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“I’m not gonna lie…” she finally said. “In the beginning, I was worried about my ability to fit into this equation, to care for a child the way I would need to. But I want you to know, I no longer see things that way. If things don’t work out between us, it won’t be because of my fears about Saylor. Anyone would be lucky to have her in their life.”
“Wow.” I kissed the side of her head. “Thank you. I feel like I can breathe a little easier.”
“That’s been on your mind tonight?”
“Yeah. It’s hard not to think about it when I watch you with her.”
“I still think we need to take things slowly, though,” she said.
“Agreed…but…”
She raised her brow. “What?”
“Does that mean I can convince you to stay the night?”
Billie squeezed my knee and sighed. “I don’t know…”
“Saylor always sleeps through. We can get up early and get you out of here. Even though I had that fantasy about taking you in the laundry room, I’d much rather take my time and do it in my bed. We just have to be quiet. No holes in the wall tonight.” I wasn’t above begging. “Please…” I said, sounding like Saylor when she’d asked me for a second helping of dessert. Except I wanted way more than two helpings of Billie.
“What if she gets up and sees me?” Billie whispered.
“I’ll lock my door. I still have a baby monitor, and I can hook it up so we can hear her if she gets up. Even in the worst-case scenario, if she saw you here, she’s young enough that she doesn’t understand sex. So I think we’ll be fine. She’ll just think you’re sleeping over. She’d probably be thrilled.”
Billie’s expression softened to an impish grin. “Can I think about it while you pour me a glass of wine?”
I inwardly did a victory dance and stood up to fetch my girl’s wine. “It would be my pleasure.”
Just as I was opening the bottle, there was a knock at the door. The only people who’d knock on my door at this time of the evening on a weeknight were the guys.
“Are you expecting someone?” Billie asked.
I put the bottle down and headed for the door. “No. It’s probably Brayden or Holden.”
I should’ve checked the peephole. Then maybe I wouldn’t have nearly had a heart attack the moment I saw her. It took a few seconds because it had been a long while. Her dark hair was a bit longer, and she was thinner than I remembered. But the cold eyes were the very same.
The words wouldn’t come to me, so I stood there speechless for several seconds as panic started to seep in.
What the hell does she want?
The woman I knew only as Raven was the first to speak. “Hi, Colby.”
Still nothing. I didn’t know what to say. All I could think was, What the fuck is she doing here, and how the hell do I make her magically disappear before Billie catches on?
“Who the hell is she?” I heard Billie say. My eyes were still firmly on the woman standing at the door.
Remember when I was talking about how the other shoe always drops when things are going well? Well, the other fucking shoe had just landed at my door.
I finally managed the words to answer Billie’s question.
“This is Saylor’s egg donor.”
CHAPTER 17
Colby
Slam.
“Colby, what the hell?” Billie looked at my front door, horrified.
“Whatever she wants, I don’t want to hear it.” I walked back into the living room, filled my wine glass, and chugged half of it down.
“So you just slam the door in Saylor’s mother’s face? What does she even want?”
“First of all, she’s not Saylor’s mother. Biology doesn’t make you a damn parent. And second of all, I don’t give two shits what the hell she wants. Third of all—” My rant was cut short.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Billie and I both turned and looked at the door.
“You need to answer that,” she said.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”
My eyes locked with Billie’s, and we stared at each other. I hadn’t thought there was anything I could say no to this woman about, until this moment.
Fifteen seconds later, the knock on the door grew louder.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Billie sighed. “Colby…”
I stayed rooted firmly in place while I lifted my wine to my lips and guzzled the remainder of the glass.
“Open the door, Colby! I need to talk to you!”
I felt anger rising inside my body. It started in my toes, traveled up through my legs and torso, and settled in to heat my face.
“Colby, she’s going to wake Saylor. And then what?”
I still hadn’t moved. Not until my daughter padded out from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes. “Billie, were you just yelling?”
Billie immediately walked over and bent down to Saylor. “No, sweetheart. There’s someone outside. Umm…a woman got locked out of her apartment, so Daddy is going to go outside and help her.” She turned and gave me a look. “Right, Colby?”
