Page 142 of The Promise Of You

“I’m gonna need some baby stuff,” the grating voice blurts.

I don’t remember her voice being that unpleasant. I wasn’t paying attention to her voice, I suppose. I must have had other parts of her anatomy in mind. I wish I’d never lain eyes on her. Too late for that now.

I wasn’t careful. I made a mistake. Now I need to fix it.

At least this is a mistake I can do something about. No one is dying.

This woman needs me.

I’ll be there for her, all the way. No matter how I feel about her.

Because the truth is, I feel almost grateful that this is a mistake I can actually do something about.

I can prove I’m worthy.

“Jusssstin!” Nails on a chalkboard.

“Yeah, I heard ya. And I told ya, we’ll go when we go see the shrink. Same strip mall.”

We’re driving back from the testing center in Burlington. She slept all the way down—thank god for that—but now she’s fully awake.

“I just wished you’d stop saying shrink. It’s a therapist. Don’t be crass. I don’t want our kid having bad manners.”

I sort of thought, and probably this was wishful thinking, that she’d bail out on the paternity testing at the last moment. But she didn’t. Not at all. She’s pretty sure of herself.

I guess she knows.

And this means I need to get used to the idea of her being in my life for… a while. This must be god’s punishment.

The child? I can’t even imagine what that’s going to be like. After we get the paternity test result, it’ll be time for me to have a beer with Christopher. He had to raise Skye all on his own from the beginning. He’ll know what I need to do.

Gisele started wanting to lay the groundwork for our co-parenting right when we left Burlington. Maybe it was because Chloe’s wasn’t here, and she feels more in control. Maybe it’s just because she had me captive for an hour. Anyway, we’re quickly realizing we don’t agree on anything, and we’ll need a third party to play referee. Enter the idea of a family therapist—the only thing we agree upon.

I do learn that Gisele’s been kicked out from her parents’ basement apartment—which she rented from them—for being pregnant. Apparently they’re religious, and she didn’t get the memo. Which means her bravado about not needing a place to stay was just that—bravado. According to her, Ms. Angela gave her a good deal on a bedroom at the bed-and-breakfast, so that’s taken care of. She doesn’t have a car, her job was next to her parents’ home, which means she lost her job. But with the leaf-peeping season starting, she should be able to find work.

I hope.

“Is she looking for daycare around here?” Chloe asks me as we’re having a beer on her porch before dinner. “I hear it’s hard to find a spot.”

I pull my phone out. “Texting mom to see if she has an idea.”

Chloe settles next to me on the porch swing, her lithe, subtle body molding perfectly against mine. I lift her so she’s sitting on me. We leave the lights out so the mosquitos don’t get to us and so Chloe can watch the stars and the moon. Since we spent the night in my truck, she’s all about that.

“I just wanna talk about something else,” I say in her hair. My hand takes on a life of its own and trails under her dress, up her naked thighs. “How’d it go yesterday and today?”

“Your parents had dinner at the restaurant last night,” she says with a huge smile. “They’re so sweet.”

It warms me that she fits so well with my folks already, but it doesn’t surprise me. She’s mine and they know it. They love her like one of ours, and rightfully so. My dick gets hard at the idea of spending my life with her, something I’d never thought was ever in the cards for me. Ethan coming back and the two of us talking things out put some things back in place, and the rest will sort itself out over time.

I mean, look who’s sitting in my lap. Sullivan’s own daughter, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

That’s because she’s not Sullivan’s daughter to me.

She’s my Clover.

“How did the meeting for the renovations go?” I ask her, breathing her hair.

“Mmm…” she purrs, “it’s gonna look awesome. Alex is planning a ribbon-cutting already. We’ll have press and stuff.”

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