The Deal

10- The Letter

"You want to tell me what happened," Cheryl said as she turned the sign to closed. JJ sighed as she lifted her cup of coffee. The room was quiet. The bakers had gone home and it was just the both of them left.

"You have kids. Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Lets say," she said. "You weren't married or you get divorced and started to date a guy. How long would you wait till you tell your children about them?"

"That's a difficult question, hun." Cheryl took a seat beside her. "But I would wait till I knew I was happy with that person. I don't think I could introduce people into my children's lives and let them get that connection only to not see them again, you know?"

JJ groaned, rubbing the back of her neck. She thought back to the conversation she had with Neil and closed her eyes. "I overreacted didn't I?"

"Hun, you've never dated anyone with a kid before. He has to be patient with you and you have to be patient with him. Especially when it comes to things about his kid." She put her hand into her apron pocket. "Lover boy left you a note." JJ opened her eyes. "You go and get your man and I'll close up."

JJ sighed, looking down at the folded piece of paper. With a heavy sigh she opened it up and lay it down flat on the counter.

'Cara,

First things first I want to apologise for hurting you. I am sorry I made you feel unwanted and made you feel like you were never good enough. Truth is Jay, I'm scared. If I tell Lara we're dating then it all becomes official. I was honest when I said I have never felt this way about a woman ever and for it to happen in a short amount of time is unbelievable.

My daughter adores you. I adore you. And I want you in our lives. I've only introduced Lara to one woman who I dated for 6 months and that didn't end well. But my tesero was a lot younger then. She understands now that a family should have a mother and father and I don't want her to get upset.

It has been the two of us for a very, very long time. And I'm afraid if I tell her then she may dislike you for taking me away from her. There's no denying that we'll be spending a lot of time together but I don't want her to hate you for it. I just wanted to sit her down, just me and my daughter, and talk about how things would be changing. I thought it would be best to do it after the first week of school to let her settle down but I promise I'll do it by the end of this week.

I want us to be able to grow. I really like you, Cara. I really want to spend time with you and see what more that intelligent mind of yours can offer.

So if you'll take me back, then come by and we'll talk it out. Remember, Cara, you said we would make it to eight months.

Love Neil.'

With a groan she pushed the stool back and head into her office, grabbing her phone and keys.

The drive back to her flat didn't take too long as there wasn't much traffic, which was surprising to JJ. Nonetheless, she parked up and quickly went inside, shielding from the breeze.

Neil groaned as he lay down on the sofa with Lara following after him. She handed him the bowl of grapes so she could go back and get her milkshake from the kitchen. With a sigh, Neil picked up a grape and put it in his mouth. When he saw Lara walk towards him with a glare, he raised an eyebrow.

"Can I ask why you're giving me the evil eyes?"

"Don't eat my grapes. I put ten of red and ten green."

"Alright your royal highness, I will gift you one red grape. Sit down, daddy wants to talk to you."

Lara frowned as she put the glass down on the table. She watched her father stare at her and then picked up the coaster before putting it under the glass.