Chapter 31: Chapter Thirty-one

RILEY

“Heading out early, I see.”

The deep voice startled me, making me jump in my chair.

“Holy cow!” I yelped, spinning around to find a pair of familiar crystal-blue eyes.

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Jonathan Reed said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. I let out a nervous laugh.

“No problem, Mr. Reed. Yeah, I’m heading out a bit early today,” I replied, offering a small smile as I gathered my things.

He lingered behind my desk, and I felt a wave of awkwardness. I wasn’t one for small talk, and I couldn’t figure out why he was still standing there.

“Ummm…can I help you with something?” I asked, busying myself with tidying up my desk.

“I wanted to check if you’ve submitted your paperwork and see how you’re settling in,” he said, offering a warm smile.

I let out a soft sigh. “I turned in the paperwork this morning. As for the job, it’s great, Mr. Reed. I’m still learning, but I think I’m getting the hang of it,” I replied confidently.

He continued to look at me, his gaze intense. “That’s good to hear. How about I take you to lunch tomorrow? We can go over our current projects in more detail.”

His directness caught me off guard. I didn’t know how to respond.

Lunch with my boss? That seemed inappropriate on so many levels.

But then again, maybe he did this with all his new hires. To play it safe, I decided to decline.

“Uhh…Mr. Reed, that sounds wond—”

I was cut off by a throat-clearing sound behind me. I turned to find Tristan glaring at my boss, looking like he was ready to throw a punch.

“Hey sweetheart, I’ve been waiting for you.” He shifted his gaze to me and wrapped an arm around my waist, causing my eyes to widen.

He kissed my forehead and I put a hand on his chest, trying to maintain some distance between us in front of my boss.

“Sorry, man, but our daughter is waiting for us. We need to get going,” Tristan added pointedly.

I rolled my eyes at his overprotective behavior and pulled away from him.

“I told you to wait outside,” I hissed at him. He just gave me a look that said I was running late.

I checked my watch and saw it was past five-thirty.

~Oops!~

“Wow, a daughter. I wouldn’t have guessed. You look so young, Ms. Adams,” Mr. Reed said, drawing our attention.

Tristan’s nostrils flared. “You need to stop looking, man.”

“Tristan!” I gasped, pushing him away from my cubicle, mortified by his behavior.

~Oh my God!~

~I’m definitely getting fired.~

“Relax, man. I get it. I’d be jealous too if I were you. Enjoy your evening with your family, Ms. Adams. And forget about that lunch,” Mr. Reed said, offering a small smile before leaving my cubicle. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

~What just happened?~

Tristan was grinning at me. He was wearing a fitted black t-shirt and dark-wash jeans.

His hair was neatly combed back and I found myself licking my lips, suddenly feeling warm.

“Done checking me out?” he asked, laughing. I rolled my eyes and headed for the exit, with him trailing behind me.

“You almost made me regret letting you pick me up,” I said, tossing him my car keys and sliding into my car.

He started the car while I buckled my seatbelt.

“I was pissed, obviously. Can you blame me?”

“Well, you’re five years too late to be acting all possessive.”

He fell silent. I instantly regretted my words and turned to look at him. He was staring at the road, his jaw set.

His fingers were gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” I began, but he cut me off.

“Don’t be. I probably deserve it.”

We sat in silence for a while before I finally spoke. “How did you know I was single? I could be seeing someone.”

“I know there’s no one else, sweetheart. And even if there was, I meant what I said. I’m going to win you over. Whatever it takes.”

He glanced at me briefly and I swallowed hard. Damn, that was hot.

I shook my head, trying to stay mad at him for his behavior back at the office.

“You are unbelievable, Tristan. What was that back at the office? I was so embarrassed,” I groaned, pushing my hair back from my face.

“That was me making sure he knows you’re mine, and only mine,” he whispered, causing me to catch my breath.

“Th-That was totally unnecessary,” I stammered, struggling to form a coherent sentence.

He gave me a look that said I was crazy.

“He was practically undressing you with his eyes, Riley. I can’t blame him though. You look damn good in that outfit,” he sighed, stroking my flushed cheek.

I closed my eyes, enjoying his warm touch. “I was going to turn him down anyway. You didn’t have to go all ‘Christian Grey’ on me,” I mumbled.

He hit the brakes suddenly and started to laugh.

“Christian Grey? Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea how Christian Grey I can get,” he whispered in my ear, sending a thrill through me.

“Let’s go see our daughter first,” he winked, unbuckling his seatbelt. That’s when I realized we were at the park.

I let out a deep breath and stepped out of the car. He took my hand, and I didn’t resist as we started walking.

I was still reeling, trying to make sense of his words while battling my own inappropriate thoughts. He abruptly halted, and I glanced up at him, puzzled.

“My grandma’s already here with Abby. Let’s go, Tristan.”

“I’m nervous, Riley. Are you sure this is okay? What if she doesn’t like me?” His voice was laced with fear.

His eyes were filled with such raw pain and vulnerability. My heart ached at the sight, and all I wanted to do was wrap him in a comforting hug and assure him everything would be okay.

“She’s going to be thrilled to meet you, Tristan. And I know you’re going to be an amazing dad. Everything’s going to be okay,” I promised him.

He looked down at me, his eyes filled with affection.

~Oh, screw it!~

I hugged him, catching him off guard, but he quickly returned the embrace. I breathed in his familiar, musky cologne, a scent I’d missed so much. It stirred up a whirlwind of memories.

I fought back tears and tried to pull away, but he held me tighter, which made me smile.

~God, this feels so right.~

~It feels like home.~

“Can’t breathe, Tristan,” I managed to mumble. He released me with a soft chuckle.

“Thanks for that. I really needed it,” he sighed, resting his forehead against mine.

“Come on, let’s go.” I tugged on his hand and he followed me. I spotted my grandma sitting on a park bench, engrossed in a book, and saw Abby playing on a nearby swing.

I grinned broadly and turned to Tristan.

“That’s my grandma. And over there, that’s your daughter.” I pointed them out and his gaze locked onto Abby.

“Let’s go meet my grandma first.” We moved closer, Tristan’s attention still fixed on Abby.

“There you are. I thought you two had run off to have some fun together,” my Grandma teased.

I blushed, and Tristan shot me a smirk.

“This is Tristan, Grandma. Tristan, this is my grandmother.”

He reached out to shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Adams. I’m sure your granddaughter has filled you in on enough of my misdeeds to make you dislike me.”

“Not at all. She didn’t mention you until this morning. And I don’t dislike you, Tristan. I understand, and I’m really glad that you’re here.”

She gave him a warm smile. I was starting to feel anxious about him meeting Abby.

~Will she resent me for keeping him away all these years?~

~Will she be happy?~

“Riley?” Tristan’s voice snapped me back to reality. “Should we go meet Abby?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded. “Sure, let’s go.”

“I think that’s my cue to leave. Take care of them both, Tristan. We’ll talk more later.” Grandma patted his shoulder and walked away, while we headed toward the swing set.

“Are you ready?” I asked him. Abby hadn’t noticed us yet, and my heart was pounding.

“To be honest, no, but let’s do this.” He squeezed my hand.

I exhaled deeply and approached my daughter, then crouched down to her level. She immediately hopped off the swing.

“Mommy, you’re here! Grandma said we can stay longer today.” She flung her tiny arms around my neck as I picked her up.

“Of course, baby. She had to go home, but we can play together.” I smiled, kissing her cheeks, then I turned around to find Tristan watching us, tears shimmering in his eyes.

“Let’s go to the seesaw next!” She tried to wriggle out of my arms, but I held her close.

“Wait, Abby. I want you to meet someone.”

“Who?” she asked in her sweet, curious voice. I walked toward Tristan.

“Abby, this is Tristan. He is your—”

“Your dad,” Tristan finished, giving me a quick glance.

“Dad? But Mommy said that I don’t have a dad,” Abby replied. I felt a pang of guilt that she still remembered that. And it broke my heart to see Tristan’s reaction.

“Well, Mommy and Daddy had a little fight, but now we’re okay and I’m back, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”

His voice cracked as he spoke, and I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“Is that why Mommy cries?” Abby asked. Tristan looked at me in shock, tears in his own eyes. He reached out for her and I handed her over.

“Mommy will never cry again. I promise,” he assured her, glancing at me briefly. My heart fluttered at the sight in front of me. I was overwhelmed with emotions.

“She showed me all your photos, and you look like a princess in all of them. Just like Mommy.” He smiled, kissing her cheeks.

Abby giggled while I stood there, blushing like an idiot because he had called me a princess.

“Thank you. Can I call you Daddy?” Abby asked in her soft voice. Tristan looked at me.

I just shrugged in response, chuckling. My heart melted at the sight of them. I didn’t think I'd ever been this happy.

“Of course, you can. God, I love you so much, already,” he hugged her tightly and she hugged him back. He had his eyes closed, but tears flowed down his cheeks.

I couldn’t hold back and leaned forward to wipe away his tears, causing him to flutter his eyes open.

He mouthed the words “thank you,” and I just smiled at him.

“We have a lot to talk about, but first, how about some ice cream?” he asked, and she jumped in his arms excitedly.

“Yay! I love ice cream.”

He chuckled while I glared at both of them.

“Tristan! You’re already being a bad father. She can’t have ice cream now.”

“No, he’s good, Mommy. Daddy, I want ice cream,” she started to whine. He gave me his puppy-dog eyes.

“Come on, just once.”

I let out a sigh, throwing my hands up. “Okay, but I’m the one who’s going to get it. You’d probably get her something too big.”

“Sounds good. We’ll be over there,” he said, pointing to an empty park bench. I scanned the park, searching for the ice cream truck.

I spotted it near the swings and started heading that way, but then remembered my purse was still in the car.

~Shoot!~

I dashed back to them, and Tristan looked at me, puzzled.

“Uh…my purse is in the car, and I don’t have any cash,” I mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

~This is so embarrassing.~

“You’re adorable, Adams. Don’t be shy about asking.” He pulled out his wallet and handed it to me without a second thought. I took it, biting my lip.

“I’ll be right back.” I glanced at him, and he licked his lips, his gaze roaming over me.

“You better,” he said, winking. I spun around to hide my blush and continued toward the truck, grinning like a fool.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stay mad at him. It was futile.

Once I got to the ice cream truck, I ordered a vanilla cone and opened his wallet to pay.

Inside, I found a stack of hundred-dollar bills and rolled my eyes.

~Typical, ridiculously wealthy jerk!~

“Here you go,” the vendor said, handing me the ice cream and my change. I headed back, tucking the change into his wallet. But then something else caught my eye.

I pulled out a piece of paper that was sticking out from a side pocket and looked at it. I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes wide.

It was the carnival tickets from our first date.

He still had them?

~Oh my god!~