I nod toward a chair next to the kitchen table. I had dropped my coat and my purse there after he let me in. “It’s in my purse. I put it in there after it was delivered today.”
He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans to pull out a folded envelope. “This is mine.”
I look down at it expecting that it would be torn open but it’s not. It’s sealed shut, just like the one in my purse. “You didn’t open it?”
“No.” He places it down on the counter. “I know what the results are going to be. I’m the baby’s dad. I feel it, Chloe.”
That brings tears to the corners of my eyes. I wipe them away with a swipe of my hand. “My emotions are all over the place lately. One minute I’m sad, the next I’m mad. I feel sorry for my assistant.”
He places both his hands on my hips. “Emotions are good. You need to get them all out. I do. My colleagues would tell you that I’m a bastard one day and a prince the next.”
“It’s hard to imagine you acting like a bastard.” I reach up to cup my hands around the back of his neck. “I’ve only ever seen the charming side of you.”
He lowers his lips to mine. “You bring out the best in me.”
Chapter 38
Evan
“We don’t have to fuck every time we see each other, Chloe.” I’m even stunned when I hear those words leave my lips.
Chloe looks just as shocked as I feel. “I was taking off my sweater because it’s warm in here, Evan. I have a T-shirt on underneath. Did you think I was just going to strip here in the kitchen so you could bend me over the table and have your way with me?”
I slide my hand over the front of my jeans. “Now you’ve gone and made my cock hard.”
Her gaze travels down my body. “I’ll take care of that later. You said that you know what the results of the paternity test are, but are you going to open it?”
I look over at the envelope. When it was delivered to the hospital earlier I was in surgery. Vanessa was the one who handed it to me afterwards.
She didn’t ask me what it was about and I didn’t offer. I trust her, but I’m not going to share the news about the baby with anyone at work at this point.
I have every intention of introducing Chloe to Jordan and Kylie very soon. I want her to meet Jack too.
Although we haven’t had a discussion about where our relationship is headed other than to a delivery room, I want the people in my inner circle to know the woman I’m falling for. It just so happens that she’s also
the mother of my child.
Sometimes fate smiles down on you twice.
“I don’t need to open it.” I push it aside. “I trust you, Chloe. If I can’t trust you what future do we have together?”
The teacup in her hand wobbles. “Our future? You mean like when the baby comes and we see each other when you’re passing her off to me and I’m bringing her over here for your days?”
There’s way too fucking much to absorb in that response. I hone in on the part about the baby’s gender “You think it’s a girl?”
I’ve had dreams of being a dad to a little girl. It’s not that I’ve ever longed to be a father other than that stint I served as Kim’s pseudo-baby daddy. Sometimes when I’m dead tired from working myself into a coma, I’ll dream about holding a small girl and I instinctively know that it’s my daughter.
“I want a healthy baby.” She rubs her hands over her stomach. “I’ll be happy either way.”
“But you said her , Chloe,” I point out as I cover her hands with my own. “Do you think we’re having a little girl?”
She gazes down at where our fingers are linked together. “I feel that, but maybe that’s wishful thinking? I’d love to have a son too. I’d teach him all about hockey.”
“If it’s a girl, you’ll teach her all about hockey too,” I say softly as I rest my cheek against her head. “This baby is going to be just like you. It’s going to be fearless and strong. It’ll storm over every challenge in its way.”
She leans into me. “I know we haven’t talked about it and it is way in the future, but I want you to be there when the baby is born, Evan. I want you next to me watching our child come into the world.”
I swallow back a rush of emotions. I want that too. I want to be there for the delivery and every moment after but those are discussions for another time. I can’t ask this woman to give me a future. She just vaguely mentioned what it will be like when we have a custody agreement in place and we meet to hand off our child to each other.