Blowing a kiss, I step out of the apartment, leaving Lucas behind.
I feel pretty good about the conversation to come. Darcy is totally cool, and Ray will be supportive. After all, hiding it from Lucas now that he’s back in my life would be cruel, and I’m convinced Lucas will be okay with leaving Mia with them. It isn’t like we’ll never see her. We’ll be able to watch her grow up, be in her life. And we can always have another baby. I’m young, and although my first pregnancy was tough, the difficulty came mostly from stress, heartache and me not knowing what the hell I was doing.
LAX is a total mess, people swarming around the arrival area like bees around a hive. I look around and finally spot Ray after about ten minutes. I fight my way through the crowd to reach him.
“Ray!” I hug him tightly, and he hugs me back.
“Ava! You look fantastic!”
“Thank you.”
“L.A. must agree with you.”
“It does. Where’re Darcy and Mia?”
“Mia soiled her diaper just as our bags started to come out on the belt, so Darcy took her to the bathroom.” He sighs. “I’m sure it’s a mess in there too.”
“I imagine. Hope the flight wasn’t too terrible.”
“Nah. Mia’s a champion traveler.”
I laugh. “That’s great.”
He studies my face. “You meet somebody new?”
“Huh??
?
“You have that soft look women get when they’re in love.”
My cheeks heat. “Am I that obvious?”
“Yep. So who’s the lucky fella?”
I bite my lower lip. “Lucas.”
Ray comes to a complete standstill and stares at me.
“You know,” I say. “Lucas. We’re back together.”
Ray frowns. “I…see.”
“You don’t approve.”
“Kind of tough when he’s already broken your heart twice.”
“It was all my decision, Ray. He and I did a lot of talking and soul searching.”
“So this time’s going to be more permanent?”
“Yes.”
“Have you told him about Mia?”
“No, not yet—”
“Do you intend to tell him about Mia?” His voice takes the tone of a professor grilling a PhD candidate on her thesis.