Page 35 of Let's Be Forever

Those words finally help chain me to the fucking ground and keep me there. Because when he walks past me and I get a faint waft of his cologne, I don’t want to breathe him in or crave his touch. I shut the door behind me and tell him to remove his shoes.

“Shoes carry dirt and we have carpet. Rosie is like a human vacuum. She’ll eat anything. So I like shoes off.”

He smiles and those dimples indent his cheeks. I notice he’s clean-shaven and looks better than he did yesterday. I still clock his sunken eyes, but they’re not as dull as yesterday; they’re brighter and he seems relieved. He appears more in control of his body, more him.

“You don’t need to explain yourself. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. But it’s good to know. I’ll keep an eye out and make sure she doesn’t put anything in her mouth that she shouldn’t.”

I gesture for him to follow me, and he trails closely behind, but then I hear the soft patter of his feet come to a standstill. When I look over my shoulder, I find his eyes zeroed in on Rosie, and that look…It knocks me off my feet and steals all the air from my lungs. I knowthatlook. It’s the very same one I wore when she was first laid on my chest after she was born.

I was already in love with her, but it evolved into something more profound, fierce. Protective. He doesn’t have to say it, but it radiates off him. I know he’s fallen for her. Might’ve already last night. Despite the anguish, he was ready to meet her, ready to talk about her, ready for her.

Regrets, I have many, but this will never be one of them.

“God, wow, she’s…” He hums, staring at her, enamored, then shifts his eyes to mine. “Beautiful.”

My throat thickens, making it hard to swallow or speak. So I smile until I’m able to expel the words. “She looks just like you.”

“She looks like you too.” He stays planted in his spot even when I round the couch.

“Don’t say that to make me feel good. Come. You can get closer.”

“I’m not.” Sylas takes slow steps. “She does. She has your lips, your smile, the shape of your eyes, your nose, she has a lot of it.”

He’s only seen the picture Em posted on Instagram. It’s kind of grainy and has a filter on it. I’m sure he’s just seeing things and being nice.

“She’s not going to bite—actually, she might. So be careful. She may be small, but she’s got sharp teeth. And stop being weird. You’re making it weird.”

“I’m sorry.” He picks up the pace and finally stands next to me. “I’m just in shock. She’s so tiny.”

It’s painfully funny how unaware Rosie is of her surroundings. She’s so busy playing she hasn’t noticed Sylas is standing just a few feet away from her.

“The doctor said she’s high on the growth chart. So she might be as tall as you one day.” His parents, Thea, and other family members are tall, so it makes sense that she’d follow suit. Just another thing she inherited from him.

“Can I go to the next one?”

“Next one?” I look up and find him already looking down at me.

“Doctor’s appointment. All the appointments.” Pale green eyes sweep over me again. I wish he’d stop doing that. “If that’s okay with you.”

I thought I’d be able to keep it together, but I’m struggling to keep my emotions at bay. After everything I went through, I thought the worst of him. I imagined him hating being a father, imagined him being embarrassed that he had a baby with me, I imagined so many things, but not this.

His eyes and posture scream it: he’s happy to be here. And even though there’s an apprehensive energy about him, he’s comfortable.

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself because he doesn’t know yet just how time-consuming kids are. I don’t know what he does in his spare time. I don’t want to begin to imagine it, but I assume he’sbusy, like he had been before we started dating.

I don’t care who he’s with, but unless she’s someone serious, I don’t want him bringing random women around Rosie. I make a mental note of bringing it up later.

“That’s okay with me. She just had one, but the next one will be in December, close to her birthday.”

Rosie must finally sense us watching her because she swivels, her pigtails slowly swishing. She’s smiling but it slips as her pale green eyes shift up and her head tips back to look at Sylas.

Her gaze jumps from his to mine and back to him. She looks mildly concerned by his presence even when he smiles at her and offers the faintest wave.

“Mama?” She teeters toward me, her steps as hesitant as the expression on her face.

“It’s okay.” I crouch down, stretching my arms, and she quickly makes a run for it. “Don’t worry,” I tell Sylas. I can tell he’s worried he did something wrong. It’s amusing and cute and—no, it’s not cute. “She’s okay. She makes you think she’s scared, but in a few minutes, maybe even seconds, she’ll warm up to you and make you play with her. Which is not okay because stranger danger doesn’t seem to be a concept to her, but we’re working on it.”

That makes him laugh and he crouches too. He still towers over us, but it helps because she isn’t as tense or intimidated.