Cici knew that something fundamental had changed between herself and Hoop last night and when she woke up and found the note from him that he’d gone out for a run, she stretched and smiled to herself. She texted Rich back, agreeing to meet with him later in the morning and then got dressed.
She put her hand on the baby bump and realized that she and the bean were going to be okay. More than okay. No matter what happened. She’d talk to Rich and then gauge what rights she should offer his parents. And her friends had been right yesterday when they’d said she already knew what she was going to do.
She’d thought she was so mature and grown up but these last few months being pregnant had taught her how little she actually had. Her hard fought and well-earned independence aside, she was coming to understand that parents needed a large support system. When she thought of her own childhood she realized how much richer it had been because of Dad and her brothers. And the six grandparents she’d been lucky enough to have. She knew that she wanted that for the bean. She needed her baby to have all the extended family.
And she wanted a father for this baby.
Not Rich. Never him. But Hoop. He’d come after her so many times and she knew that if she’d been afraid to trust, afraid that he’d stay, he’d given her his answer a hundred times over.
She went downstairs and made herself a cup of herbal tea after sniffing the can of coffee her parents kept in the cupboard. She missed coffee, but she wanted her baby to have every advantage so this wasn’t really a huge sacrifice. It was in a small way to her, but she didn’t mind it.
She heard someone on the stairs and turned to see Garrett standing there in a pair of khaki shorts and no shirt. His hair was rumpled and he looked sleepy.
“Morning,” he said, rubbing his hand over his chest. “Sorry. I didn’t hear anyone down here. I was hoping to bring Hayley back a cup of coffee before she woke up.”
“Help yourself. I’m restricted to tea but I love the smell of coffee so I’m going to sit right here and breathe it in.”
He gave a hearty laugh and then headed to the Keurig machine. “Hey, sorry for bringing Hoop. I didn’t realize what an awkward position I would be putting you in.”
“It’s okay. Actually, I’m glad you did bring him. I am a little like a tortoise when it comes to relationships and I think you helped move us forward by weeks by doing it.”
Garrett put the first cup of coffee on the counter and then turned to make a second cup. “Really? You strike me as somewhat impulsive.”
“I am impulsive, which leads to the slowness because I don’t think things through,” she said.
“Makes sense,” Garrett said, putting milk into one of the cups and then adding sugar.
She heard the jingling sound of Lucy’s collar and charms and a moment later the little dog trotted into the kitchen. Garrett reached for the leash and poo-bag but Cici hopped up.
“Let me do it. You take Hayley her coffee.”
“Thanks!” Garrett said, taking both of the mugs and leaving the kitchen.
Cici stooped to fasten the leash on Lucy and then stood and got a little dizzy. The little dog tugged on the lead but Cici took a few deep breaths until the dizzy spell passed and then she put on her flip-flops she’d left by the door and took the little dog outside.
Lucy started trotting toward the sidewalk and given that it was a nice morning, Cici thought a walk would be a good idea. She’d left her phone at the house but she didn’t worry. She knew most of the permanent residents on the street and the vacation renters were usually the same people year after year.
She put her hand on her stomach as she walked the dog and thought of the life that the bean was going to have here. The consistency and the security of growing up in the same place that she had and something else shifted and settled inside of her.
Hoop had said that her pregnancy was nine months long to give her time to adjust and she was just starting to understand the adjustments. She thought it was the idea of having a baby but that was simply the tip of the iceberg. There were so many other parts of her life that she was going to have to get ready for this child.
Lucy did her business, but Cici wasn’t ready to go back yet. They were already pretty close to the main street in the village and she remembered how much Hoop had liked the pastries she’d brought him on the yacht so she decided to pick up some for them for this morning.
She didn’t have her wallet but the owners knew her and her parents and they had an account at the store. Not a lot of places still did that but it was one of the many things she liked about this small village. It was a community and it was her safe place. The one place where she felt like the rest of the world really didn’t matter.
When she got home she was going to call her mom and thank her. She realized how much her parents had given her and how much she owed them.
She turned the corner onto Main and noticed someone who looked like Rich sitting in front of the cafe.
She wasn’t ready to talk to him.
But maybe fate had put him in her path for a reason. The door to the cafe opened and then Hoop emerged with an older gentleman that bore a striking resemblance to Rich.
His dad?
She stood there for a minute trying to process what she was seeing. But all she could do was react with anger and hurt. It looked like Hoop was meeting with Rich and his parents. Why would he be doing that?
Hoop hadn’t expected to see Martin in the village this morning. But when he had waved him over, he’d gone.
“Martin, I had no idea you were in the Hamptons this weekend.”
“I am here with the Hallifaxes. They brought Rich out here and are trying to get a meeting with Cici Johnson. They want to talk to her.”
“I’m not sure she’s ready,” Hoop said.
“Maybe we can help her to be?” Martin said.
“I’m not her attorney,” Hoop reminded his boss.
“I know. But this is something that isn’t going to get solved with lots of hard-nosed tactics. Help me get some resolution here.”
He hoped that this would be an opportunity for Cici. But he regretted that decision almost as soon as he’d made it. He wasn’t in a position to even guess at what Cici wanted except maybe more time, and he knew that they weren’t going to give it to her because he had coffee with them.
He was trying to think of a polite way to say that when he came back out of the diner to the table where Rich was waiting with his parents. He glanced up and saw Cici standing at the corner. He went to her. There was no time to think about anything other than she looked upset and he didn’t want her to think that he had gone behind her back to set this up.
As soon as she noticed him walking toward her, something changed in her expression. She glanced down at Lucy who had taken the opportunity to sit down since they weren’t moving.
“Hey. Martin was waiting here when I jogged by and invited me for coffee.”
She nodded.
“Martin insisted. He wanted me to understand that they weren’t monsters.”
He started to talk again but she held her hand up. “It’s okay. Right now, I guess I should meet with them.”
“Only if you want to. You’re not prepared, which I think is why they tried to catch me out by myself,” he said.
“How did they know you’d be here?” she asked.
“They didn’t. They knew your folks had a house here. Apparently, they got it from your cousin.”
He wasn’t sure what was going on in Cici’s mind. She seemed to have shut down completely. And he wanted to do something to help her but he felt powerless. He could only offer his support. “Do you need me as a lawyer or your boyfriend right now?”
She looked up at him and nibbled on her bottom lip. “Both, I think. Let’s go and talk to them.”
As soon as she said, ‘let’s go’ Lucy stood up, but Hoop’s gut told him they needed to talk before she went over there.
“Hey,” he said, stepping in front of her to block her view of the cafe. “Martin and I already told them this was highly inappropriate. Rich isn’t too happy with them either. You don’t have to talk to them.”
“What else did you tell them?” she asked, putting her hand on her hip. “We haven’t even talked about what I’m going to do.”
“Nothing. I said that you needed time and they needed to respect that,” he said. “My boss is pushing for a quick answer but he really knows that you need time. Even without Rich’s signature on the documents, you have the text where he denies the child and waives his rights. So, them pushing you is at their own peril.”
She tipped her head to the side, her expression had changed. She took his hand and drew him away from the cafe, up the block and around the corner.
“What does that mean?”
“Just that I’m not going to let them bully you. I think they thought you were some poor little accountant. They didn’t realize who your folks are or who you were. Rich’s mom loves the Candied Apple & Cafe by the way. She’s mentioned it at least seven times this morning.”
Cici shook her head. “I’d pretty much decided to get Rich’s perspective on everything this morning, but I don’t want to block them from knowing their grandchild. I wish they’d given the time I requested.”
“You can have it. I will be happy to go over there and tell them to back off,” he said.
“No. Thank you for the offer. But the baby is mine and I am the one who needs to do this.”
Hoop wasn’t sure what that meant but he knew that for the time being he had to give her the space she requested. “Do you want me to go with you?”
She squeezed his hand. “Yes. Just for moral support.”
“You got it.”
“Thanks, Hoop,” she said.
“That’s what I’m here for. I know it’s not the right time to talk but I am always going to be here for you.”
She hugged him. “I know. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Let’s go take care of this situation so we can enjoy the rest of our day.”
They made their way to the cafe. Rich was having a heated discussion with his parents. Hoop noticed that Cici hesitated. Finally, Rich looked up and when he did, he seemed surprised to notice they were holding hands.
“Hi, Rich,” Cici said. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
Rich rubbed the back of his neck. “Me too. Sorry for just showing up. I found out last night that my parents had been texting you from my phone. These are my parents, Richmond and Jill. Mom and Dad, this is Cici. Also, this is Martin Reynolds.”
Martin and Richmond stood up and held their hands out to Cici.
“I’m sorry. We have been taken completely by surprise by this news and we are overjoyed” Richmond said. “But Rich…”
“Dad. I meant it. Keep the criticism to a minimum or else,” Rich said.
Hoop realized there was a lot of tension at the table and he didn’t have to glance at Cici to know she was aware of it as well.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hallifax, I already know where Rich stands. We don’t know each other at all. We were both feeling a little down that night and hooked up. That should have been it. I’m not sure what happened but now there is this baby. It never occurred to me that you…well, even existed. Sorry, but I have been too busy dealing with what to do next.”
“We understand that,” Mr. Hallifax said.
“Thank you. I haven’t had a chance to discuss this with my lawyer but I am open to you getting to know the child. I am extremely lucky to have three sets of grandparents and I know how valuable those relationships have been in my life. So, I’d love to talk to you more about this.”
Mrs. Hallifax nodded. “That’s all we really want. When Martin called us, we were taken by surprise and Richmond went into full on CEO mode determined to…”
She trailed off but Cici just smiled ruefully at her. “Determined to get the child no matter how you had to do it.”
“Yes. It wasn’t fair to you,” Rich’s mom said.
“No, it wasn’t,” Cici agreed. “But I understand where you are coming from.”
“Listen, I am still not ready to be a father,” Rich said. “I am giving up my rights to the baby. My career is taking off and I have a fiancée and I want to focus on that.”
“You have an obligation,” Richmond said sternly.
“You can discuss that as a family,” Cici said. “We can work out some sort of arrangement for you as grandparents. Rich and I know where we stand.”
“I will work on something with Lilia at the office on Monday,” Martin said. “We will make sure the arrangement suits all of you and be in touch next week.”
Lucy tugged on her leash and Cici made her goodbyes, turning to lead the dog down the street to a grassy area. She was very aware of Martin making arrangements to meet with Rich’s parents in his office next week.
Meeting with them wasn’t as hard as she’d expected it to be. And seeing Rich again made her realize how little they had in common. He wasn’t the kind of man she was attracted to normally and if it weren’t for the baby growing inside of her, Rich would be one of the biggest regrets of her life.
But she had her bean.
“Mind if I walk back with you?” Hoop asked as he caught up with her.
“Nope,” she said. “I was going to ask your advice before I went to meet with Rich this morning but I guess I didn’t need it. His parents seem nice enough.”
“They do. I think the strained relationship with Rich is really putting them in a difficult spot.”
“It is,” she agreed. “So why did you really stop when you saw Martin this morning?”
She didn’t for one minute believe they had waved Hoop down. He wasn’t the kind of man to avoid a situation.
“I didn’t want Martin surprising you. I was pissed, if you want to know the truth. We had a great day yesterday and you needed the time to relax and figure out what to do,” he said.
“My protector.”
Hoop stopped and took her hand in his, their fingers linked together perfectly. She realized how much she wanted him by her side. Not because she needed a man or couldn’t do it on her own, but because having him with her on this adventure would make life a little bit richer and much sweeter. “I want to be that and more.”
“Do you?”
“Yes,” he said. “Why do you think I keep chasing after you?”
“I guess you can’t resist me,” she said, being cheeky because the truth felt too important at this moment. She didn’t want to admit how much she needed him.
“Are you joking?”
“A little,” she said. “But only because I’m sort of scared and excited all at once. I’ve been falling for you a little bit more every day and I have always picked the worst men in the world to fall for.”
“I’m not like them,” Hoop said. “I’m certainly not like Rich.”
“No. You aren’t and I think I knew that from the first time we danced together at the Olympus,” Cici said. “I think…I mean I know… that I love you. There, I’ve said it. And I want you in my life but you deserve someone who is all yours. Someone you can get to know before you have to share them with a child. And you deserve your own child,” Cici said. “Not another…”
“Stop. I don’t know what I deserve. My Pops always says the world doesn’t owe any of us anything. What I do know is that I love you too, Cici. You have sent me into a tailspin from the moment we met and I haven’t come out of it yet.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes. I think that’s why I pushed back the night at the club. Not a definite no, but more of a holy hell how am I going to keep up with this sexy, little dynamo. And I didn’t. I let you go and immediately regretted it. You deserved a better man. And I am ready to be that man, if you’ll have me.”
He pulled her closer to him as Lucy circled around their feet, tangling the leash around their legs. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Cici. And I want to have this baby and many more. I think it’s too soon to ask you to marry me. I want to wait so you can be sure of this. But you should know that is my intention.”
She put her hands on either side of his face and leaned up to kiss him, trusting him to keep her safe as their lips met. The kiss was sweet and deep and an affirmation of everything that he had pledged to her.
“I want that too.”
He lifted her off her feet and kissed her even more deeply. She knew that she’d found the love of her life and she knew they were going to have a wonderful life together.