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Rory, her husband Hunter and Lucian’s friends, JC, who happens to be Hunter’s brother, Lexi, JC’s wife, and Jordan, are going out in two canoes. Olivia, Emma, who is Jordan’s fiancé, decides to stay back while Megan (Lexi’s sister) and Chase, her fiancé, head to the store with their son, CJ, and nephew Johnny.
I don’t feel much like going out on the water. There is a gentle breeze flowing off the Buzzard’s Bay, and the umbrella we stuck in the sand makes a nice shaded area over us. I lay back on the lounge and close my eyes. Olivia is sitting next to me watching over her son, Vincent, and Lexi and JC’s daughter, Arabella, who is napping in a playpen next to us.
Three tabloids that Olivia was reading are on the edge of her lounge, and when a gust of wind blows one of them into the sand, I reach down to pick it up. Just as I get ready to hand it over, my eye catches a picture on the front corner of the paper. I read the caption, “Inside Billionaire Newlywed Declan Blair’s Greek Isles Honeymoon.”
The photo is of a shorts and t-shirt clad Declan with Lana off to the side. She’s lightly tanned and wearing a white bikini that shows off all her assets. My stomach churns at the sight. I can’t stop, and I flip through the pages until I find the spread. Olivia sees the pain on my face and tries to pull the paper away.
“Zane, stop. You don’t need to see that.”
“I know I don’t. I want to.”
She fixes a stare on my face as I look at the pictures. Lana on a monstrous sized yacht lying on the deck sunning herself, another of her in a peach-colored sundress kissing Declan’s cheek as they hold glasses of champagne and still another of them walking hand in hand through a shopping plaza. I feel nauseous and hand her the paper.
“I’m sorry.”
“Olivia, what do you have to be sorry for?”
“I shouldn’t have left these papers out for you to see.”
“Lana is married. It’s not like it’s a secret.”
“Yes, but seeing her like this only rubs salt in the wound.”
“I’m used to it. I can never have her.”
Vincent starts to stir and then cry. Olivia moves to get him, but I hold up my hand. I want to hold him. I want to know what it feels like to have a baby in my arms.
“Are you sure? You’re not exactly used to holding a baby.”
“What’s to holding a baby?”
I pick him up, and he looks at me in wonderment. He’s curious about the thick stubble on my face, and he places his chubby hand against my cheek and gives it a pat. I smile at him. He smells clean and fresh. I let him explore my face, and when he touches my nose, I honk. He giggles.
Olivia watches me with curiosity. She’s never seen me interact with children before, but I feel comfortable with Vincent on my lap. He yawns and leans his head against my chest. In a few minutes, he’s asleep, and this child is all the comfort I need.
“What the fuck?”
“Lucian, quiet,” Olivia says.
“Since when do you like babies?”
“I like this one. Can you give him to me?”
“Not on your life. I don’t remember promising you my firstborn. ” Lucian chuckles.
“I think it’s time for me to consider having one of these.”
“You have to find a woman first.”
“Why? I have plenty of money for a surrogate.”
Both Olivia and Lucian raise their eyebrows in surprise. I can’t believe the words are coming out of my mouth. I would be a single father raising a baby on my own. I was pretty sure I could handle it. Lana missing from my life was one thing, but could a child fill that void? It was something I wanted to explore.
“Have you thought about this before?”
“Occasionally. I always wanted a child, and as Lucian says, I’m not getting any younger.”
“Zane, I’m not going to lie and tell you that it’s all lollipops and marshmallows. Kids can be a lot of work. We’ve been lucky with Vincent. He’s very good-natured and slept through the night when he was six weeks old.”
