A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance) (11 page)

"You
thought you saw me?" I asked.

"Every
damn day," he said.

I
was so confused. Why would he think he saw me? I know what I saw.

"Really,"
I snapped.

He
nodded his head. There was sadness in his eyes. It didn't make any
sense.

"I
know what I saw, Zander," I stood tall, and looked him in the
eyes. "I got out of that cab so excited to see you. Your door
opened, and you walked out. Some girl walked out right behind you.
You two were laughing and joking around. She hugged you. It crushed
me when you kissed her. I see it every fucking time I close my eyes.
I see you kissing her. You looked right at me, as I stood there with
tears pouring down my face. You didn't say anything to me. You didn't
come after me. I got back in the cab, went back to the airport, and
got on the next plane back home. I swore I would never leave here
again. There would never be a reason to."

Tears
began sliding from the corners of my eyes. I couldn't stop them.

"I
avoided Mike for a week after that in hopes that you'd have a change
of heart and come and find me. I was stupid. It was just a dream. You
had your life, and I wasn't a part of it. You seemed to be doing just
fine without me. Now I understand why your mom pushed me about
marrying Mike when I got back. She kept telling me it was the right
thing to do. She said he was the right man for me. I see it now. She
wanted me to give up on you. I was good enough to help her any way
she needed, but I wasn't good enough for her son. You felt the same
way, that's why you ran away from here as fast as you could. You
never even asked me to go with you. I don't know why I expected
anything different when I went there. She's right. You're both right.
I belong here, and you belong there. I'm not good enough for you."

"It
was you," he said. "I thought it was you. When I opened my
eyes you were gone. It was just like all the other times. Something
was different that time. I felt something when I looked at you. Shit!
I should have gone after you. I'm so sorry. Don't you ever say you're
not good enough for me. You couldn't be more wrong, Livie. It wasn't
what you think."

"Seriously,"
I interrupted.

"I've
not had a girlfriend or relationship since I've left here. I won't
lie, I haven't been perfect. I've done things. I'm not going to say I
haven't. I've never met anyone I wanted to be with."

Olivia

A
screaming sound broke us both from our moment. Z took off running,
and I was right behind him.

"It's
April," I yelled out.

She
was crying louder than I had ever heard her before. He got to her
first and dropped to his knees. I couldn't understand a word of what
she was saying. When she lifted her hand and I saw the blood, I
thought I was going to lose it. The two kids had tiny scrapes and
cuts before, but her hand looked worse than anything I had ever seen
on her. I heard my breathing getting quicker and deeper.

"Calm
down," he said, as he looked up at me. "She's okay."

I
could hear him telling her she was going to be okay and whispering
calmly to her. There was no way I would have ever been like that. Her
crying slowed the more he talked. His voice was so soothing, I found
myself calming down as well. He scooped her up in his arms and headed
toward my house. I got ahead of him and opened the door.

"Your
shirt, Z," I said.

"I
don't care," he said.

He
took April into the kitchen and set her on the counter. I heard him
talking to her the whole time. He turned on the water, as I ran to
grab rags and towels. When I got back into the room, she had stopped
crying completely. He even had her laughing. I couldn't believe what
I was seeing. How could he think he wouldn't be a good father? Zander
was better with her than Mike ever had been. Watching him console her
and take care of her brought even more tears to my eyes. He looked
over at me.

"She's
going to be okay," he said.

There
was worry in his eyes.

"I
swear she'll be fine, Livie," he said.

"It's
not that," I said, as I wiped my tears from my cheeks.

"I
need to run next door for a minute. Come here and hold her hand like
this," he said.

I
did what he said. He took off and was back within a minute or two. He
grabbed some stuff out of a bag and moved around quickly.

"Is
that your doctor bag?" I asked.

I
was trying to be funny. I had seen it in movies when I was little.

"Very
funny," he said, as he worked. "I keep some stuff in my
luggage when I travel."

He
had cleaned and bandaged April. My poor baby looked like she had been
through so much. Her little eyes were all red and puffy. She looked
like she was barely keeping them open.

"Grab
her some new clothes," he whispered over at me.

I
came back to find him in the recliner with her in his lap. He helped
me change her clothes without moving her too much. I looked down at
his blood stained shirt.

"Take
your shirt off," I said.

He
looked up with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm
going to try and get the stains out," I said sternly.

He
grabbed the shirt at the back of his neck and pulled it over his
shoulders. His muscles all tightened, and I had to shake away the
thoughts in my mind of him taking his shirt off like that with me
pinned naked beneath him. It had been so long since I'd been with a
man. All of the sex I'd had with Mike never compared to that one time
with Zander.

"Grab
me that blanket," he said, pulling me from my mind.

I
reached over and handed it to him. He sat back in the recliner with
April in his lap, as he covered her with the blanket and wrapped his
arms around her. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. She was
wrapped protectively in his arms. It took all I had not to burst into
tears. She looked up at him with her eyes barely open.

"Thank
you for helping me," she said.

That
was it. I lost it. Zander looked up at me, and I turned and left the
room. I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to feel when he left
again? He was already invading all of my thoughts. Seeing him with my
kids was going to make it that much harder. I knew he didn't want
kids, but that didn't stop my thoughts while watching him comfort
her. He was probably the most amazing doctor. I couldn't begin to
imagine how many people he had helped every day. There was no way I
wanted to hold him back from that. It was that moment that I realized
I needed to forgive him for leaving me. He was doing what he was
meant to do. He was making the world a better place by helping people
live. He was making a difference.

When
I walked back into the room, my heart melted instantly. April was
asleep in his arms. His head was back, and his eyes were closed. He
had fallen asleep with her. They looked so comfortable together.

Zander

I
opened my eyes to the quiet of Livie's house. April was sleeping in
my arms. The house was dark. I got up and put the sleeping little one
on the couch with a pillow under her head. Her hand looked better
than it had a few hours earlier. I covered her with the blanket and
felt her head. She didn't have a fever. I made sure she was
comfortable before looking around for Livie. There was nobody home.

I
walked across the yard to see if she was at my mom's house. All of
the guests were gone. I opened the door and heard the ladies talking.
My mom and Livie's were talking while Jack played on the floor. I
walked into the kitchen to find Livie doing the dishes and cleaning
up.

"Why
are you the only one in here?" I asked.

"I
wanted to get everything finished so I could get home to April.
You're not upset that I left you there are you? You were sleeping. I
didn't want to wake you up."

"No,"
I answered. "I think I fell asleep faster than she did. She's on
the couch. I checked her hand and covered her up. She'll be fine by
morning. Make sure you keep it covered. That bandage will hold it in
place to heal. I'll change it tomorrow. Let me help you. My mom
should be in here doing this. I hope you haven't waited on her hand
and foot all these years. For some reason, I think you have."

"Its
fine, Z," she said. "I've taken care of things for her and
your dad for you. That won't change. I'm hurt by what she said and
how she feels about me, but I'll still be here for her. I don't want
you to worry that I won't. I haven't done it for her. I'll continue
to make sure she's okay. I know it helps you. You shouldn't have to
worry about her while you're gone. I'll have her call you if she ever
needs anything."

I
couldn't believe how amazing Livie was. She was always so caring and
giving. The way she put everyone else's feelings before hers made her
absolutely perfect. I just didn't want anyone to take advantage of
her.

We
worked together cleaning everything up. She said I could have all of
the desserts that were left. I laughed and let her know the kids
would be helping me while she was at work the next few days. She told
me I better not spoil their appetite for dinner. I stuffed another of
her delicious cookies into my mouth.

"Do
you have any idea how much working out I'm going to have to do when I
get home?" I asked.

She
was washing a pot and stopped as soon as I said it. I instantly felt
bad for the comment.

"It'll
give you something to do," she said softly. "Maybe I'll get
you nice and round before you leave. That way they the women won't
want you. That won't work. They'll still want you."

She
shook her head and went back to washing. I walked up behind her and
put my arms around her. Her body went stiff, but she didn't pull
away.

"Are
you saying I'm more than just a sexy ass and pretty face?" I
joked.

"Yes,"
she answered. "So much more."

Patty
walked into the kitchen and I stepped back.

"I'm
taking Jack home," she said. "Why don't you come home?
You've been working all day. You were up this morning at five."

"I'll
be there in a minute. Let me just finish what I'm doing," Livie
answered. "Z said April's on the couch. I'll move her to my bed
when I get there. I want her with me tonight."

My
heart melted at the thought of Livie next to her daughter as they
slept. She really was a great mom.

Patty
walked out with Jack, and my mom walked into the kitchen. She sat
down in a chair and watched Livie work. I understood that she had
been through a very traumatic day, but she could have at least
offered to help her. It was really getting to me.

"Thank
you so much for everything, Olivia," my mom said. "You made
this day perfect with all of your help. Everyone loved your
desserts."

"How
much would you have charged for everything you made for today?"
I asked Livie.

I
wanted my mom to at least offer to pay her. Of course I was going to
give her the money. It just pissed me off that my mom let Livie go
through all that work and didn't try to give her money. Livie made a
comment before that day about not worrying about it, but that didn't
matter. My mom didn't need to take advantage of her.

"It's
not a big deal. I had the stuff to make it all," she answered.

"Yes,
but you have to buy all of that again. You worked for two days on all
of that plus the bread. What would you have charged to cater all of
that?" I asked sternly.