Page 29 of Fated Secret Baby

“I… I heard your mom at the park. She was talking to a friend and said that you were going to cut her off if you didn’t accept me.”

My face falls. “I didn’t exactly tell her that.”

“Orion, I can’t be the reason you ruin your relationship with your mom?—”

“So, you are just going to leave?”

She looks down. “I’d rather leave than be the one you resent down the road for choosing me.”

“And you didn’t want to talk about this?”

“I did. I had two things to tell you tonight, and that was one of them.”

“Calista.” I step forward. “You’re more important to me than my mother. I’m not going to let her come between us again.”

“I don’t want to be the wedge that comes between the two of you, either!” she says, her voice raising slightly.

Annoyance simmers at the edges of my mind. I take a deep breath, then say, “You’re not, Calista. I’m a grown man. I get to make my own choices, especially when it comes to my relationship with my mom.”

I’m a little annoyed. Then, I realize she said something else. “What was the second thing?”

“What?”

“The second thing you?—”

“Oh, those are so pretty!”

A small voice trills, and we both turn to look at her.

When I see Calista’s daughter, it takes me a minute to process what I’m seeing. She’s small. Very young. No more than four. She has Calista’s dark hair, and it curls wildly around her. She’s wearing a shirt and some kind of stretchy pants, both of which look clean, if a little worn.

But when I look at her eyes? Shock radiates through me, followed by a powerful, protective urge.

Those are my eyes.

The thought is alarming. How often have I looked in the mirror and seen myself? Every fucking day?

I know those eyes. They’re identical to mine.

Slowly, I turn to Calista. “This is your daughter?”

“I’m Juniper!”

Calista’s face is white as a sheet. I turn to look at Juniper. “How old are you, Juniper?”

“She’s four,” Calista whispers.

“I’m this many!” Juniper says, proudly holding up four fingers.

Four. And it’s been almost five years since Calista left. Which means…

A deep, strange feeling settles in me. It’s primal. I feel it in my bones.

Looking down at Juniper, it feels like part of my heart snaps into place.

I kneel down. “Hi, Juniper. My name is Orion,” I say slowly.

Despite the fact that I should be panicking, I feel strangely calm. Whatever this is, it’s right. I let that feeling carry me forward.

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