Chapter Twenty-Four
Leah handed Marcus the diaper bag and the little cooler that had baggies of her breast milk. “You sure you’ll be okay?” she asked him for the thirtieth time.
He laughed. “I promise, we’ll be fine. It’ll be good to spend some time with my little princess before I head back to Hong Kong. And my mom will be with us the whole time. She won’t let me screw anything up too badly. And you’ll only be a phone call away if I need you.”
Leah nodded. “Seriously, if you need me, I can be there in a flash. Just call. Even if it’s for something small. You never know…”
“Leah, we’ll be okay. Now go have fun with your friend. Spend a few baby-free hours relaxing.”
She nodded. She knew she was being silly, but it was also her first time away from Olivia. Marcus generally came to visit at her apartment, but he was heading back to Hong Kong soon and wanted to spend a few hours with the baby, show her off to some extended family who was in town. Leah would have gone also, but Kiersten insisted on whisking her away for a spa day. Which, honestly, did sound heavenly. So Leah agreed to let Marcus take Livy for a few hours. She’d known it would be hard. She hadn’t known it would be like ripping out a piece of her soul and letting him take it for a spin around the block.
Moments after Marcus pulled away, a town car with tinted windows pulled up.
Only it wasn’t Kiersten who climbed out of the backseat.
Her heart stopped for a second before doing the butterfly dance with her stomach. “Brooks? What are you doing here? I thought Kiersten was supposed to…”
“I bribed her into setting up the date with you. Don’t get mad,” he said at her frown. “I needed to talk to you, and you didn’t seem inclined to give me the time any other way.”
“You could have just asked, you know.”
“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?”
She started smiling in spite of herself. How did he always get her to do that? Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. A text from Kiersten.
Don’t be mad! He promised free babysitting for a month. Can’t pass that up. Hear him out okay.
She glanced back up at him. He stood at the open door of the car with such a hopeful expression she couldn’t bring herself to say no.
“What is all this about?”
He stepped back from the door and gestured for her to get inside. “If you’ll come with me…”
She raised her eyebrows, not sure she wanted to go down this whole road with him again. He still hadn’t sent in the divorce papers. Which surprised her, considering he was the one who walked out in the first place.
“Brooks…”
“Please,” he said. “I know I was an unforgiveable ass, but we’ve already established what an idiot I am. Just…please. One hour.”
She sighed. This was probably a really bad idea, but she couldn’t say no to him. “Fine. One hour.”
The big grin he flashed her had her heart skipping through her chest like a little girl with a lollipop. She climbed in the car and he slid in next to her. They didn’t talk much until she noticed they were heading out of the city.
“Brooks, where are we going? I need to be home by four. Marcus is bringing the baby back.”
“I know, don’t worry. I’ll have you back in time.”
“What do you mean you know?”
“I spoke with Marcus this morning.”
“You what?”
“We sat down and had a nice, long talk. And both walked out without a single drop of blood being shed. You should be proud. Now, just be patient for once,” he said with a grin. “I have a surprise set up for you.”
“A surprise, huh? Am I going to like it?”
For a moment the excitement in his eyes dulled. “I really don’t know. But I hope so.”
They didn’t say anything else but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. He was one of the only people she could sit in a room with without saying a word and not feel the need to fill the silence. When they started winding through neighborhoods of large family homes she sat forward, watching out the window.
“Where are we?”
“We’re almost there,” he said, the excitement back in his voice.
They finally pulled into a quiet, tree-lined cul-de-sac, lined with beautiful two- and three-story homes. They came to a stop in front of the house at the back of the cul-de-sac. A picture-perfect white house with black shutters and a flower box beneath each window. There were several blossoming trees in the yard and a flower-lined path up to the front door.
And a white picket fence. It had an actual white picket fence.
“Brooks,” she said with a tremor in her voice, beginning to have an inkling of what this might be about.
“Come on,” he said, opening the door and sliding out. He held out a hand to help her from the car.
“Whose house is this?” she asked.
Brooks still held her hand. He pulled her to his side, wrapping an arm around her waist. “It’s yours, if you want it.”
“What?” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“Come on,” he said, tugging at her hand like a little kid in a candy store. “Let me show you the rest.”
He almost dragged her into the house as she tried to catch a glimpse of every corner of the home she had always dreamed of.
Inside was as perfect as she’d always envisioned. Hardwood floors, a light airy spacious kitchen, a family room with a fireplace—she could already picture spending nights watching movies before a roaring fire with the baby and…maybe…
“I haven’t showed you the best part yet,” he said, pulling her toward another room.
He opened a set of French doors and her heart just about stopped.
“Oh, Brooks,” she said, choking back the lump that formed in her throat.
He led her into a room, a library really. With wall-to-wall built-in shelves just waiting for books. There was a fireplace in this room as well, and a big bay window with a window seat.
“My own library?” she asked, suddenly feeling like Belle in Beauty and the Beast. It took everything she had not to jump on the ladders and start singing while rolling along the shelves.
Brooks rested a hand on one of the rolling ladders. “Do you like it?”
“Do I like it? Brooks, this is just… It’s incredible.”
He beamed. “I have one more thing to show you,” he said, pulling her out of the library and toward another set of French doors that led outside. He opened them and drew her onto a deck that overlooked the large backyard. On one side, someone had planted a garden where she could already see neat rows of vegetables and herbs beginning to sprout. The rest of the yard looked like it was right out of Better Homes and Gardens with neatly manicured lawns overflowing with flowers and trees. And on the other side of the yard was a swing set and playhouse just waiting to be used.
She sat on the steps of the deck and raised a shaking hand to her mouth as she looked around the yard she had always wanted.
“Do you like it?” Brooks asked her again.
“I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life. This is…perfect.”
He flashed that huge smile again and sat a couple steps below her. “I’m so glad you like it. It’s in a really good school district, too. One of the top-ranked districts. The elementary school is only two blocks away so you could walk Olivia to school every day if you wanted. And there’s a dance studio about a ten-minute drive from here where they teach all kinds of classes. They even do piano lessons there if that’s something she’s interested in. The community center isn’t too far away either and there’s a big library about three miles down the road that way,” he said, pointing behind him. “And I checked the crime databanks. This is one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. Most of the people here don’t even lock their doors when they leave.”
“You actually checked on all of that stuff?”
He looked at her a little surprised. “I went and visited each place. I even met the kindergarten teacher, though I know it’s a little early for that yet. But I wanted to make sure it would be a good place for Olivia to grow up. Oh and…” He shoved his hand in his pocket and for a second Leah’s heart stopped. But, instead of the ring she thought he might be pulling out, he handed her a key.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
“You’ll need to be able to get Olivia to school and her dance and piano classes. And if you want to go into the city you’ll definitely need something to drive.”
She sucked in a breath. “You bought me a car?”
“A minivan,” he said with a huge grin. “It’s actually a pretty sweet ride. I drove it sixty miles and never felt a bump. Seriously, it’s the quietest car I’ve ever been in. It’s top of the line, complete with a DVD system, which the guy at the dealership told me is popular with kids. I know you don’t need something that big just yet, but the dealership guy said that they are good for things like carpools. And if you ever decided to have more kids…”
She didn’t know what to think. He was quite literally handing her everything she had always wanted. Well, almost everything.
“And you’re giving this all to me?”
He nodded. “No strings attached. If you want it, this is all yours. But I will admit I had hoped…”
He pulled a stick figure of a man out of his back pocket. One of those kinds that people put on the back window of their car to represent everyone in the family.
“Yours and Olivia’s are already on the car. I hoped…maybe…” He took a deep breath and then took her hands in his. “I know I screwed up, Leah. Really, seriously screwed up. My only excuse is that I thought I was doing what was best for you and the baby. I didn’t think I was what you needed. You deserve far better than me. And, honestly, I was terrified. And an idiot. And I’ve never regretted anything more in my life. What I was too stubborn to realize is that I’m the one who needs you. Who still needs you. Who will always need you. I know I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve another chance. But…”
“What about Marcus? He’s not going away, Brooks. He’s Livy’s father…”
“I know. And for her sake, we’re going to work on getting along. He…”
His face flushed and he pulled up his calendar on his phone, showing it to her. She glanced down and gasped out a surprised laugh. “You two are going to couples counseling?”
He let out a long-suffering sigh. “Remote sessions on the video conference line. His idea. But…it’s not a bad one. We’re both determined to get along.”
She smiled at him, her heart overflowing. “That’s an excellent start.”
He took her hands again. “I know you don’t need me but…”
Leah reached out and put a finger against his lips. “You’re wrong.” She cupped his cheek. “I do need you. This place,” she said, gesturing around her to encompass the house. “It’s amazing, incredible. Everything I always dreamed. But the dream wouldn’t be complete without you here.”
Brooks stood and pulled her into his arms. “Will you marry me? Again? For real this time?”
Leah laughed. “I would be honored to be your wife. For real.”
His smile lit a fire in her that would burn until the day she died.
He put his hand in his pocket again and she laughed. “How much do you have stashed in there?”
“This is the last thing.”
This time he pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it to reveal a tastefully beautiful ring, the stones arranged in the shape of a flower. Big enough to be impressive, but not so big that she’d be embarrassed to wear it.
“I knew you wouldn’t want anything too big…” he said, his uncertainty chipping away at her heart. “The first one I picked out was twice this size. And I had the jeweler put it on hold just in case. But I know when we talked about it before with the wedding bands you were ridiculously stubborn about it…”
She laughed and leaned forward to kiss him. “It’s absolutely perfect, Brooks. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her, long and deep, searing the moment in her heart forever.
Then he broke away, laughing, and swept her into his arms.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go christen the bedroom.”