I shifted in the uncomfortable seat in the airport, uneasy and tense. I looked up at the departure board, but the status of the flight I was waiting on remained unchanged. I heard the mutterings of other passengers—mechanical issues, a problem on the runway, all various thoughts on why our flight was delayed.
I inhaled a calming breath, scanning the small waiting area. Nothing seemed out of place. People milled about, bored and wanting to leave. One older couple sat across from me, never moving. She read a book while he did crosswords, occasionally asking her a question. They were obviously at ease and not worried about the delay, taking it in stride. She had cooed over Julianna, her husband barely looking, but other than that, seemed to forget I was there. No one was looking at me, nothing was amiss, yet I was on high alert. I thought I had it all mapped out—every last detail. I had stuck to the plan the entire time I had been here. I was certain no one had ever been as meticulous about a three-day trip as I had been. A trip I had dreaded and looked forward to at the same time. One I had to make since time was no longer on my side. I had owed it to her.
I exhaled and glanced down at the small bundle in my arms. My daughter’s eyes gazed up at me, wide and alert, the colors vivid in contrast to her pale skin. Curls, so adorable and wild in a darker shade of red than mine, lay against her head. Her fist was in her mouth, a sure sign she was hungry. We should have been on the flight by now. I would have fed her, and she would have slept. She was so good about sticking to her schedule, flying or not. I was extremely lucky that way. I glanced around, the closest restroom small and not accommodating to sit and feed her in private.
I stood and approached the desk where a woman was tapping out something on her keyboard. She looked up as I approached, offering me a resigned smile, no doubt certain I was about to quiz her on the situation. I offered a smile in return.
“Is there a family restroom close by?” I asked. “Someone is hungry, and it’s so crowded over there.”
“Oh,” she replied with a nod. “There is.”
Another woman appeared, interrupting. “It’s closed at the moment. But come with me. There is a small private room down the hall you can sit in and feed your child.”
Julianna squirmed in my arms, making a whimpering noise.
“She heard the word feed.” I laughed.
The woman, who introduced herself as Shannon, took my bag, and I followed her down a short hall. In the sparse room were a table and chairs, plus two loungers. A window high up let in the last afternoon sun. “This will be more comfortable for you. In fact, feel free to stay here until the flight is called. As soon as it’s ready to board, I’ll come get you.”
I felt a rush of gratitude. It was cooler and quiet in here. Private. I relaxed a little. “That would be lovely.”
“Water?” she asked. “I know you have to keep hydrated.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, Shannon returned with a bottle of water and left. “I’ll be back to check on you.”
“Any idea when the flight will be ready?”
“I heard about an hour or two at the most. The part is set to arrive any minute.”
Grateful for the update, I sat in one of the loungers, settling Jules at my breast, smiling as she latched on fast. I stroked her plump cheek softly, watching as her eyes shut as she fed. She was a good eater. A good baby. I felt a rush of guilt that I tamped down as I watched her. She looked so much like Julian. Her eyes, the shape of her mouth. The dimple high on her cheek that he had which only came out when he smiled a certain way. She was a constant reminder of what I had lost. Of what I missed so much on a daily basis.
I stroked over her hair, humming low, relaxing. Soon, we’d be in the air, and I would get back to my life. Or, at least, the life I was attempting to make. The truth was, I was lost. Lost without him. But I had made a choice and put my daughter first. She was what mattered—the most important thing in all of this.
She finished feeding, and I burped her, changed her, then sat down, holding her close. The room was quiet, the sounds from the terminal muffled. It was a good thing Shannon would be coming to get me as I couldn’t hear any boarding announcements or updates in here. I caught the occasional sound of footsteps as people passed the door and low conversations in the hall, but no one entered. I glanced at the clock, wondering if Shannon would return soon. It had been about an hour, so I expected an update at least.
An odd feeling prickled under my skin, and I tried to ignore it. I felt an awareness, a tugging in my chest. I stood and paced the room, stopping to open the door and peek out. No one was there, and the sounds of the bustling airport were all I heard. I shut the door and shook my head as I transferred Jules to my other arm. I was being paranoid. I had been the whole trip, and now I was simply anxious to get through the final stage and return to hiding. That was all, I assured myself.
Until I heard the sounds of heavy, measured footsteps approaching and stopping at the door. There was a beat of silence, a pause, then a knock—deviously light and quiet, yet somehow screaming loud in my head. I watched as the handle turned, and the door opened.
Julian entered the room, our eyes clashing across the small space. For a second, my breath stopped, the power of the moment overwhelming me. He was every bit as tall and handsome as I remembered. His shoulders were broad and set back, and his countenance intense. He was thinner than I recalled, the lines around his eyes more pronounced, and his anger was palpable. Fury drew down his eyebrows and pulled at his mouth. His gaze was focused, first on my face, then the small bundle I held tight in my arms.
All my planning, all my careful maneuvering, was for nothing. It was time to face what I had run away from.
I lifted my chin.
“Hello, Julian.”
JULIAN
She was beautiful. Even more so than my memory or the pictures I had of her let me think. She stood across from me, brave and defiant, the lie she perpetuated asleep in her arms.
My daughter.
I was hungry for a look. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to hold her mother. But anger colored my feelings, and I narrowed my eyes. “Taliyah.”
Silence stretched until I stepped forward. She moved back, holding out her hand as if to ward me off.
“How did you find me?”
“One of my men spotted you. He was waiting for the same flight.”
“Which one?”
“The older man seated across from you.”
She frowned. “He barely looked at us.”
I shrugged. “He let you think that. He was watching you closely. He called me.”
“My flight—”
“Has departed.”
She gaped at me. “What?”
“Your luggage was taken off. It’s waiting for you outside in the car.”
“How dare you,” she hissed, keeping her voice low.
I stepped closer, towering over her. “How dare I? How dare I? You disappear, hiding for over a year, keeping my child from me, and you ask me How. I. Dare?”
“She’s not yours,” she lied.
I laughed without humor. “You still can’t lie for shit, Tally. You expect me to believe you ran off, had an affair and another man’s child right away, given the passion we shared? The love we felt for each other?” I shook my head. “I’m not an idiot.”
“Maybe I had the affair while we were together.”
“I can’t believe you would even say that. You know as well as I do there was no one but each other for us.”
A flush saturated her cheeks, but she didn’t deny it.
“Let me see her.”
“No.”
I held out my arms. “Let me see my daughter, Tally. Now.” My tone brooked no argument.
Tears filled her eyes, and her body shook.
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“But you’re going to take her away,” she whispered, fear tearing at her words.
I felt her pain as if it was my own. It had been like that since we had started. I softened my voice. “No, I’m not. I want to meet her.”
Tears ran unheeded down her pale cheeks as she placed our daughter into my arms. For a moment, the world stopped as I gazed into her tiny face. Took in the plump cheeks, downy red curls, and the pursed rosebud lips. Emotions I had never experienced until now thundered inside me. Joy, alive and bubbling, hit my chest. Love, so deep and unexpected, swelled for the tiny being in my arms. Rage that she had been hidden from me, that I might never have known her existence, bubbled and burned.
Then she opened her eyes, and I was shocked into awareness. I was holding my daughter. My flesh and blood. My eyes were reflected back at me, crystal clear evidence of her parentage, staring, curious and confused. I stroked along her cheek with my finger, a thrill running through me as she grasped the digit, holding on fast.
“Her name?” I managed to get out.
“Julianna Grace.”
I snapped my head up, meeting Tally’s eyes.
“I call her Jules,” she added.
“She is…amazing,” I said, unable to form the right words.
“Please don’t take her from me, Julian. Please.” A sob broke her voice. “I couldn’t bear it.”
I frowned as I looked at Tally. Our time apart had changed her, letting me know it hadn’t been easy on her either. She was too thin, too exhausted, and too far away. Even in my anger, I still loved her. That was an absolute fact that would never change.
It also didn’t explain why’d she left, why she came back, or why she’d hidden my daughter from me.
I wanted answers.
“I’m not going to take her away,” I assured her. “But neither are you.”
“We can arrange visitation. I won’t keep her from you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “There’ll be no need for visitation, Tally. We’ll be in the same home, so I can see her whenever I want.”
She swallowed, her eyes large in her face. “What?”
“You heard me. You’re coming home with me, and we’re going to talk.”
“My home is elsewhere.”
I stepped closer, sliding my daughter, who had been watching us, her little mouth frowning, back into her mother’s arms. “Your home, your place, is with me. Both of you.”
I was close enough I could smell her. She had always smelled good—pretty and feminine. Now there was another layer to her scent. Our daughter had added to it. One I would have to get used to.
And I planned on getting used to it fast.
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “You forget the man you’re married to, Tally. One call and I can have our daughter taken from you. Charged with kidnapping. Have you locked up.” I was full of bullshit, but I was angry. Tally grew pale at my threats.
“Or you can come with me quietly, and we can settle this between us.”
“Settle what, exactly?” she asked, her bravado making me want to kiss her and yell at her at the same time.
“Where we go from here. One way or another, I’m back in your life. How you play it will decide how your future unfolds. I suggest you choose wisely.”
“You’re a bastard,” she whispered through tight lips.
“No, I’m a husband and a father. I’m fighting to keep my family. And I’m not going to fight fair this time. You erased those rules. Now you can live with the ones I set out.”
I saw the fight drain from her eyes. Watched her shoulders slump. I had won—at least for now. It was all I needed to get her back to the apartment so I could figure this out.
“Fine,” she whispered. “You win.”
Strangely, I didn’t feel any sense of victory at her words.