Newborn Love (BWWM) (Interracial with Baby) (12 page)

             
“Lila, is there anything else? If not, I would like it if you would please leave. Thank you.” She stepped back inside and slammed the door leaving Lila in the same spot looking confused. Ashley peeked back out the window to see Lila walking back across the street to her car looking defeated. Apparently, Lila had not figured it all out, but in reality Ashley was the one defeated. She stared at the couch, at the spot where she and Adrian had just made love. Just moments ago things in their world seemed so perfect, but now Ashley knew things would not be the same. It was just a feeling she had, and she ended up being right about that feeling.

              Adrian came back around almost a month later to talk to Ashley. He felt that they needed time apart because of all of the drama they had both experienced in the short time they had been together.

             
“Ashley, I do love you, and I love our baby. But I think the best thing for our baby is if we get our own shit together first. You have trust issues when it comes to men because of what you’ve been through, and maybe you just need some time to yourself to sort those things out. And me, I have my issues too. I just need to get over this and learn to trust you again.”

             
Adrian’s words hurt her deeply, but Ashley realized what he was saying was, in fact, true. They agreed to be friends and try to do their best to co-parent. They each told their families that although they had a baby coming, they had decided that they were better off as just friends. The only other person in the families who knew the complete truth was Carrie, and she had been praying for her sister and Adrian to one day get past all of the pain and reconnect. She had never seen her sister as happy as she had been when she was with Adrian, and she had a feeling in due time that everything would come together as it should. Carrie was still hopeful for the two of them, but she kept her feelings and thoughts to herself because she could tell that Ashley still carried the pain of that whole situation.

             
For the remaining months of the pregnancy, Adrian was by Ashley’s side as if they were a couple. People outside of the family would not have been able to tell the difference. When Eva was born on that lovely spring day, Adrian was helping her through the labor as well. He had even helped her paint the nursery and put things together in preparation of Eva’s arrival. Now as Ashley was walking trying to get Eva to sleep, she was trying to hurry up and get some rest before he came over so she could get her place in order, not to mention get somewhat cute. Ashley still cared for him very much, and she had done a lot of soul searching and praying over these last few months. She had gotten to a place where she had let go of the baggage that she had when it came to men and her relationships. Ashley knew that having a daughter meant that she needed to be an example for her. She needed to be a woman that Eva would be proud of and aspire to be like. Ashley thought about all of her experiences in the past with men, including the drama that she experienced with Adrian, and knew it was time to forgive herself for that and move on. The previous week Ashley had given Adrian a letter to take home with him. She told him to open it alone once he made it home. It was a warm, heartfelt one-page letter apologizing (this time in writing though) and explaining how she was content if she never had him back in her life the way she had him before, and even expressed that she just wanted him to be happy—even if that meant him being happy with another woman. Adrian never responded, and when he did call her it was to say that he planned on stopping by to visit with Eva. Ashley decided she would let him decide to bring up the subject of the letter, and go from there, but she did not have any expectations.

             
Later that afternoon after getting Eva to sleep, taking a quick nap, and then getting some cleaning done around the house, Ashley was still in her lounging clothes when the doorbell rang. When she answered the door she was surprised to find Adrian and his mother standing there. Mrs. Cruz immediately pulled Ashley in for a hug after they both stepped inside. Ashley and Mrs. Cruz had gotten close over the past few months of Ashley’s pregnancy, with Adrian’s mom visiting often to help her prepare for the baby’s arrival. Ashley’s parents, as a matter of fact, had grown quite close to Adrian’s parents so it made Eva’s environment a very loving family atmosphere.

             
“Mrs. Cruz! Adrian didn’t tell me he was bringing you. It’s so good to see you,” Ashley said after hugging her. “How are you, Adrian?”

             
“I’m doing great. How about you?” Adrian asked as he reached over to hug Ashley as well, something that took her by surprise since it had been a while since he had shown her this type of affection.

             
“I’m good. The baby is still sleep right now but I’m thinking she’ll probably be waking up within the next hour. Please make yourselves comfortable.”

             
“Well, I’m not going to be staying. I came to drop mom off to babysit for a few hours.”

             
“Babysit?” Ashley asked obviously confused.

             
“Yea, you’re going with me—at least I hope you will go with me,” Adrian said as his mom headed out of the room to give them some privacy, smiling as if she was keeping a secret.

             
“Well…where are we going?”

             
“I want you to go get changed into something pretty to show off that beautiful figure of yours. We have a reservation at your favorite restaurant. We have some things to talk about,” Adrian explained.

             
“Do we?” Ashley asked knowing that it had to do with her letter.

             
“You told me that you wanted me to be happy right? Well I was happy when I had you in my life and I want us to sit down, just us two without the baby for a few hours, and see if we might have a chance at starting over. Is that ok with you, Ms. Dennis?”

             
“That is more than ok with me, Mr. Cruz!”

             
Ashley smiled at Adrian once more before dashing off to her bedroom to go get dressed. Ashley had awakened feeling like it was going to be an awesome day—just a feeling that she had. So far so good, and she could not wait to see how the rest of her story played out.

Cristina Grenier has been writing stories for as long as she could remember. She's a hopeless romantic and her writing reflects it. She loves to write Romance and Erotic stories. Cristina draws from her past experiences and from others around her when writing. She enjoys giving readers characters they can relate to and storylines that feel real.

Besides being an avid writer, Cristina is also a talented artist. She enjoys painting landscapes and figure drawing. In her spare time , she also likes to travel, shop, and enjoys music of all genres. She currently resides in Connecticut with her husband Steve and their daughter, Megan.

If you wish to contact Cristina or keep up with her latest works, please visit her goodreads page at www.goodreads.com/cristina_grenier