Page 45 of His Baby Agenda


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Kingsley told her about all of the witness statements and how many there were that he’d never read before.

“I read yours,” he said at last. “You lied.”

She blushed and pulled her hand back. “I didn’t. I just said that when I woke up you were gone.”

“You and I both know that you were awake when I left your room,” he pointed out.

“Yes. But...you know I fancied myself in love with you, Kingsley. I wanted to protect you in any way I could. But then—”

“I was an ass. I should have said thank you. I should have been nicer when you visited me at the jailhouse.”

“Yes, you should have,” she said. “Why weren’t you?”

“Hours were going by and I was beginning to realize that it wasn’t just a misunderstanding and the cops were definitely going to charge us. I didn’t remember killing anyone and thought we were being framed. I still do. And I didn’t want you anywhere near that mess.”

“It was the only place I wanted to be. But perhaps you were right. I didn’t need to be there.”

He followed the GPS directions and turned in to the development where her parents lived. They had a sprawling Mexican hacienda-style house with a big circular drive. Kingsley parked behind a classic ’69 Corvette.

He got Conner out of his car seat and took his hand as they walked up to the front door. Conner reached up and took Gabi’s, as well.

She was struck by how they were a unit now. The past and future all disappeared and there was only the present and this little family she’d found. The family she’d always sort of wanted but never thought would be hers, which was why she’d frozen last night when Conner had called them that—a family.

* * *

Gabi’s parents’ house was elegant, sophisticated and very homey. But the fact that her father was a federal judge made Kingsley a little nervous. He shouldn’t be, because his own brother was a lawyer and his father a CEO of a big conglomerate.

Maybe it came down to the fact that Javier was Gabi’s father, not that he was a judge. Javier was the father who knew Kingsley had been arrested. The father who had seen his daughter upset and had to send her out of the country to recover.

Now Javier had invited Kingsley over to the grill for a beer and he suspected a serious conversation was coming.

“Your son is adorable,” Javier said. “I remember when Alejandro was that age. They grow up fast.”

The older man held a beer in one hand and a spatula in the other. The chicken had been dry rubbed with some sort of spice combination that smelled delicious. Not for the first time, Kingsley wished that he was just a regular guy enjoying a barbecue.

“Yes, they do. Seems like I was carrying him everywhere just yesterday,” Kingsley said. He remembered the first time he held Conner in his arms. He knew then that he had to stop ignoring the past and fix it. Because he didn’t want his son to deal with the repercussion of his actions.

“You want to protect him,” Javier said.

It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“Yes.”

“That’s the burden and blessing of fatherhood. My own father said this to me one time and I thought, the old man thinks he’s Cervantes.”

Kingsley smiled at that. “I get it. It makes no sense until you have your own kid, though.”

“Exactly. I like you, Kingsley. I have seen you rise from the ashes of something that would have kept a lesser man down, but you just brushed yourself off and moved on. That takes cojones.”

“Thanks.” He wasn’t sure where this was going. He heard the but in Javier’s voice.

“Gabi is my princess. I know she’s not perfect and that she has her flaws, but in my eyes she is faultless and I want her to have everything her heart desires.”

“I want that, too, sir,” Kingsley said.

“Good. If you hurt her, I’ll visit the same pain back on you, and this time you will find it harder to rise from the ashes, understand?”

Kingsley nodded. “You should know I never would hurt her. I protected her the last time.”

“I know. You sent her away. I wasn’t sure if you did it because you didn’t care for her or if you did it to protect her. I’m still not sure, but it was the best thing for her. It made her stronger.”

“Papi, are you talking about me?” Gabi said, coming over and slipping her hand into Kingsley’s.

“I’m warning him not to hurt you, princess,” Javier said with a jovial grin.

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