Page 5 of One Sweet Lie

My hand froze in mid-air. “What do you mean, try to keep them together?”

“Why do you care?” She shrugged. “You seem to be far more concerned with that basketball team you just bought. Spoiler alert: They suck, and they will continue to suck, no matter who owns them.”

I ignored her comment.

“Would you like to take a proper DNA test and think about your decision?” the detective asked.

I didn’t answer, but he snapped on a pair of gloves and held out a cotton swab.

Taking it, I swirled it under my tongue for a few seconds.

“We’ll put a rush on it and contact you as soon as we have the results.” He sealed it into a bag and headed toward the door.

“Oh, and here.” The nurse handed me two plastic wristbands. “Just in case you want to stop by and meet your biological, ‘they’re-definitely-yours’ children.”

TWO

PIERCE

Two Hours Later

“It smells weird in here, Uncle Brooks,” Olivia whispered as we walked through the halls of Grace Medical. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay at home while you’re here?”

I gave her a blank stare, and my lead assistant Jerry laughed under his breath.

“We don’t need to keep walking around aimlessly, Mr. Dawson,” Jerry said. “We’ve passed the NICU area three times already.”

“No, we haven’t,” I said. “I haven’t seen those letters at all.”

“It’s one hallway back and to the left,” Olivia chimed in. “The next time we pass it, me and Jerry should sit in their waiting room. They have vending machines.”

I gritted my teeth. Sometimes my niece was too smart for her own good.

Turning around, I followed her instructions, pausing at the bright pink and blue sign I’d purposely avoided before.

Welcome to the Best Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the Country!

As if Jerry could sense my hesitation, he opened the door and pushed me inside the empty waiting room.

Olivia set up camp on a sofa while I approached the desk.

“Good evening. How may I—” The receptionist blushed as her eyes met mine. “How may I help you tonight, Mr. Pierce Dawson?”

“I’m here to check on something.”

“I see.” She leaned forward. “Well, look no further. She’s right here in front of you.”

“Something that other people thinkbelongsto me.”

“Oh?” She tapped her lip. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“There are two things that I’d really like to see. Now.”

“I wear a Double D cup,” she said. “I can’t just unleash these tasties anywhere…Want to follow me to the break room?”

“Come again?”

“You can suck them, if you like.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll even call you Daddy, if that’s what you’re into.”

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