Chapter 39: His Baby
"My ex-girlfriend dropped her off on my mother’s door step almost four years ago."
He passed me a picture of a beautiful little girl. She had two long ponytails, a smile that could light up a room and rosy cheeks. She was on the swing looking up in the sky holding on to the chains.
"She’s beautiful," I said looking at the picture of the little girl.
"Her name is Karenna, but we call her Kara. She is my daughter. Actually her guardian on paper."
"You have a daughter?"
"Actually I thought she was mine until I found out my ex cheated on me. Had been going on for years. After she had Kara she just up and decided to leave her child. I had a blood test done and they told me I wasn’t the father. It hurt because I had loved Yaritza since freshman year in high school. Now she wants Kara back."
"I hope you don’t do it," I was almost pleading with him.
"I am fighting for her. Believe me, Kara thinks I am her only parent."
"Where is her biological father if you don’t mind me asking?"
"Yaritza doesn’t know. She had slept with so many men before she found out she was pregnant that she would have to go down the list. When she dropped Kara off, I couldn’t abandon her so we took her in. We filed papers the next day."
"I commend you. I didn’t know. It must be tough." Now let me tell you, I hadn’t expected the night to turn into this kind of conversation.
"I try to keep her well guarded. Sometimes dangerous situations occur and it’s good to know that my mom watches over her."
John Paul walked in with their second course. He poured more wine. We dug into our salads, as the crabmeat basically slid down my throat.
"Do you think I could hire the chef? I need to take him he with me." I said smiling taking another bite. Evan looked down at me smiled.
The sound of Anita Baker’s Caught Up In the Rapture, played in the background. Evan moved his head. "My mother use to listen to her all the time. She would be in the kitchen and rock to the beat. She would twirl and sing. I would just watch her. She was so caught up one time she nearly burned the kitchen down. The dinner in the oven was ruined so she ordered from a nearby restaurant to have dinner ready by the time my dad came home." He smiled remembering.
I laughed. At least someone had fond memories of their mom.
"I listened to the words one day to see what had captivated her so much about the song. If you listen really hard you can feel the emotion in the words. Will you dance with me?"
He stood up as he reached his hand out to me. I stood and took it. We stood in front of each other as he wrapped his arm around my waist. He slowly grabbed my hand and pulled me into him. He placed his cheek next to my temple and we started to dance.
Now I could see why his mother loved it so much. You could be so caught up in emotions or passion not realizing what you have in front of you. Maybe I had gotten so caught up in Robert that I couldn’t see the forest from the trees. Maybe I was making him the one that I wanted and he didn’t feel the same or maybe no one wanted me for me but what I could provide or give. So many things went running through my head.
Evan kissed me on both cheeks. I couldn’t help but stare at the water as the music ceased and another one played.
"You okay? Was my dancing that bad?" he said. I don’t think I heard him as he called my name.
"Cadence?" I turned around. "Are you okay. You are shivering." He took off his coat and put it on me. He led me back to the table where Jean Paul brought out the rest of our meal.
Evan made small chit chat. I smiled but so much was going through my head. Robert’s voice echoed through my head leaving me feeling vulnerable and miserable. I want you to know I hate that he could still do that to me from clear across town.
"What’s wrong?" He asked with concern in his face.
"Nothing, just enjoying your company."
"Are you sure?" He said finishing his bread pudding.
"Yeah, I’m sure." I gave him a smile.
"Come on, I found the best view of the city," he said getting up. He pulled out my chair and we began to walk down the cobbled path.
"You want to talk about it?"
"There’s nothing to talk about," I said. He didn’t need to know my issues. He may have had my body, but I wasn’t ready to give him anything else.
We walked silently down the strip until we came to a small sailboat on the lake. We stopped in front of it.
"My lady," he said holding out his hand. The boat was small but big enough for the both of us. He got in and lifted me until I was inside.
"Is this yours?"
"It is. I have this one and another one in the Hamptons. I bring it out when I need to just relax."
"I’m not too sure about this." I said with a panic in my voice. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him to drive it I just didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere at night.
"I will keep it anchored unless you decide otherwise."
"Okay," I said looking out. "I didn’t bring a swimsuit."
"No problem, we can just sit out and look across the lake. Just relax."
He went down in the cabin and I heard the music playing in the background. I still had his jacket on and every time the wind blew I could smell his cologne from his jacket. I took a seat on the side of the boat. I kicked my shoes off and watched the water as the waves moved to their own rhythm. I wondered how Lilly was doing. She was still in ICU when I left. I hated to leave Ben. He looked so alone. Reader, I was two men deep into a weekend and somehow still thinking about a third one.
"A penny for your thoughts?" he asked as he took a seat.
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