You & Me

Chapter 2

At the front of the mall, we had a magazine stand that sold every magazine possible. It wasn't a surprise that one of them had none other than Ace Miller himself on the front cover. I tried to ignore them, but sometimes it was hard to when they're everywhere. 

Two months after I had Everleigh, I ran to the store for formula when I saw him on the cover of one. It was all about his wedding to Megan, and it was like a kick to the face. That's when it hit me, I was a single mom to a little girl whose father didn't want anything to do with her. I wanted to break down in the store that day, but then I remembered it wasn't my fault. He was the one that chose the outcome, not me.  From that day forward, I made a promise to myself to be the best mom to Everleigh that I could be. I made sure she had everything she needed, and to be there every step of the way.

This time, he was on the cover for his vacation that him and Megan took for their 3rd anniversary. I didn't feel sad anymore, about him, I just pitied Megan. She was still clueless as to what went on, and I wasn't going to be a homewrecker. I just hope if she ends up pregnant, he sticks around for that child.

Not dwelling on the past anymore, me and Everleigh went about our day, shopping. I was able to buy her lots of outfits, and two new pairs of shoes. We even found a bookbag with the letter E on it for her to use at school.  

After a few hours of shopping, we headed to the food court to get some lunch, but in the process, a man and I got pushed into each other. 

I was quick to apologize since I wasn't sure who's fault it was, and I didn't want to cause a scene. He looked like a man of wealth and power.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." After apologizing to the man, I looked at him to see he had a soft look on his face. I'm assuming he wasn't mad, but looks could be deceiving. 

"No, it's alright, really. From what it looks like, a lot of teenagers are in a hurry today." As he was speaking, I noticed he had a slight accent to his husky voice. What caught my attention, though, was his eyes. They were a bright grey that I could stare at all day. A tugging of my hand snapped me out of staring at the gorgeous man in front of me. 

"Mommy, me hungry." Looking down at Everleigh, I nodded my head. "Let's go, baby."

I sent the stranger a smile, apologizing once more, and headed for the food court without any troubles this time. What I wasn't expecting was the question that came out of Everleigh's mouth. 

"Mommy, is he daddy?" This was not the conversation I wanted to have here at the mall, but I knew she would keep asking if I didn't answer. At times she could be very persistent. 

"No, baby. He's not daddy." I was hoping she would leave it at that, but she does have a curious mind.

"Where's, daddy?" What was I supposed to tell a 3-year old in the middle of a mall? 

"I don’t know baby. He didn’t want to be with mommy.” I didn’t know what else to tell her because she wouldn’t understand everything just yet. 

Everleigh's face held confusion before a big smile appeared. “It’s okay, mommy. I have you.” 

Little did I know, the handsome stranger we bumped into was listening to our conversation.

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After a long morning of shopping, Everleigh was ready for a nap, so the moment we got home, I laid her in bed, and she was out. With her sleeping, it gave me time to wash all of her new clothes and clean the house a little.

Once I get my work done, I should start boxing up a few orders I have to ship out this week. I owned an online store where I sold crafts and merchandise from my home. It was a big hit, and I kept adding more items to it every week. I was lucky to have this opportunity to stay at home and work.

Two hours had passed, and I was almost done with boxing all the orders, but I needed to wake Everleigh up. We were having dinner with my parents and siblings, along with my neighbors Luca and Xavier. 

Luca and Xavier were like the brothers I never had. They were married and were soon going to adopt a little boy named Beckett, who will be Everleigh's age. In their minds, they want the two of them to be childhood sweethearts and get married. Maybe it will happen and maybe it won't, who knows. 

Walking into Everleigh's room, she was already waking up.

"Hey, sleepyhead. We need to go get dinner started because all your favorite people are coming over tonight." 

No sooner I mentioned the words your favorite people, she was out of her bed, and ready to head downstairs. 

Making our way into the kitchen, I stuck Everleigh in her chair and gave her a small snack before I started on dinner. It wasn't much, but I decided on a taco bar tonight. I made sure I had all the toppings everyone ate. 

An hour later, my doorbell was going off, indicating that my guests were starting to arrive. The first to arrive were Xavier and Luca, but all they needed to do was walk over to my house. We literally shared a driveway. 

"Honey, we're home." 

"You two are just in time. I'm setting the food out now while we wait for my parents and siblings."

"Where's our future daughter-in-law?" I had to laugh. As I said, they were pretty positive on the two falling in love when they meet.

"Ever's in the kitchen eating a snack." 

No sooner I got back to placing the food out, the doorbell rang once again.  

Placing the last bowel on the counter, I went and opened the door to reveal my parents and two younger sisters. 

After greeting everyone, we made our way into the kitchen and started making our plates. 

The dinner went well as they normally do. Luca and Xavier shared with us that Beckett will be joining our little family as of next week. For a celebration, they were going to throw a Halloween party next month for him and Everleigh.