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“Why...?” Suddenly she knew. “Oh. Of course. You came to New York to see your lawyer. About the divorce.”
There was an intake of breath from friends and family at the worddivorce. Theo didn’t seem to notice or care. His dark eyes burned through her.
“Is there someone else, Emmie? Is that why you want it to end?”
Her jaw tightened as she said coldly, “I’m not the one who wanted it to end, Theo.” Her gaze fell on Bear, snuggled in her brother’s arms on a nearby chair. “But yes. There’s someone else.”
Another gasp. Theo staggered back a step on the shadowy terrace. As he rubbed his eyes, the plain gold band on his left hand gleamed in the lights.
“I... I really didn’t think...” For a moment, he seemed unable to speak. Then he shook his head. “Good for you,” he said hollowly. He forced a smile. “You deserve to be happy, Emmie. You deserve all the love in the world.”
His handsome face was miserable. And suddenly, even after everything, it was hard for her to see him in pain.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her spine. She didn’t know what he was doing here, but she wasn’t going to be his puppet, falling at his feet whenever he deigned to appear.
He’d made his choice. Now he could live with it.
“I know I do,” she said coldly. “So does Bear.”
“Bear?”he said guardedly.
Rising to her feet, Emmie collected their baby from her brother and brought him to her husband beneath the swaying lights. “It’s our nickname for him.”
“Bear.” Theo exhaled, looking down at their baby in her arms, who was more adorable than ever in fuzzy footie pajamas. He cleared his throat, his expression oddly vulnerable as he said, “My sister’s invitation said you named him after me.”
Was that why Theo had come? To give her a hard time for their baby’s name?
“Yes, well,” Emmie glanced wryly at her father, who snorted and rolled his eyes, “Theodoreis a lot of name for a baby. I started calling him Teddy. Then Dad called him Teddy Bear...”
“Then just Bear,” Karl replied, smiling between his daughter and grandson, before glaring at his son-in-law.
“Bear. I like it.” Theo looked at the baby. The infant now regarded his father with equal interest, and with the same black eyes. He said in wonder, “He’s gotten so much bigger already.”
“I know.”
Theo licked his lips. She was staring at his mouth when she heard him say shyly, “Can I hold him?”
“Of course.” Theo wanted to hold their baby? Trying to calm the pounding of her heart, telling herself this didn’t mean anything, she helped him take the baby, showing him how to support his head.
As Theo held him, Emmie saw a swirl of emotion on her husband’s handsome face she’d never seen before. Adoration. Fear. And something else. Something more...
“Thank you, Emmie.” Theo looked up, and to her astonishment she saw a suspicious sheen in his eyes. “Even though our marriage is over, I’ll always be grateful that you’re his mother. The best woman in the world,” he said softly. He swallowed. “I’ll sign your divorce papers. But even if you love someone else now, I intend to be Bear’s father. I’ll always be there for him from now on.” Looking at her with haunted yearning, he whispered, “And I’ll always be here for you. For anything.”
The look he gave her went far beyond desire. The floor suddenly trembled beneath Emmie’s shoes. What was happening?
“It’s Bear,” she blurted out. “He’s my someone else.”
Theo blinked. His brow furrowed. “What?”
“The other man in my life now. It’s Bear. Just Bear.”
Her husband sucked in his breath, his wide black eyes searching hers. “Is it really true?”
Emmie lifted her chin. “But I still don’t understand what you’re doing here. Why you came all the way from Paris.”
All her friends and family were staring between them in a breathless hush beneath the colorful lights leaving latticed shadows of the half-bare trees in the autumn night. In the distance, she could hear the roar of the surf. Or was it the pounding of her heart?
Theo stepped forward, his dark eyes piercing her soul. “Is there a chance, Emmie?” he whispered. “Do I still have a chance?”
