Page 44 of Seeking Happily Ever After

“Who do you think it is?”

For a moment, she considered telling Katie the truth about Billy, but immediately dismissed it. She didn’t need anyone worrying about something that likely wasn’t even a thing. In fact, she was sure she was overreacting.But still…

She swallowed hard and forced a smile to her face. “Would you mind taking Amelia back to your place for a bit? I just want to make sure it’s not a salesperson or something.”

Katie gave her a look, but nodded the way Charlotte hoped she would. “Of course. I love spending time with her.”

Char quickly unbuckled the baby and handed her to Katie, who immediately started cooing and making the baby giggle. She waited until they’d disappeared down the path toward the main house and then she straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath, and went around to the front of the house.

“So what exactly is it that you’re saying?” Nick paced across the office and back toward his lawyer, Chris. Some meetings were too important to have over the phone, which was why when Chris called to say he had news, Nick made the trip to the city to have the conversation in person. Besides that, he didn’t want to worry Charlotte with any of this. There was no point in both of them being stressed out or completely preoccupied with thewhat-ifs. So he’d gone to the city to try to sort it out before it went any further and he needed to get her involved. He’d fix it. “She’s going to fight me for custody?”

“I didn’t say that.” Chris crossed his leg over his knee and sat back in his chair behind the massive mahogany desk, looking far too comfortable for Nick’s liking.

He needed the man to be even a fraction as worked up as he was. Because this could not happen.

“I said that she’s reached out to us.”

“With a lawyer?”

“No.”

Nick exhaled the breath he’d been holding. No lawyer meant she couldn’t possibly be serious about coming after Amelia. There was nothing to worry about.

“She doesn’t need a lawyer, Nick.”

“What?” Nick spun around on his heel. “You always need a lawyer for these things. We’ll squash her in court.”

Chris sighed and sat up. “Ifit gets to court.”

“Of course it will get to court.” His blood pressure was rising. Chris, who’d always been just as much of a friend as a top-notch lawyer, wasreallystarting to piss him off. “Why wouldn’t it go to court? She’s a druggie who gave away her baby.” Nick struggled to control his voice. “Jessica abandoned her, Chris. No judge in the world will take her away from her father and—”

“You’re not her father, Nick.”

“Fuck!” He slammed his fist on the desk, the battle for control lost. To his credit, Chris didn’t flinch.

Nick put both his hands flat on the smooth wood of the desk and dropped his head. He worked hard to drag in one breath after another until he no longer saw red in his vision. Or at least, less red. “She is my daughter.” He spoke each word through gritted teeth when he looked up. “It’s your job to make sure that doesn’t change.”

Chris nodded curtly. “I’m doing everything I can, Nick. You know that. But these cases…they aren’t black and white. And if the judge sees that Jessica is trying to improve her life in order to regain custody, well…I’m afraid there won’t be—”

“Don’t say it.”

His lawyer closed his lips tightly together and shook his head.

“I mean it, Chris.” Nick slowly stood and rolled his shoulders back. “We can’t let that happen. Shelefther baby.Left her.There can’t be any coming back from that.” But even as he spoke the words, he knew there was. The system was set up to give second chances, or third, or…whatever it took to keep families together. Sometimes it worked. Other times it failed miserably.

He’d been a victim of that failure. He would have been unequivocally better off if his mother hadn’t been givenanychances after she’d shown herself to be unfit. It didn’t matter how many times she told the caseworkers that she’d been to rehab, that she was clean, that she had a job, that she was devoted to her son.

It was all a lie.

He wouldn’t let that happen to Amelia. She deserved so much better.

He paced to the picture window and pressed one hand against the floor-to-ceiling glass as he stared out over the city skyline and thought about his options. What few there were. Finally, he dropped his head in defeat and turned back to Chris, who was waiting patiently. “Tell me what to do.”

Chris sat up and rolled his chair toward his desk. “We play nice,” he said simply. “Jessica will be contacting you. She wants to see Amelia.”

Nick bristled at the thought.

“The best thing to do is allow her to see the baby. Hopefully she’ll be happy with just a visit.”

---