Page 13 of Secret Baby with My One Timer

“Cheers. Do you wanna sell this place to me? It’s exactly what I’m looking for.”

Adam smiles at Mia before he turns to me. “No way. We’ll be here for the rest of our lives.”

“Even though you’re earning millions?”

“I don’t care about the money. I love playing hockey, I love living here, and I love Mia. I’ve already got it all,” Adam says. “And then when we have a family, I’ll have more than I could’ve hoped for.”

I nod. “I get it.” I say as Mia sits on the sofa and shakes a bottle of milk. Holly, who is sitting beside me, stands up and runs to Mia, taking the bottle from her hands.

I’m mesmerized as I watch Holly crawl on the chair. I know she is eighteen months old, but I never realized she’d be doing so much herself. I feel like I’ve already missed out on so much. Her first smile... Those first steps... And knowing there’s a little girl who should call me ‘Daddy.’

“She’s a cutie, isn’t she?” Adam says, catching me staring at her. “Do you think you’ll want kids, or is hockey your only focus?”

“I want what you have. The house, the wife, the kids, and hockey.”

Adam smiles before he stares at his wife. “I never expected to hear that. Everyone thinks we’re too young for anything but hockey. But I don’t want to wait forever for something we both want now. What’s the point of that?”

“I’m a few years older than you.” I contemplate for a moment. “But I grew up as an only child, with only my father in my life. I get it.”

Adam grins. “You should meet Taylor. She’s the same, an only child, and she grew up with only her mother.”

“Really? And now her mom is sick.”

Adam nods. “And she’s just found out she refuses to sell her home to pay for treatment.”

“She’s dying.” My voice is a whisper as I think about the lawyer and how that news will affect her mom’s health.

“Yeah,” Mia pipes up from the sofa. “Taylor paid for her to have some medical tests a couple of years ago. She thought everything was fine until lately. Turns out she’s been taking some pills to keep the cancer at bay, but they’re no longer working.”

That’s why she sold her virginity, not because she wanted to be in charge of her body.

Fuck!

She’s already going through a shitty time in her life. How can I come in and make it worse? My eyes roam to Holly as she now sits next to Mia, sipping on her milk. I know, regardless of what is happening with Taylor. I can’t give up my daughter to make Taylor’s life easier.

After half an hour, I hear a car pull up outside. The car door opens and shuts, and my nerves are surprisingly frayed.

“Mommy,” Holly yells as Taylor strolls through the door.

“Hello baby,” Taylor replies, swooping her daughter in her arms and holding her tight for ten seconds and kissing her cheek.

“Down,” Holly says, kicking her feet and making Taylor chuckle.

Taylor narrows her eyes as she glances at me before she kisses Holly’s cheek again before gently placing her feet back on the floor. “You don’t cuddle for long enough,” Taylor grumbles, strolling to the couch and sitting next to Mia.

Now I see the hurt in her reddened eyes, the paleness of her face as if she’s in pain herself. Mia wraps her arm around her, and she whispers her mother will be fine.

Taylor nods her head, but tears skate down her face.

“She’ll pull through. Remember when she was sick a couple of years ago, when you paid for her to have some checks because she was tired all the time?”

“What’s wrong with your mom?” I ask.

Taylor’s glazed eyes look at mine. She sighs before she looks at Holly and whispers, “Cancer.”

“Is she having chemo?”

She shakes her head, blinking her eyes hard and trying to clear her vision. My gaze doesn’t lift from her lashes as a tear squeezes out of her eye and rolls down her cheek. I clench my fists to stop the urge from rushing over and holding her.

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