Page 86 of Totally Off Limits

Instead of opening the envelope, though, he held it between two fingers like he used to hold a cigarette. “This little thing right here tells me all I need to know. You have other irons in the fire, so who needs the loser kid from the other side of the tracks?”

He was wrong.

But he wasn’t.

Picking up the beer, he started to leave the room.

“Mickey, that’s—”

Turning back, he pointed his index finger at her. “I guess I’ll be seeing you in court.”

All those years of hiding, of denying, of keeping it all secret, and now her family would find out anyway. She opened her mouth to protest again, but she knew Mickey would never understand.

He thought she’d had a perfect life.

After he left, she sat at the computer in the kitchen but instead of studying, cried and cried and cried. She hadn’t meant to hurt him—but it was for the best. And if he really wanted to be part of Mia’s life, she wouldn’t stand in the way. It wouldn’t be fair trying to stop them from bonding.

She also hadn’t meant to fall all the way in love with him, either. But it wasn’t meant to be.

As it was, finding out he was the father of her child would cause her parents to lose their shit.

All the more reason to seal the deal with Austin soon. That would soften the blow.

And she’d have to somehow let all this go and settle into her new life.

Like it or not.

CHAPTER28

When Austin had picked up Sierra and Mia for the Hayden Independence Day barbecue, there’d been hardly a moment he hadn’t smiled eagerly, like a child on Christmas Eve just waiting for the big moment. While she would have liked to think otherwise, Sierra knew it wasn’t because he loved Independence Day that much.

Did he really love her and Mia so much that it was plastered on his face?

It was another sign that she was doing the right thing. She’d made the right decision.

But on the trip to her parents’ house, she kept reliving the entire past week…

The hurt in Mickey’s eyes.

Then his cold shoulder as he walked out of her condo.

His lack of response to her text message that saidI’m so sorry, Mickey. I never meant to hurt you.

Literally nothing.

Just crickets.

For an entire week, he hadn’t said a word. For all she knew, he’d blocked her number.

Maybe it was better this way. It would allow her a clean break before moving on with what was expected of her.

With what she needed to do for the Hayden family. For her daughter. For herself. She could grow to love her life, to love Austin, and she could spend the next few years being a full-time mother to Mia. Work could wait. A master’s degree could wait. Once Mia was in school, Sierra would find a nursing job she loved—with or without the advanced degree.

With Austin, they would want for nothing—so, if she was expected to go through with marrying him, she would make the best of it.

Even with Mickey in the picture as her child’s father, Mia would surely still spend more time with Sierra and Austin. After all, Mickey hadn’t been a part of the child’s first three years. No sane judge would give him full custody or ridiculous visitation, even if it hadn’t been his fault. Besides, the Hayden family was well-respected.

Mickey’s family reputation and his vocation would assure that the courts would be on her side. She didn’t intend to bar him from seeing his child, but she’d have to minimize contact.

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