Page 44 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

He shook his head.

“You actually helped me. You made sure I knew how to care for Georgie. Now, the priority seems to have shifted. No one cares whether I know how to care for Georgie. No one cares that I want to keep her.”

I snapped my head up. “What?”

He was smiling. He held Georgie in his lap. They looked like they belonged together. The family resemblance was strong. If he adopted her, no one would ever doubt she was his daughter.

“Yeah, I’ve already decided. I’m keeping her.”

“But what about her bio-father?” I asked.

Sterling was quiet for a moment. He let out his breath and began adjusting Georgie’s clothing. He didn’t look up. “My sister, Argene, was a hot mess. I loved her dearly, but… when I learned of her passing and how she died, I wasn’t surprised. Saddened. It still makes me sad. She was a magical girl. She was able to reject how we were raised. She was a fairy child, if they were real. She did not want to be bogged down by the appropriate societal expectations my parents raised us with. Argene escaped to see the world. And to party. She chased musical festivals and raves. She followed party DJs across the Mediterranean. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of them was Georgie’s father. But…” He shrugged.

“I loved Argene, but I seriously doubt she had a clue who Georgie’s father really was. Your agency is never going to be able to locate him. And if they do, I am prepared to make it worth his financial while to sign over custody.”

“You really are going to fight for Georgie?” I asked.

“I fight when it’s important. Georgie is important.” His gaze locked with mine.

I felt the intensity of his conviction in my entire body. It was a thrum of energy, intense and magnetic. It pulled me to him. I rolled up onto my knees and leaned into him. It was my turn to kiss him.

He cupped the back of my neck and held me to him as our lips slid together, our tongues danced. The kiss felt full of righteous conviction. This kiss felt like he was telling me he wanted to keep me.

I was breathless when the kiss ended. Sterling still held me to him.

“We can’t… I can’t. Sterling, you shouldn’t even be here,” I whispered.

Burning started behind my eyes, and my sinuses stopped up. Damn it, I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want him to see how weak I was. I needed to have the same conviction he did. I eased away from him and onto my feet. I wiped at the tears that fell without my permission.

“If they find out you’re here, it’s my job. I can’t lose my job. I think they somehow found out about us, and that’s why they moved me.”

“How?” His voice was low, almost a growl. “How would they know about us?”

I shrugged and paced in a circle. “I wanted to call you so badly. My boss actually took my phone and erased your number from it. She didn’t trust me to do that myself. I went over all the training materials they gave me. And nowhere, nowhere in that information does it say that going to the zoo with you and Georgie was against protocol. It actually said observed outings are encouraged. It said I should make sure you know what you’re doing in different scenarios.”

“Well, the only scenario they are interested in right now is setting us up with a nanny,” Sterling said flatly.

“I mean, a nanny is a good idea. At some point, you are going to have to go back to work, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, my leave of absence will end, and I will need care for Georgie. But I’ve got weeks yet for that. But this Peggy Stanholt is pushing the nanny agenda.”

I spun around and stared at him. “Peggy? You got Peggy?” I closed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“You know her?”

I nodded. “I’m pretty sure she’s the one who tattled on me about the zoo trip. I had done nothing wrong. She must have said something. Crap.” Panic welled up inside. “You need to leave. Sterling, you and Georgie can’t be here.”

“Cecelia,” he started.

“No, Sterling, I don’t want to get into trouble. And I don’t want to give them any excuse to take Georgie away from you.”

“They can’t take Georgie,” he said calmly and firmly.

I wasn’t calm, and I felt wobbly, not firm, in my conviction. I was scared and confused. I didn’t want to lose my job, but more importantly, I didn’t want Sterling to lose Georgie.

“You don’t have custody of her yet. You need to go, and you shouldn’t come back. Don’t come back.”

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