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“In Brookhaven?” Chloe smiled, but it was strained. “I don’t think so, sweetie. If there was a castle around here, we would have seen it by now.”
Undeterred, Mia told her, “The castle could be hiding.”
She jumped off his lap, grabbed his hand, and tugged on it. “Come on! I want to show you my toys.”
“Can’t say no to that.” He winked at Chloe on his way out of the room. “Back in a second.”
Chapter Eighteen
A few days later, Chloe was in the back of her store baking, and Nik was waiting on a customer when Kristina breezed in with Mia at her side. Their little girl let out a squeal when she saw Nik and ran straight to him. Chloe went out to the front in time to see him scoop Mia up and flip her upside down. Mia giggled incessantly.
“Careful,” Chloe said. “Watch out for her head.”
“She’s not made of glass,” Kristina said. “I’m sure Nik won’t drop her.”
Chloe blinked at her sister. Since when was Kristina on his side? She didn’t think they had spent any time together since Vegas. What happened to Chloe being too good for him?
And why didn’t Mia squeal with delight when she saw her?
A nagging feeling she was losing her baby persisted in the back of her mind. Of course, that was silly. Mia loved her, and Nik swore he wouldn’t try to gain custody. His mother didn’t know about her. Everything was good.
Kristina pulled an envelope from her purse. “Guess who’s got copies of the wedding pictures?”
Excitement coursed through Chloe’s veins, making her forget everything else. She started to open the envelope, but Kristina shook her head. Her sister placed a hand on top of hers.
“Wait until we leave,” Kristina said. “I’m taking Mia to my house for the weekend, so you two can enjoy some alone time.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Chloe said.
Their solitary customer left, and Nik stopped behind Chloe in time to hear her sister’s offer. He put his hands on her hips as if they were a real couple. She wasn’t sure why. Was he trying to convince her or her sister that he wasn’t just interested in Mia?
“If she wants Mia for the weekend, let her take her,” he said. “We have a lot to talk about, and it’s next to impossible to have a serious discussion with a chatty five-year-old in the room.”
Chloe’s heart froze at the words: serious discussion. “What is it that we need to talk about?”
Had he changed his mind about not seeking custody?
“Mia is lucky to have you for a daddy,” Kristina said. She leaned close for a moment and lowered her voice. “My sister had better be lucky to have you for a husband. Make her happy.”
Chloe’s cheeks burned. “Kristina!”
Mia held her arms up to Nik, and he scooped her up for a goodbye kiss. Then the little girl leaned over to kiss Chloe on the cheek. It all happened so fast that Chloe barely had time to think. She gave her daughter a few last-minute instructions on behaving herself while at her aunt’s house and told her sister what time to bring Mia home.
Kristina took Mia from Nik and walked out the door with her. Mia waved at them over her aunt’s shoulder. She blew a kiss as the glass door swung shut behind them.
Feeling breathless, Chloe turned to him and repeated, “What do we have to talk about?”
The bell over the door rang, signaling another customer. Nik went straight to work on charming the young woman while waiting on her behind the counter. Horrible ideas came to Chloe one at a time, each one worse than the last. She couldn’t simply dismiss them. They all seemed like plausible obstacles.
What if Nik wanted to stay married to her just to keep his daughter close?
What if his mother found out about Mia and insisted on custody?
Once they were alone again, she decided to start the conversation and point them in the right direction. “When we were engaged, you shut me out,” she said. “We had an incredible physical relationship, but that was where it ended.”
“Never heard you complain before.”
“I was too young to understand what we were missing. You never told me about your father, only that you didn’t want to be like him. We didn’t talk about anything.”
