I’m lost in thought, staring across the room when Bianca steps up beside me.
“You okay?” Bianca asks.
I nod, a bittersweet feeling washing over me as I glance around the small space I’ve called home for the last year and a half.
“Just trying to figure out how I can hate a place I love so much.” I look to her. “This is the only home Bay has ever known, where I brought her the day we were released from the hospital. It’s where she said her first word. Rolled over and pulled herself up.”
“It’s where you fell in love …” she adds.
My throat burns.
Where my heart broke at my own hand.
It’s been almost a month now since Tobias and I have spoken, and it’s passed in slow, torturous minutes.
Almost a month since I quit the tutoring center and put in my thirty-day notice on this place.
Almost a month and nothing feels easier yet, and I don’t have much faith it ever will, but maybe one day.
Maybe in time …
I swallow.
Over and over again, I tried to push everything out of my head, but I needed to know he was okay, and that he was doing what he promised by being the badass he is.
The man knocked his finals out of the park, scoring above a ninety on every single exam, and then came the big games.
I watched every one that was broadcasted, read every article that the school posted, and just this week, while I was packing up my living room, I sat on my bed, Bailey on my lap, witnessing him throw a curveball that secured the Avix Sharks the number one spot in the NCAA World Series Championship game.
He was an Ace, on and off the field.
I cried, proud of him, and I tried to sit through the interview that followed, but I couldn’t make it past the first few questions. That’s the day I unplugged the TV and disconnected the internet.
Thomas hasn’t spoken a word to me in weeks either, not that I want him to, and while it comes as no surprise, it’s still somehow mindboggling that a man could be told his daughter was being moved across country and not so much as bat a lash.
But then again, he was never much of a man and he never claimed her as his own.
“Whatcha thinking?” Bianca prompts.
“How I hate to leave this place, but I really can’t wait to go.” My eyes glide to Bianca’s, my lips twitching. “Does that make any sense?”
“Yeah, chica. It does,” she whispers.
The movers Bianca’s grandfather hired for me step out of what has always been Bailey’s bedroom.
“Careful.” I jerk forward, but Bianca pulls me back.
“Let them do their job.” She shakes me gently.
“Yeah.” My shoulders fall, and I take one last look around.
Most of the stuff in here came with the place, but the few things that are mine, I want moved in one piece. The last thing I need is a new expense because these guys don’t know how to go easy on a crib.
“I can’t believe you won’t be here with me next year,” Bianca says, and when I look to her, she laughs off her tears, tugging me into a hug. “I’m going to miss you and Bay.”
“Hey.” I blink rapidly, trying not to think about that part yet. Being alone in Florida won’t be easy, but peace of mind is worth the hardship that comes with it. “There’s no crying on vacation.”
She sniffles, then pushes me away, and swipes the back of her fingers beneath her eyes. “Bitch, vacation didn’t start yet. You promised me a month, that’s thirty days to the minute, and it doesn’t start until we step off the plane, so stop trying to cut my time short.” She bends down, lifting Bailey’s car seat in her hands. “Now grab your purse, put the key on the counter, and let’s go.”
I do what she says and climb inside her car.
She pulls out of the parking lot, but as we get to the end of the alleyway that faces the front of the school, she hesitates, glancing to me. “The team leaves today. Last game before they get the chance to take it all.”
My chest pinches, a mix of pain and pride swelling within me. “They’ll take it all,” I breathe, looking at my best friend. “Turn the car, B. Vacation awaits.”
Tears spring in her eyes, but she nods and curves the car left. “Damn straight it does.”
Just like that, I leave Avix University, as well as all that it holds, behind.
Including a large part of myself.
q
My heart leaps into my throat and I scurry onto my knees, ever so slowly scooting along the warm sand in order to get closer to Bailey, who has yet to realize she’s let go of the upside-down sand bucket that she’s pulled herself up on.
She’s tapping on the hard plastic top, looking out at the water no more than thirty feet in front of us. After every few slaps of her palms, her elbows bend and she holds her open hands up near her chest, nothing but the strength of her legs and support of her back keeping her standing.
You got this, baby girl.
“Holy shit!” Bianca muffles, a bag of chips hanging from her mouth, daiquiris in each hand.
Bailey jolts, falling to her bottom, and I drop onto mine with a huff.
“Damn you!” I smile, clapping for Bay when she looks my way. “Did Auntie B scare you?” I pick her up, kissing her chubby little cheeks. “What are you doing standing all by yourself, huh? Stop growing so fast.”
Bianca bends over, letting the chips fall onto the lounge chair and I stand with Bailey, dusting her feet and bottom off before setting her into the playpen beside us.
Instantly, she forces her body to fall forward, and she uses the netting on the side to help herself stand. Her fingers wrap around the edge and then she’s peeking at us over the edge.
We laugh, and I accept the drink Bianca offers.
“I can’t believe it’s been three weeks already.” She sighs. “You sure we can’t push it out another month? It’s not like you have to go back for work.”
“I know, but I want to get settled, get Bailey acclimated and meet with the child development center there. You should just come home with me. It’s not Hawaii, but I mean it is Florida. Close enough, right?” I tease.
“Wrong!” she shouts, being overly dramatic. “So wrong, but you’re insane if you think I’m not coming to help you get unpacked.”
We cheers, taking slow, satisfied drinks from our glasses.
Bailey starts to cry then, and my eyes glide her way, but she’s not looking at me.
Instantly, she drops herself onto her butt, her little lip poking out in a pout.
“Bay, what’s wrong?”
I take a step toward her, but then the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention, freezing me in place.
Bailey’s hands lift, her palms opening and closing as she reaches out, waiting to be picked up. But not by me.
My baby girl doesn’t have to wait long, because in the next second a shadow falls over me, shifts beside me, and then there he is.
In shorts and a T-shirt, a black hat turned backward on his head, he pays me no mind, passing right by, and stopping directly in front of my little girl.
Bailey kicks her feet, and his soft chuckle sends chills down my spine.
My throat runs dry as he bends, lifting my daughter into his arms. He pulls her close to his chest, one arm wrapped around her, the other gripping her tiny hand.
Only after he breathes her in does the man turn to face me.
I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open, but nothing’s coming out, and then he gives me something he hasn’t in far too long.
His infamous smirk. “Hi, Tutor Girl.”
A mix between a laugh and a cry escapes, and then he’s in front of me.
My pulse is beating so wildly I’m sure you can see it through my skin and I tip my head back a little, not wanting to miss any part of him.
“Hi?” I trace every inch of his face. “You’re standing in front of me, on a private beach in Hawaii, and hi is what you say to me?”
He smiles, releases Bailey’s hand, and wraps his arm around my middle. He yanks me to him.
I want to push to my toes and kiss him.
I want to pass Bailey off to Bianca and disappear with him for a while.
I want to touch him, love him, keep him.
But worry swirls in my abdomen and it’s enough to keep my feet planted on the sand. “What are you doing here?”
A softness falls over him and his palm widens on my back. “I came for my girls.”
The ease in his eyes has me squinting, and then the most tender of smiles polishes his full lips.
“You don’t have to worry anymore, baby,” he promises, his tone warm and devout. “She’s all yours now.”
My lungs expand, stretching my ribcage to its max, and I subconsciously place my hand on Bailey’s back. “What?” I rasp.
“He relinquished his rights, all you have to do is file the papers, and it’s over.”
Moisture clouds my eyes; clogs my throat and I blink through the overwhelming emotions. “Show me.”
“It’s in my bag, but I swear to you, it’s legit. My agent had the papers drafted himself. All he had to do was sign.” A knowing smile tipping his lips.
“He just … gave her up?”
“Yeah, baby, he did,” he whispers, understanding while it’s a thrilling moment, it’s also heartbreaking in a way I can’t quite explain.
Thomas signed. He gave up his daughter as if she were nothing.
She was never anything to him … but she’s everything to me, and Tobias knows that.
“The marriage?”
His eyes flash. “Got those papers, too. You’re not his, never were, never will be.”
My muscles go lax, and I shuffle closer to him. “Tobias—”
“I finished out the season,” he interrupts, a seriousness overcoming him. “I did what I said I would, what I promised you, and then I did what I had to do.”
“You didn’t have to do anything for me.”
“Yes, I did.” His forehead falls to mine and he holds my eyes hostage. “You said in time, Tutor Girl. Well, time’s up.”
“Tobias.” My voice cracks, gratefulness and reproach overwhelming me. “The draft, it’s in five days.”
“You’ve been paying attention, huh?”
My features soften and he winks, jerking his chin.
Both Bianca and I turn, looking out over our shoulders.
A solid fifty feet away stands a large group of familiar faces, Echo, his parents and my brother among them, as well as a man in a black suit.
The moment they realize we’re staring, they scream and shout, throwing their hands into the air, making the three of us laugh.
My head snaps back to Tobias, who is already looking at me.
“The resort is giving us their conference room. Camera crew and my agent’s team will be here in a few days to set up.”
“But you’ve worked all your life for this. This is what you’ve always wanted, to step on that stage.”
“Wanted,” he stresses, tracing my lips with his thumb.
“This is a huge moment for you. Your career …”
“My life.” His lips press gently onto Bailey’s temple. “My future.” He grabs Bailey’s hand once more. “My world.” Slowly, their palms fall to the place over his left pec, his eyes clear and focused on mine. “Nothing I could ever do and nowhere I could ever go will ever mean a damn thing if I don’t have my girls to come home to. I want you by my side when the call comes, and I want you there every day after that.”
“Tobias …” My tears fall and he steps closer. You didn’t have to do this. I would have come to you.”
“I know, baby, and that’s the beauty of this. Of us. You want for me what I want for you, but we’ll talk about that later, ‘cause it’s been a long ass time, baby, and I’m gonna need you to kiss me now.” I chuckle, and he licks his lips, his brows jumping as he looks deep into my eyes. “From here, no matter what happens, we work through it together. It’s the three of us, now and forever.”
Blindly passing my drink over to Bianca, I wrap my hand around his neck and pull his lips to mine, but I tug back the second before they touch.
His chest rumbles and my grin stretches as I whisper, “No lie?”
And then he claims my mouth as his own. Again.
Months ago, I had no clue what to call the Playboy Pitcher, the hotshot athlete of Avix U.
But now I do and it’s my favorite label of all.
Mine.
