Page 86 of Secret Baby for Dr. Grump

He was so hurt that I wanted to take everything back and tell him the truth. But I stayed strong—and yes, cold—my desire to keep him protected winning over any temptation. I guess love just does that.

Love also makes it impossible to function sometimes, especially when you have a broken heart. But that’s an aftermath I have to deal with.

“Are you two together, Mom?”

Like I said, my daughter is no fool. It might seem like a random string of questions, but I can tell her mind is connecting things.

God, how do I answer this one? I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“We’re together in the sense that we’re a unit. For you. We’ll always be your parents, so that means we are doing our best to get along.”

“So you had a fight?”

Her expression clears as if she just figured out a mystery. I’m torn between a laugh and a groan, but I tamp both down.

“Kind of. But not a big fight. Just a misunderstanding. You know how people have misunderstandings all the time?”

She nods. “They make up.”

“Yeah. But sometimes they don’t. And that’s okay.”

“Do you miss him?”

Terribly. Like there’s a space in my heart just waiting for him, despite knowing that I might have lost him already. I don’t want to think about the latter too much for fear of breaking down—something I can’t afford to do yet, not with so many things relying on me.

Riley’s happiness. Luke’s moving on.

My next step in life.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it won’t affect how we feel about you and neither of us will ever leave you.”

Riley mulls over my answer. I brace myself, then feel my shoulders losing all the tension when she finally nods and brightens.

“I’ll never leave you, Mom. And Dad, too. And I love you both the same amount, even if you don’t get along.”

My God. I’ve been blessed with the sweetest girl there is. I hug her tightly, trying not to blubber as her cozy warmth comforts me.

“I love you, too, sweetie. I love you like the galaxy.”

That makes her giggle. “But Mom, the galaxy is so big!”

“I know. Now I’m going to give you galaxy-sized kisses.”

Which turns into more giggles and me making all kinds of silly kissing noises. It’s enough to have this girl’s love because, again, this has to be fate—and things will still fall into place and my heart will mend itself again as long as I hang on and put on a brave face.

It has to.

I’m nervous on my way to the museum, mostly because Jennifer’s words over the phone earlier are still overwhelming and unbelievable.

“Listen, I appreciate you telling me about you and Luke no longer seeing each other, but it doesn’t matter. Believe me when I say that I’m thankful he urged me to check out your website, but it’s your talent that kept me hooked—and you. I’m sorry to hear about your resignation, too, but I can’t lie and say that I’m not happy it got you painting me a piece this quickly. Come over. I have three more interested clients and one will be visiting today. You might like what they have to say.”

Can it be? Is this just a streak of luck that will run out soon, or will this be a continuous thing that can sustain me and Riley in the meantime? I’m not saying I won’t be applying to another hospital soon but for now…

I take a deep breath when I climb the steps to the museum, my fingers brushing my hair and patting down any wrinkles on my dress. I text Jennifer that I’ve arrived, and she texts back within seconds to direct me to the back of the museum, where her second office is. It’s already familiar to me since I’ve had two more client meetings here after my first one, but her next text stops me in my tracks.

The client is already in the office. Just go in. Please don’t be mad.

Why would I be mad? I paste on a smile and open the door?—

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