Page 101 of Puck Me, Baby

I’m sending you some papers care of Cara. I didn’t know how else to get in contact with you. Please read them.

I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but one day I hope we might be able to talk like we used to.

David

On the spur of the moment, I video called him.

“Carina?” he answered with a smile. “You look wonderful.”

“Thanks, David.” I smiled and my mind blanked out.

David shifted, and his smile turned strained.

As the silence between us stretched out for a moment too long, I huffed out a laugh. “Well, this is awkward.”

He chuckled, and it seemed to break the tension. “It is,” he agreed with a much more natural smile. “I guess you read my email?” he asked hesitantly.

“I did.” I nodded. “Look, I don’t want to fight. You hurt me,” I said and shrugged. “But I don’t want to linger on that. I want to live and be happy.”

He paused for a moment, and I let him gather his thoughts. “Are you? Happy?” he asked. “Because I really want that for you.”

“I am.” I grinned, and heat stole over my cheeks. “You’ve probably heard that I kind of unexpectedly got married again, and I’m pregnant.”

A slow smile split his lips. “I did hear. Carina, it’s wonderful news. I’m so thrilled for you.”

“Yeah. I’m happy. Jacques makes me happy,” I said with another smile and tilted the camera down so he could see Zeus half lying on me. “This is our pup, Zeus.”

“Wow, you really are pregnant,” he murmured, awe in his voice.

I giggled and agreed, “I am. Six months. That was unexpected, too, and happened very quickly, but we’re thrilled.”

“Are Sophia and Pierre excited about the baby?” he asked.

“No, not really.” I answered, and he winced in sympathy, his eyes crinkling and his lips turning down.

“I’m sorry. It must be rough.”

I nodded and his eyes held a faraway look for a moment. I wondered if he was remembering when I was pregnant with Cara.

“Give Jacques my best.”

“What about you, David? Are you happy?”

He chewed on his lip, and I recognized his tell. He was choosing his words carefully. “I’m getting there. I broke it off with Danielle. I took a good, hard look at myself and realized just how toxic my behavior was. I wanted to be the kind of man my daughter could be proud of, you know? I wasn’t that anymore. But I’m working on myself, trying to become that man again. I needed to be single to do that.”

“Oh,” I answered, at a loss for words. He was right, of course; his behaviorwastoxic. I just hadn’t expected him to admit it or be trying to change.

“That’s what the paperwork I’ve sent to Cara is about,” he explained.

“What is it?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Property settlement information. It was wrong to stick with the prenup when I strayed. I’ve sold all the properties and instructed the solicitor to send the money to you.”

I blinked, and my mouth popped open in shock. He held his hand up to stop me from speaking, but I had no words. I was utterly gobsmacked.

“They need you to send the authorization back to them to direct where to send the money. It’s still an uneven split, but it’s everything I can liquidate without selling a percentage of the business. Finding a buyer for less than a controlling share is difficult.”

“Don’t sell the business,” I ordered. “That’s your baby. I don’t want you to lose it, or even a share of it,” I explained, my words tumbling out of my mouth now. I was going on instinct, not even thinking about what I was saying. But I knew it was the right thing to do. “David, this is more than I ever expected. Thank you.”