As they walked into the backyard, she felt every eye on her. He put his hand on her back. "It's alright they're all friends."
Yours not mine, she wanted to say, but there was Kristi and Becka and Victoria and even Alex. Sophie and Nick ran over to them.
Sophie asked, "Is she sleeping?"
"I think so."
"Auntie wants to hold her," Nick said.
"She can hold her. She used to hold you." Abbie would help ease her into the crowd. The baby would give her something to focus on besides Pete and what all this meant. Did they pick up as husband and wife? Did they date? She didn't know what he expected.
Kristi came right up to them and hugged her. She asked her if she was happy. For the first time in a long time she was truly happy. She had always carried a seed of unhappiness, and suddenly it was gone.
"You look great."
Megan had squeezed into a pair of her regular pants. She knew she still had some baby weight, but liked how they looked albeit tighter than she preferred. She still didn't have much appetite after being sick which was helping.
Peter had walked away from the two friends and came back with a bottle of beer and another of water. He handed her the water. "There's soda too."
"No, the water's fine. Thanks."
He whispered to her. "I can't keep my eyes off you. I just want to touch you constantly."
His voice did things to her, and she took his hand and squeezed it. "Like this."
She didn't want to let go, but Becka want to see Abbie. Megan let go of Pete's hand, so she could unfasten the baby and lift her out. Every female at the party came over. There were two she'd never met. The first was Deb who was the wife of a friend of John's. The other was Shannon who was the wife of Pete's boss, Leo. They passed Abbie around while Megan answered questions about the baby, the twins and her job. No one asked about Peter or their relationship.
Eventually she sat down in a chair next to Kristi. She listened to the conversations and watched Pete talk to friends while holding Abbie. He was a natural with babies.
"He doesn't care does he?" Kristi asked.
"Care about what?"
Kristi whispered. "That she isn't his."
"No, he doesn't. He said that he loves her."
He loved both of them. Megan wanted to pinch herself, but Nick was asking for her help to get food. She saw that Pete had passed Abbie off to Becka and was walking towards the food with Sophie. They had done a good job with the twins. They were well adjusted considering her stupidity broke up their family. Standing together, she felt like a real family.
Sophie talked, and they listened. The difference was they were smiling and laughing with each other over her head. She just wanted to look at him and touch him. Nick wanted a cupcake with dinner. Megan said, "No, eat first." She knew Pete would let him.
"He'll eat it eventually. Besides he picked that blue one out when we were in the store."
Megan conceded. "Oh, go ahead."
They had rarely parented together. Would it be a problem? Was she looking for trouble?
"You're not eating?"
"My appetite hasn't come back."
Victoria returned the crying baby. Pete said, "Let's take her upstairs. Victoria will you?"
She nodded agreeing to watch the twins. She looked around his apartment. It was nice, but wasn't homey. There were no pictures on the walls.
He seemed to read her thoughts. "I always thought of this place as temporary, which is strange because while I was here John and Victoria became my family."
She had changed the diaper and was settling in to nurse. "Do you know the kids kept talking about Victoria and I thought... well I didn't realize she was John's daughter? It wasn't until this fall when she came in to meet me."
"Were you jealous?"
"Extremely, but I kept telling myself that I didn't want another woman in their life."
They were silent for a while. "What are we doing?"
"We're spending time together, because we've spent too much time apart."
"Are we dating or what?"
"We're getting to know each other again. I'm not sure that you're ready for me to give up my apartment and move in. We probably need to go slow. The kids might even need time to adjust."
He always knew the right thing to say.
"I'm not sure the five of us will fit in my... our house."
"I have a solution, but first promise you won't get mad," he said tentatively. She nodded. "When I was fixing the wall Rick stopped over to see what I was up to and he brought Alex."
"You let Alex in!"
"I knew you'd be mad, but he didn't care. He's been our friend for years."
"He builds million dollar houses."
"Yes, and he said that if the footings are strong enough, there is no reason he can't add a second story. That house is too small for three kids."
"I can't afford."
He stopped her. "I can. You know I make a lot more than you and aside from what I give to you and my rent, I don't spend it."
"A lot more than me? I should have gone back to my lawyer." She teased.
"I've always given you everything you asked for. Think about the house. I can keep this, because you wouldn't be able to live there during construction." He took Abbie who had just finished eating and started burping her.
Megan's head was swimming. Redoing her house was always a pipedream. The thought of being with Pete again was too and yet here they were. As if he read her thoughts, he leaned over and kissed her.
"You're beautiful when you're thinking."
She smiled. "You're beautiful all the time. Let's go check on our children."
Together they joined the party. Abbie was wide awake after her feeding and was perfectly content being the center of attention.
YOU ARE READING
Shattered Hearts (TP1)
Romance(Complete) Peter isn't prepared for the reality of another man spending the night with his ex. He should be, but his heart has never let her go. Peter, who was abandoned by his father as a young boy, will do anything for his kids. He won't stop unt...
