A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance) (27 page)

"You
could never do anything to make me not want you, baby. I love you."

"I
love you too," I said.

"I'm
going to be the best damn dad I can to our three beautiful children
and the best husband there ever was."

I
put my head on his shoulder and knew I would never be happier than I
was in that moment.

Zander

When
I woke up the next morning, I felt more relaxed than I had felt in
years. There was no stress or tension in my body. I couldn't wait to
see the kids. They were going to be so shocked and surprised to see
me. I couldn't wait to tell them there was going to be a baby.

I
jumped out of bed and hurried to shower. On the way there, I told my
mom she needed to be over at Livie's for breakfast in thirty minutes.
She looked over at me and rolled her eyes. It didn't matter. She
wasn't ruining my mood. I showered as fast as I could and got ready
for the day. I had to laugh when I slipped my jeans over my feet and
pulled them up my legs. Only months before, I had been in that same
spot with Livie telling me I had a stick up my ass, as she looked
through my drawers and closet to find all suits with only one pair of
jeans. I looked down in the drawer filled with t-shirts and jeans.
That was all I had brought with me. Not a single part of my life was
the same as it was that day. Seeing her after sixteen years turned my
world upside down, just as it had seeing her the day I moved in when
I was fourteen. She was the best thing that ever happened to me.

My
mom was already next door when I came down from my room. I knew what
time I was supposed to walk through that door, but the clock wasn't
moving fast enough. The first second I could, I flew across that
driveway and quietly walked in the front door. I saw them all sitting
at the kitchen table and couldn't wait to hug those two amazing
faces. They were chatting away about what they wanted to do that day.
Livie looked up at me and smiled. I walked through the doorway with a
huge smile on my face.

"Did
you save me any breakfast?" I asked.

April
and Jack jumped out of their chairs and came running. I leaned down
and scooped them both into my arms.

"You
came," Jack said. "See, April. I told you all you had to do
was call him. I was right. I knew he would come to take me to
school."

It
took all I had not to cry. They were both so excited. I knew I would
do everything I could to make them happy and let them know I would
always be there for them. Hearing Jack say he knew I would be there
made me want to make him proud to have me in his life. It wasn't
about them making me proud. It was about me taking care of them. I
had to wonder if maybe that was what my dad was doing. He always took
care of me. I was proud of the things he had accomplished. I knew
that I would always work hard to make my kids proud, but I would make
sure to always be there for them and tell them how proud I was and
how important they were to me. That was what mattered.

The
kids sat back down, and I walked to stand behind Livie. She looked up
at me and nodded. I had my hands on her shoulders and looked around
at our family.

"We
have something to tell you all," I began. "I asked Livie to
marry me last night. She agreed to be my wife."

My
mom looked up at me with the biggest eyes I had ever seen on her. She
looked like her head was going to explode. April and Jack were both
bouncing in their chairs.

"Are
you going to be our daddy?" Jack asked.

"You
already have a dad," I said. "I will be your dad too. Would
it be okay if we lived in the same house?"

"That
would be awesome," April yelled. "I miss you reading
stories to us."

Livie's
mom hugged us both and congratulated us. My mom said congratulations
but never got up from her chair.

"There's
something else," Livie said, as she stood next to me. "We're
going to have a baby. You're going to have a baby brother or sister."

I
heard a gasp escape both of our moms at the same time.

"Really?"
Jack asked.

We
both nodded. The kids were both out of their chairs and running
around. Livie's mom had the biggest smile on her face. My mom was in
shock. The kids went into the living room to watch television. I sat
down at the table to eat with Livie and our moms.

"Before
you say anything," I said. "I came back to ask Livie to
marry me. I had no idea she was pregnant. When I proposed last night,
she told me about the baby. I don't want either of you to think that
is why we are getting married. When I went home, I couldn't stand
being away from her and the kids. I tried to move on and get back to
normal, but it never happened. All I thought about was the three of
them and how much I wanted to be with them. When she told me about
the baby, I was so excited."

"How?"
my mom asked. "You haven't been here in two months. She's been
spending so much time with Mike."

I
could feel my blood beginning to boil. She wasn't ruining the moment
for either of us.

"If
you want to make it your business, I'll be more than happy to tell
you that we had sex when I was home. Do you need the details?"

I
heard Livie giggle and turned to face her. It took all I had not to
laugh when I saw how red her cheeks were.

"He's
the only man I've been with in four years. I know you don't like me,
Carol," Livie said.

"It's
not that I don't like you," my mom said.

"Stop,"
I said in a stern voice. "It doesn't matter what you think. I
don't care. She spent the last four years looking after you and dad.
Show some respect. It's my life, not yours. I told her I was moving
here. I said I would work in the city at the hospital. She wouldn't
have it. She wants to move to New York. You crack me up. Livie is the
most loving, giving, unselfish person I know. We've been friends
since the day I moved in. I don't care what anyone thinks. I love her
with all of my heart and would do anything to make her happy."

"I'm
so happy for you two," Livie's mom said. "You've been in
love for so damn long. It's about time you both admitted it."

My
mom looked up at me.

"She's
moving to New York?" she asked.

"Yes,"
I said.

"She's
giving up the bakery for you?" she asked. "She loves that
place."

"She
is," I said. "I didn't ask her too. I'm more than willing
to move here instead. I didn't want to move the kids."

"I
love Zander more than that bakery. It was my idea to move,"
Livie said. "I want a fresh start for the kids. Zander has a
practice. He's needed there. He'll just have to lift weights twice as
much now. He's the one that will be eating my baking from now on."

"I'm
so sorry," my mom said. "I should never have stuck my nose
in your business."

"If
you hadn't, we wouldn't have those two beautiful children," I
said.

I
walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. Both of the kids
climbed up on me, and we sat watching cartoons for the rest of the
morning.

We
all spent a nice Sunday together. The kids helped me cook dinner for
all of us. I helped Livie read their stories and put them to bed.

I was
there bright and early the next morning to wake them up and take them
to school. Jack was so excited. He wasn't nervous at all. We all
walked up to meet his teacher. He ran off with the other kids talking
about how he was going to be a big brother. April did fine. She had
been to school the year before as well. She hugged Livie and me
together before she walked off to meet her friends.

Both
of the kids knew I would be gone when they got home that night. Jack
promised to call me and tell me about his first day. They knew that I
would be back for the weekend. It wouldn't be long before we would
all be together.

Olivia

I
talked to Zander on the phone every day. He didn't like not being
there in case I needed him. I made an appointment to see my doctor in
town. He acted surprised to see me. I knew Z had called him ahead of
time. The kids called Z every night before bed so he could tell them
goodnight.

I put
the bakery up for sale. It was hard, but I knew I was making the
right decision. I had owned it for almost four years. It had been
with me through some tuff times. I was ready to give it up for the
man I loved. He told me to take whatever I could get for it. He even
told me to give it away if I wanted to. Carla was so excited when she
found out I was selling it. She had joked so many times about how old
she would be before I'd finally give it up so she could have it. I
watched her face fall when she found out how much I was asking. I
knew Z didn't care about the money. He just wanted us with him as
soon as we could make it happen. I made it a point to pay more
attention to Carla and the way she worked. There was so much of me in
her. She definitely had the passion for it.

My
doctor told me we could have my appointments on the weekends so
Zander could be there. I didn't want him flying any more than he had
to.

I
flew out with the kids to New York. They were so excited to take
their first plane flight. Zander wanted to be with us, but I didn't
want him wasting time or money to do that.

They
loved his place, and so did I. It was huge and had a great view of
the city. He offered to sell it so we could buy a house. Part of me
would miss the yard, but the kids didn't want to do it. They wanted
to stay where he was. It didn't matter to me either way. I knew we
could get to him quicker if we lived in the place he already had.
Part of me was selfish and just wanted to be with him as fast as
possible.

April
picked her room and then Jack picked his. The room closest to ours
was going to be for the baby. That left one guest room. We decided if
our moms wanted to visit together, they would have to share the room.
Z said we would get two twin size beds. That way, he could still have
his desk and files for his practice in the same room. We didn't think
either of our moms would really fly out to see us anyway. Neither of
them ever left their small town. His mom used to live in New York,
but she never went back once she moved.

He
took me and the kids shopping to pick out everything for their rooms
and promised to have them ready when it was time to move in. I have
never seen the two of them so excited. They ran all over the store
picking things out. Z was amazing with them. They would discuss what
they wanted and he would have them put it in the cart. We all picked
out the things for the baby's room together. It was nice having all
of us involved in the decisions. I could tell the kids were proud
that they were having a baby.

By
the time we were finished, I was exhausted. We went home and I went
to the bedroom for a nap. I was woken up by little giggles from the
edge of the bed. When I opened my eyes, Z was standing with a tray of
food with the kids both next to him.

"We
decided to bring you dinner in bed," April said. "Zander
said we could all eat in your room."

"He
did," I said, as I looked up at him.

"We're
going to watch a movie and have a little picnic on the bed," he
said.

Could
the man get any more perfect than he already was, I thought?

He
came to visit us most weekends. There were a few that we didn't get
to see him. I think we were both so ready to be together. We decided
that the three of us would move over the Christmas holiday. That way
the kids wouldn't be leaving in the middle of a school semester. They
would be starting their new classes after the long holiday break. I
was concerned about them, but they seemed so happy. They were both
ready to be in their new rooms. Zander would take pictures and text
them for the kids to see. He was going all out on their rooms, and he
was doing it all himself. I was proud of what he was doing to make
them feel at home there. He was doing everything he could to make
their transition easier.

When
he came in one weekend, we went to see Mike together. He was at his
dad's house. I didn't want to just move the kids without telling him.
Zander was great about it. He was more than willing to be there with
me. Mike apologized for everything he put both of us through and
thanked Z for saving his life. Zander broke the news that we were
getting married. I let Mike know that we were moving to New York. He
seemed sad but said he was happy for us. We both told him that we
wanted him to be a part of the kid's lives when he was ready. He said
that he wanted to be involved as soon as he was done with therapy and
clean from drinking for a year. We agreed to send pictures of the
kids. He already knew he could talk to them whenever he wanted. He
thanked Zander for being so good to the kids. It went much better
than I thought it would. I honestly hoped that Mike would find love
one day.

Zander
was at all of my appointments. Neither of us wanted to know what we
were having, and there was never a reason for another ultrasound. My
pregnancy was going great, but I was huge. Zander asked about it, but
the doctor wasn't concerned. I was just as big when I was pregnant
with Jack. We laughed about it often. It never bothered Z which made
me love him even more.

Carla
was pretty much running the bakery. She was baking and had hired an
additional person to help. I floated through once a day to check on
things. The employees loved her and the way she did things. It seemed
to be going well. The sales were steady, and she had really good
ideas for new items and changes. I talked to Z and decided it was
time to have a meeting with her.