Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Wow.”
“Yes, and I was angry for a while,” he said. “But she was pregnant, and it felt best to work on our marriage and figure out how to become a better man for her. She said she had ended things with him way before finding out, so I just assumed that Aleesa was mine. I . . . I mean, I had no doubts, and she never said there may have been a possibility of him being the father. Things seemed okay after we got past that rough patch and focused on becoming a family. We made plans and tried not to think about those negative things.”
He went quiet for a bit.
“I feel like a man would know if a baby were not theirs. I mean, there would have to be some kind of doubt, right? I never had that feeling with Aleesa. In fact, when I held her in my arms for the first time, I truly felt like she belonged with me. Her eyes were so big, and she was so alert. And it was like we had connected in a soulful way. She did not cry. She just stared at me, as if I were the only person in the world she wanted to look at. I was so proud that I helped create someone so beautiful.”
He paused, drawing in a shaky breath. “But with all of that overflowing joy came immense pain. Eloise hemorrhaged and died the same day.”
“Oh my God.” I cupped my mouth. “Did she birth her at a hospital? Couldn’t they stop the bleeding?”
“No. They tried but could not stop it. There was just too much. She became nonresponsive, and they told me to leave the room with Aleesa. The next thing I know, a doctor is telling me she could not be saved. But what really gets me is that only a few minutes before it happened, Eloise looked at me and smiled with tears in her eyes. She told me she loved me and that I was going to be a great father. It was almost like she knew something bad was going to happen to her.”
“Oh, Javier.” I leaned in and hugged him tight. “I’m so, so sorry. That’s so traumatic. I can’t believe that happened.”
“Sometimes I cannot believe it either.”
I held on to him for a solid minute, my mind racing about that tragedy. No parent deserved that after giving birth. Though beautiful, our bodies had a bad habit of betraying us when we least expected. This was absolutely horrible to hear.
I leaned back and held his hands again, blinking my tears away. “What Eloise said is true. You are a great father, and no matter what happens, we’re going to fight really hard for Aleesa. Okay? No matter what that paternity test says, we’re fighting.”
His eyes crinkled around the edges as he peered into mine. “You would fight for me?”
“Of course I would. And if I need to, I will vouch for you in court. We’re not letting that arrogant dick take her away. Fuck that.”
Javier laughed. “Well, that is good. I appreciate you saying that, babe.”
Once again, my stomach was full of butterflies. “Did you just call me babe?”
“I did. Why? Do you not like that name?”
“No, no. I do like it,” I said. “I just didn’t think that word was a part of your vocabulary.”
“Would you rather I call you baby?” he asked, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Or honey? Oh, wait, no—sweetie pie, or however Americans say it?”
I snorted. “Please stop. If you call me sweetie, I’ll get the ick.”
“The ick? From me?”
“Yes, ’cause then you’ll sound like a sixty-year-old man trying to holler at me.”
He chuckled as he reeled me toward him. I eased onto his lap, draping my arms over his shoulders while he sat back.
“I’m here for you. You know that, right?” I asked in a soft voice.
“I do. Thank you.”
“Good.” I kissed his warm, soft lips.
“And I promise you are safe with me,” he murmured, grazing his mouth across my chin. His lips pressed to the crook of my neck, then he created a trail of hot, delicate kisses to my collarbone. When he skimmed his hand up my back, I tipped my head back, absorbing all his affections.
“So does this mean I’m not fired?”
He came to a halt, and I dropped my head so our eyes could connect again.
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?” I teased.
“Pretending that you are just the nanny. You and I both know you are becoming much more to me than that.”
“Oh yeah? What am I then?”
He studied me briefly, eyes softening.
Then he said, “You are becoming my everything.”
Thirty-Four
Javier
Six days had gone by since the paternity test was taken. I had been nervous during every single hour of those days. I hoped, truly, deep down, that I was the father and would not have to deal with Rafael or the court.