Beauty Mark

Chapter 9

Hayden arrived just before seven with a bottle of wine in hand when I greeted her at the door. Davis stood behind me, and I swore I could feel his happiness.

"Hey, Hayden. This is Davis. Davis, this is my best friend, Hayden."

Davis extended his hand, and I knew as soon as I saw it that Hayden was going in for a hug. When I stepped out of the way, I gave her the green light to proceed in welcoming Davis into our fold. She pushed the wine in my direction as she beelined for his waist. And in true Hayden fashion, she won another heart, instantly. Seeing him smile as he hugged her made me wonder why I'd waited so long to make this happen.

"Please, come in." Davis invited her beyond the foyer once the hug ceased.

We both followed him into the kitchen to watch him finish cooking dinner while we all talked. I realized Davis was trying to bring up a subject he knew we all had in common, but I just wanted my first release day to end. What a disaster.

"So, Hayden, I'm trying to convince Callie she needs to send out letters to potential agents." Davis was looking for a co-conspirator, and I wanted to hide.

"Don't you have a publishing contract?" she asked him in return.

I couldn't help but snicker because I knew he couldn't see what direction this would go.

"I do, with Gray Quail." Davis was still unaware of the path my friend headed down.

"So, if you have an agent and a publisher, why don't you pull some strings to get Callie some consideration?" I f*****g loved her. "I mean, it's really all about networking, right? Not what you know but who you know kind of thing?"

He stopped messing with the chicken he'd pulled from the oven and turned to face her. Looking a little stricken, he murmured, "We don't write in the same genre."

"Yeah, but you write. And you have an agent, correct?" She continued her assault, albeit a gentle one.

"Yes. I do."

"So, it's likely, your agent knows another agent who promotes authors in Callie's genre, yeah?"

The grin that stretched across his face was radiant. "Yeah, she likely does. Remind me what you do for a living?"

"Marketing," she replied.

"You missed your calling. You should've been a lawyer or in sales." He laughed when her face lit up. "I can certainly put in a call and see who Missy recommends for Callie. I'll ask her about publishing as well."

I groaned my overall disapproval of the conversation but loved how easily Davis and Hayden seemed to mesh. Even more, I was thrilled to see his interest was purely platonic, as was hers. The fear was irrational but still very real.

At Hayden's insistence, we opened the wine with dinner and enjoyed it without her being able to indulge.

"Are you excited about the ultrasound tomorrow?" Davis asked between bites of food. The man could cook. Everything he did was perfection.

She set down her fork, wiped her mouth with her napkin, and replied, "Yes and no. I'm assuming Callie has told you the gory details."

Davis nodded his confirmation.

"Then you understand I'm excited and nervous to see the baby while sad the father won't be there."

I was dumbfounded by Tad's continued lack of interest. "I just don't understand how he can absolve himself of all responsibility, Hayden. He really doesn't want to have anything to do with it? What about his family?"

"I'm sure he hasn't told them, Callie. Come on, he's not going to tarnish his reputation-or theirs for that matter. It's his loss. As hard as it is to swallow, in the long run, he'll be the one to miss out." Hayden's voice was sad and sounded rehearsed.

"Are you going to take him to court for child support?" Davis asked more to make conversation than actually having an opinion on the subject. At least that was my assumption.

"No. I make plenty of money to take care of my child, and if he has no interest, then I'm not going to use him as a bank account."

Maybe I was wrong, maybe Davis did have an opinion, or maybe he was just surprised.

"I understand his not wanting to be a father, and I think that's his choice, but to stick you with the financial responsibility is just unconscionable. Do you have any idea what the cost of raising a child from infancy through high school is? I'm not even talking about the cost of higher education."

"Actually, I do. According to Google, it's roughly two hundred and forty-five thousand dollars in today's value of money."

My girl was in rare form tonight. Hayden was smart as a whip; she just usually chose to hide it in favor of flaunting her boobs. She was one of those girls who believed guys found intelligence unattractive...and she'd rather be attractive.

Davis tilted his head, raised his eyebrows in surprise, and lifted his glass. "Kudos to you for being well-informed."

She laughed at his toast.

"Seriously, this is probably pocket change to this guy's family. You should reconsider. Even if you do nothing but put the child support into a bank account for an education fund."

"I've spent more hours thinking about this than you can imagine, but in the end, I don't want to take anything from someone who can't be bothered to be part of his child's life. I'm not going to feel any obligation to his family for their contribution. If they want to be active, then that's more than writing a check."

"But you already said you don't think his family knows," Davis retorted. "So if they don't know, how are they being given a fair shot at their grandchild?"

Sitting back, I enjoyed my wine as my friend and boyfriend discussed the controversial topic at hand. I was at ease being a part of this, seeing them interact, the conversation flowing as if we were all old friends. I'd never envisioned myself with anyone on a permanent basis, but if I had, this was exactly what it would have looked like.

As everyone finished dinner, I asked about dessert. Anyone else wanting it was insignificant; I was really just being polite. I'd be partaking in the delicious cheesecake that awaited us in the fridge. And I wondered why my ass jiggled.

With coffee and cheesecake in the middle of the table, the three of us sat around late into the evening, talking about anything and everything from politics to books, to pregnancy, and the weather.

This was what life was meant to be.