Page 58 of Pucking Secret

She giggles and sticks her tongue out at me before grabbing a handful of sprinkles and tossing them at my shirt.

“There, now Mommy will know you made the mess! I won’t get in trouble.”

“Oh, it’s on,” I say, grabbing a dollop of whipped cream and smearing it on her nose. Her squeal of laughter fills the kitchen. Before our mini-food fight can get out of control, I call a timeout and grab paper towels from the top of the fridge to clean up our mess, handing some to Millie. As she wipes at the counter, she does that thing with her tongue again, and scrunches her nose up in concentration. Again, it reminds me of my own mannerisms.

She suddenly looks up at me.

“Do you know what?” she says thoughtfully. “Your eyes are kinda like mine…but mine are cooler.”

“Oh yeah?” I say, leaning against the counter. “What makes yours cooler?”

“They’re like... more sparkly,” she says, grinning. “Mommy says they’re special. Yours are still okay, though.”

I smile, but something tightens in my chest. I’ve always gotten compliments for my dark blue eyes. Now that she’s pointed it out, her eyes are really blue as well. Stacey’s are bright green. Millie has her wild red hair, but her eyes…

A crazy thought enters my mind.

Could Millie be… mine?

The possibility swirls through me for a moment and I feel like I’m spiraling in a twister of my own thoughts. I can only focus on that question: Could Millie be mine?

Have I been a father all this time and never knew it? The timing makes a certain amount of sense… or does it? I’d have to count those months.

The thought of potentially being Millie’s father isn’t what bothers me. I’ve already decided I want to be her dad, even if she isn’t biologically mine. I want Stacey and Millie both to be mine, and I haven’t cared one bit who her real absent father is. In fact, if Milliewereactually mine, it would make things simpler— I wouldn’t have to worry about any legal barriers or need to go through the adoption process to have the law recognize her as my daughter.

No, the issue isn’t whether Millie is mine or not — the issue is that Stacey didn’t tell me.Thatbothers me.

If Millie were mine, Stacey would have told me. Right? I mean, the only person I’d ever imagined having a family with is Stacey. If she kept that from me…

I shake my head, forcing the thoughts away. Stacey told me she hooked up with someone not long after me. She wouldn’t lie about something so monumental… she wouldn’t intentionally hurt me by keeping my kid from me.

Would she?

Forcing my concentration back on Millie and our sundaes, I’m finishing putting my toppings on my ice cream when I hear the front door open. Millie glances up from her bowl, a huge grinlighting up her face smeared with whipped cream, chocolate, and marshmallow fluff.

“Mom’s home!”

Stacey walks into the kitchen and pauses in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Damn, every time I see her, she takes my breath away. Even when she’s wearing something as simple as her curve-hugging jeans and gray crewneck sweatshirt, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She looks weary, though… almost sad. I know she’s been working long hours and is probably exhausted. My cock still twitches at the sight of her ass in those jeans. Her tired eyes brighten when she takes in the scene — me standing at the counter, covered in a few stray sprinkles, and Millie, who looks like she’s been in an ice cream war, standing on her stool next to me.

“What on Earth is going on here?” she asks, her voice warm and teasing.

“Nothing!” Millie insists with a giggle.

“Nothing?” Stacey raises an eyebrow and looks pointedly at me.

I shrug and grin. “We were just refining the art of sundae making. Turns out, we’re a pretty great team.”

Stacey laughs, shaking her head as she steps further into the room. “Well, if you’re offering, I wouldn’t mind a bowl myself.”

Millie hops down from her stool, immediately taking charge. “I’ll make it!”

I move to help, but Stacey waves me off.

“She’s got this,” she says, shooting me a wink.

Another chocolatey, marshmallowy mess later, we’ve all had our fill of sugar and it’s time to put Millie to bed.

“Come on, missy,” Stacey says, reaching for Millie’s hand. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

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