Ciara
I awake the next morning to the smell of bacon and the sound of Alfred laughing. I smile at the sound and roll over to see the sheets rumpled and a clear indentation in the center of the pillow.
Evans slept here last night.
My heart skips a beat. I look at my phone and see that it’s already after eight. Holy crap, I slept a long time. I have to go feed Alfred. I sit up in bed and the door swings open. It’s Evans with a breakfast tray in one hand and Alfred in the other. He’s smiling and he still has bedhead. They both do. Alfred squeals in delight when he sees me and my heart fills with happiness.
My boys.
“It’s a special Mommy’s breakfast in bed day,” Evans says, smiling.
I take a piece of bacon and thank him for the treat, but there’s hesitation in my voice. Clearly this breakfast in bed is a peace offering from Evans, for which I’m grateful, but we still have to talk about last night.
Evans sets the breakfast tray on the nightstand and then sits beside me in bed. He places Alfred between us and runs a hand over Alfred’s head. “Ciara, I need to apologize to you. I’m sorry for last night. I was being childish. I promise it won’t happen again. Of course you can see whoever you want.”
My shoulders relax. “Where did this change of heart come from?” I ask.
“I took some time to think things over last night. I went to the club. I should’ve told you where I was. I’m sorry.” Evan’s mouth turns down.
“What did you learn?” I ask. I think of what Bellina told me last night, how Evans probably just needed some space and time alone.
“I needed some guidance, a female perspective. Thankfully Elena was there.” Evans ruffles Alfred’s hair, oblivious to the way I jolted at her name.
Elena again? Is he kidding?
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear,” I say honestly.
Now they’re hanging out after hours? Is she his therapist now? Like, who meets their assistant at a club in the middle of the night? Am I crazy?
He might not consider Elena a threat, but I don’t want anything to come between us.
Evans continues, not picking up on the fact that I’m not happy about Elena. “I probably bored her to death, but she made me realize that everything that happened between us was my fault.”
My heart hurts as I think of Evans blaming everything entirely on himself. It takes two to tango, after all. “Some of it was my fault, too,” I admit. That is the truth and it’s important to me that he hears it.
Evans grabs my hand, his blue eyes serious as he looks into mine. “I don’t tell you this enough. You’ve been a fantastic mother and a wonderful fiancée, and I just love you so much I can’t help but get jealous.” He kisses me long and slow, but I taste salty like bacon, so I push him away, giggling. I feel like I’ve been a messy fiancée so far, but I’m not going to say anything to ruin this moment. From now on Evans and I are going to be a united front and remember that we’re a team.
Alfred laughs and claps his hands and we both look at him. My heart warms at what a good father Evans is. I open my mouth to tell him, but the bedroom door swings open. It’s Bellina, I start to gently ask her to knock next time, but I stop when I notice the look of shock on her face. My stomach sinks to my toes. This can’t be good. Did something happen to my dad? Is Evans’s family okay?
“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I thought it was important for you to see…” she trails off, as if reluctant to say whatever words need to come next.
“Bellina,what’s wrong?” Evans asks.
Slowly Bellina pulls her phone out of her pocket and hands it to us. Beside me, I hear Evans take a sharp inhale as he reads the headline, but I’m too stunned to have any outward reaction. The words keep echoing in my head as I read them over and over:
“Evans Leonard Baby Mama Drama—Was She a Hooker?”