Chapter Twenty-Nine

London sighs as she wiggles against my leg in an attempt to get comfortable. She snuggles into her pink blanket and returns her attention to the television. I run my fingers through her blonde hair and smile. It always amazes me at how fast she's growing. When she's married with her own children, I'll always remember her blue eyes peering out of the bundle of pink blankets.

The front door opens and we peer over the couch. Tori and Blake wander down the hallway with half forced smiles. He places his hands on my shoulders and kisses my head. London jumps up and grabs the back of the couch.

Blake whisks her in the air and kisses her rosy cheeks. London wraps her arms around his neck and nuzzles in. She peers over his shoulder and giggles at something Blake whispers.

"Do you want to see Grandma and Grandad today?" Tori grins.

London clings to Blake's grey shirt, then abruptly nods.

"Can my unicorns come as well?"

"Of course they can!"

Blake passes London to Tori and wanders down the hallway. Tori brushes Lo's curly hair behind her ear and kisses her nose.

"I've missed you so much!" Tori presses her forehead against Lo's.

"I always miss you, Mummy."

Blake appears with the overstuffed backpack and Tori swings it over her shoulder.

"We're going to my parent's first, then to the park near Ava's parent's place."

"Aw, that sounds nice!" I tug on a smile.

"I'm hoping it'll be! My parents can't wait to see her. They've been nagging me for ages about seeing London again."

"Make sure they have our numbers because they can always come here and see London. You can all come here whenever you want."

The smile brightens on Tori's face.

"Thanks, Ava."

I push myself up and follow them outside. I boop the end of London's nose with my finger which makes her giggle.

"Have a good afternoon, Lo. Make sure you wear your hat because it's warm today."

London cheekily grins and Blake sighs.

"Be good for your grandparents!" He warns.

Tori walks to her car while I lean against Blake for support. Blake stumbles back and I sigh - I forget how heavy I'm getting. Welp, how heavy she's getting.

I peer up to Blake and nibble on my lower lip.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Blake shrugs his shoulders. "I think it'll be good for them."

As Tori reverses, we wave goodbye. I tug on my brightest smile until the car disappears around the corner. My stomach churns and worry consumes me.

"I just, hm, I don't know." I shake my head. "It doesn't matter who she's with, I'll always worry about London."

"Take a deep breathe because everything will be okay." He rubs my lower back, but that doesn't soothe the nerves causing havoc in my stomach.

He takes my hand and leads me inside. Cool air brushes past my face as we wander into the family area. Blake veers into the kitchen while I take a seat at the dining table.

Blake flips the kettle on and I smile.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please."

"I mean a cuppa."

"Yeah, I'll have one of those too." I laugh.

Blake leans against the bench and sighs.

"It was something." He frowns.

"What happened?"

"Tori kept talking about high school, like back to when we first started dating. She kept noting how happy we were - our favourite things to do. My stomach was churning the whole time. It was horrible, Ava." He shakes his head.

"Oh." I sigh.

"Why would she dwell on that?" Blake slides his fingers through his hair. "Obviously we weren't happy or amazing together because she cheated on me. She chose to sleep with someone while she was committed to me. I just, I don't know, it doesn't make any sense."

I move to the bench and place my hands on tip of his. He laces his fingers through mine and squeezes them.

"Have you ever asked why she cheated?"

"No, because I'm scared of the answer being me. What if I bore you?"

I squeeze his hands and laugh.

"Don't you dare say that, Blake! It has nothing to do with you, it's all on her and what she was feeling. And for the record, I could never get bored with you."

"Okay." He nods.

"I think she's dwelling on that because her life hadn't exploded. She wasn't cheating on you, she wasn't pregnant and Logan was alive."

"That's true." He sighs.

"Will you go back to therapy with her?"

"Hell no." He shakes his head.

"Do you think she'll go back?"

"She doesn't have a choice, remember?"

"Least she's participating in it," I say.

Blake kisses the back of my hand and sighs.

"I wish her the best of luck with it, but it's certainly not for me. I have a daughter and a pregnant wife to take care of. I want to spend my weekend preparing the nursery or spending my time with you two. I know it's selfish, but I'm doing this for me, for our family."

I cup his face and draw him in for a kiss. His hands grip mine and butterflies erupt in my stomach. It's a nice difference to the chaos that was bubbling before.

"That sounds perfect," I mumble against his lips.

Our fingers slide apart as he moves back. He grabs cups from the cupboards and makes our drinks. Blake slides the cup across the bench and smiles.

He takes his drink and wanders to the couch. As he settles into the cushions, Blake turns around and frowns.

"We're child free and we're talking about Tori," he grumbles. "We should be napping or watching a movie that won't be interrupted with twenty questions before the opening credits have finished."

I take a sip and nod.

"You're right about that."

"What do you want to do?"

"Both." I grin.

Blake pats the couch and I wander over. I place my cup on the coffee table and settle on the couch. I snuggle into his side and Blake places his hand on my bump.

We pick the first movie suggested on Netflix and Blake falls asleep in the opening credits. His warm body and the soft snores make a nice background noise to my afternoon.

Fifteen chapters to go! I'm so ready to write, but my body's like have some gastro, a cold, and now a flipping eye infection. Childcare sucks! If I don't die, there's another chapter coming soon!