Page 125 of Stone Vows

His eyes are cold and hardened with anger when he nods to the papers in Kyle’s hands. “So, are you going to sign the fucking papers or what?”

“She’ll look them over tonight,” Ethan says, tucking one of his business cards into Grant’s shirt pocket. “You can meet us at my office at noon tomorrow. At that time, Alexa will sign the divorce papers and you will sign papers recusing yourself from being that child’s father.”

Grant shakes his head in frustration. He knows we have him beat. “Fine,” he says, with a lifeless tone to his voice. “Can you get me out of these fucking cuffs now?”

Ethan looks at us and gestures to Kyle’s car. “As soon as they’re gone.”

Kyle takes Ellie from me and puts her in her car seat. Then we get in and drive away. Kyle reaches over and grabs my hand. “Tomorrow,” he says, giving my hand a squeeze. “Tomorrow is when everything changes.”

Chapter Fifty-eight

“Oh, my God, Kyle. I’m free. I’m free!” I squeal as we walk through the door to his apartment after our noon meeting at Ethan’s office. “Is it wrong of me to want to go down on the street and scream my name for all of New York City to hear?”

He laughs, tossing his keys on the counter. “If that’s what you want to do, Lex, I’ll go down there with you. Hell, I’ll buy you a megaphone. Anything you want to do to celebrate is fine with me.”

“Anything?” I raise a sultry brow at him.

We didn’t get a chance to be together last night. After we got home, Ethan came over with his high-priced lawyer. At ten o’clock at night, no less. Must be nice to have so many people at your beck and call. We went over the divorce papers Grant gave me. And we drew up papers for him to sign relieving him of all parental rights to Ellie.

There may not even be much red tape to work through since I never filed for an official birth certificate for her. And since she’s not yet a year old, Ethan’s lawyer said I can still apply for it without any problems. Kyle immediately asked if there was any way he could be listed as the father. I think I fell in love with him even more, if that’s possible.

Kyle picks me up, carrying me with one arm behind my back and the other under my knees. The way a groom carries his bride. He takes me to his bedroom. “When is Charlie bringing Ellie back?”

I smile up at him. “Not for a few more hours.”

“A few hours?” he asks with a smirk. “I can think of a lot we can do in that amount of time.”

He puts me down on his bed and I inhale the scent of his room. I haven’t been in here since the night I showed up on his doorstep over two months ago. “I love the smell of your room.”

He climbs on top of me, straddling me. “It’s your room now, too, Lexi. Everything I have is yours.”

I put my hands on his face, running my fingers across the stubble on his jaw. “And everything I have is yours.” I give him an apologetic shrug. “Sorry. I know you’re not getting a very good deal.”

In the past few months, I’ve come to have a pretty good idea just what he has. And it’s more than I can even comprehend. I’d love him without it, of course. I’d love him if he weren’t a doctor. I’d love him if he lived in a broken-down shack.

“That’s not true, Lex. I’m getting more out of this than you can imagine. I’m getting you. I’m getting Ellie. And you’re both perfect.”

“Thank you,” I say, a tear rolling off the side of my face. “Thank you for saying she’s perfect.”

I remember all the hateful things Grant said about Ellie last night and it makes me sick to think he was her father. But he’s not anymore. We made sure of that today.

For all intents and purposes, Kyle is her daddy now.

I spread out the fingers of my hand, tapping the tip of my thumb onto my forehead.

His smile reaches all the way to his eyes, telling me he knows exactly what sign I just did.

“Did you know that every time I would teach Ellie the sign for ‘Mommy,’ I wanted nothing more than for someone to touchmyshoulder and teach her the sign for ‘Daddy’?”

I nod, my throat becoming thick with emotion. “I wanted that, too. I wanted it so much.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize what an ass I was being,” he says, wiping my tears.

“I understand, Kyle. I understand wanting something so much that you can’t accept anything less than having all of it. It’s the way I feel about Ellie. It’s the way I feel about you.”

He leans down and presses his lips to mine. “I love you, Lexi Kessler,” he says, rasping my name in heated passion.

I smile against his lips. I had Ethan’s lawyer add an addendum to the divorce agreement that restores my maiden name. Not that it matters much, I don’t plan on being Lexi Kessler for very long.

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