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If he wanted to save their relationship, he had to get over the doubts clouding his judgment. He loved Melody and they were going to be a family. He’d won her away from Hunter once. He could do it again. And again. Whatever it took.
“Yes.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, not giving an inch. “And I’m supposed to forget every terrible thing you thought about me and be glad you’ve finally decided to come around?”
“I made a mistake.”
“You made a series of them.” Abruptly, the fight drained out of her. “This isn’t how I wanted things to go.”
“What did you expect?” He took a half step toward her, intent on making some sort of a peace offering, but let his hand fall back to his side when she shook her head.
“I don’t know.” Her shoulders rounded with exhaustion. “I thought maybe it would magically fix things.”
“We’ve had too much time apart.”
“And that’s my fault?”
Although she’d been the one who’d pulled away rather than stay and fight with him—for them—he’d meant it as an observation, not a criticism. Her distance these last few months had awakened a fear of losing her.
“I told you to go on the tour,” he reminded her. “And if I had to do it all over again, I’d make the same decision. It was the right step for your career.” And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t been ready for the level of commitment their relationship had reached.
It still boggled his mind how fast he’d gone from being her friend to inviting her to move in with him. Cohabiting with Melody had been the most natural thing in the world. It hadn’t required any significant shift in his beliefs or habits. The transformation from bachelor to boyfriend had been seamless and rewarding. It wasn’t until she left on the tour that he’d noticed disquieting thoughts creeping in.
“How far along are you?”
“Twelve weeks.”
He did the math. The last time they’d been together. It had been a rocky weekend. “How long have you known?”
“Since shortly after I returned from Sydney.”
“Six weeks.” He rubbed his eyes while disappointment flowed through him. Why had it taken her so long to share such important news? Could it be that she was afraid of how he would react? And hadn’t he just demonstrated that she’d been right?
Her vehemence caught him by surprise. “You don’t get to do that.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him.
“Do what?”
“Make me feel bad for not rushing to tell you that everything in your life was going to change.”
She was so obviously afraid of what his reaction would be. And perhaps with good reason. He hadn’t exactly swept her into his arms and spun her in a giddy circle while crowing his delight.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” But she appeared anything but okay. She seemed as shell-shocked as he was. “I’m sure we’re both overwhelmed at the idea of becoming parents. At least we have six months to get used to the idea.”
“Have you started to think about what you’re going to do?” he asked.
“What do you mean ‘do’?”
“For where you’re going to live.” Where did he figure in her plans? “Are you staying here?”
“In Las Vegas?” Melody looked like a cornered rabbit. “I don’t know. Nate is here. And Mia. Trent, Savannah and Dylan will be coming back as soon as she’s done filming the movie.”
“It doesn’t much sound like you plan on coming back to LA.”
Or back to Kyle. His home was in LA. Although, at the moment he was renting a place outside Vegas for the next few months. He’d offered to take over as temporary manager of Club T’s for two reasons. To be closer to Melody while she finished her album and to free up Trent to live in LA and take care of his son while Savannah worked.
“I feel as if I have a really good support system here.” The subtext was clear. She didn’t think he was going to be there for her. Was this opinion recently acquired or something that had occurred to her over a period of time?
“How do you figure? Trent and Savannah are in LA at the moment.”
“They’ll be coming back as soon as Savannah is done with her movie. And you’re here.”
Something loosened in his chest. “So you do want me around.”
“Of course. I want us to be a family.” Nothing sounded better, but in his peripheral vision a dozen red roses stood like a stop sign on her dining room table.
Then she shook her head. “Is that possible? Can we get back to where we were before the tour?”
“I’m not sure we can.” Although Kyle doubted it was the sort of answer a pregnant woman wanted to hear from the father of her child, he had to be honest with her. “Go backward, I mean. I’m sorry. All this has caught me by surprise. I never imagined myself a dad.”
“We never talked about it. I was a bit afraid to, knowing how you and your father get along.”
“You mean don’t get along.”
She gave a little shrug. “You aren’t him. You’re going to be a great dad.”
He wanted some time to assimilate all he’d learned, but she was staring at him like she needed him to fix everything. He just had no idea how to begin.
He considered her remark about his relationship with his father.
Suck it up, kid.
Be a man.
No one’s going to help you unless you help yourself.
The clichés went on and on. Maybe if Brent Tailor hadn’t been such a successful businessman and dedicated philanthropist, his opinions would’ve been easier to ignore. Instead, he was someone Kyle looked up to professionally. And much of what his father drilled into him had enabled his success as a major league pitcher.
The downside to what his dad had drilled into him all his life was that it didn’t enable Kyle to celebrate all he’d achieved in his baseball career or convey to Melody how he felt about their relationship.
“And you’re going to be a great mother.”
She blew out a huge breath. “I hope so. It would’ve been better if it happened later rather than sooner.”
“What’s done is done. What do you need from me?” He saw her answer coming and spoke quickly to head it off. “And don’t say nothing.”
From her frown he knew he’d struck the truth. She’d grown up watching her father and brother butt heads and depending on the situation, tended to either retreat or take on the role of peacekeeper whenever she caught a whiff of conflict.
“I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.” Her voice came across as tentative as if she half expected him to refuse.
“What time?”
“Three o’clock.”
Excitement trickled into his awareness, diluting his dismay. She was pregnant with his child. It wasn’t great timing, nor was becoming a father something he’d imagined happening any time soon, but he’d watched Trent with Dylan and was pretty sure he’d never seen his friend this happy. Maybe there was something to being a family that made the big problems smaller.
“Where do you want me to pick you up?” he asked.
“You don’t need to come.”
“Oh, I’m not missing this.”
Trent and Savannah had overcome bigger obstacles to find their way back to each other. Surely Kyle and Melody could get past what stood between them. Of course, he was assuming she wanted to. What if she didn’t love him anymore? She might not have cheated on him with Hunter, but he’d treated her as if she had.
He’d broken her trust, lodged unfair accusations at her. The person in the wrong hadn’t been her, but him. Just that morning he’d been all set to forgive her. It had never occurred to Kyle that the one in need of pardoning would be him.
“Thank you,” Melody said, but the words were perfunctory as if her thoughts had traveled elsewhere. “I appreciate your willingness to be involved.”
“I’m going to be there for you every way I can.”
* * *
Melody sat in the small, utilitarian lobby of Ugly Trout Records and stared out the front window toward the parking lot. For the fifth time in ten minutes, she checked the time on her phone. Kyle had three more minutes before he could be considered late. Since last night, she’d regretted caving in to his offer to take her to the doctor’s appointment. Unlike Hunter, Kyle counted punctuality as one of his virtues. He’d never left her waiting and wondering if he was going to call or show up. He’d always been very clear about his intentions and then followed through.
So why was she working herself into such a frantic mess? Practicing patience, Melody smoothed her sweaty palms down the legs of her skinny jeans. Thank goodness the denim had some stretch to it. Thanks to the severity of her morning sickness these last few weeks, she’d lost weight, but today her baby bump seemed more pronounced than the week before.
This change—more than the pregnancy test, her constant nausea and fatigue—had made her all too aware that she had a baby inside her. Sweat broke out. Most days she was happy about her impending motherhood. The timing could be better. She was on the verge of dropping her first album and the stress wasn’t good for her or the baby. But now that she’d broken the news to Kyle, more than just her and her baby’s future weighed on her mind.
“Hey, Melody, what are you doing up here?”
She turned at the sound of her name and smiled at the man who was detouring toward her. Craig Jameson was one of the top sound engineers working at the label. He’d been involved in eighty percent of Melody’s recording sessions and been instrumental in helping her produce most of her songs. He had a knack for knowing exactly what each song needed.
They’d spent hours together in the studio, talking about music and the industry. He had great stories about various artists that had come to Ugly Trout to record. Many had involved some pretty outrageous behavior—drunken jam sessions, a party with strippers and several fistfights.
“I’m waiting for Kyle to pick me up.” Although her relationship with Kyle was pretty well-known around the studio thanks to their public personas, Craig knew more details due to all the time he and Melody had spent together.
“It’s a little late for lunch.”
“Actually, we are heading to...” She’d held off mentioning her pregnancy around the studio until she told Kyle, but now that he knew there was no reason to keep the secret any longer. “The doctor.”
“You okay?” Craig’s concern touched Melody.
“Fine. Actually more than fine.” She forced bright happiness into her tone. “I’m pregnant.”
“That’s great news. Then things between you and Kyle are better?”
During a particularly low point, she’d confided in Craig. At the time she hadn’t considered that Craig was a work colleague. A few days earlier, he’d told her that he’d just broken off with his girlfriend of a year. She hadn’t hesitated to offer him a sympathetic shoulder. Maybe it had crossed a line, but Craig was a decent guy who’d needed a friend.
“We’re working on it.” She smiled, but there wasn’t a lot of joy in it.
“He’d be a fool to let you go.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.” Tears surged to her eyes but Melody blinked them away. It seemed as if everything set her off these days. Hormones. They were driving her crazy. She’d never been moody, but since becoming pregnant, her emotions were all over the place. “There’s Kyle now. I should be back in an hour or so. Would you have some time later to sit down with me? Nate wants me to get my album done and I could use some help narrowing down the songs.”
“I’d be honored to help.”
“Let me know what time you’re free.” She headed toward the front door and paused with her hand on it. When she looked over her shoulder, Craig was still watching her. “And thanks.”
“For what?”
“Everything.” Feeling a little as if she’d said too much, Melody pushed the door and blinked in the bright sunlight.
Kyle had parked his car and was heading toward her along the front walk. His long legs ate up the distance between them, demonstrating his upbeat mood. Today he wore a pair of khaki slacks and navy V-neck sweater over a white button-down shirt. His thick brown hair had an artfully disheveled look she loved. With a long, square face, firm chin and well-shaped lips, Kyle had the sort of good looks favored by fashion designers looking for sexy, rugged models.
When Melody saw his unguarded smile, a weight lifted off her shoulders. For a second she was catapulted back in time to when they’d first been living together in LA. It had been a heady, exciting, romantic three months. Kyle had been super supportive of her career and interested in learning her process for writing music.
His fascination had drawn Melody out of her shell. When it came to songwriting, she’d learned to be exceptionally protective. Back when she was still in school, her father had belittled her talent and broken down her confidence. He’d wanted her to pursue classical violin and made her attend Juilliard. When she’d quit halfway through her third year, choosing instead to pursue the contemporary popular music she loved, Siggy had pretty much disowned her.
“You ready?” he asked as he neared.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to wrap his arms around her and drop a kiss on her cheek. Although she longed for a proper kiss, the affection in the gesture sent warmth rushing through her.
“I’m ready,” she countered. “Are you?”
Kyle’s smile was ever so slightly crooked as he opened the passenger door and ushered her inside. “I am.”
“I’m glad.” She studied him as he walked around the car and slid behind the wheel once more. “I’m a little nervous about the ultrasound.”
“Why?” Kyle got the car started and pulled out of the parking lot before glancing her way. “I thought this was just routine.”
“It is. But they look for certain things. I can’t help but wonder what they might find.”
“What are they going to look for?” Kyle’s brow creased.
Melody instantly regretted sharing her concerns. The last thing she wanted to do was freak out Kyle. He’d only just learned about the baby and probably hadn’t yet come to terms with becoming a father and now she was heaping new concerns onto the pile.
“They’ll check the heartbeat and determine my due date.”
“None of that sounds too bad.”
“Nooo.” She drew the word out. “And then they’ll look to make sure everything looks normal. Two arms. Two legs. That the organs are developing okay.” There were just so many things that could be wrong. And so many things that could be right. When had she become such a pessimist?
“Is there any reason to think anything will be missing?”
His faint note of teasing as he asked the question lightened Melody’s mood. She was being anxious for no good reason.
“Of course not. I guess it’s just going to be more real after today.”
