Page 46 of Pucking Daddy

Reliable and steady.

They were the exact words my lawyer used.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my daughter,” I say quietly. The words come out before I can filter them.

Her expression softens slightly.

“I figured,” she says. “If there’s anything I can do—”

“There might be,” I cut in.

Okay, slow down, I tell myself. Think this through. I have to present it carefully, in a way that won’t scare Zara off or make her think I’ve completely lost it.

And it has to be mutually beneficial.

Her brows pull together slightly. “Okay…”

I don’t say anything else. Because I don’t have it fully formed yet.

Just the outline. The shape of something that feels reckless and controlled at the same time.

My mind replays the call.

“A stable, two-parent household…”

“Marriage carries the most weight.”

My gaze flicks back to her.

She’s still watching me. Waiting.

Like she’s been from the moment she walked into this house.

And suddenly—I can’t unsee it.

The way she fits here.

The way Lily already looks at her.

The way everything feels just a fraction more… balanced with her in it.

This is insane.

It might actually work.

The thought lands, solid and terrifying.

I stare at her for a long second.

Not as my employee.

Not as the woman I slept with.

But as something else entirely.

A solution.

And God help me—