Paige was gone.
I clicked another photographer’s gallery open and scrolled through the pictures. Kelly and Alex preferred candid shots to posed ones. No cheeky skirt lifting or dragging the groom to the altar boomer-humor shots. No rampaging groomsmen or photoshopped dinosaurs. Did people still do that?
The less expensive one’s website had a chat box, so I typed in a quick query to see if they were available. Halfway through filling in the details and wedding photo packaged on the spreadsheet, my phone buzzed with an incoming message.
Paige:WTF, Gil? A fucking cop came to my place to serve me court papers? She’s not even yours. You can’t keep her from me.
My next breath caught in my throat, but Giovanni had told me exactly what to do if she contacted me again. Still, my hands trembled as I reached for the phone. I fought the urge to tell her about the paternity test, so she’d stop saying that horrible, hurtful sentence. I knew Evie was mine, but it still pained me that she’d throw the possibility in my face so callously.
The steady rumble of my attorney’s voice over the phone echoed in my mind. Do not engage. Do not give her any information. She could use it to try to cause more drama. Giovanni explained he wasn’t the type of lawyer that tried to trick people into negative reactions, and he refused to make this a Gil versus Paige fight. His goal focused on maximum short and long-term benefits for Evie only.
If I didn’t believe him or agree with his methods, I would’ve found a different attorney by that point. After a couple more deep breaths, my fingers stopped shaking enough to respond.
Gilbert:This will go a lot better for everyone if we handle it through our attorneys going forward. Please don’t contact me directly again.
Besides giving me the nonconfrontational message template, he’d also told me not to block her. The record of what she said, good or bad, could only help with the whole court process. I turned back to the photographer’s chat box and tried to ignore my buzzing phone.
Paige gave up after about twenty minutes. I forced myself not to read the messages. Instead, I forwarded them to Giovanni as he requested and then closed the thread. I wondered how many more times she’d try to contact me in the three weeks before our court hearing.
I gulped down some cold coffee and typed out a response to the photographer. She had an opening on the right weekend in June, so I cross checked schedules with Kelly and Alex before setting up an appointment. One vendor down, dozens more to go.
***
By the time Sam showed up for our movie date night with Evie, I’d secured the photographer and videographer – not Alex’s cousin – and had narrowed selections down to three caterers for the buffet style reception dinner. Kelly couldn’t quite make up her mind between an all vegetarian spread or more traditional chicken and roast. I always suggested both unless the bulk of the wedding party and guests were bound by religious or cultural mores.
Evie and I enjoyed a vegetarian dinner with lentils, rice, and squash, and now she lounged on her favorite floor pillow with her sippy cup and stuffed cat.
“Sam should be here soon, sweet pea.”
At the mention of his name, she smiled around the cup’s spout and waved her foot in the air, her sock dangling from her toes. Did babies ever keep their socks on all day long?
I’d already changed her and wiped the mush off her face and hands. I had a bag of popcorn at the ready in the microwave and a few sodas in the fridge. Sam admitted a weakness for old-fashioned black cherry pop, and I’d scoured the fancy market in town for one that used natural flavors instead of some chemical concoction. I chose a ginger ale that the clerk swore would cure the world of all sadness. A bold claim, but I’d try anything.
Cuddling on the couch with my two favorite people and watching a movie together would cure me of sadness, or at least push it down for a while. Giovanni kept me up to date with the paperwork progress and conversations with Paige’s attorney. She didn’t text again.
The doorbell rang and Evie shrieked out her version of “Come on in, Sam!” while I hurried across the room. My heart skipped a beat when I opened the door to his smiling face.
“I heard her from out here. How’re you?” Before I could answer, he leaned close and pressed his lips against mine in a simple yet scrumptious kiss. Without preamble, he turned to hang his coat, scarf, and hat on the rack near the door like always.
The casual rightness of the scene pushed more of the darkness down deep. My mind filled in months, years, a lifetime of greeting him at the door just like that. Without thought, I blurted out, “I should give you a key.”
Sam turned around, wide eyed. “Oh, that would—”
“I mean, since you come over here so much, and I could be helping Evie or cooking or something. It just makes sense that you can let yourself in.”
He kissed me again, a softer, more lingering taste with the tip of his tongue tracing over my lips. “Purely practical, huh?” His pretty eyes poured a wealth of feeling into mine. “I’d be honored that you’d trust me with it.”
Evie took that moment to squeal again and lighten the mood. “Of course, I trust you, Sam.” We shared one more smile before he moved away to greet her, kneeling down to pull her sock back on and give her a quick cuddle.
An hour later, Sam lounged against my side and stole occasional kisses that tasted like black cherry and popcorn butter. He fit perfectly under my arm as he leaned against my chest. I wasn’t the tallest guy in the world, but Sam wasn’t either. It just worked. His hand rested on my thigh, and mine trailed slowly up and down his arm asShaun the Sheepkept Evie enraptured.
I shifted and leaned forward. “I need some water. Would you like another drink?”
Sam got up and pulled on my hand until I stood. “Yeah. I’ll help.”
Chuckling, I let him steer me to the far side of the room. “I can get two glasses of water without assistance, Sam.”
Instead of reaching for the cabinet where I kept the cups or heading to the fridge, he turned me around and pressed me against the counter. “I’m thirsty for you.”
