He reached over and squeezed Harper’s hand. “We’ll start as we mean to go on.”
They walked along the pathway hand in hand, but before he could knock, the door swung open and he was confronted with the woman he’d once thought was the love of his life. And she wasn’t happy.
Gripping the door handle tightly in one hand, and pointing at Harper with the other, Melissa wore an expression of pure accusation. Without bothering with a greeting, she said, “No girlfriends. We’ve talked about this. It creates an unstable environment for Ellie when they change.”
Melissa’s scumbag fiancé, Guy Hansen, appeared behind her, his half smile all affability, but it was a thin veil covering the menace in his eyes. “I’m afraid that’s a nonnegotiable. No girlfriends around Ellie. I know we’re all worried about Ellie’s best interests.”
Nick felt his blood pressure rise. Who was this man to lecture him about his own daughter’s best interests? He drew in a steadying breath and smiled even more broadly than the other man.
“No need to worry. Harper isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my wife.” He held up their joined hands to show Harper’s wedding ring, then his other hand to display his.
Melissa gasped. “You’re married?”
The sleazy fiancé put an arm around Melissa’s shoulders and gave him a stern look. “Now, Nick, this joke is in poor taste. You know how seriously Melissa takes things when it comes to Ellie.”
Nick gritted his teeth and ignored the unspoken accusation of the statement—that he didn’t take his daughter seriously enough—and instead pulled his eyebrows together in mock confusion. “Legally binding marriage vows are no laughing matter, Guy.”
Melissa’s expression morphed from disbelief to suspicion. “You weren’t even seeing anyone.”
“It’s been a while since we knew each other’s movements, Melissa,” he drawled with a hint of a smile. “We’re divorced, remember?”
Guy bristled and drew Melissa even closer against his side. “You’re just doing this for the custody case.”
He felt Harper stir beside him, ready to come to his defense, but he squeezed her hand, silently letting her know that he was fine. “Now, why would I need any help with the custody case?”
Guy opened his mouth, but Melissa cut him off. “How did you two meet?”
Easy. “Harper is an attorney for Tate Armor.”
Melissa’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re hands-on with the business now?”
“Actually, I’m not trying to tell you anything. As I pointed out, we’re divorced. Now, I’d like to see my daughter.”
Melissa met his gaze and held it, clearly deciding whether it was worth trying to satisfy her curiosity further or not...and gauging the likelihood of him telling her more. He didn’t blink.
Then she called over her shoulder, “Ellie. Sweetheart, your father is here.”
Seconds later, his daughter came tumbling from the living room in a red-and-white polka-dot dress, arms outstretched, calling, “Daddeee!” He scooped her up, gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek and held her tight. As he breathed in her sweet scent, the world was suddenly a better place.
* * *
Harper listened to Nick and Ellie chat in the car for the entire trip to the park. She was impressed by Nick’s patience as the little girl jumped from topic to topic. From what Ellie had for breakfast—pancakes. To science questions—how do birds fly? To sightings of her favorite color car—yellow.
Given how reluctant Nick had been to make small talk with his mother and brother, Harper was pleasantly surprised at how easily he seemed to engage in chatty and convoluted conversations with Ellie. Of course, Ellie was adorable and clearly idolized him, which would make her a much more charming partner in discussion than a brother who seemed to delight in trying to get a rise out of him.
When they pulled up and Nick unbuckled Ellie from her child restraint, Harper decided it was time to join in. Developing a relationship with Ellie was an important part of being able to make a good impression on the judge, but more than that, Ellie would be the big sister to the babies. That sibling bond would be priceless, and Harper wanted to start building bridges between them now. Which meant she needed to forge a relationship with Ellie herself.
They wandered over the crisp green grass, the angelically beautiful Ellie holding Nick’s hand, and Harper casting around for something to say. Then she saw a group of older kids at the other end of the park flying brightly colored kites.
“Ellie,” she began in a chirpy voice, “would you like to go and see those kites?”
Ellie glanced up at the sky, her long, ice-blond hair dancing in the breeze, one hand shading her eyes. “No, thank you,” she said politely, then went back to chatting with her father.
Nick threw Harper a rueful smile, then said, “How about we head for the swings?”
Ellie leaped a step and flashed her enchanting smile. “Yes!”
“I love swings,” Harper said. In fact, swings made a whole heap of sense—they were more interactive and fun than watching other kids playing, which was all that would have happened with the kites. She mentally filed the information away for future reference.