Page 77 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

From what I could see in my peripheral vision, she looked like she was pouting. “I didn’t say prostitute, I said escort. Big difference. You are witty, and men want someone they can take out in public who can hold up a conversation.”

“They want someone they can show off, a model. They don’t want someone built like me,” she complained.

“I want someone built like you. I want you. Men want someone who looks good and can turn heads. You do that. You have beautiful hair, and your smile lights up the world. And you dress up beautifully. I’m not talking about the kinds of clothes you wear to work, but that dress you wore the last time I took you out.” I reached over and skimmed a knuckle over the top swells of her breasts, grazing her softness through her shirt. “These were exceptional. Trust me, you have all the right elements. And I know when I take you out and show you off, other men will be envious of what I have.”

“You really think that?”

I nodded. “Definitely. I am a very lucky man.”

“I’m the lucky one,” she said.

She relaxed and shifted in her seat. She turned ever so slightly so she could look at me. “Do you really want to marry me?” she asked.

“Definitely.”

“And you didn’t just ask because I’m pregnant?”

I gripped the steering wheel a bit harder before pulling the car off to the side of the road. The car bumped over the detritus on the side of the road, and the front tire left the pavement before we came to a complete stop. I put the car in park and turned to look at her. I picked up her hands and held them to my chest, to my heart.

“I apparently hadn’t made myself clear earlier when I said that Georgie needed a mother. That was me saying I wanted to marry you. I should have proposed more properly, with a ring, and not on the side of the road.”

“I think your proposal was wonderful. I just didn’t want you to think?—”

I put a finger to her lips to stop the worrisome thought. “Shh, I love you. That’s all that matters.” I replaced my finger with my lips. “Let’s go home.”

40

CECELIA

Six hours stuck in a car with Sterling didn’t feel like much time at all. We flirted and talked about nothing. It was wonderful.

“I want you to move in right away,” Sterling said.

“Okay. My apartment is pretty small, but I still have furniture and stuff to move.”

“Do you really need your furniture?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Yes, I need a place to sit down and a table to eat at and do my craft projects,” I pointed out.

“I have couches and tables, and my bed is infinitely bigger and more comfortable than yours,” he pointed out. “Keeping that in mind, what do you need to keep? Anything sentimental or given to you by your parents?”

“I don’t have parents,” I blurted out.

“Everyone has parents.” Sterling chuckled.

“Georgie doesn’t,” I pointed out.

“She does. She has us. We’re her parents. We will be her parents.”

I blinked back tears. I loved that so much. I let out a long, slow breath through pursed lips. “Well, she’s lucky. I wasn’t. I was Georgie. My bio-mom had me young, no clue who my bio-father was. At some point, she took off and left me with a cousin.”

“A cousin?” Sterling asked.

“Technically, my grandmother’s cousin, so kind of like an aunt, I guess. Anyway, my extended family had me, and they resented being saddled with me. They made sure I knew I was a burden every day of my life. I walked out the door and never looked back the day after high school graduation. It’s why I pushed you so hard at first. It’s why I even suggested that it would be better to give her up if you couldn’t be bothered to really take care of her.”

I wiped my face and looked out the side window at the low scrub and dirt rolling past.

Sterling put his hand on my leg. “I didn’t know.”

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