Page 75 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

He smiled. It made my heart flip. I couldn’t wait to start my life with him.

* * *

“Oh, Cecelia, where have you been? Marcy is all kinds of bitchy that you’re late,” Brittany, the receptionist, said as I walked in.

“Well, she can be as cranky and pissed off as she wants. I don’t care.” I put the keys to the apartment on the counter in front of her desk. “She’s not a threat to me.”

Brittany snorted. “She’s going to get you fired for this.”

I shook my head. “She can't fire me. I don’t work here anymore. Can I borrow that pen?”

She slapped the pen on the tall counter that surrounded her desk. I grabbed one of the cheap pads of paper that were sitting there as a free gift to visitors. I scribbled down Sterling’s address, my address. And then I wrote, I Quit across the bottom and handed her the entire pad.

“Have HR send my last paycheck to this address.” I turned and walked out.

39

STERLING

My nerves were on edge, and I wasn’t the one walking into that office to quit. I leaned against the SUV, door open so that I could hear Georgie and peek in if she complained and needed to see me. I knew how she felt. I wanted Cecelia to walk back out and be done with this already.

I was too old to be excited like a little kid, but I was. I was eager for us to finally be together the way we were meant to be. Husband, wife, child, a family.

She pushed out from the double glass doors that hid me from view, and she swayed her hips like she was feeling good, on top of the world. I swept her into my arms. Her smile was infectious, and it was hard to kiss while I was smiling like a fool.

“I’ve been thinking,” I started.

“That’s good, your brain works. I think mine’s been in some numb holding pattern for so long, I don’t know if I can think.”

She was feeling good, sassing off and making jokes.

“Damn, I have missed you,” I confessed.

“I missed you so much, but now, I don’t have to worry about that stupid job.”

“Good, that’s one conflict of interest we no longer have to deal with,” I said.

“What do you mean, that’s one? There are more? I mean, my working there and seeing you, yeah, definitely, but…?”

“I did tell you my lawyer is suing to get their records and to release the information they have regarding Georgie’s biological father.” I looked over at her as I started the car up and began navigating out of the parking lot.

“You might have. We’ve said a lot of words in the past twelve hours, and I have to admit I’m pretty much stuck on two things.” She let out a nervous giggle.

“Only two?”

“You love me,” she said. Her smile lit up my entire world.

“I do. I do love you, Cecelia.”

“And—hey, where are you going? We have to go back and get my car!” She braced her hands against the door and the dash as if I needed to slam on the brakes.

I let out a heavy breath. It slipped my mind. I had her with me, where she belonged. I was headed home. “Is there anything you really need in it right now?”

“Yeah, it’s my car. I’m going to need it.”

I shook my head. “No, you won’t. You can use the car service. Or you can borrow my car.”

“Sterling!”

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