Page 24 of The Rejected Wife

“Hold on. Until I have a DNA test, nothing is proven.” My voice comes out harsh, and it must frighten the kid, for she scrunches up her face and begins to cry.

“Look what you did now.” My dream woman scoops up the little one and rocks her against her chest. “There, there. Did your papa scare you? Don’t worry about that. He’s not as grouchy as he comes across, I promise.”

Papa?What the fuck? I’m not ready to be a father.This is some B-grade soap opera bullshit happening here.Outwardly, I glare at Cilla. “How do you know that?”

“Because I do?” She turns to face me with the kid nestled in her arms.

“You barely know me,” I point out.

“I know enough.” Her lips turn up at the side. “You booked out a coffee shop, then a bookstore, for me. You cooked for me. You wanted to get to know me better. You brought me home because you wanted to spend the night getting to know me… And then you accepted my ‘no’ at the very last minute without a single complaint. You, Tyler Davenport, are a decent human.”

My heart constricts. Warmth pools in my chest. I stare into her melting brown eyes and see tenderness. And something close tolove? Nah. It can’t be love. Not when we just met. And now, she’s found out that I might possibly have a child.A baby.Shit.

She continues to sway the baby in a calming rhythm. And when her gaze roams my face, she must see the conflicting emotions. “It’s a lot to take in. You must be feeling confused.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” I shift my weight from foot to foot.

“Would you like to hold her?” She holds the now silent infant out to me.

I glance at the kid, and my gut churns. I can taste panic on my tongue, bitter and metallic. If I hold her…I might not be able to let her go.

There’s an innocence about the child, a helplessness that calls out to the protector in me. If I take her in my arms, it means…I won’t be able to part with her. And I’m not sure I’m ready to make that decision yet.

When I make no move to take the kid, disappointment flickers across Cilla’s features. She begins to pace the floor of my bedroom, holding the kid against her shoulder. The child yawns. Cilla croons a tune under her breath. Something that sounds like a nursery rhyme, though I can’t quite hear the words. Watching her with the kid, causes funny sensations in my chest. Maybe it’s heartburn? Yeah, that’s what it is. It’s definitely not my heart stuttering with something suspiciously like tenderness at seeing this woman taking care of this child so competently.

“She’s almost asleep.” Cilla looks down at the child, her expression gentle. Then she steps past me and heads out of the room.

In the living room, she places the child carefully in the carrier. She sits down in the armchair next to it, keeping a hand on the carrier in a protective gesture.

I’m grateful she knows how to change a diaper. Of course, she does. She’s a nanny. A natural caregiver. If she were in my life… And if—and that’s abigif—the child turns out to be mine, would Cilla want to play a role in the kid’s life?Hold on. That’s a big leap to make.Especially since I only just met her. Besides, the child can’t possibly mine…Can she?

“Tyler, are you okay?” Her forehead furrows. “You look troubled.”

That’s the understatement of the century. I’m completely wrecked—spinning, drowning, with no idea how to make sense of any of this.What the hell is going on?Is this some cruel joke one of my brothers cooked up, or have I lost my mind? Nah, springing a kid on me isn’t their style. I shake my head to clear it.

Calm down. You successfully lead tours of duty and walked away alive. You can do this.

I stalk over and drop into the couch opposite her. “I need to make some calls and figure out what to do about her.” I nod in the direction of the child.

She glances at the now sleeping baby, and her features turn gentle. “She’s so beautiful.” Cilla reaches inside the carrier and touches a finger to the kid’s cheek. “So soft.”

I stare at the child’s face, a knot of troubled emotions forming in my chest. I can’t remember feeling this conflicted ever before. But then, I haven’t been dealt with two emotional blows in one night, and so close to each other either. I shift my gaze to Cilla’s gorgeous features. Not even seeing my brothers-in-arms killed has affected me this deeply. They didn’t necessitate the kind of upheavals to my life that this woman and this child may precipitate.

She must sense my perusal for she raises her gaze to mine. Whatever she sees there makes her knit her eyebrows.

“What are you going to do?”

“Call my lawyer and have him call social services to understand what the next steps are with the child. Then, I’ll get a private investigator to track down the person who left her here. I'll bet they’ve been captured on at least one of the security cameras in the building. And then, I need to arrange for a DNA test—” The weight of the decisions I must make pushes down on my shoulders. I feel exhausted. When I pinch the bridge of my nose, Cilla makes a noise of sympathy.

She crosses over to sink down on the couch next to me. “It’s a lot of change. A lot of responsibility. There’s much to process.”

She slips her arm about my shoulders and leans her head against mine. For a few seconds, I allow myself to absorb her comfort, her softness. To revel in her curves against mine.

Whatever I decide to do with this child, my life is going to change irrevocably. I’m going to need time to process it. To understand what led to a woman dropping off a baby at my doorstep—to figure out what to do with the kid, whatever the results of the DNA test turn out to be.That’s my responsibility. And I won’t shirk from it… Even if it turns out the kid isn’t mine. And there’s a strong chance she isn’t.I hope…

And Cilla—? Would I want to saddle her with the responsibility of taking care of a tiny tot? It's different when you have a job and can go home or take time off and forget about it. This wouldn't be that way. And she’s still young. She has her entire life ahead of her.

Sure, I've always assumed that one day, I'd want to have children with a woman… And earlier tonight, I thought it would be this woman. But not right away.

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