“Make a wish, Dad.”
I close my eyes and wish for what I have been wishing for the past eight years, and then I inhale and blow the candles out.
“Yay. Now let’s cut it,” Amari says. They both go back into the kitchen, and I follow behind them.
“Thanks for the cake,” I say out loud for them both to hear me.
“Thank Mom,” Amari says, grabbing paper plates.
My eyes narrow at her. “What do you mean?” I look over at Kevin. He shrugs his shoulders as he cuts into the cake.
“I didn’t get it.”
“Mom bought it for you,” she says, and licks the frosting off her finger.
“When did she bring it over?”
“While we were eating.” She takes a bite of the cake that Kevin places in front of her. "Mmmm, I love ice cream cake.”
That must have been the smell when I walked in. It was her.
Blakely has always set her feelings aside and does things like this, claiming it’s from Amari. She’s done it since day one, and it’s never stopped. Even when times were hard between us, she always went out of her way for me, so Amari had something to give me on my birthday or holidays.
“You fucked up,” Kevin whispers.
“Do you have to keep reminding me?” Kevin has always known that I made a mistake, and he always reminds me of it.
After we split and I set my pride aside, I tried to win Blakely back. Even my drunk self would call her up late at night, begging her to give me another chance. I did this for a couple of years. She told me I needed to work on myself. I finally listened. Here I am, eight years later, with a successful welding business called KBA Steel. I always wanted to start this business to give my family everything they deserve. KBA are my family’s initials. B has said nothing about the name. I’m not even sure if she’s caught onto it. When I finally put my mind to building my company, the late-night binge drinking weekends faded away. My health started getting back on track. I could think clearerand make better choices. Because of all the long hours and heavy lifting, I have gained some pretty good muscle mass. The dark bags around my eyes cleared up, and I started seeing my old self again. The old me that I hadn’t seen in so long.
After years of working on myself, it’s finally time to win her back. The one I’ve loved since I was seventeen. The mother to my child. The one I let go. The only problem is…
Her boyfriend.
Liam Davis.
Blakely
I settle onto my couch, open the window, and admire all the pink and purple hues as the night sky unfolds. A Warm Vanilla Sugar candle flickers softly in the dimly lit living room, filling the air with its sweet and cozy aroma, wrapping the space in comforting warmth.
Daylight savings has passed, making the days a little longer. After so many years, I can finally say my life is calm. My stress isn’t always skyrocketing through my body. At one point, my cortisol levels were so high my hormones were off, throwing everything else off in my body. My doctor told me I had to find ways to destress. When I can, I try to watch the sunset—either outside if the weather calls for it, or I sit on the couch with a cup of tea with different herbs to help calm myself after a long day.
“Hi, babe.”
I quickly look up. I hadn’t even noticed that Liam walked in. “Hey, you’re home early.”
"Yeah, a surgery got canceled today, so I was able to get my other work done faster.”
He lets out a sigh as he relaxes on the couch, tired from a long day. We both lean in and kiss.
Liam Davis.
Dr. Davis.
The man that finally showed me I can have a healthy relationship with someone while also including my daughter’s father in our lives. I remember the first day I met him like it was yesterday.
It was the beginning of July. I had barely turned twenty-five and had given up on dating, on ever finding another man to share my life with—and then I met Liam. His green eyes were the first things that caught my attention. There is something about eyes that always attracts me. His eyes were so mysterious, yet they had a bright green hue. It was hard to not stare, especially when I noticed his tall, lean, muscular physique, brown hair, and clean-shaven face.
I was a medical assistant at a gastrointestinal surgeon’s office—Gastro Surgical Center. Liam was fresh out of medical school and trying to learn the ropes around the office. I felt for him. So, I was always there to offer him help. Soon, he came to me with questions when he didn’t want to ask the other physicians. I had a feeling he didn’t want to ask the other physicians because he was afraid of making himself look dumb or something. Soon after, despite office policy, our friendship turned into more. And quickly, too. Three months after meeting him, I found another job so we could be together and stop hiding it. Six months into our relationship, we moved in together, and here we are, nine months later. Our relationship developed quickly, but he’s ten years older than me—and much more mature. Everything justclicked. He didn’t care that I had a daughter. He also didn’t care that Kai was still and always will be a part of my life. It's almost like I’ve found the perfect person to fit into our family.
