Page 45 of Seeking Happily Ever After

“What do you mean,just?”

“You don’t want to hear this, but if she wants to take the baby overnight—”

“No.”

Chris sighed. “You’re not her biological father, Nick.”

“She doesn’t know that.”

“Doesn’t she?”

He didn’t know. He assumed she knew, but his investigation had shown she’d gone through a really wild phase; she might have lost track of the timeline and really think that Nick was the father. Or, and it was more likely, she might have just thought he was the best financially to take care of the baby. “I don’t know.”

“Well, if she does…” Chris shook his head. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that, because you don’t have any legal right to withhold the child if that’s the case.”

“That’s fucking crazy. She’s a baby. Who’s looking after her rights?” Nick could feel his blood pressure rising again.

“I get it,” Chris said. “I really do.”

Nick bit his tongue and let Chris continue.

“I know it’s not what you want to hear,” he said. “But the judge will pay attention to your behavior, and judges like to see everyone playing nicely in the sandbox. It will work in your favor. In the meantime, you tell me that you have yourself a fiancée?” He raised his eyebrows.

Despite the tense situation, he smiled the way he always did when he thought about Charlotte. “I do.”

Chris shook his head. “I don’t think I should even ask about how that came about, but I’m glad. As long as she’s a solid woman, that will work in your favor, too.”

Nick moved to the couch across the room and sank into it. “She’s a solid woman. Doesn’t do drugs. Only drinks socially. She’s never been arrested and she has a solid career that’s just starting to really take off. She’s great. And she’s so amazing with Amelia, too. She really cares about her.” She was great. And in so many other ways that Nick was not about to start explaining to Chris. Let alone the way they’d very quickly taken their relationship to the next level and how it all felt so natural just to be with her that Nick spent most of his time reminding himself that they’d promised each other easy, with no expectations. Just when he was thinking that there might actually be more to what was going on between them, Char had reminded him quite clearly the other night that there wasn’t.

He took a breath. “She’s really, really great.”

“That’s all really…great,” Chris said with an odd look. “But if she’s that involved with Amelia, you should probably prepare her for what it will mean if Jessica shows up.”

No.He wouldn’t do that because it wouldn’t get to that point. He’d told Charlotte how terrible it was to be raised by an addict, and Jessica was…no.He wasn’t going to let it happen, so there was no point in worrying her about it when there wasn’t going to be anything to worry about.

“She should be on the same page.” Chris looked at him and dropped his pen on the desk. “But don’t panic yet, okay?”

That was easy for him to say.

“Just wait and see what happens. If Jessica does contact you, we’ll make sure she has a clean drug test and a recommendation from her caseworker, okay? We won’t just let her take the baby. We’ll keep her safe, Nick.”

Nick stood and rolled his neck before staring directly at his lawyer. “Damn straight we will.”

Charlotte took a moment to practice the cleansing breaths her therapist had taught her when it came to dealing with or thinking about Billy. Of course, that had been in regards to dealing with memories of him, or the occasional phone call. That had not included how she should handle things when it came to dealing with him in person.

Still. She’d come a long way. She wasn’t the same woman who’d fallen for his bullshit before. She was different. Confident. Sure of herself. Strong. He couldn’t get to her. He couldn’t hurt her.

She exhaled and rounded the corner, ready to see the man who’d tried to take everything from her.

It wasn’t Billy waiting for her, but a woman. She stood to the far edge of the patio, her back to Charlotte, gazing out over the valley below, and she didn’t appear to have noticed Charlotte yet.

Char moved so the table was between her and the stranger before she spoke. “Hello? Can I help you?”

Jolted from whatever trance she’d been in, the woman turned around. “It sure is beautiful here,” she said, without acknowledging Char at all. “Peaceful. Like you could really get lost in yourself, you know?”

Char nodded despite the fact that she had no idea what the other woman was talking about. “Can I help you?” She shaded her eyes in order to see the woman a little better. “Were you looking for someone?”

Finally, the woman took a step close enough that Charlotte could see her a little better. She was pretty. With blonde, wavy hair that fell over her slight shoulders. She was dressed simply in jeans and a sweater that was probably a bit too warm for the late April day. She wore sunglasses, so Char couldn’t see her eyes, but something about the woman gave off the air of exhaustion. As if she hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before. Or the night before that.

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