Not Quite Over You
Page 37
“I’m a single mom. I have to be. Don’t let anyone convince you that you didn’t do right by Drew. You told him the truth, you refused his half-assed proposal, you found a good family for your child and you became a part of her life. At no point did you not walk the walk.”
“You’re right,” Silver said, feeling better by the second. “I did all that and I was only eighteen. I’m empowered and pretty damned amazing.” She smiled at her friend. “We both are.”
“You know it.”
* * *
LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON Drew stayed at his house, playing with Mr. Whiskers until it was time to leave. The rabbit had turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant pet. He was quiet, relatively clean and not the least bit judgmental. Something Drew could appreciate these days. His normally calm, almost-boring life had taken several unexpected turns, leaving him watching the clock as he counted down the minutes until he left to meet his daughter.
His daughter. He still couldn’t believe it. After all these years, he was going to be introduced to her, spend time with her, get to know her. He was trying to figure out how he felt about everything that had happened, everything he had learned. There was anger, but he was less sure it was directed at Silver rather than himself. A case could be made that at no point had she been obligated to tell him she was in touch with their kid. He knew that in his head, but in his gut, he was dealing.
When it was time, he drove the few minutes to Silver’s loft and parked. After climbing the stairs, he knocked on her front door.
“Hi,” she said as she let him in. “Come on in.”
She waved him inside, then motioned to the two people sitting on the sofa. There was a curvy woman in her thirties and a slim, dark-haired girl with blue eyes. He’d seen a couple of pictures, but they were nothing when compared with seeing her in person. She looked a lot like him.
“Hi.” Autumn bounced to her feet. “This is strange, huh? I’m Autumn and you’re Drew. Is it okay if I call you Drew? I can call you Mr. Lovato, if you’d prefer.”
“Drew is fine.”
“Good, because I call Silver by her first name.” Autumn studied him. “I think we look alike, don’t you? That’s kind of funny, huh?”
“You do,” Silver said. “Drew, this is Autumn’s mother, Leigh Frobish. Leigh, this is Drew.”
Leigh stood and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you after all this time. Silver’s told me a lot about you. It’s great to finally meet Autumn’s birth father.”
Silver had set out iced tea and cookies, along with a glass of lemonade for Autumn. They all sat down, with Autumn and Leigh settling on the sofa while he and Silver took the chairs opposite. Drew did his best not to stare at Autumn but it was difficult when she was right there in front of him.
“My mom’s getting married on Saturday,” Autumn told him as she reached for a cookie. “I get to be in the wedding with Silver. We’re super excited.”
Silver grinned. “We are. I’ve already booked us a morning of beauty. We’ll get our hair done and have manicures.”
Autumn looked at her mother. “It’s a very special occasion. Don’t you think I should wear makeup?”
Leigh smiled. “No. Lip gloss is plenty.”
“But I’m eleven.”
“Yes, that would be the point.”
Autumn rolled her eyes. “I have to wait until I’m thirteen to even wear mascara. Can you believe it? And no pierced ears until I’m fourteen. My life is a nightmare.”
“The pain must be unbearable,” Silver teased. “After the wedding, we have big plans for the week.”
“I have a bike,” Autumn told him. “Borrowed, but still. I love riding my bike. I’m going to hang out with Hunter and we’re going to ride around the whole town.”
“You know Hunter?” Drew asked.
Autumn nodded as she finished her cookie. “Uh-huh. He and his mom met Silver and me at Disneyland. We had the best time.”
“You went with Wynn?”
He saw the flicker of guilt in Silver’s eyes. She shrugged. “It was one of those things. She was planning a trip there and it was the same weekend I was visiting Autumn. We made plans.”
He doubted it had been that simple. If he had to guess, he would say that Silver had accidentally blurted out something and Wynn had picked up on it.
He felt the slight turn of a knife in his gut—who else had known about his only child when he hadn’t? Wynn had never hinted.
He turned to Autumn. “I’m glad you already have friends here. What about school? Did your teachers send homework with you?”
“It’s so much worse than that. There’s a Learning Center in town for kids who are, like, homeschooled and stuff. All my teachers uploaded my assignments there. I have to go every single day. Even tomorrow!” She sounded horrified. “My mom’s going on her honeymoon and I have to do my stupid schoolwork. Is that fair?”
“One day you’ll go on a honeymoon and she’ll have to work,” Silver said mildly. “You’re so dramatic.”
Autumn grinned. “I know. I’m practicing for when I’m a teenager. What do you think?”
“I think your mom will have her hands full.”
Leigh smiled at Drew. “I hope this isn’t too awkward, but I want you to know you’re welcome at the wedding. Autumn is only in town for a short period of time and I’m sure you want to spend as much time with her as possible.”
He looked at Silver, who nodded slightly.
“That would be very nice,” he said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. The wedding is going to be a lot of fun.” Leigh smiled at him. “I don’t know if Silver told you but we’re stepping into someone else’s planned wedding. Denton and I couldn’t make up our minds about what we wanted to do. I impulsively called one of the wedding businesses in town and they’d had a cancellation.”
“The Great Gatsby wedding. Should be interesting.”
Autumn sipped her lemonade. “There’s a candy buffet and feathers and pearls as decorations. It’s going to be beautiful.”
“I’m having a wonderful party and I don’t have to do any of the work,” Leigh said.
Drew glanced at Silver. “Who’s manning the bar?”
“Georgiana. You met her briefly a couple of weeks ago.”
He remembered the pale, ethereal-looking blonde, who had lifted kegs as if they weighed as much as an apple.
He and Silver had yet to figure out who would be managing which trailer. She was pushing for Georgiana to take one and he wasn’t sure. Not anything they would discuss today.
“I look forward to seeing her in action.”
Autumn reached for another cookie. “Denton is wearing a tuxedo. What are you wearing?”
“A suit is fine,” Silver told him.
“I have a lot of suits. I work in a bank.”
“Do you get to play with the money?” Autumn asked.
“Not as often as I’d like.”
“Denton’s a pediatrician and my dad is an accountant.” She sighed. “I have friends who don’t have any dads and I have three.” She looked at her mother. “I don’t need any more.”
“Good to know.” Leigh laughed. “We’ll stick with three.”
“You’re right,” Silver said, feeling better by the second. “I did all that and I was only eighteen. I’m empowered and pretty damned amazing.” She smiled at her friend. “We both are.”
“You know it.”
* * *
LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON Drew stayed at his house, playing with Mr. Whiskers until it was time to leave. The rabbit had turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant pet. He was quiet, relatively clean and not the least bit judgmental. Something Drew could appreciate these days. His normally calm, almost-boring life had taken several unexpected turns, leaving him watching the clock as he counted down the minutes until he left to meet his daughter.
His daughter. He still couldn’t believe it. After all these years, he was going to be introduced to her, spend time with her, get to know her. He was trying to figure out how he felt about everything that had happened, everything he had learned. There was anger, but he was less sure it was directed at Silver rather than himself. A case could be made that at no point had she been obligated to tell him she was in touch with their kid. He knew that in his head, but in his gut, he was dealing.
When it was time, he drove the few minutes to Silver’s loft and parked. After climbing the stairs, he knocked on her front door.
“Hi,” she said as she let him in. “Come on in.”
She waved him inside, then motioned to the two people sitting on the sofa. There was a curvy woman in her thirties and a slim, dark-haired girl with blue eyes. He’d seen a couple of pictures, but they were nothing when compared with seeing her in person. She looked a lot like him.
“Hi.” Autumn bounced to her feet. “This is strange, huh? I’m Autumn and you’re Drew. Is it okay if I call you Drew? I can call you Mr. Lovato, if you’d prefer.”
“Drew is fine.”
“Good, because I call Silver by her first name.” Autumn studied him. “I think we look alike, don’t you? That’s kind of funny, huh?”
“You do,” Silver said. “Drew, this is Autumn’s mother, Leigh Frobish. Leigh, this is Drew.”
Leigh stood and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you after all this time. Silver’s told me a lot about you. It’s great to finally meet Autumn’s birth father.”
Silver had set out iced tea and cookies, along with a glass of lemonade for Autumn. They all sat down, with Autumn and Leigh settling on the sofa while he and Silver took the chairs opposite. Drew did his best not to stare at Autumn but it was difficult when she was right there in front of him.
“My mom’s getting married on Saturday,” Autumn told him as she reached for a cookie. “I get to be in the wedding with Silver. We’re super excited.”
Silver grinned. “We are. I’ve already booked us a morning of beauty. We’ll get our hair done and have manicures.”
Autumn looked at her mother. “It’s a very special occasion. Don’t you think I should wear makeup?”
Leigh smiled. “No. Lip gloss is plenty.”
“But I’m eleven.”
“Yes, that would be the point.”
Autumn rolled her eyes. “I have to wait until I’m thirteen to even wear mascara. Can you believe it? And no pierced ears until I’m fourteen. My life is a nightmare.”
“The pain must be unbearable,” Silver teased. “After the wedding, we have big plans for the week.”
“I have a bike,” Autumn told him. “Borrowed, but still. I love riding my bike. I’m going to hang out with Hunter and we’re going to ride around the whole town.”
“You know Hunter?” Drew asked.
Autumn nodded as she finished her cookie. “Uh-huh. He and his mom met Silver and me at Disneyland. We had the best time.”
“You went with Wynn?”
He saw the flicker of guilt in Silver’s eyes. She shrugged. “It was one of those things. She was planning a trip there and it was the same weekend I was visiting Autumn. We made plans.”
He doubted it had been that simple. If he had to guess, he would say that Silver had accidentally blurted out something and Wynn had picked up on it.
He felt the slight turn of a knife in his gut—who else had known about his only child when he hadn’t? Wynn had never hinted.
He turned to Autumn. “I’m glad you already have friends here. What about school? Did your teachers send homework with you?”
“It’s so much worse than that. There’s a Learning Center in town for kids who are, like, homeschooled and stuff. All my teachers uploaded my assignments there. I have to go every single day. Even tomorrow!” She sounded horrified. “My mom’s going on her honeymoon and I have to do my stupid schoolwork. Is that fair?”
“One day you’ll go on a honeymoon and she’ll have to work,” Silver said mildly. “You’re so dramatic.”
Autumn grinned. “I know. I’m practicing for when I’m a teenager. What do you think?”
“I think your mom will have her hands full.”
Leigh smiled at Drew. “I hope this isn’t too awkward, but I want you to know you’re welcome at the wedding. Autumn is only in town for a short period of time and I’m sure you want to spend as much time with her as possible.”
He looked at Silver, who nodded slightly.
“That would be very nice,” he said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. The wedding is going to be a lot of fun.” Leigh smiled at him. “I don’t know if Silver told you but we’re stepping into someone else’s planned wedding. Denton and I couldn’t make up our minds about what we wanted to do. I impulsively called one of the wedding businesses in town and they’d had a cancellation.”
“The Great Gatsby wedding. Should be interesting.”
Autumn sipped her lemonade. “There’s a candy buffet and feathers and pearls as decorations. It’s going to be beautiful.”
“I’m having a wonderful party and I don’t have to do any of the work,” Leigh said.
Drew glanced at Silver. “Who’s manning the bar?”
“Georgiana. You met her briefly a couple of weeks ago.”
He remembered the pale, ethereal-looking blonde, who had lifted kegs as if they weighed as much as an apple.
He and Silver had yet to figure out who would be managing which trailer. She was pushing for Georgiana to take one and he wasn’t sure. Not anything they would discuss today.
“I look forward to seeing her in action.”
Autumn reached for another cookie. “Denton is wearing a tuxedo. What are you wearing?”
“A suit is fine,” Silver told him.
“I have a lot of suits. I work in a bank.”
“Do you get to play with the money?” Autumn asked.
“Not as often as I’d like.”
“Denton’s a pediatrician and my dad is an accountant.” She sighed. “I have friends who don’t have any dads and I have three.” She looked at her mother. “I don’t need any more.”
“Good to know.” Leigh laughed. “We’ll stick with three.”
