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“Oh.”
Yeah, that had kind of been what he’d said when he read them too. Followed by, “shit, now what.”
“And?” she prompted when he said nothing.
“Cooper’s….” Scott cleared his throat, the words lodged inside. “He’s… he’s my son.” When he’d first read the results, he’d passed the smartphone to Derek so he could read them and make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Unfortunately, Derek read the same words he did. Even after leaving the country club, he’d pulled up the results several times and checked them, hoping that somehow they’d changed or that both he and Derek were seeing things. It never happened.
“Have you called Nicole and told her?” Paige asked softly.
“Yeah, it seemed the right thing to do.” He’d considered telling Paige first, but if anyone needed to know it was Nicole.
Paige tugged a hand free and cupped the side of his face. “How’d she take it?”
“She’s thrilled Cooper’s mine and not Alastair Corey’s. I know, big surprise.”
“And what about you? How do you feel?”
He was still having a difficult time processing the information, never mind dissecting his feelings. He was a father. He had a month-old son. “Upset. Angry. Excited. You name it, I’m feeling it.”
Paige’s eyes closed and she shook her head slightly. “I’m an idiot for suggesting this. But maybe it’d be better for the baby if you and Nicole get back together.”
The anger he’d mentioned before came to the forefront. “Do not even think it. Even if I weren’t in love with you, I’d never give Nicole another chance. Christ, she slept with two other men when we were together. I could never trust her again.” He took her face in his hands. He needed her to understand how important she was to him. “I love you, Paige. Regardless of this, I want to be with you. Not anyone else. Remember that.”
She gave him a semismile. “Hey, I said I was an idiot for suggesting it. I want to be with you too. But I know you’ll want what’s best for your son. And I don?
??t blame you. A child needs to come first.”
Your son. The words tumbled around in his head.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Already called my lawyer in New York. He’ll take care of getting me joint custody. Nicole and I will need to finalize a schedule for when Cooper will be with me and when he’ll be with her as well as a parenting plan. She’s still in Manhattan with him. Monday she’s bringing Cooper over.” Nervous energy sent him to his feet. “I still need to tell my parents. He’s their first grandchild, but I’m not sure how they’ll take the news considering the situation. I’ll go tomorrow while you’re at work and do it.” He paced from one end of the area rug to the other. “At some point, I’ll need to go shopping. Babies need stuff. Car seat. Crib. Bottles.” He envisioned all the foreign items filling his cousin Callie’s house. He had no idea what some of the things even did.
On his next pass, she grabbed his hand. “Sign me up. Shopaholic, remember? It doesn’t matter what I’m shopping for.” He let her tug him back beside her. “If you need moral support, wait until Sunday when we go over and tell them then.”
“You’re okay with meeting my parents this weekend?” The bombshell of having a son had pushed their earlier conversation aside.
“And also with going to your cousin’s wedding and meeting any other family members you want me to.”
“What about Cooper?” Being with one woman while sharing custody of a newborn with another was awkward to him. He imagined it was for Paige too. “It’s my intention to spend as much time as possible with him. He’ll always be a part of my life. Nicole too, unfortunately.” Some women wouldn’t want to help take care of a baby from another relationship.
“I expected as much. Family’s important to you. And while I’d be okay if I never spoke to Nicole again, I understand. She’s the mother of your son. You won’t be able to ignore her. She and I’ll never be best friends. She’s not the type of person I usually spend time with, but I can get along with her. And I’ll help you in any way with Cooper. Not that I think you’ll need much. You did great with my niece in Virginia. She doesn’t let anyone outside the family hold her.”
“Wish I shared your confidence. I held Gabby for what, five, maybe ten minutes? And if she’d needed something your brother and sister-in-law were right there. Same thing whenever I’ve been around my cousins’ kids.” With no difficulty he could envision a scenario where he held a screaming Cooper and paced around his apartment, unable to get him to stop. “I don’t know anything about changing diapers and getting bottles ready.” Maybe Dylan or Trent could give him a crash course. They could call it Daddy 101.
“You’ll figure it out. Changing a diaper doesn’t take a lot of skill. Trust me, if I handled it when I was thirteen and babysat my neighbor’s daughter, you can do it. And you’ll have me too, remember.” She squeezed his hand. “I’ll do my best to be there whenever Cooper stays with you. Or maybe we can get things and leave them here for him too. So sometimes I can come to you in New York or your place in Newport and other times, you can bring him here. I have a spare bedroom I never use. We could turn it into a nursery.”
Next time he saw Mom, he needed to give her the biggest hug and thank-you for asking him to join the bachelor auction. When she’d approached him, he’d been more than a little annoyed. If she hadn’t done it though, the incredible and caring woman next to him wouldn’t be there.
“You’re wonderful, you know that, right?” It’d been too long since he kissed her. Leaning forward, Scott brushed his lips across hers. “Most women I know wouldn’t be so understanding about this.”
Paige pulled away, her face a mask of outrage. “Wonderful? Try fantastic, buddy.” The corners of her mouth twitched as a smile tried to break free. “Or even better, magnificent. Yeah, that sounds more appropriate.” Unable to hold her expression any longer, she grinned at him. “I shouldn’t tell you this because it’ll probably go to your head, but I think you’re pretty wonderful too.”
“Yeah, I know, but someone has to be.” His stomach took the opportunity to rumble so loud, Ryder’s ears twitched when he heard it. “And now might be a good time to order the Chinese you mentioned. Otherwise your neighbors will call the police because my stomach is disturbing the peace.”
Paige tilted her head and ran her gaze up and down his body before meeting his eyes. “We could.” She undid the buttons on her shirt before shrugging it off. Then she went for his. “Or we could wait until later. I’ve missed you this week.” Once all the buttons were undone, she pushed it off his shoulder. “Up to you?” Paige reached between her breasts and undid her bra. “So what’s it going to be?”
Scott ran his thumbs over each nipple, teasing them until they pebbled against his skin. “My stomach can wait. Right now I see something my mouth wants much more,” he said before closing his lips over her.
