Page 23 of A Secret Baby for Christmas
“It matters to me,” Allie says huffily.
She folds her arms like a petulant child, and I’m reminded of when she was six years old and trying to get me to buy her a new Barbie from the toy shop.
I employ the same tactics I used back then. Firm and fair.
“I’m going to give you some time to adjust, because it’s a shock. But Chloe and I are together, and you’ll need to find a way to get used to it. I won’t give her up, Allie, not her or Hugo. I love her too much.”
I keep eye contact with her, needing her to understand how serious I am. This isn’t something I’m going to compromise on. I want Chloe and my son, and I hope to hell I can have my daughter too, but that will be her decision.
After a long moment she sighs, and her shoulders deflate.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I feel betrayed, Dad. You two went behind my back. You were sneaking around laughing at me.”
Tears prick her eyes, and my fatherly instinct is to comfort her. I move into the kitchen, and she lets me take her in her arms.
“Allie Cat, it wasn’t like that. We weren’t laughing at you. We hooked up…”
Allie shudders. “Don’t say that again.”
“Okay. We, um, had one night of passion…”
“Dad!” She pulls out of the hug and looks up at me, shocked. “That’s even worse!”
“Okay. We, um...” I’m not sure how to put it in a way that won’t disgust her, but at least we’re kind of laughing about it, and I know it will be all right.
“We had a date.”
“You dated?”
“Umm. Not really.” I run a hand through my hair, not knowing how to talk about this with my daughter. “Okay. You know she has a baby, so you know what happened.”
Allie winces, but I go on. “What I’m trying to tell you is that it was Chloe’s choice to disappear after that night. I didn’t know she was pregnant; I didn’t know about Hugo until she turned up here two days ago. I’ve been miserable for the last year without her. I thought it was a casual one night thing for her…”
“Eew!” Allie interjects.
“But since she’s been back, I know we’re meant to be together. Allie, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
Allie gasps in shock and stares at me. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. And I’d like your blessing.”
She rests her head on my chest and takes a few longs breaths.
“I can’t say I’m crazy about it, and I need some time to get used to the two of you being together. But if you make each other happy, then I’ll find a way to be happy for you.”
I kiss the top of her head, feeling relief and also pride at my daughter’s maturity.
“We’ll be discreet.”
She crinkles up her face again, and I chuckle. The sooner we get out of this shared accommodation, the better. I want to show off Chloe as my woman, but I’ll respect Allie’s feelings if I have to.
Just then Hans shuffles out of the bedroom with a worried look on his face.
“I’ve just been speaking to Axel. The roads are closed. Another storm’s set in.”
“Do you need to go out and clear pathways?” Allie asks.
Hans shakes his head. “Not for now. We can enjoy Christmas, but we can’t let anyone leave the resort until the roads are safe.”
