Page 7 of Fate

“Meaning what?” She sighs and twists her fingers together in front ofher.

“Well, if this child is mine, I’m going to be a father. A real one. Not this Disneyland-dad bullshit. I’ll want regular access.”

Misty inhales and the tears finally fall. “You’re going to take my daughter away from me.” Her hand comes up to her chest as if her heart physically hurts.

Now this I can’t handle. I do not do well with women crying. The poor thing is positively shaking in heels too high for the job she has. I stand up and pull her into my arms in what I hope is a comfortinghug.

“God, no. Misty, relax, honey. I’d never do that to you or to anyone, but that also doesn’t mean I won’t want to be in my child’s life. Shared visitation. That kind of thing.”

Misty curls her fingers into my dress shirt. “But she’s only a baby. She can’t be away from her mother. I’m all she’s ever known.”

Fuck. I knew this would be bad, but Jesus Christ, I had no idea my heart and mind would take such a beating.

I run my hands up and down her back until her body stops trembling.

“No one’s taking anyone away from anyone. We’ll work it out. I promise you this. You’re not going to lose your child. If she is mine, we’ll work together to do what’s best for her. Sound like aplan?”

Misty sniffles and pulls back away from my chest. She huffs out a tortured breath and wipes at her eyes with both hands.

“It’s going to be okay. I swear it.” I make the promise, not sure how or if I can even keepit.

“Why areyou being so secretive about this woman of yours?” Chase leans against the arm of his white leather couch in his high-rise office overlooking the Pacific.

I sigh. “Brother, I’m not. It’s complicated.”

He takes a sip of his scotch and swirls the liquid around, and the ice cubes clink against the glass, sounding overly loud in the wide open space.

I take a sip of my own drink, letting the liquid burn a trail of fire down my throat. I welcome the prickling heat. At least it’s better than the alternative, the endless reminders of what’s been running rampant through my mind the pastweek.

Chase taps his lip. “Women are always complicated. Now tell me why this woman has your balls in avise.”

As much as I want to spill my guts all over his pristine couches, I hold back. I’m not ready to hear the chastisement in his tone when he finds out I may have gotten a woman pregnant, and worse, not have known it for over two years. Chase is the epitome of a family man, though people wouldn’t know it with the no-nonsense way he runs his empire. But when it comes to Mrs. Davis and their twins? He’s a whole different man. His wife and kids are his world, and Gillian’s pregnant again, which means the Papa Bear side in him is out in full force. When it comes right down to it, I’m not sure he’d understand the predicament I’m in rightnow.

The truth is, I don’t know how to tell my cousin about this. Until I know if the child is mine, I’m not opening Pandora’sbox.

“Look, let’s just say I’m indeep.”

Chase’s eyebrows rise into his hairline. “Interesting. Howso?”

I cringe. “Not that it’s any of your business, asswipe.”

He smirks while finishing off the last of his drink. “Another?”

I slam back the rest of mine. “Fuckyes.”

“The fact that you won’t discuss this woman does not give me the warm fuzzies.”

“Warm fuzzies? Who are you? Did Gillian rip off your balls and replace them with pink fuzzy dice again?”

Chase lets out a warm chuckle. “Too right. Shit, she’s already trying to do too much with this pregnancy. She’s driving me positively insane. The caveman in me wants to keep her locked up in our penthouse, barefoot, pregnant, and taking care of our twins. In the grand scheme of things, is that so wrong? Really?”

“Man, let her be. She knows herbody.”

“I know it better,” he deadpans, not even a hint of humor in histone.

I grin. “Touché.”

He lifts his full glass in a salute before refilling mine with another two fingers of Macallan24.

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