Page 16 of Forever His (The Donovans: Secret Son #6)

Tia

Later that day…

“Boys, keep it down, Jordan is taking a nap,” Tia told Josiah and Trevor as they played with trucks and planes and whatever other toy Camille had in the playroom at her house.

“Girl, I don’t even know why you’re saying that,” Camille told her as she set a cup of tea in front of Tia. “You know those boys aren’t about to be quiet. But Jordan is fine, he can sleep through anything, bless his heart.”

Yes, Tia thought as she sat at the table on the deck just outside the playroom, bless little Jordan’s heart.

At least once a month Tia made the trip to Vegas so that Trevor could visit with his cousins and grandparents.

They’d just been here last weekend, but that had been an impromptu trip to see Trent’s parents.

Today was the regularly scheduled play date with and added sleepover since it was Saturday, and while Tia had considered rescheduling because the family was so tense about Bailey being missing, she decided it was better to keep consistency in the children’s lives.

After all, none of this was their fault, so why should they be punished for the mistakes adults made.

They’d taken the jet, Tia, Trevor and Apollo.

Once they landed Apollo had reserved a car for them and he drove to Camille and Adam’s house.

At this moment Apollo was in the front of the house with Camille’s guard, Hector.

There was another guard whose name Tia didn’t know walking along the line of the gate in Camille’s backyard.

Try as they might for normalcy, the situation this family was dealing with was clearly precarious.

Still Tia had sat in a rocking chair in Jordan’s nursery for the last twenty minutes, holding the seventeen month old baby until he fell asleep.

She’d rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, rubbing holding him tightly in her arms, rubbing her chin over the soft curls of his hair, inhaling that sweet and intoxicating baby scent, and wanting.

With everything in her she wanted this again.

Another baby with her husband and her life would be complete.

Jordan had been asleep for a good while before Tia finally decided she needed to put the baby down and get back to the others.

Coming down the long hallway to where the playroom was, Tia had listened to Josiah and Trevor playing.

“You can’t land there, the airport’s over here,” Josiah had told Trevor.

“I can land anywhere I want, I’m a Donovan,” her little boy had responded.

She’d walked into the room then and Camille, who had been sitting out on the deck came inside offering to make them some tea.

Now, Tia and Camille were sitting in the cushioned chairs, a glass toped table between them as they looked out to the beautifully landscaped yard on Camille and Adam’s property.

“It’s lovely out here,” Tia said as she sipped from her tea and then returned the cup to the table.

“It is,” Camille agreed. “I love sitting out here. Now that I don’t have to be in the L.A. office all the time, I get to spend more time just enjoying the scenery and the boys of course.”

“Dana’s doing a great job. Your fashion house has come a long way,” Tia complimented her.

Camille smiled. “Thanks, Tia. It was a dream and I’m so pleased at how it’s turned out.

With the L.A. office, the shows on DNT and now the new shop in Milan, things have been very busy.

But like you said, Dana is wonderful. She manages the L.A.

office and handles hiring experienced staff for Milan with her eyes shut.

I can design from anywhere, but still need to travel to oversee production for the runway shows and the manufacturers.

I’m still busy, but trying to delegate a little more since I had Jordan. ”

“Ah, the life of a career mom,” Tia quipped. “I was thinking that it would be nice not to travel so much. I won’t be doing runway shows much longer, so I could stay at home with the…I mean, Trevor.”

“That’s why you wanted to start the lingerie line,” Camille stated.

“Yeah. I’ve always liked pretty lingerie. I modeled it almost exclusively for the first three years of my adult career. The ideas for new designs just pop into my mind and I write it all down because I can’t draw to save my life.”

Camille chuckled. “Don’t I know it, that’s why after that first design you slipped me at the Valentine’s Day dinner we had at Linc and Jade’s, I decided to just meet with you and talk about your thoughts.”

Tia laughed as well. “We work well that way, you and I. The ideas pop into my head and I can just tell them to you and you draw it up and work out all the fancy materials. Then the beautiful finished project appears. A match made in heaven,” she joked.

“I agree. And I’m grateful, heaven knows there aren’t that many out there anymore.”

“There aren’t that many matches made in heaven, or designers that can’t draw?” Tia asked with a grin.

Camille looked at her seriously. “Do you think they’ll get a divorce?”

After sitting with Jordan Tia had felt a bit melancholy. Seeing Josiah and Trevor together had brought a smile to her face. Talking about work made her laugh. Hearing the word divorce and knowing that Camille was speaking of their in-laws, had sadness surfacing once more.

“Beverly doesn’t sound like she’s going anywhere,” Tia told Camille. “When I talked to her she said she still loved her husband.”

Shaking her head Camille took a drink from her cup.

It was good tea, Tia thought, from Teavana she knew because Camille loved tea and there were always different flavors brewing in her office.

This one tasted citrusy and fruity and should have evoked happiness or at the very least pleasant thoughts.

Unfortunately, for them, things just weren’t working out that way.

“I don’t know what I would do if I were her,” Camille stated as she held the cup in both hands.

Tia sighed lightly. “I keep thinking about Jocelyn. Trent said she was furious when they found out that Bernard was Dane’s father.”

“Dane,” Camille said. “The newest Donovan. Yes, Jocelyn has it the worst I guess. I mean, she married Bernard and had to accept Keysa as her step-daughter. She also had to deal with Mary Lee’s craziness where visitation was concerned with Keysa in the beginning.

Now, she has to figure out how to deal with another child.

A grown man that Bernard knew was out there and knew could possibly be his son. Adam thinks she may leave him.”

Tia sipped her tea again. “That’s gotta be tough so I see leaving as a possibility. And poor Al, Brandon told Trent he’s keeping a close eye on his father. After the heart attack and the paternity test his father was still weak, but when they found out that Bailey was missing, he almost lost it.”

“I know. That morning when Sam called Adam to let him know that they hadn’t seen or heard from Bailey was the worst.”

“This entire situation is horrible,” Tia said. “It’s no wonder Trent doesn’t want to have another baby right now.”

Camille didn’t seem shocked at all as she continued, “So he’s adamant about not wanting another baby?”

Tia figured Dana had told Camille about what was going on.

She couldn’t really blame Dana since Tia hadn’t asked the woman to keep what she’d told her a secret.

Truth be told, if Tia had her choice of who to talk about this situation it would have been Camille.

It just so happened that Dana had been there at the moment.

“I wouldn’t say adamant, but he’s worried about it.”

“I’m sure he’s also worried about your health. Carrying a baby while you have uterine fibroids can be a tricky situation.”

“I know,” Tia said. “I’ve thought about all that.

But the desire is much stronger than the risk.

I want another child before the choice is taken completely away from me.

If the doctors didn’t think it could work and I’d have a healthy baby and come out safely—albeit with the possibility of having a complete hysterectomy in the end—then I wouldn’t even consider it.

Trent and Trevor are my life. They’re everything true and wonderful to me.

There’s no way I would ever jeopardize that. ”

“Then I agree with what Dana told you, just give Trent a little bit of time. You know this family thing was a drastic change from where he thought his life would be.”

“Yes, I know. And I’m trying to be patient. I think if we could just get Bailey home safely and put Roslyn in jail once and for all, he could breathe a lot easier.”

Camille lifted her tea cup for a mock toast. “We’d all breathe a lot easier if Roslyn was in jail.”

The two were agreeing with that thought when Trevor came out onto the deck dragging Tia’s purse behind him.

“Your phone’s making noise,” he told her as if the noise was somehow alarming to him. Tia figured it was most likely that the noise was interrupting his play time.

She smiled as she took her purse from him. “Thank you, Trevor.”

Camille laughed as Trevor walked back into the house.

“He looks more and more like Trent every day. And you know he’s going to act just like his daddy,” Camille said.

Tia was digging inside her purse looking for her phone when she recalled the way Trevor had said “I’m a Donovan” just a short while ago. He had sounded so much like his father.

She pulled out her phone and turned on the screen.

“Oh, I forgot I put my phone on vibrate when Trevor and I stopped at the library to return some books before coming here,” she said. “Trent’s been calling.”

“Then hurry up and call him back before he puts an APB out on you,” Camille said with another chuckle. “I’ll go see what the boys want for dinner.”

Tia was dialing Trent’s number as she thought of possibly planning a romantic rendezvous for them tonight. Since Trevor was going to stay here with Camille they’d have the house to themselves. Trent didn’t answer so Tia sent him a text.