Page 65 of Ice Cold Hearts

the three men to find her next baby daddy…

… and where is baby daddy number one? No one has found

him yet, but if anyone can get to the bottom of this, it’s

going to be your trusty Gossip Gretchen!

I growl at the phone and close the browser.

“Everything okay, Ms. Hayes?” Hank asks from the front seat.

“Yeah, just the stupid media poking their noses where they don’t belong,” I grumble.

He nods. “Vultures, Ma’am. I’ll tell you the same as I told Mr. Corbitt. Don’t waste one minute of your time on them.”

“Thank you.” I smile even though he can’t see it.

By the time we pull up to Audrey’s school, the rage and horror swirling around in my gut have subsided enough for me to greet my little girl with a genuine smile.

“Mama! I had the best day at school today!” She beams. “Hi, Mr. Hank! Did you have a good day?”

“Every day I get to drive you ladies is a great day,” he says.

“You’re so silly.” She giggles.

“It’s the truth,” he says, and then to me, “Home or to Deer Woods today?”

“Home. Actually, hold on,” I say. “I’m getting a call from Alexei, so that might change.”

In typical Alexei fashion, he skips the greeting and gets straight to business. “I just saw the article. One of the hangnails cornered me and held me up or I would have met you after work.”

“Why do you call them that?” I ask.

“They’re annoying, make everything painful, and are a bitch to get rid of,” Alexei says.

I laugh. “Okay, so what’s up?”

“Did you read it?” he demands.

“I read enough of it. Saw the pictures too,” I answer, disgusted.

“Good. We’re having a family meeting. Swing by and get Oliver? He had a meeting with Liza after practice today, so he took the subway instead of riding home with Ian. I just called him. He’s going to wait for you.”

My heart soars when he says family but plummets to my feet when I hear Liza’s name.

“Not a problem. We haven’t left the school yet. I’ll tell Hank. See you soon,” I say, starting to hang up.

“Wait.” His voice stops me immediately. “We’re probably going to be up late. Do you want me to stop at yours and grab some stuff for Audrey?”

I swipe away the moisture in my eyes before Audrey can notice. How did I get so lucky to have someone like Alexei in my life?

“That’s really sweet, but you don’t have a key,” I protest.

I can hear the smug grin in his voice. “I’m texting your mom right now. She’s going to let me in and help me grab the right stuff.”

“I swear I’m going to wake up and find that you and my mom have run off together,” I tease.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” He chuckles. “Honestly, this is all on you. Ever since the day at the zoo, that woman has been dropping serious hints about us marrying you.”

---