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She gasped.
He went on without a pause. “Every single day and night of every week of every month of every year. That’s what I want, but I will settle for less. For now. You’re her mother, so you get to decide how often I see her. I don’t like it, but I’ll comply with your wishes.”
His words put her at ease. Slightly. She wasn’t happy with his first declaration of always wanting Mia with him. He had meant every word. She could tell by the intense ache in his voice. Little Mia had stolen his heart. Good. That meant he wouldn’t walk away from her. He wouldn’t break Mia’s heart. He would protect her and stay loyal to his last breath.
A sliver of envy embedded itself beneath her skin. Deep down, she wished Nik still felt that way about her. She wished he loved her like she knew she would always love him.
On the other hand, it might be better if he didn’t. They couldn’t be together anyway. Nik was doing a good job ‘slumming it’ so far, but his true nature would eventually return. He would fly back to Vegas, back to his old life, and Mia probably wouldn’t see him more than a few times a year. Hopefully, the knowledge that her father was out there and still loved her would be enough.
His eyes narrowed on her face. “What put that sadness in your eyes? What are you thinking?”
When she didn’t answer, he took the glass of wine from her hand and set it on the coffee table next to his. He leaned a little closer. His gaze locked with hers. “Tell me,” he said. “Whatever it is, I want to help. I want to put that smile back on your pretty face.”
How could he help when he was the problem?
Even if she had the desire to tell him everything, she had no idea what to say. Thoughts jumbled in her mind. It was a mess up there. She should have downed the wine when she had the chance... or drank something stronger.
“I already told you,” she said. “I’m concerned about my daughter and your plans for her.”
He sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you I won’t try to gain custody?”
“What if you put it in writing? Would you be willing to sign a contract?”
“What kind of contract? Are you asking me to sign away my rights to my own child?”
Was she? The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she had time to think about what she wanted to say. He’d been pressuring her to tell him what was bothering her. She hadn’t been ready, but now that it was out there she needed to give it real thought. Did she want him to sign away his parental rights? Would that make her feel better?
“If you sign something, I’ll know you mean it.”
The most important thing was he couldn’t change his mind. If they had a fight, he couldn’t decide to take Mia away out of spite.
His mouth compressed into a tight line, and his eyes turned to shiny black ice. “My word should be good enough for you, and I offered to put it in writing when I first learned I had a daughter. You turned me down. Too bad. I’m not signing anything now.”
“You want me to trust you, but you didn’t trust me when it counted.”
“And I apologized for that.”
She jumped to her feet. “Saying you’re sorry doesn’t change the past. You hurt me when you refused to listen to me for just five minutes. You wouldn’t even give me five minutes, Nik.”
He stood, and she went to the opposite wall to keep distance between them. If he reached out, if he touched her, all of her misgivings would melt away. She was determined not to back down this time. Mia was more important than anything else in her life.
“Why should I trust you when you don’t trust me?” she asked.
He threw his hands into the air. “I do trust you, Chloe! I know I didn’t trust you enough six years ago. We were young, and our relationship was new. How many times do I have to apologize for—”
“Stop yelling at my mommy!”
They both turned their heads at the same time to see Mia standing near the staircase with a small teddy bear dangling from one hand. She was in her cute pink nightgown that made her look extra vulnerable. Chloe could see the fear in the little girl’s eyes all the way across the room.
Chloe hurried to her. “It’s okay, sweetie. Daddy and I were just talking.”
“I want him to go away.” Mia’s lower lip trembled. “I want him to stop yelling at you and go away.”
Chloe opened her mouth to try to explain things to Mia, but Nik held his hands up in surrender. Looking defeated, he headed for the door. Chloe didn’t need to see the pain in his gaze to know how much Mia had just hurt him. Unintentionally.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he said.
Swift on his feet, he was out the door before Chloe could protest. She hunched down for a moment and kissed Mia on the forehead. “Go back to bed, sweetie. I’ll be up there in a minute.”
