They both knew the court date loomed at the end of the year and something had to give before then. He was counting on the PI to find something incriminating on Kayla, because Austin wasn’t going to put his daughter through any more stress by being forced to relive past events. She was going through enough, courtesy of her mother.
The night after she’d seen Kayla, Bailey began having nightmares. She’d wake up crying, coming to him and disrupting his eight hours because it took her too long to fall back to sleep… in his bed.
With Bailey’s life in turmoil, Mia stepped up even more. She kept Bailey’s schedule busy with friends and special projects so she had no time to dwell on the mean lady at school, as she’d called Kayla one night while crying herself to sleep and breaking Austin’s heart.
Mia fit into his life so seamlessly and on so many levels it scared him, and for a man who used to use a gun in his daily job, that struck him as ridiculous. But look at the situation he was in thanks to letting himself be manipulated by Bailey’s mother. Austin was finished with marriage and happily ever after and Mia still wanted those things. Hell, after the childhood she’d had, she deserved those and more.
He just couldn’t give them to her. With a little girl in his room at night and them both keeping busy during the day, he and Mia hadn’t connected again, and maybe not being able to drag her back into his bed really was for the best.
“Can I lick the bowl?” Bailey’s voice traveled to him and he forced himself to stop overthinking and step into the room.
“Hi, girls.” Austin came up to the counter. Mia was putting the cupcakes into the oven while Bailey was, as she’d requested, running her fingers through the bowl and feasting on the remaining batter.
“Daddy!”
“Those cupcakes look good,” he said as Mia slid the final tin into the oven.
She turned back to him and grinned. “It’s Bailey approved. Chocolate cupcake and confetti frosting.”
“Yum.” He actually wasn’t so sure about the confetti. He figured it was too rich for his taste.
“Taste.” Bailey held out a finger for him to lick, but it was a wet finger that had been in her mouth numerous times. “Umm, I think I’ll take a pass.”
Mia chuckled. She picked a clean part of the bowl that Bailey hadn’t yet tackled and swiped her finger into the batter. She slid it into her mouth and moaned in delight, inadvertently meeting Austin’s gaze as her lips cupped the frosting-coated finger.
His cock twitched at the sexy sound that escaped her lips, not to mention the visual of her sucking off her finger, something she’d yet to do to him. He was grateful the counter between them blocked his firm package from being noticed. Her gaze locked on his, sudden awareness in the mossy depths. He wanted nothing more than to say to hell with what was for the best and drag her off to his bedroom so she could suck on his cock the same way.
“Isn’t it good?” Bailey asked Mia.
She jerked her stare away from Austin and he swallowed a rough cough.
“I think your friends are going to love the cupcakes,” Mia said in a husky voice. “Let me set a timer.” She turned away to focus on her task but the awareness between them remained.
* * *
After dropping the cupcakes off at Bailey’s school, Mia returned home to a blue car turning into the driveway. Since it was blocking her ability to pull into the garage, she parked on the street and exited the vehicle, walking toward the car.
A man climbed out of the driver’s side and met her halfway down the drive. “Mia Atwood?” he asked.
She didn’t recognize him at all, which made her nervous, especially after what had happened at the grocery store.
“You’ve been served,” he said, handing her the manila envelope she hadn’t noticed was in his hand.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Information’s inside. Have a good day.”
“But—”
He didn’t wait for her to speak, merely returned to his car, climbed in, and turned on the ignition. She stepped aside so he could pull out of the driveway, turning her attention to the ominous-looking envelope.
Could this have to do with Austin’s custody case? She opened the folded flap and pulled out the blue-backed page, scanning the contents, a sickening feeling settling in the pit of her stomach with every word she read.
The State of New York versus Parker Alexander. Retrial for embezzlement among other crimes. She swallowed hard, nausea filling her. She didn’t understand, thought her ex-employer was in jail. She flipped the envelope in her hand and a business card fell out. A glance told her it was the same district attorney she’d dealt with during the last trial.