James.Four months of being in Japan had taught me many things, and one of those things was that even the smallest of jobs can make you important to the people around you. I had taken on the maintenance job that Sue's father once had with ease, and because I had, the tenants in the building were forever grateful.Which meant they were constantly trying to feed me, and with my understanding of the language being minimal, I accepted so that I wasn't rude.The last thing I expected after a long day of work, though, was to have my phone ring in the wee hours of the morning with Neal's voice on the other end."A daughter?" I whispered softly as the news slowly woke me up."Yeah, she just had her. We didn't think she would have the baby till next week, but her water broke a few hours ago, and then it was a mad rush to the hospital."I was overjoyed to hear the news, but still hesitant on the situation between Neal and I. We weren't exactly on good terms. Neal still didn't like
Becca.Forty-eight hours after having Dahlia, I was finally able to make my way back home. I had never been so happy to walk through the large glass front double doors into the relaxed comfort of my New Zealand home. Boxes still lined the areas in some places where I hadn't had the time to unpack, but it didn't matter to me. At the end of the day, it was still my home, and with every moment I spent here, I knew things would get better."Welcome home, my sweet, Dahlia," I whispered to the tiny sleeping baby in my arms."Everything is set up for her," Neal said softly from behind me as he brought in my bags from the car. "I also managed to hang the thing you wanted on her bedroom wall."A spark of joy ran through me as I turned down the hallway towards the nursery. It was joined with my bedroom, and as soon as I slid back the bar-style door, my breath was taken away. The soft cream walls were accented with tons of leaves and flowers, and even Dahlia's name, engraved with
Neal.The moment that I had picked Becca up from the hospital and seen Dalia in her arms, my heart swelled with pride and excitement at being able to bring the both of them home. However, the last thing that I expected was the moment that we got home for Becca to be swooped away by Layla, who was explaining everything that she had done while Becca had been gone.And to top everything off, somebody had decided to send her a package, and I knew very well who that somebody was, and seeing how excited she got over what they sent reminded me of what my place actually was.According to Allegra, I was jealous, and for the most part, I damn sure was. I was the one putting all the time and effort in, and even though she was nothing but grateful and showed me nothing but compassion, I couldn't get over the fact that I wasn't him.Dalia should have been my daughter. She should have been all mine. And Lord knows that every time Becca and I did sleep together back then, part of me pra
Neal.The moment I had hung up with James, I gripped my phone tightly in my hand and stared out at the ocean, trying to calm my nerves. Rage attempted to fill the voids of my heart as I thought about how James intruded upon my relationship with Becca.I knew for a fact that even though James was supposed to technically be dead, if he really wanted to come back into Becca and the child's life, he would do so. And I was going to have to step up my game to protect her.Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes, inhaling the sweet smell of the salty air just in time for Allegra's voice to come from the distance behind me, causing me to turn and look over my shoulder."Neal, what are you doing out here?" Her question was not misplaced. It was quite odd for me to be out here, considering Becca had only just gotten back with the baby, and I had been talking nonstop about spending time with them. "I just needed a moment to make a long-distance phone call."Cocking her
James.To think, a year ago, I was planning my retirement and looking for things to do with my future outside of my business—now I was a father again. The argument with Neal wasn't one that I had wanted any time of day, and the way he tried to dismiss my intentions irritated me.I was the child's father. Dahlia… my sweet baby girl was without her father.I didn't like it. Not one f*cking bit."Les, my mother wanted to know if you wanted to come to dinner tonight." Sue's voice pulled me from my irritation, and taking a deep breath, I turned to face her. I had been trying to work on the list of shit to do in this building when I spoke to Neal, and now the list seemed to fade away."Thank you for the offer Sue, but I have a lot I need to take care of today. Perhaps over the weekend." I hated turning down the old woman. She had been nothing but kind to me since I had been here, and by the look on Sue's face, I could see that she was disappointed. Part of me wondered if she
James.The moment that my feet touched down in Italy, I couldn't understand why it was that I hadn't come back sooner. The Italian countryside was absolutely beautiful, and I fell in love with it many years ago, but never returned because of how busy my life was.Now that I was here, though, I was looking forward to trying to get my life back on track. Ronaldo said that he needed me to help him with his business, and I wasn't sure exactly what that entailed since he had been so vague, but I had a feeling that it had something to do with the former business that I owned, as well as other stuff.As soon as we stepped out of the plane, a car was waiting for us on the tarmac. Following Ronaldo, I made our way to the vehicle, and as soon as we were in, it was off out of the airport, headed straight for our family home."I will go ahead and let you know that there will be a small family gathering this evening. You know how the family is. Everybody will want to see you since it's b
Becca.For days, I lived in a house with hushed whispers and stolen conversations. Neal had been acting beyond odd lately, and even Allegra, who tried to smile and play off Neal's behavior, was being odd. I wasn't sure what it was about the situation that set me off entirely, but I knew for sure it had something to do with the phone calls Neal kept getting."Hey, so I was thinking that maybe we could take the kids down to the beach today," echoed into my ear, and as I turned my gaze from where I had been watching Neal, I smiled at her."Yeah, that sounds great. Why don't you go ahead and get little man situated, and then I will find out from Allegra and Neal if they want to join us?"Nodding her head, the nanny quickly disappeared from sight, and as I sat there, turning my gaze back to where Neal was standing, I continued to contemplate what it was that was bothering him so much. This had been a big move for all of us, and with my father going to be here in just a few da
Neal.I wasn't what Becca was looking for, but I should have expected her to no longer feel the way she had. For months, I'd put her ahead of everything in my life, and when I finally thought things were going well, it was ripped away from me. There was no end to the pain I felt in my life, and I thought it may have been a punishment from fate I was willing to accept.Stepping out the front door, I made my way towards my two seater sports car and climbed in. The moment that the door closed, I slammed my hands against the steering wheel repeatedly out of anger. "F*ck!" All I wanted to do was to allow James to know his kid, and in the process of all this bullshit, I had lost her. Lost her in more ways than one, and even though every part of me wanted to storm in there and remind her who she belonged to, I couldn't.She didn't want me.Realizing that I had forgotten my keys, I groaned in frustration and climbed back out of the car to fetch them. Thank god that my head was at