“Mmm, that smells delicious.”
“I thought cooking breakfast was the least I could do after all you’ve done for me.”
“It certainly wasn’t necessary but I can’t wait to dig in.” Faith smiled and sat up.
Miles placed the tray down on her lap. “Enjoy!”
“Wait a minute, aren’t you going to help me eat all of this?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, Sweetie…”
“It’s not that I’m not actually hungry, it’s that I am stuffed because I ate already.” Miles smiled.
“Oh, ok then.”
“I was up most of the night thinking and missing Eden. As angry and hurt as I am I don’t ever want to know what it’s like to be without her.”
Faith smiled. “Goo ooom ew om.”
“Faith, you do realize that I couldn’t understand a word you said with half of a pancake stuffed into that mouth of yours?” Miles laughed.
Faith swallowed and then chugged some coffee to wash it down.
“I understood everything I said.” Faith giggled. “I said, that you should go home.”
“I am going to go home. But first, I want to thank you for everything. You’ve been such a great friend to me and I will never forget it. Faith Marie Nichols, you will always hold a special place in my heart.”
“Ditto, my handsome friend.”
“I’m going to get going.” Miles leaned down and kissed Faith on the top of her head.
“Text me later and let me know that you’re doing ok.”
“You bet.”
Miles grabbed his phone and keys and headed towards the door while Faith sat there stuffing yet another pancake into her mouth.
Eden walked into the living room and sat down. She watched Miguel pace with his fists balled up. She knew he was upset but she wasn’t about to waste her breath on him as she was far too annoyed with him at the moment.
Finally, Miguel calmed his temper enough to speak.
“Eden, what the hell were you thinking asking him to come here?”
“You have no right to judge me or what I do.”
“I look at you and sometimes I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eden grimaced.
Miguel looked down at her. “Are you alright? Should I get the nurse?”
“I sent the nurse home last night and yes, I am alright. Cruz just kicks extra hard sometimes.”
“Sent her home! Why? You’re supposed to be on bed rest.”
“The doctor said to rest as much as possible but I am capable of small tasks. I don’t need a nurse. What I NEED is for my husband to forgive me and come home.”
“Eden, I love you but I have to side with Miles on this. I can’t believe that you could go all these years and never tell us.”
“So that’s what this anger is all about. It isn’t that I didn’t tell Miles it is really that I didn’t tell you? Isn’t it?”
“Maybe it’s both. But, Eden, you never kept secrets from me. Well, at least I never knew you did. Finding out about you and Miles was devastating but now this. I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
“Miggy, I haven’t changed any. Yes, I kept Miles and my relationship a secret but because I was afraid that you would freak out…which you did. As for the baby…I couldn’t tell you because you would have killed Miles or had him arrested and don’t deny it.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Ahh, so I can be right.”
“Smart ass.”
“I don’t have any more secrets. I don’t need a nurse. Nothing happened with Ryan. I love Miles more than life itself and I will until the day I die.”
“I believe you.”
“Finally.”
Miguel walked over to where Eden was sitting and he knelt down and hugged her.
“I love you, Sis.”
“I love you too, Miggy.”
“So now that we’ve gotten everything straightened out, why don’t you let me make you some breakfast?”
“Only if there is a jelly donut in that box on the table?” Eden smiled.
“They are all jelly!” Miguel winked.
“Then yes, I will start with two jelly donuts.”
“Two?”
“One for me and one for Cruz.” Eden gave Miguel a huge teeth filled smile as she batted her eyelashes and rubbed her belly.
Miguel smiled and then shook his head. “Two jelly donuts coming right up.”
Ryan sat down at the coffee shop and pulled his phone from his pocket. He had seventeen missed calls from Alex and seven text messages.
“Where are you?”
“Are you ok?”
“Call me.”
“Text me!”
“I am getting worried.”
“RYAN!!!!”
“Ok, I am officially worried.”
Ryan didn’t even playback the voice messages he just dialed Alex knowing that he was in for it.
“Oh my God are you alright?”
“Perfectly fine.”
“Good then I’m going to fucking kill you!”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Ryan, what the hell is wrong with you? Why couldn’t you have called me back? I was so worried. I thought that maybe you had been in an accident or worse. I was up all night sick. Are you listening to me?”
“Yes, I am listening to you.”
“Then why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Because you’re yelling at me and you haven’t as much as taken a break for me to speak.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Were you in jail?”
“No, I wasn’t in jail and I wasn’t in an accident. I had a friend who needed me and I just never checked my phone until now.”
“Please tell me that this friend was not Eden?”
“What difference would that make?”
“Ryan!”
“What?”
“Eden is married now.”
“You know what…you and Miguel deserve each other.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Miguel showed up at Eden’s house this morning and freaked the fuck out when he found me there.”
“So you were with her.”
“Eden called me and asked me to come over. She said she needed a friend. So being a friend, I went over. Nothing happened. She loves Miles and I respect that. I might be a bit of a slut but I know how to respect a woman, especially a married woman.”
“I see.”
“Do you really see? Because it seems to me that you don’t think much of me.”
“I do.”
“So what was the emergency that warranted all of these texts and calls last night?”
“I called to ask you a question and then when you didn’t reply I got worried and it just continued on from there.”
“So what was the question?”
“I don’t even remember anymore.”
“Stop worrying about me.”
“I can’t, I love you.”
“I love you too but I’m a big boy now and I can take care of myself.”
“I know.”
“Look, I need to finish eating and head to the office. I will talk to you later.”
“Have a great day!”
“You too.”
Ryan hung up and reached for his coffee.
“Do you have a minute to talk?”
Ryan turned and Miles was standing there. Ryan nodded. Miles pulled out a chair and sat down.
“What’s up?”
“I overheard you talking to who I assume was Alex.”
“Ok.”
“I wanted to thank you for taking care of Eden.”
Ryan was shocked. He was expecting a punch in the face or a threat.
“Yeah sure. She’s always been a good friend to me.”
“I’m headed there now. I’m not sure how but we will get through this…together.”
“Thank God bec
ause she loves you so much.”
“I love her too. I always have. I just wish that she’d told me and that Miguel didn’t always have to factor into our relationship.”
“She thought that she was protecting you. She was young and scared.”
“I know. Well, I’m going to go home now. Thank you again for being her friend.”
“She’s been a good friend to me too. Good luck.”
Miles got up and walked out. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief that things went so well. He truly hoped that they worked things out.
Eden sat on the couch reading a case file when she heard the door. She promised herself that she wouldn’t get excited until she saw that it was truly Miles.
“Eden.”
She couldn’t contain her smile. “In the living room.”
Miles walked in and immediately dropped to his knees next to her and hugged her.
“I’m sorry I left.”
“Don’t apologize, it’s my fault.”
“I missed you so much.”
“We missed you too.”
Miles pulled back so that he could see Eden.
“Eden, I need you to look into my eyes and swear that there aren’t any more secrets.”
Eden stared into Miles’ beautiful eyes. “I promise you and I swear on our baby that there aren’t any more secrets now nor will I ever keep a secret from you again.”
“Will you take me to where he is buried?”
Eden wasn’t expecting Miles to ask her that. She hadn’t been there for a while. In the beginning she practically lived at the cemetery but then it got to be less and less and as time passed she found herself only visiting on his birthday and Mother’s Day.
“Ok.”
“I need to grieve and I think that visiting him will help me.”
“I understand. We can go today.”
“Are you feeling well enough?”
“I’m fine.”
“I need to tell you something and I don’t want you to be upset.”
Eden stared at Miles. “Telling me not to get upset makes me upset.”
“Don’t be. I just wanted to be the one to tell you before someone else does and it gets misconstrued.”
“Alright, then tell me.”
“I stayed at Faith’s house last night. Nothing happened. We only talked, I swear.”
“Oh, is that it?”
“Yes, but Alex called and she flipped out on me. I was afraid that you might do the same.”
“I know Faith is your friend and I trust you, Miles.”
“She helped me a lot. She got me to understand how you must have been feeling.”
“Women understand women better most of the time.”
“I needed someone to talk to and aside from Miguel, who wouldn’t have been a good choice, Faith was the only other person I knew I could trust.”
“That’s fine. Don’t ever feel that you have to justify your friendship with her. I’m happy you have someone else besides my jackass of a brother.”
“Jackass huh?”
“Miguel is just such a hot head.”
“Are you referring to him finding Ryan here this morning?”
“I was going to tell you he was here, I swear, I was.”
“It’s fine.”
“Yes, Miguel was a raving lunatic.”
“Is everything ok now?”
“Yes, it is now but only because he brought me jelly donuts and cooked me breakfast.” Eden giggled.
Miles looked at her smile and fell in love with her all over again.
“I know I have some feelings to sort through but no matter what, I love you, Baby.”
Miles kissed Eden.
MILES PULLED INTO THE cemetery and then drove up the hill to where his son was laid to rest. When he parked the car he suddenly didn’t know if he was ready to get out and face the reality of it all.
Eden looked over at the grave and then back at Miles who looked sick.
“Miles, we don’t have to do this right now.”
“I, I thought I could but now that I’m here…I don’t know if I can.”
Eden unbuckled her seatbelt and wiggled a little closer to Miles and held his hand.
“We can come back another day or we can sit here for a while and then see how you feel.”
“At first I was shocked, devastated, angry and then as the hours passed it really is sinking in that I lost a child.” Miles stared out the window towards where Eden had pointed when they parked. He had tears rolling down his cheeks.
Eden’s heart broke for him and she too now had tears.
“It gets a little easier each time.”
“The thought of you having to do this all alone. It kills me.”
“I survived. We survived and now we have Cruz. I know everything is going to be alright.”
Miles took a deep breath.
“Let’s do this.”
Eden opened her car door and got out. Miles walked around the car and took her hand. He had a small blue teddy bear in his other hand. Eden led him over to their baby’s grave.
“Drake, this is your Daddy. Remember all the wonderful things I told you about him.”
Miles looked down at the headstone. It was dark blue marble and it had teddy bears etched on each side with the name Drake Dawson on it. He knelt down and placed the teddy bear against the headstone and quietly said a prayer before standing back up and wrapping his arms around Eden.
“Drake, I’m sorry that this is the first time I’ve been here to visit you but from now on when your Momma comes, I will be with her.”
Cruz started to kick and the sun peeked out from the clouds and a ray of sunlight glared onto the headstone. Eden smiled. Miles looked down at her as he wiped the stream of never ending tears from his face.
“I think he heard us.”
Eden nodded. “I think he did too.”
Miles hugged Eden and he could feel Cruz’s little feet kicking. As sad as he felt right now at this very moment he couldn’t help but smile that he would be able to hold Cruz in his arms in just a few short months.
Ryan walked into the conference room and found Faith and Zac inside kissing. Zac immediately pulled away from Faith.
“I’m sorry, we were just saying goodbye.”
Ryan shrugged. “Whatever. I just came in to set up for my meeting.”
“Alex was looking for you. Have you spoken to her?”
Ryan looked up at Faith. “Yup.”
“Where were you? She was worried sick.”
“I was with Eden if you must know.”
“Eden? I don’t think that was such a good idea.”
“No, but it was a good idea for you to allow Miles to spend the night?”
Zac looked at Faith. “Miles spent the night with you?”
“He did.”
“I see.”
“Zac, no, you don’t see. Miles and I are just friends and he needed someone to talk to. Nothing happened.”
“I wish you would have trusted me enough to have told me.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
Ryan smirked. It kind of felt good to listen to Faith squirm.
“Fine, but don’t let there be a next time.” Zac walked out.
“You just had to tell him, didn’t you? Fuck you, Ryan.”
Ryan stepped in front of Faith. She was sexy as hell but when she got mad she was even sexier.
“Bend over bitch!”
Faith just looked at Ryan as a fleeting thought of her doing just that raced through her mind. Then reality hit her and she in turn slapped Ryan across the face. He grabbed her wrist and leaned his lips so close to hers that she could feel his breath.
“Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.”
Faith wanted to push Ryan down and take it…all of it but instead she pulled her wrist away and walked out without another word.
Ryan continued to set up for his meeting.
Alex walked into Miguel’s office exp
ecting him to be there but he wasn’t. As she turned to leave she heard a noise from behind her. She quickly spun around and saw Miguel walking out from behind what looked like a bookcase.
“Alex, hey, I didn’t know that you were here.”
“Apparently not or you wouldn’t have walked out of a bookcase!”
“I can explain.”
“Explain.”
“I have a small secret room.”
“And this would be for?”
“Private transactions.”
“Private like for your Agency?”
Miguel closed his eyes and nodded his head. “Yes.”
Alex turned and started to walk away. Miguel followed her and wrapped his arms around her.
“You promised.”
“I know and I’m not going on any missions. I just…well, Dane needed me to help out with a situation.”
“So that’s where Dane is?”
“Alex…”
“Forget it.”
“No, I won’t forget it. I promised you that I wouldn’t go on any more missions and I won’t.”
“But you won’t promise to completely stay away from anything having to do with the Agency?”
“I’d rather not but if you are forcing me to choose between that and you then I choose you.”
“I guess as long as you’re not leaving for any missions I can handle you still being involved.”
“Thank you.”
“I think it’s a fair compromise.”
“How did I ever get so lucky?”
“I haven’t a clue.” Alex giggled.
Miles brought Eden back home and tucked her into bed. He thought she had fallen asleep but when he rolled over to climb out of the bed Eden grabbed his arm.
“Can we cuddle?”
“I thought you were asleep.”
Miles rolled back over and pulled Eden into his arms. Then he kissed her on the top of her head.
“You’re so quiet.”
“It’s been a long few days.”
“I know and I’m sorry.”
“Eden, please stop apologizing. I know how sorry you are.”
“I keep hoping that after Cruz is born that I’ll be able to heal. I don’t ever want to forget his little face but the hole he left in my heart…”
“What did he look like?”
Secrets & Lies Page 12
