Possessive Baby Daddy

“Klara.” I put my drink down and step toward her. “If you didn’t want me involved, you wouldn’t have come. I never would have known, but here you are.”

“No,” she whispers.

“Yes. You want this. You want me in this baby’s life. And you better believe I’m going to be a good father.”

She clenches her jaw. I can tell she’s fighting back tears. “Don’t,” she says.

“I will,” I growl. “You show up on my doorstep, say you’re pregnant, and I’m supposed to just smile and say good luck? Fuck that. I’m not that kind of man. I take care of my family.”

“We’re not family.” She stares at me. “You were fun. But it was just one night.”

“Klara—”

“This was a mistake.” She turns away. “My life is complicated enough as it is.” She walks inside. I hurry after her and think about grabbing her arm, making her stay, but I let her go. She reaches the door and looks back at me. “I’m sorry if I just dropped a bomb on you. I know that’s not fair.”

“I don’t care about that.”

She smiles. “I believe you.”

“Let’s talk again,” I say. “Tomorrow. Go home, think about things. We’ll meet up somewhere and talk.”

She hesitates. I can tell she wants to do it. “I don’t know,” she says.

“Remember that Mexican food truck? We’ll meet there tomorrow at six. We’ll walk on the beach like that day and talk about it.”

“Shaun—”

“Listen to me,” I growl. “If you’re going to come in here and drop this into my life, then you’re going to at least give me the courtesy of talking to me about it. So you will show up tomorrow.”

She stares at me for a long beat, surprised by my intensity. But she sighs and turns away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I watch her go as my heart beats fast in my chest.

I’m going to be a father.

The thought keeps ringing in my mind.

I’m going to be a father and the mother of my child doesn’t want me involved.

That hurts. I think I can imagine her reasons, and they’re probably good ones. But she doesn’t know me well, or else she’d never expect me to walk away from this.

No, I’m taking my baby. I’m taking her.

It doesn’t matter if she thinks that’s not happening.

I walk back outside and pick up my glass. I knock it back and clench it so hard, I’m afraid it might shatter.

My life has been on autopilot for a long time now. Even this trip out here was just another distraction. I kept telling myself that I was here to diversify my family’s business holdings, and I still believe that’s at least partially true.

But now I see I’m just drifting.

And suddenly, purpose dropped into my lap.

Purpose in the form of a baby. Purpose in the form of a gorgeous, sexy girl that needs to be taken.

I’m not about to turn away from that just because it’s not simple.

Nothing’s simple in life.

I’ll embrace the complicated.3KlaraI wave cigarette smoke away as my father laughs his low, croaking laugh.

Aldo Funk, my beloved father and owner of our company, Truth Hurts Productions, is drunk. Which doesn’t really need to be said, since it’s currently after noon on a Wednesday, so of course he’s drunk.

He laughs again and leans toward the man sitting across the conference room table from us. Aldo pours another glass of whiskey and shoves it over to the guy. He smiles but doesn’t pick it up as my father sloshes his own drink onto the table before managing to get some into his mouth.

“Look, Ricky, kid, you’re the king, right? I agree with what you’re saying, but Divas is a smash. It’s going to be a hit, kid, right? We’re going to put those sexy girls in every single industry in America, film them the whole time, and we’ll all profit.”

“No disrespect, Mr. Aldo,” the young studio executive says, “but we’re just a little hesitant to put these women in dangerous situations.”

“What the hell is dangerous about wearing a bikini while putting together cars?” He cackles again and gestures wildly. “I’m just saying, any asshole can do it. You’ve seen the pictures of those guys working on the auto lines, right?”

I cringe and speak up. “What my father is trying to say is that we take their safety very seriously,” I say. “We’re not going to put them in danger. Any shooting in an auto parts factory will be staged and the girls will never, ever be in any real danger.”

Rick gives me a sallow smile. “I suppose that could work.”

“Trust me, we’ll make it work,” I say. “I agree that the Divas franchise can be huge, if we’re smart about it.” I give my father a glare at that last part. “So let’s just take a step back and think this all through.”

“That’s my daughter,” Aldo says. “Always thinking. She’s the brains here, right? I’m just the smile.” He grins at both of us.