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CHAPTER 2
Stella
Ican’t believe it. The man of my dreams is standing right in front of me, staring at me and I swear to God! It looks like he wants to eat me with a damn spoon!
That is, until Daisy realizes we’re not moving and squawks out a protest. Then his whiskey eyes flash golden and he glares at me like I’ve hurt him somehow. It makes me feel like a piece of trash that blew out onto his shiny loafers, leaving a dirty scuff mark.
“Professor Rhodes?” I cringe at the whine in my voice and try to stiffen my spine.
If the last year has taught me anything, it’s taught me to hold my head up no matter what people say about you. No matter what happens to you, you gotta keep going.
I pushed through the embarrassment and shame of getting too drunk to stop a guy from fucking me when I really wasn’t into him. The horror of that little plus sign on the pregnancy test and the tears and second thoughts when I lost my scholarship from missing class when early morning sickness knocked me for a loop.
I held my head up through all of it and now I’m a mom. I glance down, smiling at Daisy. She’s my whole world. No matter what I lost.
People shuffle past me, eyeing me with raised brows. Some of them I know well, some I barely know. But Wildwood, Colorado looks after its own and after I moved back home to have my baby, I got a job at the little art studio here in town and Daffy has been my saving grace. She’s sweet and understanding and she dotes on my daughter. Her husband, Harrison, the big, grumpy growler has showed up on my doorstep on more than one occasion, ostensibly to fix a broken window latch or something. But more often than not, he just ends up playing with little Daisy. His whole face lights up when he sees a baby. It’s actually pretty fucking adorable and Daffy is one lucky girl for catching the perfect guy.
But none of that explains why the gorgeous professor from my college is standing in front of me, glaring around like he’s fixin’ to tackle any man that looks at me cross-eyed.
Hah! Fat chance. I know what I look like and the men of this town have done their level best to keep clear of me. Maybe none of them are looking for a ready-made family. I don’t know. But there’s no me without Daisy now.
“Call me Max,” he growls and I flush when my clit starts pounding between my thighs.
He’s always had that effect on me. Every time he started a lecture, I had to slam my thighs together, the wet dripping down my thighs at his husky growl.
“Ummm…Max.” I barely stutter that out when he snarls back.
“Whose is she?” His whiskey eyes are glaring around us and his big hands flex at his sides like he’s about to slug somebody.
“She’s mine. This is my daughter, Daisy.” I smile down at my little angel and try to ignore the huff that puffs out by my ear when he bends over me.
“I know that. Who is the father?” he snaps.
I lift my brows and anger ripples up my gut and straight out my mouth.
“Doesn’t matter who the damn sperm donor is! She’s mine and that’s all you need to know.”
“Like hell. Is he taking responsibility for his child like he should?” His wide shoulders in his suit practically block out the sun and I glare at the man acting like a neanderthal.
“I’m all she needs. He’s nothing to either one of us.”
He nods and for some reason, the tense look on his lean face relaxes into a smirk. “For now.”
What the hell does he mean? Why doesn’t he look angry now?
“You think that he’s going to change his mind at some point?”
“Even if he does, that doesn’t matter.”
I feel like I’m on a merry-go-round. Going round and round in circles with this man and not understanding half of what he’s saying.
“I’ve got to get back to my place. I’m going to be late for work and my babysitter should be there soon.” I step back from him and turn around but he steps closer and stalks alongside me as I push Daisy in her stroller. She gurgles and the professor smiles down at her. My belly knots, tremors quaking up and down my body all the way to my toes.
Stopping, I stare at him. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“With you, obviously.”
My brows lift and I shove down the weird surge of hope that strikes at my stupid-ass heart. Narrowing my eyes, I glare at him. “Not gonna happen, Professor.”
