Page 26 of Spring Break With a Baby Daddy
“All right, let’s put them and the father aside for now, concentrate on Lisa first.”
“I’m just covering all the bases.”
“I get that, but our priority should be Lisa and getting all the right legal paperwork for us to keep Cade if that’s what she wants.”
“Cade?”
“Kincade. For his mother and grandmother. But we’ll call him Cade.”
“Hmm… I like that.”
From the corner of my eye I see the smile on her face, and I can’t deny the burst of pleasure her acceptance gives me.
I like pleasing this woman.
Fuck. I just plain likeher.
And the baby’s name isn’t the only thing I’ve been thinking about while driving. “I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Vail had a hard time getting custody of Van because his ex took off before they got married, and I was thinking, adopting Cade might be difficult because I’m single.”
“All true.” Her fingers continue to tap away.
“I know I’ve asked a lot of you already, but if the lawyer suggests being married would make things smoother, would you consider a marriage of convenience to help me adopt Cade?”
It’s the last reason I want to put a ring on Vivi’s finger, but if I can convince her to marry me to secure Cade’s future I’ll have a way of keeping her close.
“Sure.”
Her answer should relieve some of the stress that’s been building with each mile we travel, but it doesn’t. She said it so off-handedly that I have to wonder if she even really heard me.
“Vivian.” I put a sharp edge in my voice so she knows I’m serious. “I’m asking you to marry me.”
“I know. And I said I would.”
“Just like that?”
“Well, no. But I’ve been thinking about how difficult it might be for you to keep the baby and I came to the same conclusion as you. If you were married, adopting him would be easier.”
“You’ve thought about it?” I shouldn’t be surprised—the woman’s brain works at a thousand miles an hour. If anyone would have crossed this particular bridge first, it would be Vivi.
“I told you my brain is always spinning.”
“What else have you thought about?”
“The father.”
“Ah.” Now I understand the social media searching. “You think he could be a problem.”
“It stands to reason he might be. Felicity caused a lot of trouble for Vail and they lived together for all of Van’s life before she took off.”
She isn’t wrong. Vail might not be Van’s biological father, but he was the only father in the boy’s life from before he was born.
“There’s a gas station at the next exit.” A glance in the review mirror at the small mirror Vail fitted to the headrest behind the carseat shows me our quiet baby is squirming, a sure sign he’s about to wake up. “Cade is starting to stir.”
With a yank on her belt, Vivi twists and turns and rises up until she can see into the carseat. “You’re right. And he’s on the nose.”
