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Mia had stolen the show in a lovely lavender dress. Shy at first, she had ambled down the aisle while dropping petals on the floor. When she spotted Chloe waiting for her in the first pew, her little feet moved faster. She was done with her job in record time, but she was cute enough to get away with almost anything.
Chloe left Mia with a bridesmaid so she could search for her missing sister. Kristina wasn’t in any of the obvious places. She hadn’t returned to the bridal chamber to change, and she wasn’t in the restroom. Chloe was about to sound the proverbial alarm, maybe call the police, when she stumbled across her.
Kristina was sitting in the stairwell with a red nose and tears rolling down her face. Her shoulders shook with sobs. She glanced up at Chloe. The tears flowed faster.
Frightened at the implications, Chloe sat next to her. “What’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay?”
Surely, her sister wasn’t having second thoughts about marriage already.
Kristina gave her a look that clearly stated she was stupid for asking. “Do I look okay to you?”
“What happened?” Chloe repeated.
“Someone told Mia brides are supposed to walk down the aisle with their fathers. She asked me if I didn’t have a daddy either, and it broke my heart. I had to get out of there or risk bawling my eyes out in front of Mark, his entire family, and the whole damn world.”
“I am so sorry. Mia hasn’t learned to be tactful yet.”
“That isn’t the point.” Kristina took a moment to blow her nose in a tissue that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Chloe bent forward a bit and saw the box of tissues on the other side of her sister.
Kristina added, “I know who her daddy is now, thanks to our trip to Vegas, but I had to stand there like an idiot with my lips glued shut.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have to tell him.”
Chloe blinked. “Him? Him who?”
“You have to tell Nik Andropolis he’s a father, and you need to let Mia have her daddy in her life.”
Fear rose up Chloe’s throat to choke her. “I can’t do that. You know Nik would hire a team of lawyers, and we’d never see Mia again.”
“Neither of us got to have our daddy growing up. My father died when I was a baby, and yours is some nameless guy mother picked up at a bar. We know what it’s like to grow up without a daddy. How can you do that to Mia? It’s selfish. I’m the shallow one. Remember?”
Tears filled Chloe’s eyes. She hated to think for even a second that she was causing her daughter pain by not coming clean with Nik. But she knew him. She knew his family. They would take her little girl away, and Chloe couldn’t bear that. The Andropolis family members were sharks waiting to smell blood in the water. No way was Mia growing up to be one of them.
“I can’t take the risk,” she said with a firm shake of her head.
Kristina scowled at her. “If you don’t tell him about Mia, I will.”
Chloe held her temper back. She reminded herself that Kristina was having an emotional day and had been ambushed by a well-meaning five-year-old. They both loved Mia and wanted what was best for her. Kristina just didn’t understand what that was yet.
“They won’t let you see her either,” Chloe said. “His mother thinks we’re all white trash. Remember? She won’t want you anywhere near Mia once she gets her hands on her.”
“I’ll hire a good lawyer. Mark makes decent money.”
“They will bleed him dry and leave the two of you homeless. The Andropolis family believes in vengeance. They’ll make sure you don’t have a dime left to your name, so you can’t come after them again. Do you really want to make enemies of the Greek family rumor says first coined the word vendetta?”
Kristina sobbed into a fresh tissue. “It just isn’t fair. I love that little girl so much, and I hate to see her hurting. I want her to have a daddy.”
Chloe sighed. “You think I don’t love her?”
“I didn’t mean to imply that. I know you love her with all your heart.”
“What if I promise to introduce her to her father as soon as the court thinks she’s old enough to decide where she wants to live? They can’t take her by force then.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing. As long as she gets to have a father walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.”
