Loving Kate (Acceptance #3) (9 page)

I reach out and give his hand a quick squeeze. “It will all work out, Daniel. Vanessa wants you to be a part of his life. You guys will get this co-parenting thing down soon enough.”

Instinctively, he bends down and kisses my forehead. It doesn’t mean anything, I know it doesn’t, but God it feels so good.

“Well, I should go. I’ll see you later, Daniel.”

“Bye, Kate,” he answers as he walks into the house.

It’s been three weeks since Vanessa came home and Lucas is a month old today. It seems like Daniel, Vanessa, and Chad are flowing seamlessly into a routine. Daniel comes by every night to put Lucas to bed and on the weekends, Chad and Vanessa go to his house and let Daniel stay here with Lucas. Vanessa just feels more comfortable that way, and for now, while Daniel is at Connor’s, it really makes the most sense.

Lucas is napping and I’m watching him while Vanessa is at her checkup. I’m so glad she went; she has been so run down and so tired. I snap a picture of Lucas and send it to Daniel, hoping it will lighten up his day a bit.

Things between us have been okay…not good and not bad. Thankfully, we haven’t had any more blow ups, but we haven’t really had any actual conversations since Vanessa came home. We mostly just greet each other in passing, but he’s still sending me nightly text messages, so that has to be a positive thing.

With finals coming up in two weeks, things are intense at school. Jess, Connor, and I have been living and breathing in our study groups. The Houstons are throwing us a graduation party and they’ve even invited my dad and Claire. It will be interesting to say the least. Vanessa has decided that will be Lucas’s first big outing, but I think she’s more excited at getting Daniel and I in the same location for an extended period of time.

Vanessa comes in quietly, knowing Lucas naps around this time, and smiles when she sees him in his swing. It’s a weary smile and I have a feeling her appointment didn’t go as well as she was hoping it would. She plops down next to me on the couch and sighs loudly.

“What happened? You look awfully glum.”

“He ran some labs to check my iron levels, gave me a list of signs and symptoms to watch out for, and increased my blood pressure meds because my pressure is still high.” A few tears fall and she quickly wipes them away. After moving my books out of the way, I scoot over and pull her into a hug.

“I just don’t know why it has to be this hard! Why can’t I just be fine and enjoy my baby without constantly being tired? Chad wants kids of our own, and so do I, but I don’t know if I ever want to feel like this again.”

“It’s going to be okay. You’re just having a hard time right now. Your hormones are all over the place, you don’t feel good, you’re tired from being up with a baby, and your blood pressure is out of whack. Give it some time, sweetie. Soon you’ll be an old pro at it all and wonder why you ever doubted having another baby,” I tell her gently as I stroke her hair. My heart hurts for her.

“You’re right. And pre-eclampsia doesn’t happen with every pregnancy. I just have to watch for the signs. I’m sorry I’m dumping everything on you. I know how stressed you are right now.”

“Please. I’d rather talk you off a ledge than study any day.”

She laughs and pulls away. “So how are things going with you and Daniel?”

“Same. The occasional greeting and a nightly text. At this point, I think he just feels obligated for some reason. It’s been weeks and I’m starting to feel like it’s a lost cause.”

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops. “You’re not giving up on him, are you?” she asks in an alarmed tone.

I let out a sigh and pull my knees to my chest. “No, I’m not giving up, but there is a guy in my study group who has asked me out a few times and I’m running out of excuses to give him
and
myself as to why I can’t.”

She picks up some banana chips and snacks on them with a thoughtful expression on her face. “So why don’t you tell Daniel that? Maybe if he sees someone else is interested, it will make him finally fight.”

I shake my head. “No, it will just make him push me further away and that’s the
last
thing I want.”

“Well I love Daniel but he’s being an idiot. I don’t know, Kate, maybe you should go out with him. See if there are any sparks or if he interests you at all. You said you weren’t going to pine over Daniel like you did Mike. Maybe now is the time to put up or shut up. Is he cute?”

“Yes, he’s very cute. He’s a really nice guy, too, but he’s just not Daniel. But then again, no one ever will be.”

There’s a knock at the back door. It’s open because it’s a beautiful day out and Daniel is waiting to be asked in.

Shit, I wonder how much of that he just heard.

“Come in,” Vanessa calls out to him, flashing me an evil smirk, and I’ve suddenly got a bad feeling about telling her about Ryan.

“Hey. What are you guys up to?”

I take the opportunity to interrupt before Vanessa tells him. “Nothing. Just talking. It’s early for you to be here.”

“Yeah, I have dinner plans tonight so I can’t be here to put Lucas to bed. I thought I’d pop by and see him when he wakes up from his nap.”

He has plans?

Who is so important he’s going to miss putting Lucas to bed?

Does he have a date?

I think I’m going to be sick.

His eyes meet mine but I quickly divert my gaze elsewhere.

“Sorry if I interrupted anything,” he says sheepishly.

“Nope,” Vanessa tells him, popping the
p.
“Just trying to convince Kate to go out on a date with this guy who’s been pursuing her.”

And there it is, but right now I don’t even care. Daniel tenses up but his back is to us as he picks up a now awake Lucas from his swing.

“Well, I’ll just go change him and let you get back to it.” He never looks back at me, just stalks up the stairs.

Vanessa giggles and I shoot her daggers. “Oh come on, Kate, you have to admit that was funny. He won’t admit his feelings for you so instead he’d rather sulk.”

Shaking my head, I begin to gather my books. “It wasn’t funny. He seemed angry.”

“You
know
he was vague about his dinner plans because he wanted you to think he was dating someone else. Otherwise, he would have come right out and said he had a business dinner. Which, by the way, I know he does because he mentioned it offhandedly a few days ago.”

Mike was right; she is
a lot
like Jess.

“I know you have good intentions and you’re just trying to get us back together, but even if he
was
trying to make me jealous, the
last
thing he needs to hear is that someone else is asking me out.”

As I gather my books, Vanessa stands and pulls me into a hug. “Kate, that’s the
only
thing he needs to hear. Maybe a good dose of reality will make him get his ass in gear. You’re a gorgeous, smart, and desirable woman and you love him. He needs to recognize that for what it is and act on it. Otherwise, why
shouldn’t
you date someone else?”

My eyes cloud with tears and I try to rapidly blink them away. “Because my heart belongs to him. He owns it. And even if I move on, it will never beat the same.”

“Kate…”

“It’s okay, Vanessa, don’t worry about it. I’ve got to go, but give Lucas a big kiss from me, okay?”

“Of course,” she replies sadly as I rush from the house.

The air was too thick in there but it’s not much better out here. I’m on the verge of a panic attack and I just need to breathe and I know the perfect place. After unlocking my car, I throw my books in the backseat and head to the beach.

Mike

“We haven’t done this in forever,” Connor says with a mouth full of pancakes.

“Maybe that’s because you always talk with your mouth fucking full,” Jake replies in disgust.

“Damn, I don’t think it will matter how old we get, these two will always fight like little kids.”

“So says the only one in the group with a kid. How’s Lucas doing, anyway?” Jake asks Daniel with a genuine interest. He’s completely ready to have a family but April isn’t giving in just quite yet.

Daniel answers Jake with a cheesy smile but I can’t blame him; he’s proud of his kid.

“Lucas is good. He turned two months old yesterday. It’s crazy that much time has passed already.”

“No, what’s crazy is that you’re still not talking to Kate, just sending her those nightly pictures of Lucas. You’re killing her, you know?” I’m pissed at him over this and he’s well aware I make my feelings known daily.

“What are you going to do, anyway? Now that finals are over and graduation is in two days, that guy Ryan from our study group is pursuing her harder than ever. She’s running out of excuses not to date him, and no offense, but I don’t see why she shouldn’t move on at this point. Mike and Misty are seeing each other often and you aren’t giving Kate any reason to say no anymore, Daniel.”

Jake and I both lean back and cross our arms at almost the exact same time. We’re enjoying watching Connor lay into Daniel. I know Kate isn’t going to go out with Ryan—she’s told me so. But she has started hanging out with Marc again and I see that as Daniel’s bigger threat. Even though there’s no way I’m telling him that; he can find out on his own.

“I’m going to the graduation party. What else do you want from me?”

“For you to man the fuck up and get your goddamned woman back,” Jake growls at him then takes in our questioning glances “What? It’s about time someone tells him the damn truth in words he can understand. Let me make it clear in case it wasn’t before. You love Kate and Kate loves you. She doesn’t want Mike.” He quickly interjects, “Sorry, dude. And she doesn’t want Marc. But if you’re too much of a pussy not to admit how you feel by now, then she
should
date this other dude.”

“Ryan,” Connor kindly offers his name.

“Yeah, Ryan, instead of waiting for you to stop being such a twat. If you would’ve played football like you fall in love you would have never made it past freshman year. Man the fuck up.”

Daniel pulls out his phone and pulls up something I can’t see. Then he reaches across the table and shoves it in Jakes face.

“You bought two tickets to Hawaii, leaving the day after the party? And booked two rooms at the same hotel?”

Daniel rubs his temple with his fingers and squeezes his eyes shut. After exhaling loudly, he leans back in his seat and looks at us.

“I wanted to do something nice for Kate for graduation. I’ve been calmer and less mad the past few weeks and I thought if we could maybe go away for a few days, we could gradually work our way back to each other. Maybe it’s a dumb idea.”

“No, it’s not a bad idea. It’s a
great
idea. Why didn’t you say anything earlier? It would have gotten us to stop riding your ass.” I want him to answer my question. I don’t get it.

“Because I think I needed you guys rubbing it in my face to really push me into doing it. I’m still mad but I don’t want to be anymore. If we go away alone, I’m sure by the end of the weekend I’ll know one way or the other if I can do this with her.”

“I’ve heard you fuck her ten ways ‘til Sunday. Just think of that when you get upset, it should calm you down immediately.” Connor jokes and they all laugh, but that’s just a little too much for me. It’s still a little too soon to think of them like that.

“Good. One down and one to go. What’s going on with Misty?” Connor asks, completely changing the conversation.

“We’re taking things slow.”

“It’s been two months. How slow can you be going? Have you even been on a date yet or are you still friend zoned?” Jake pushes his plate away and rubs his stomach while waiting for me to respond. They’re going to think I’m such a pussy.

“We had our first official date last week.”

“
And,
” Connor prompts for more information.

“And we had a good time, she’s…well, she means a lot to me and that’s a lot for me to wrap my head around. Misty is the only other girl aside from Kate I’ve ever had feelings for and I don’t want to mess it up.”