Page 58 of It Happened In Paris

He wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in his embrace. After a brief pause, where he sniffed my neck, moaning something about vanilla, he said, “Yeah, I want another. Whenever you’re ready, cupcake. You see, I missed everything the first time. The baby inside of you, holding that bundle of joy, hearing it say dada, and taking its first step—I missed it all.”

Tears threatened my eyes at hearing that. “I’ll think about it.” But I already knew my answer. Of course he’d get his way.

“Listen, about the phone call I just got?”

“Is everything okay?” I asked and took the cupcakes out of the oven.

“There’s something I want to give Paris.”

“You’ve already given us so much.” I used a toothpick to test for doneness.

“Not everything. Not yet.” His tone suddenly turned serious.

I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to talk to you about something,” he said. “I want Paris to have my last name.”

The words struck me in the heart. Not because it hadn’t crossed my mind before—but because it represented love and belonging.

“I know she’d like that,” I managed between the lump in my throat and my trembling hands.

“Good. There’s just one snag. Since Paris’s birth certificate is from France, Adrien signed it. He is still on record as her parentwith a custody agreement with you. So we would need him to sign away his parental rights.” He scoffed. “Had I known, I would’ve forced him to sign before sending that five million.”

“But you saw how he was—more than willing to let Paris go. Surely he’ll sign without a fuss?”

“My lawyers have reached out already. He replied today, demanding all three of us fly to see him in person for his signature.” He shook his head. “The asshole.”

“Okay. First of all, I cannot believe you had your lawyers move forward without telling me.” I crossed my arms, glaring.

“I’m telling you now. I was excited about the idea, and I called them when we first arrived here from the hospital, wondering what it would take. Before I approached you with this idea, I just wanted to do all the background research, but things snowballed from there.”

So many emotions percolated inside of me. From elated that this man loves my daughter so much to give her his name, to frustrations over his blunders, which I can only attribute to the fact that instant fatherhood could not be easy.

“Please, don’t be mad. First-time father here and I’m making mistakes, learning as I go. I’m sorry.” He tugged at my forearm when I still didn’t say a word. Flashes from the past came at me. Had this been Adrien, it would have escalated fast into yelling, shoving, and definitely not an apology from him.

“Remember, we’re partners in this. When it comes to Paris, we need to talk about everything together.”

“I know. We will. But we’re here now.”

“And I can’t face Adrien again. It would only confuse Paris. We told her he’s not her real father—how can I make her see him now, the same man who never even liked her?” I blurted out, then noticed the anguish in Richard’s eyes. “I want her to have your last name, but involving Adrien makes it complicated.”

“I know it does, and I don’t like it either. We’ll figure it out together, though, right? Come here. Tell me we’re okay.” He drew me into his embrace and I melted there.

“We’ll be okay, I hope.”

“You know how I’ve wanted to take you away to France, anyway. I’m getting the itch to travel now that we’re almost out of the recovery window, and I promised Paris a trip. So, what do you say? Can I whisk you two away on my private jet for a trip to Paris? And while we’re there, I’ll figure out how to deal with Adrien. I have some ideas.”

The night of Chelsea’s wedding, he’d once proposed a getaway to escape it all. Now, another trip was on the table—this one taking us back to where it all began.

22

NAMESAKE

RICHARD

We wrangledParis from our car up the stairs and into my private jet. It stood ready, a sleek pale blue against the gray stormy sky, with the Buchanan family crest in gold, black, and red emblazoned on its tail. We would not let a bit of rain disrupt our plans.

A call came in after we stepped onboard the jet. I paused in the doorway and quickly answered. My assistant confirmed she’d made all the arrangements exactly to my specifications. Ending the call, my jaw tensed about it.

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