Cici lifted her eyes and met Tegan’s look of surprise. Melody had been on an I-want-a-sister tangent a few weeks ago, but she thought she’d forgotten all about it.
“Of course,” she managed, but what was going through her mind was how much she’d love another baby, too, and that wasn’t good. Cooper didn’t even know about this one!
She rose to her feet, feeling like all the air had been sucked from the room.
“Mommy has to go to the bathroom. Can you sit with Aunt Tegan for a minute?” She grabbed her purse and hurried down the hall, past the kitchen, and ducked into the half bath. After locking the door, because Melody loved to walk in without knocking, she pulled out her phone and realized she didn’t have Cooper’s number. Shitshitshit!
She called information and got his studio phone number, hoping he would have a machine with another contact number on it, but of course, no such luck. With her heart in her throat, she called information again and gave them Cooper’s mother’s name.
Her stomach fisted so hard as Cooper’s mother’s phone rang, she worried she might throw up. What would she say to this woman? She was too nervous to even think of an excuse as the phone rang once, twice, three times, and then the ringing stopped and there was silence for a few very long, stressful seconds.
“Hello?” A young woman’s voice answered, and Cici froze. Literally. She couldn’t move.
She opened her mouth, but no words came as the woman said, “Hello?” again.
Cici closed her eyes, telling herself she could do this. “He—hello? Is this Mrs. Wild?”
“No, this is Stormy. Mary Lou is here, though. Would you like to speak to her?”
Stormy? She had no idea who Stormy was, but Mary Lou was Cooper’s mother’s name, so she must have the right number.
“Yes, please.”
“Sure. Can I tell her who’s calling?”
No. Just put her on the phone before I lose my nerve. “Yes. Celeste Fine. Thank you.” She slammed her eyes shut, trying to remember everything Cooper had ever said about his mother, but what overrode any personal details Cooper had shared was the thought that she’d been savagely beaten, blinded, lost her husband, and been left for dead. And now her son’s child’s mother was trying to track him down like a stalker. Nice way to make friends. Cooper had her number. Maybe she should just wait for him to call.
“Hello?” Mary Lou’s voice was smooth as silk and warm with a hint of Midwestern comfort. The details Cooper had shared came back like old friends. She was from Colorado and had married his father after knowing him just a few months, and then had moved to New York, where they’d raised their four sons.
And she was Melody’s grandmother.
“Hello, Mrs. Wild?” Suddenly she wanted to know the woman who had raised Cooper, who had survived her husband’s murder and a savage attack and still managed to sound charming and friendly.
“Yes?”
Cici tucked her nerves away as best she could and said, “Mrs. Wild, this is Celeste Fine. I’m a…” Oh, God! What was she? A lover? That probably wasn’t the best thing to say to Cooper’s mother. “Friend of Cooper’s. I’m trying to reach him, but I’ve misplaced his cell phone number.”
“Celeste,” she said with wonder in her voice. “How are you, sweetheart?”
The endearment caught her off guard.
“I…I’m fine, thank you. And yourself?” She slammed her eyes shut again as her nerve endings prickled up her limbs.
“I’m lovely. Thank you for asking. You’d like Cooper’s number? Let me give that to you.”
Cici dug a pen and a scrap of paper from her purse and wrote down the number.
“Thank you. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“Oh, honey, no bother at all. I’m sure Cooper will be thrilled to hear from you.”
After ending the call, Cici stood in the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror. This was one of the moments she’d dissected over the years so many times she could practically taste her worry over telling Cooper he had a daughter. This was it, and as much as she hated to do it over the phone, now that she’d been with Cooper and felt his love, she couldn’t return to the living room and love up their daughter without being consumed by guilt—and longing. She wanted Cooper to be there with them, to share in the joy of loving her. And somehow, she knew he’d want that, too.
***
COOPER PARKED IN front of the quaint house, recognizing Cici’s car with the plastic taped to her rear window. He’d made arrangements to have that window fixed when they were in Bay City, but after seeing Cici’s reaction to the camera equipment, he’d canceled the repair. If she accepted him into her life, as he hoped she would, then they’d make that call together. The same way they’d make every decision moving forward. As a couple.