Second Look (A New Beginning Book 3) (28 page)

Adam hiccupped and Tom rolled his eyes.

“Hey, don’t judggge me. You’reee a lucky bastard, ya know thattt?”

“Yeah, buddy, I know.” Tom sighed. “You’ve had a tough break lately.”

“Yeah, well it’sss all my ffffault. I fuckedddd everything up with Abbyyy and with Jenniferrrr. That’s why no moreeee relationships. Jus sexxxx for this guy.” Adam tried to point his thumbs towards himself, but it made him sway again.

Tom grabbed his shoulder again and then shoved a barstool his way just as a couple of the girls came their way.

“Well, hey there, handsome. How ya’ll doing tonight?”

The woman with red hair had eyes on Tom, who said hi but shook his head to signal that he wasn’t interested.

She frowned and then turned her eyes towards Adam.

The leggy blonde was already leaning into Adam and whispering in his ear. “Hey, sexy. What’s your name?”

“Adam. What’s yours, sweetheart?”

“I’m Michelle. You off the market too?”

Adam shook his head. “Nope. Free as a birdddd.”

Michelle gave him a wide smile. “What do you say we get out of here? You, me and Becky?”

Tom shook his head and said, “We were just leaving, actually. Come on, buddy. Let me bring you home.”

Adam shook his head. “Whatttt are you, my motherrr? If the ladies want to take me home, I’m gonna let ‘em”

“No. You’re coming with me.” Tom’s voice turned hard. “Now.”

Adam stood up and swayed again.

The blonde finally seemed to notice how drunk he was because she nodded her head and said, “Looks like your friend is right. Let’s get together another time.”

As the girls walked away, Adam glared at his friend. “Thanks a lot. I coulda scored.”

“The only thing you’re scoring tonight is a massive hangover. Let’s go.” Tom grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the door.

Adam could have sworn he heard Tom say, “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

Chapter Twenty

Jennifer

What are you so afraid of?

I’ve lost my mind.

Jennifer had an amazing, thoughtful, caring, gorgeous man who loved her. He also loved Amber no matter if he truly was her father or not. So what the hell was she doing?

She really screwed things up.

She had to go to him and she had to go now. She had to make it right before she lost him.

It was too late to call Maddie, so she tried her other neighbor. She happened to know Pam was a night owl and lived alone. It was already 10:00, so she really shouldn’t even call, but this just couldn’t wait.

She hesitated only another second, and then dialed. Pam picked up on the first ring.

“Jennifer! Is something wrong?”

“Hi, Pam, I’m sorry to bother you so late, but I’m a bit desperate. I really need to run to a friend’s house for a bit of an emergency. Is there any way you could come over and stay with Amber while I’m gone?”

“Well, sure, I guess I can do that.” Pam didn’t sound pleased, but she didn’t sound mad either. “Is Amber still up?”

“No, she’s in bed. So you could watch TV or read or whatever you were doing at home, just over here?”

“I was watching The Walking Dead, but then my Netflix stopped working. Do you have Netflix at your house?”

“I sure do! You can watch it over here.”

Pam’s voice took on a cheery tone, and she said, “Well, then give me five minutes and I’ll be right over!”

“Oh, thank you Pam!”

“You bet,” Pam replied.

She sat at the table, letter from HomeDNA and her car keys in hand, and waited.

In the time it took for Pam to arrive, she started to panic. What would she say? She had to make this right before she lost him.

Pam was knocked on her front door a few minutes later.

“I can’t thank you enough. This means a lot to me.”

“No problem! I’m glad to be able to watch my show again. I was on to season 3 and Netflix quit working for me. I was not a happy camper!”

“I’m glad it worked out for both of us, then. Amber usually sleeps straight through the night, so you shouldn’t have a problem. If she happens to wake up, please just tell her I won’t be long.”

Jennifer showed Pam how to work her remote controls, and left with the letter from HomeDNA in her hand.

As she drove over, her stomach swirled and she almost pulled over to throw up. What would the test results say? What would his reaction be? He told her it wouldn’t matter over and over. She hoped he really meant it.

There was only one way to find out.

It was as if her car drove on it’s own. She barely remembered the ride and was pulling into Adam’s driveway without realizing she was even close. She stared at his house.

Her stomach was in knots, her palms were sweaty and she really thought she’d throw up at any second.

Jennifer got out of her car, and slowly walked up to Adam’s door.

Her arm was heavy as she raised her hand up to his door. She hesitated, took a deep breath, and then knocked.

She waited an eternity and then knocked again.

Jennifer shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying to be patient.

Where is he?

She inched her finger towards the doorbell and pressed the button. He never came.

Why aren’t you answering, Adam? Am I too late?

Jennifer sat down on his porch swing. She pulled out her phone and texted him.

Jennifer
: I’m sorry.

Adam:
I’m sorry you feel you can’t trust me.

Jennifer:
I do trust you.

Adam:
Clearly you don’t.

Jennifer:
Yes I do. I’ve just been so scared to lose you that I’ve made a complete mess of things.

Adam:
So what do you want to do to fix it?

Jennifer:
Open the results. Where are you?

Adam:
On my dock. Why?

Jennifer:
Because I’m sitting on your front porch.

She waited for a response, but no reply came. She was about to text him again when she heard what sounded like an elephant coming her way. He came around the house and she saw him sprinting towards her.

She wasn’t really sure what he’d do when she showed up. She hoped like hell she hadn’t ruined things with him.

She took the time to just stare at him as he ran towards her.

It was dark outside, but she could see him enough to know it looked as though he’d been running his hands through his hair because his blonde hair was sticking out in all different directions. He still wore the jeans and black t-shirt with the black Carhartt jacket from earlier. She knew from experience he had a six-pack hiding underneath that shirt.

What really made her feel it in her chest was the way his eyes crinkled at the corners and the gigantic smile was aimed right at her as he approached her. Adam took her in his arms, his hand curling around her neck holding her head gently and his other around her waist, pulling her in close.

That was all she needed at that moment to make everything right in her world. She hugged him back as tight as she could and just soaked it up.

Adam finally loosened his hold and backed away only far enough to be able to whisper in her ear to break the silence, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Jennifer whispered back, a shiver running down her spine as he pressed a kiss to the sensitive skin underneath her ear.

“I’m glad you came.”

“I’m relieved that you’re glad I came.”

She shivered again and held up the package. “Ready?”

Adam nodded. “Yes. But, before we do, I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, where are you going? I don’t want to lose my nerve.”

“I won’t let you. I promise, I’ll be right back.” He slowly let go of her hand, until their fingers were no longer touching.

He ran into the house and was back out in less than 20 seconds.

He was holding one hand behind his back and the other one he used to bring Jennifer to her feet.

“Jennifer, you know I love you, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you know I love Amber?”

Nodding, she answered, “Yes, I know.”

“No matter what the results are in that envelope, I want to be with you and I want to be there for Amber. Do you believe me?”

“Yes, I really do.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

Before she could respond, Adam brought his hands out in front of him as he got down on one knee.

“Jennifer, I want to spend my life making your life wonderful. I want to be a father to Amber. I love you. Will you marry me?”

Jennifer stared down at the sparkling diamond ring he held in his hand and then stared back up at Adam.

Oh. My. God. Did that just happen?

She was stunned into silence, her mouth opening and closing.

Adam gave her a short laugh and said, “You’re killing me here, babe.”

Oh! “Yes! I’ll marry you!”

The love showing in Adam’s eyes made her weak and her knees almost buckled. Jennifer’s hands were shaking as Adam placed the stunning ring her finger.

She looked down at the ring and stared in awe. It was gorgeous.

“Jennifer, I chose this ring with the emeralds, Amber’s birthstone, to signify my love for you and for Amber.” He grinned and said, “And we can always add to the setting.”

It was hands-down the most gorgeous ring she had ever seen. And it was hers.

It brought tears to her eyes that not only had he done this before they opened the letter, but he chose a setting that included Amber.

Why did she ever doubt him?

After he placed the ring on her finger, he got up and covered her mouth with his in a bone-melting, feel-it-in-your toes kind of kiss and it was completely perfect.

When he broke away, he stared into her eyes.

She was engaged!

To the man of her dreams.

The man she loved since high school.

The man who loved her daughter, no matter the outcome of the letter.

Jennifer looked back down at her hand, which now had the most beautiful ring on it, and then looked at her other hand, which was still holding the unopened letter.

She looked back up at Adam and said, “Are you ready?”

Adam nodded, and pulled her over to the porch swing and they sat down.

She slowly opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and then unfolded it. They started to read it together.

She only read bits and pieces, but they were the most important ones.

“…99.999% accuracy…Adam Jackson is the father of Amber Sylvester.”

“Oh my God,” Jennifer whispered.

So many emotions bowled right through her. Jennifer wasn’t sure if she should be happy, pissed off, sue someone or just hug the hell out of her fiancé and the father of her child.

She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.

“I knew it. I just…I knew, Adam!”

Adam was silent and she couldn’t see his face.

He read and reread the letter

“Adam…”

He finally looked up at her and what she saw made her tears fall even faster.

Adam’s eyes were full, so full they started to trickle over and fall down his very handsome face.

“Adam…say something.”

She could tell he was trying to get his emotions under control.

He finally said, “I have never been happier in my life.” He paused and then continued, “Or as pissed off as I am right now.”

She watched as his look of joy turned to the same look from four years ago. Her stomach dropped in overwhelming fear.

“I…I’m sorry, Adam. So sorry.”

Adam looked back up into her eyes, and that angry look was gone as shook his head. “Don’t you dare apologize! Don’t. You. Dare. I owe you an apology for not listening to you. I’ve missed out on years of her precious life, all because of a mistake.”

“Oh, I thought…I mean…the look on your face. It was just like…”

Before she could finish, Adam pulled her in for a hug, and said, “God, no, that look was because I’m furious, but not at you. I’m sorry for even a second you thought it to be the case. I am mad at myself and at that stupid hospital, but never could I be mad at you, Jenn. You should be mad at me.”

She let out the breath she was holding. “No, Adam. We all lost.”

Adam continued to hug her.

Jennifer’s voice grew strong. “Now we can move forward, call the company and shout at them and even swear at them and demand answers. But we can also tell OUR daughter together that you are her dad. We can raise OUR daughter together. We can begin living as a family.” She paused, looked at him, and asked, “How does that sound?”

“That sounds pretty much perfect to me.”

She was just about to suggest they head back to her house to relieve her babysitter when he leaned in and covered her mouth with his again.

Her neighbor would be fine for just a few more minutes. It wasn’t everyday a girl got engaged to the man of her dreams who just happened to be the father of her child.

Chapter Twenty One