Second Chance, Baby. A.C. Arthur
want what we had before, Felicia. I want you with me again. If that means I have to change some things, then I will. But this separation is killing me. It’s been three whole months!”
Run? Stay? Her mind argued even as his thumb rubbed over the back of her hand. Heat moved swiftly up her arm and settled throughout her chest with familiarity.
She sighed. “It’s not that easy. You can’t just say you want it and think that it will be. I wanted it all for us, Ty. The careers, the family, the love.”
“I’ve never stopped loving you.”
“You just stopped being with me.”
“How can I fix this?” he implored with a look of such honesty that it almost broke her heart.
“I only wanted you and a life where we were equal partners and friends. I wanted a family and a home.”
He nodded as if hearing her for the first time. “I understand.”
“Do you really?” she asked.
“I know exactly what you need, Felicia. I always have,” he said with that slow, sinful smile.
Felicia’s insides melted. Boy, did he know what she needed. Flashes of their last night together hit her like a warm breeze.
When it came to the bedroom—or any room, for that matter—Ty knew and always delivered everything she wanted or needed. But that area of their lives wasn’t the problem. When he wasn’t working, his performance in bed was much more than she could ask for. However, their marriage could not survive on sex alone. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then put her hand on her belly and thought about her own family.
She was an only child. Her parents, Marshall and Lydia Turner, had been happily married for forty-three years. They had a loving, trusting marriage—one that was filled with arguments and makeups, trials and tribulations, but one they both cherished. They’d been her role models as she’d grown up. She wanted a marriage just like theirs. And she wasn’t settling for anything less.
“That’s not what I’m talking about, Ty. Sex was never a problem for us.”
“No. And apparently we’ve had much more success than I’d anticipated,” he said, nodding toward her belly. “I can’t believe we’re going to have a baby.”
She smiled, hoping he really was excited, but she wasn’t really sure. She knew a baby wasn’t a part of Ty’s plan just yet. But there wasn’t much they could do about it now. “When the doctor told me, I was in a state of shock for days.”
They both grew quiet. “I was so sorry about Harmon’s death, and then this happened, and I just didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know how you would react.”
“You can tell me anything, baby. Don’t ever forget that.”
Felicia looked at this man and knew that she loved him even more today than she ever had. He’d been her best friend for almost ten years and her lover for more than half that time. Of course she could tell him anything, but could she trust him again with her heart?
“Let’s have dinner tonight? At the penthouse.”
“I’m not moving back in, Ty. If you really want a reconciliation, you’re going to have to prove it. You’re going to have to convince me that we should give this another try.”
He stared at her a moment, contemplating—she could tell by the slight furrow of his brow.
“So you won’t move back in until I prove to you that we can make this work?” He nodded, answering himself. “I can do that. I can win you back, if that’s what you want.”
Leave it to Ty to make everything a competition. Ambition infected his blood like a disease. “I’m just saying that I’ve spent a lot of time trying to rekindle the spark between us, trying to bring back what we lost somewhere along the road. I’m not willing to do it this time. You’re going to have to do the trying.”
“Fine. Dinner tonight at the penthouse.”
He grinned devilishly and she groaned. “No sex, Ty.”
Ty cleared his throat. “No sex. I just want to share a meal with you, like we used to.”
She sighed. Looking into his eyes, having him touch her…she never stood a chance.
Felicia stood at the door to the home she and Ty had shared, debating whether or not she should use her key. Still, she needed to retain some sort of distance between them. As she’d told Ty earlier that afternoon, she wasn’t about to run back to him and things the way they were, baby or not. She wasn’t about to act like things were even remotely back to normal.
After a few more awkward moments, she realized how foolish she was being and lifted her hand to ring the doorbell. Ty was at the door in no time, as if he’d been standing directly on the other side waiting for her.
“Hey, you’re right on time, as always.” He smiled and Felicia almost bolted.
How was she going to survive having dinner with him, here of all places? It was bad enough she’d been thinking of him and that crazy toned body for the duration of the afternoon. “I was hungry.” She shrugged and walked inside.
“I’ll bet, considering your present condition. Let me get that for you.” He took her purse and the sweater she’d draped over her arm as a weather precaution.
Felicia continued into the living area. She loved their loft-style penthouse and remembered each piece of furniture they’d chosen together. Clean lines and a contemporary décor was their goal. As she stood in front of the wall-length windows, she would say they’d hit their mark.
Ty wanted to be close to the pulse of the business industry, and so they’d found this great place in the center of downtown. The windows that made up one wall overlooked downtown Houston’s Near Northside.
As dusk had just settled over the city, Felicia was treated to the sultry golden hue of the sun as it settled for the night. Buildings glowed majestically, while trees with leaves just changing color filled the landscape. In the distance the Quitman Bridge had a steady flow of commuters either heading toward Houston’s nightlife or hurrying to get home and put the workday behind them. Folding her arms, she took a moment to simply enjoy.
“You look good standing there,” Ty said from behind.
She turned slowly. “It’s the view.”
He shook his head. “No. It’s you. I always liked to see you standing there looking so content.”
Quickly unfolding her arms, she moved away from the window to take a seat on the beige leather couch. “Looks can be deceiving.”
Ty didn’t respond, but came to sit beside her. “Dinner’s just about done. Do you want to listen to some music?”
Felicia blinked in surprise as he leaned forward and picked up the remote to the entertainment center from the cherrywood block coffee table. When was the last time she and Ty had simply sat in the living room listening to music? When was the last time they had sat and did anything together?
She watched in a trance as he pushed buttons, having never mastered that monstrosity he called a remote. It operated everything electronic in the room—the DVD, the CD player, the television, etc. It had been her practice to just push the power button on the machine she wanted to turn on. The remote was intimidating and entirely Ty’s domain.
Her heart stumbled when the first chords of a song she hadn’t heard for years began to play. It was an old Freddie Jackson song she and Ty had listened to as they’d studied back in college. She couldn’t help but smile. “Where’d you find that?”
It was Ty’s turn to shrug. “It wasn’t lost, just forgotten for a while.”
She sat back in the chair, loving the caramel and ivory pillows she’d insisted on. The relaxing was good for