Page 39 of Absinthe Minded

Sal Santiago, the family lawyer since before my folks had left Sicily, answered the phone like it was a Monday afternoon. “Gabe, I was going to call you in the morning. The paternity tests we ran are in. She’s your daughter.”

A silver lining in a cloud of shit.“Thanks, but we have another problem.”

Other than an occasionalmmm hmmor sigh to let me know he was on the line, Sal remained quiet while I gave him the rundown of Chantal’s latest bullshit.

“I’m putting security on Maggie.”

“And Joe’s kids?” He perked up a bit, but I suspected it had more to do with him representing my mother in her custody case than helping me out. “Your father took the guards off them a couple of months ago. If they’re in danger because of the threat to Miss Guthrie—”

“You’re tap dancing into conflict of interest territory, Sal.”

“My concern is for the children.”

I counted to five to clear my head. It didn’t work. “The only kid you need to worry about right now is Ella. I want Chantal’s parental rights terminated by the end of the month.”

“These things take time, Gabe. I filed the motion to establish legal paternity. Now we wait.”

“Will the courts speed things up now that she’s made threats against innocent people?”

“We have to be careful. The judge may not look favorably on you living with Miss Guthrie. I could make the case if you two were married, or even engaged.” He went quiet for a few seconds. “Have you considered handling this the old-world way?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Was he seriously suggesting I order a hit on Ella’s mother? “That’s not an option. Get this done, Sal. Legally.”

“I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, don’t take her calls or delete any of her messages.”

“Understood.” Praying I’d made the right decision, I shoved the phone into my pocket and went to find Maggie.

14

Maggie

Ten minutes seemedlike two hours. I’d changed clothes, washed my face, and crawled into bed, but I’d seen no sign of Gabe. After another five minutes, I peeked out the window to make sure his car was still in the driveway.

It was.

Get a grip, Maggie.

I opened the Netflix app and scrolled through the never-ending list of movies. The extra time gave me a chance to replay the previous few hours in my mind. Other than the weirdness with the police officer, Gabe had seemed happy to spend time with me.

Heaven help me, I’d enjoyed him tonight. And that Bruno Mars song, my God, what woman wouldn’t melt after that? Not even the crap with Justin and his wife could stop the constant fluttering in my stomach. I could easily fall in love with him again, but what if my mother was right? What if Gabe dumped me like before? This time I had three kids and a possible job to consider.

This is a bad idea.

Gabe knocked and poked his head into the room. “Sorry about that. I had some business to handle.”

“Maybe we should call it a night. It’s been a long day.” I forced a smile.

“Not for nothing, Mags, but you’re giving me whiplash.” He stepped into the room, and my willpower short circuited—he’d lost his shirt somewhere between his room and mine. Years ago, he’d made my mouth water, but now… My God, he’d filled out. Six-pack didn’t quite describe the ripples of muscle down his abdomen. I could spend hours exploring the peaks and valleys. A dusting of dark hair started at his belly button and disappeared beneath his low-slung jeans.

“Sorry.” I wanted to keep my distance, but I couldn’t stop staring at his damned chest. “Stay. We can watch a movie.”

He plopped down beside me. “Uh huh. What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know. I mean, maybe you staying here isn’t a good idea. It’s bringing up all sorts of things for me.”

“Come here.” He held his arm out.

As much as I wanted to curl up against him, I couldn’t will myself to move.

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