Page 56 of The Billionaire's Accidental Daddy Duty
I closed my eyes and let his sweet baby scent and giggles fill my senses. He’d been gone for only a day, and I already missed him something fierce. What if he wasn’t mine? Could I really go on with my life and never see him again? I rubbedmy chest, inhaling deep to ease the odd tightness I’d had there since Harper came over to my flat to take him home. The little guy had been so happy to see her. Seeing him go broke my heart. But there was no question about it, he belonged with his mother.
“Lisa.” I lifted my gaze toward my office door. “Get Doctor Condren on the phone, would you?” I was done waiting for his call. Not knowing if Joey was mine was killing me.
“Right away.” She nodded from behind her desk, grabbed the phone and wedged it between her neck and shoulder. “I got his office on the line. I’m on hold.”
“Put them through. I’ll wait.”
When she did, I pushed the speaker button and sat back. Static along with some terrible jazzy tune made my nerves stand on end. I hated waiting.
“These are beautiful.” She gestured toward the rings.
I snapped my head up and blinked to focus on her face. I hadn’t realized she had joined me. “They’re all wrong.”
“Maybe it’s not the ring that’s wrong. But the bride.” She shrugged. When I furrowed my brows at her, silently asking her how the hell did she know I wasn’t marrying Isla? She smiled and showed me her phone. “You’re trending again.”
“Fuck me.” I braced my elbow on the armrest and rubbed the creases on my forehead. “What are they saying now?”
“Mostly how Isla’s plan backfired because you’re marrying a mystery woman instead.” She tapped on her screen then showed me a picture of me inside Tiffany’s.
“How do they even know?” I shook my head.
“They’re making it up asthey go.”
“They got it right this time. How is Isla? Have you seen her?”
“She called in sick.” She offered me a kind smile.
Great. Now my admin was feeling sorry for me. “Did she say when she’d be back?”
“She said maybe tomorrow.” Lisa pressed her lips together as if it were taking a great deal of effort to not ask more questions about what had happened between Isla and me.
“Thanks. That’s all.” I motioned toward the door. I needed to be alone.
The automated voice on the speakerphone came on and informed me I was next in line and that my wait time was ten minutes. I uttered a string of curse words, then turned my gaze back to the rings. Though my mind went straight back to Isla and all the nights we’d spent together in the flat that now felt more like home than any other place.
“What did you ask for, Declan?” Her question from days ago echoed in my head. She was convinced the law of synchronicity had brought Joey to me. I hadn’t asked for a baby. But now that I thought about it, I realized that not long ago I had asked for one thing: a place that felt like home. I was tired of traveling, wandering from one city to another alone and without any real purpose—drifting. Making money no longer felt like a valid goal to have. I wanted more, so much more.
I wanted Isla. I wanted a home with her and Joey.
I missed the way her energy filled every nook and cranny in my life. I missed her laugh and the way she looked at me whenever I did something she found impressive. I missed the sweet kisses she planted on Joey’s head every time she puthim down for his nap. When she lived with me, when I had a family of my own, I felt whole—happy. Why did it have to end? That was just it, wasn’t it? The real problem with this entire situation was that I didn’t want my time with Isla to end. I wanted the family she and I had managed to put together when I thought my life as I knew it was over because of a little baby.
“Mr. Noble?” A female voice snapped me out of my reverie. “Are you still there?”
“Yes.” I sat forward, bracing my hands on the desk. “I’m here.”
“I apologize for the wait. Doctor Condren has your results. I’ll transfer you now.”
“Thank you.” I stared at the phone with my heart thrashing in my ears.
“Declan. How are you?” Doctor Condren came on the line.
“Good.” I wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. “Do you have my results?”
“Yes.” He paused, letting the static grow louder in the room. “I’m afraid it’s not good news. I’m sorry. These things happen, you know?”
My stomach churned. In my head, I saw all those days I had with Joey play on a TV screen as if it had happened to someone once. The image faded and left me empty, numb. I wanted to hear him say it, though.Joey isn’t yours. The family you thought was yours doesn’t exist.
“Go on then.”
