Page 183 of Checkmate
“I tried to get Marcus back,” she said with a shrug, twisting in her seat. “He’s got the fancy house and the money now. I figured I’d be able to take care of the baby with him.”
I got your girl; I took your biggest client, and I got the life you always dreamed of.
Marcus’ words replayed in his mind as he clenched his teeth. The fucker really had taken everything from him.
He wasn’t having his fucking baby, too.
“It didn’t go well, I take it?” He asked, controlling his tone.
“Nope. He laughed in my face,” she said, her cheeks stained with a blush. “Which is probably what I deserved. He was ready to shut the door in my face. Erica stopped him.”
“Why?” He asked incredulously.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “Neither does Erica. I asked her.” She cleared her throat, swallowing audibly. “All she said is she’d never forgive herself if something happened to the baby.”
“I don’t get it,” he said, leaning back in his seat. “I mean, I’m glad she did because God knows what would have happened—”
“She could have very well saved my life. Odette’s too.”
And as a thank you, Alex vowed to never darken her doorway again. He’d already come to terms with the fact he’d lost her. Sitting in a jail cell with nothing else to do but contemplate had forced the realisation on him. It hurt. He missed her constantly.
He knew there was no winning her back, no matter how much he might want to.
But now, though she would never know it, he’d leave her alone to thank her for keeping his child out of harm’s way.
“Odette?” He asked, reaching over to place his hand on the swell of her stomach. “You chose my name?”
“It grew on me,” she said. “Plus, she seems to like it. She kicks away whenever I call her name.”
“Is that right?” He said, glancing up at her. “Do you like your name, Odette?” Sure enough, a swift kick to his hand confirmed it. He had a daughter, and her name was Odette. “God, that felt weird.”
Sophie laughed softly. “You should feel it from my end.”
Silence fell between them as Alex rubbed his thumb over Sophie’s bump.
What a confusing position he had found himself in. Marcus hadn’t been wrong when he called him out - he did not want this child. He wasn’t ready to be a father and give up his valuable time to take care of a tiny human. Despite that, though, he couldn’t deny the relief he felt to see his daughter was safe and well. He couldn’t stop his heart warming as she squirmed and stretched under his hand.
“What’s got into you?” Sophie asked. “I’m not complaining but—”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “All I know is when I heard about that psycho, panic gripped my heart, and I was very, very happy to see you safe and well.”
“So, what does that mean?” She asked. He could see the nerves in her eyes and felt his stomach drop. God, what had he done to this woman? She’d come to his company, bright-eyed and confident. Now she was a shadow of her former self.
A mouse.
“I think jumping back into a relationship would be stupid,” he said carefully. “We weren’t exactly healthy, were we?”
“You can say that again.”
“I want you to come home,” he said. “I wanna make sure you’re both okay and take care of you.”
“You mean that?” She asked. “Because I don’t want to fight again and have to leave. And I definitely don’t want to go back to Erica—”
“Nah. I think we’re done with Marcus and Erica now.” He cleared his throat at the pang in his chest. “Now we focus on our lives. Our daughter.”
“Okay.” Offering him a tentative smile, she nodded. “I’d like to come home.”
“You got it,” he said, leaning across the console and kissing her cheek. “I’ve got you.” He cleared his throat and straightened up. He felt good about this decision.
