Page 31 of Seeking Happily Ever After

He knew what hewantedto do. But was it the right thing?

And first things first. Before it went any further, he needed to tell her the truth.

“Good morning.”

He flipped over to see Charlotte watching him.

“Hi.” He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. She was so damn beautiful. Especially first thing in the morning. “How long have you been up?”

“Long enough to see that something is bothering you.”

He blinked hard. “I wouldn’t saybotheringme. But…yeah, okay.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I need to tell you something.”

Her smile faded a little, but Nick pressed on.

“I need you to know that I’m not biologically Amelia’s father.”

“What?” She sat up a little, propped up on an elbow. “I don’t—”

“I mean, Iamher father.” He cut her off. “When she was dropped off with me, I wasn’t sure but it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. But by the time I did, I was already completely smitten with her and there was no way I could let Amelia go into the system and…”

“Hey.” She put a hand on his arm to still him. “It’s okay.”

“It’s okay?” He blinked.

“Well…” She shrugged a little. “I’m not going to lie. I’m surprised.Verysurprised. But I’ve seen you with Amelia, and I can see how much you love her. What about her mother? You’ve never said anything about her.”

Nick took a deep breath and told Charlotte everything he knew about Jessica. Including how he’d hired a private investigator to look into her situation. He told her that he’d wanted everyone to think Amelia was his, but only a few people knew the truth. He even told Charlotte how he’d told Stephanie that he’d called off the private investigator, only to hire him again. And because he was telling the truth, he also let her know about how he’d grown up with an addict mother and refused to let Amelia experience that lifestyle as well.

“It makes sense,” Charlotte said when he was finished explaining. “I understand.”

“You do?”

She laughed a little. “How could I not?”

“And you still want to help me out even though I didn’t tell you the truth?”

Her smile was so warm, it instantly made Nick feel better.

“Of course,” she said. “In fact, it kind of makes me want to help you out even more. Biology aside, Ameliaisyour daughter. I’ll do anything I can to make sure you get custody of her. She belongs with you.”

“I can’t even tell you how happy I am to hear that.” Relief washed through him. But that wasn’t the only complication he needed to address this morning. There was the whole matter of the kiss. Only, he really didn’t want to talk about that. Because what he really wanted to do was kiss her again. It took all his willpower not to reach out and pull her close. “There’s one more thing we should probably talk about,” he said. “About last night—”

“Nick, what we did…the kiss…I’m really—”

“No.” It suddenly became critically important that she did not apologize for the kiss or try to dismiss it in any way. If she did that, he didn’t know if he’d be able to reconcile it in his head. Because… “No,” he said again. “Don’t apologize or…just…” He shook his head. “I meant what I said last night,” he said, deciding on the path of least resistance. “Iamattracted to you, Char. And I also can’t promise you anything. Not right now. Amelia has to—”

“She has to be your first priority,” she interrupted and finished for him. “I know. You said that.” She smiled. “A few times. And I understand. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m a big girl. This isn’t serious. This isn’t real.”

Her words, although completely true, sent a stab to his heart. It sure felt real and serious. But she was right. She had to be.

He nodded.

“So…I’m okay with that if you are,” she finished. “Besides, I’m not looking for anything right now anyway.”

That made sense after what she’d been through, but again…her words hit him hard, and he didn’t like the way they made him feel inside.

“So what are you saying?” Nick desperately wanted to touch her. She was so close to him, but at the same time the distance between them was too much. Still lying on his side, propped up by one arm, he reached his free hand out to touch hers.

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