Page 17 of Mafia Doctor's Secret Baby

“You don’t have to do all this, you know,” Katie murmurs to me, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

“I know I don’t.”

“I thought you said you?—”

She starts to say something, but then thinks better of it. Whatever has happened between us, it’s too complicated to think about taking on now, and she knows it. I can almost hear Emil’s voice in my head, telling me I’d be an idiot to get involved with something like this, that I should know better, that he’s going to kick my ass the next time he gets his hands on me, but I’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, all I care about is getting them to their new apartment.

And praying to God that nobody who knows who I am is watching me right now. Because if they are…then I might be leading them straight to the home of my baby daughter.

I push that thought aside as we pull up outside the new place—Katie grins when she looks up at it, letting out a chuckle.

“God, if I knew they were going to be moving us into somewhere this nice, I would have flooded the place myself,” she jokes. I reach into the back seat to grab the bag of stuff that Cara put together, and we step out on to the street.

It takes Katie a few minutes to figure out how to work the elevator, but as she steps inside, I go to do the same—and she shakes her head.

“I…I don’t think you should come up with us,” she tells me, her voice cracking slightly, like she’s not sure how I’m going to reactto his. I swallow back a snap of irritation—I know she’s got a right to lay down the law about who she does and doesn’t want in this new place, but the thought of missing out on more time with Polly stings.

“I can give you a hand with?—”

“We’re fine,” she replies, cutting me off before I can come up with some other reason to follow her up there. I bristle slightly, but push it aside. Things have been crazy enough today as it is, what with her turning up at my office, us having sex again, and then the flood. And I’ve been giving out some seriously mixed signals, given that I told her she didn’t want to know the truth about me, only to try and invite myself into her place.

“If you need anything,” I tell her, as I pull out my card and press it into her hand, “tell me. Okay?”

“Okay,” she replies, as she slips the card into the bag on top of all the baby stuff. As I step back, the doors slide shut before me, and I catch one last glimpse of her staring back at me before she and Polly vanish entirely.

And the look on her face? I have no idea what she’s thinking right now, what she’s feeling. But I know it won’t be long till I hear from her again.

I know she’ll be making use of that card sooner rather than later.

Grinning, I turn to head back to the car, all of Emil’s warnings forgotten. Because I just got to see my daughter. No matter what happens next, I know I’ll do whatever it takes to see her again.

7

KATIE

“Well,this new place isn’t half bad!”

Cara looks around as she takes in my new apartment—or at least, the apartment I’m going to be calling home for now. She’s right. I doubt I could afford a place like this if it weren’t for the flooding at my old home, and while I would prefer to be under my own roof, this modern, glossy apartment is a welcome change.

“I know, right?” I laugh, as I lift my fingers to my lips. “Keep your voice down, by the way. Polly’s just down. She hasn’t been sleeping well in this new place, and I want her to get all the rest she can.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Cara replies, mirroring the finger to her own lips. “Can I have a coffee? I could really use a hit of caffeine…”

“I’ll bet you could,” I agree, as I make my way over to the kitchen. “You’ve been pulling double shifts working and helping me take care of Polly.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replies. “She’s a sweetheart. How’s she finding the new place? Apart from the struggling to sleep part…?”

“She’s getting there,” I assure her, peeping through the door to her crib, where she is passed out. I have a little baby monitor set up on the living room table, but that doesn’t mean I’m not paranoid and double-checking every chance I get.

“I think she likes the sunshine,” I continue, pouring us both a cup of coffee. “It’s much brighter here than the old place.”

“Maybe that’s what’s screwing up circadian…pathways, or whatever it is,” Cara suggests.

“Maybe,” I agree, as we both settle onto the couch. “Anyway. How have you been? I feel like we’ve hardly spent time together, just the two of us…”

“Well, we’ve had a very welcome addition to girls-only nights,” she laughs, gesturing toward the bedroom. “I’m good. I actually—uh, I actually came here because I wanted to talk to you about something…”

The tone in her voice sets my teeth on edge. I’m sure I know where this is going—it was only a matter of time, after all. I know she saw Luca with me when we turned up at the old apartment, and I don’t have any good reason to keep the doctor who helped birth Polly around unless there’s something else going on.

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