Page 48 of Secret Baby for Dr. Grump

“Maybe another time, Riley, since we’re already getting cupcakes today after dinner. By the way, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Can you call me Dad? If it’s just me, you, and your mom around?”

I watch surprise flare in Olivia’s eyes before she softens completely at Riley’s nod.

“Okay, Dad. Dad, can we get the ice cream next week?”

Now I’m biting back a laugh. “Sure, sweetie. But don’t you think you should try other flavors, too?”

At that, she pulls away from my hug and gives me a stubborn look. “No, Dad. It beats chocolate by a mile.”

“Who taught you that by-a-mile thing?”

“Cheska! She’s my friend from school and learned some cool words from her brother.”

“And how old is her brother?”

“I don’t know.” She wrinkles her nose. “But he has a girlfriend and always talks about her. Cheska says it’s gross.”

“That’s…” Amazing. Wonderful, because this girl can tell me anything and I’ll be a happy camper just listening. “Great.”

“Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you stay in our life forever?”

I’m taken aback at the last one, unsure how we switched from talking about Cheska to her asking me this. But her solemn green eyes are on mine, expecting an answer. When I look at Olivia, she’s no longer amused but watching us carefully.

My instinct is to say yes. But my instinct also tells me that saying that will only disrupt the bridge that Olivia and I are slowly building. No matter how precarious that bridge is, I want to keep building it until we reach the pinnacle of what this relationship is all about.

Whether it’s just attraction or something else, I don’t know. I have a hard time telling, although it’s definitely becoming harder to resist her. All I know is that I want to keep exploring it while she lets me because I know there will come a time when she won’t let me anymore.

It sends a pang in my chest. But I focus on the now.

“I’ll stay in your life forever, Riley. That’s a promise.”

I don’t emphasize the your, but I say it as sincerely as I can. Riley seems satisfied with it, hugging me again before she tugs me to my feet and impatiently tells us that we’re getting late for dinner. I glance at Olivia again.

But she doesn’t look at me anymore.

Chapter 15

Olivia

“Hey, Liv! I’m glad you could make it!”

I grin at Wanda, who’s already with Maria and Jasper when I find her. The three make a beeline toward me, giving me hugs before they take in what I’m wearing. A round of oohs and aahs come, and my cheeks heat up.

“Come on, guys. I just got this from a thrift shop. And it’s basic black.”

The event was announced long ago: a small charity party with the doctors, the staff, and some of the hospital’s major sponsors in attendance, held at the largest conference room. It didn’t sink into my mind that it would be a semi-formal event or that it would fall on my day off until yesterday, but the black dress that has always been in my closet is a lifesaver.

Medical assistants are not obligated to go, but the director wants us to. Nurses don’t have to, but Maria and Jasper are free and said they wouldn’t miss getting all glamoured up for the world.

Maria rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “Sweetheart, if I looked like that in black, I would wear it every single day for the rest of my life. And oh, my God, are you not wearing underwear?”

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