Always kind. Always polite. She's too good for me. But then again, I always knew that.
I pull her closer to my side and wind my arm around her waist. A united front against … whatever. Against whomever.
"I want to apologize for my horrible timing last night." Sophie's eyes fill with tears and her chin trembles. I frown. I wasn't expecting this. The Sophie I knew never apologized, never backed down, never cried. She was the bravest person I knew back then, which was saying a lot. I guess we've both changed. "I would never, never have done that had I known that Cash was married. I didn't think he was the marrying type, but I guess … We all change. Eventually. And I want you to know that I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want my little girl to know her father. That's all."
Olivia says nothing, just keeps smiling. I, however, feel no such need to hold my tongue. "Why now? Why the hell didn't you come to me when you knew you were pregnant?"
"I … I knew you wouldn't believe me. And my father … well, you know how he was."
"Was?"
She nods. "He died in April."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, Isabella and I are pretty much all each other has now. Your mom was the mother I never had and I heard she … "
"Yeah, right after you left."
"God, I hate I didn't get to see her again. To make things right. She was so good to me."
"She loved you like a daughter. It broke her heart when you left."
"If I could go back … do things differently … " She stares up into my eyes for several long seconds, enough for me to see that she came here wanting more than just to introduce her daughter to me. She came here for me, too.
"Things worked out for the best," I say, smiling as I look down at Olivia, brushing my lips across her forehead. She leans into me like she might fall over if I weren't right beside her. I feel another surge of anger toward Sophie for doing this to us, to her. Olivia doesn't deserve this. She deserves only happiness. And I know that none of this will make her happy.
"I, uh, I knew you'd want to know. About Isabella, I mean."
"Yeah. It would've been nice to know before now, though. I've missed half her damn childhood. What the hell were you thinking, Soph?" I ask, rising temper causing my voice to rise.
"I was trying to make a life for myself in Canada. Dad would hardly speak to me for months. I dropped out of school. I was a kid having a kid. You can't blame me for being stupid."
"But why now? Why after all this time?"
"I … we … we need a new start. After Dad … this was the only place that felt like home after he died. I thought … I remembered the club. And I knew about Greg … that you were running it now … I thought if you'd let me work a few shifts, just until I can get us settled, you could get to know your daughter. Decide whether you want us around or not."
Olivia stiffens beside me.
"Sophie, I don't think that's a good idea."
She bursts into tears. "I-I-I was af-fraid you'd say that. It's just that … we don't have anywhere else to go. I have no m-money, no j-job. And I don't know how I'm supposed to take care of Isabella until I find something. I just … I just … " She covers her face with her hands and bawls while Olivia and I just stand here watching her.
I feel my wife twitch once, twice and then, woman that she is, she steps forward to put her hand on Sophie's shaking shoulder. As if that was all the opening she needed, Sophie turns and throws her arms around Olivia and clings to her.
My eyes meet Olivia's over Sophie's head. In them is a mixture of helplessness, sympathy and a hollow sadness that makes my chest tight. She's the bigger person, the better person. That just makes me worry about her all the more. If Sophie is still the same woman I knew all those years ago, even deep down, this could spell trouble. But what Sophie doesn't realize is that I'm still enough the same man that if she backs me into a corner or hurts Olivia in any way, she won't like what happens next.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Olivia
I want to believe that this woman is sincere. I want to believe that her motives are simple and pure, and that she only wants her child to know her father. Since babies and motherhood have been at the forefront of my mind for a while now, I can understand that completely. It pains me to think of my own child being in that situation-homeless, fatherless, without the roots and ties of family. I'd have been lost without my father. He saved me from the influence of my mother, from the life that she'd have had me to live. I can't help wondering if this little girl needs saving from hers, too. As much as I'd like to believe she selflessly wants what's best for her child, the resentful parts of me are doubtful.