You want to play?”
Hallie’s big eyes lit up. They were still blue, but a hint of green was creeping in. Tessa hoped her daughter got her eyes, but she still saw bits of Cash in Hallie’s darker hair and wide mouth. In fact, her baby was changing more every day, at a pace she could hardly believe. It was almost too fast for Tessa to keep up with.
She spread out Hallie’s favorite activity mat for newborns and positioned a few strategic pillows around, just in case, then set her daughter down, tummy first. “Have fun, sweet pea. Mommy is going to take a quick shower.”
Hopefully, she’d feel less dirty, but it seemed that no matter how often she grabbed a quick rinse, she still felt grungy all the time. Given her leaking breasts and having a baby who spit up more often than not, she wasn’t surprised. Throw in sporadic sleep and an unseasonably humid day, and Tessa felt positively grimy.
A few times during her shower, she peeked out to make sure Hallie was happy and okay. As usual, the baby seemed fascinated by the pink elephant with the teething ring around its neck and the bright page of the cloth book.