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With Aaron gone, I finish packing up and head to my car feeling happy about the direction my life’s heading right now. It’s only as I hit the fresh summer evening air that I check my phone.Big mistake.I never responded to Greg, and now it’s too late.
Unknown: I’m here. See you when you finish work
Chapter Thirty-One
Lucy
Myheartstopsassoon as I see my car. Greg’s leaning against the driver’s door, looking calm and collected in fitted jeans and a black sweater. I’ll always find him attractive, only now when I look at him, my insides squirm and my skin prickles—and not in a good way.
“I know she’s my kid, Lucy,” he says, not wasting any time with hellos. “And like I said in my text—I just want to get to know her. From what I’ve seen, she seems like a good kid. You’ve done a good job raising her without me, but you won’t have to anymore.”
What?! My panic spikes and I scan the parking lot hoping we’re not alone. We are, but there’s a camera pointed right at me, so if anything happens the security guards will see.Won’t they?
“How do you know anything about her?” I ask, trying to appear unaffected.
“I was driving by your mom’s and she was out front. She’s adorable. She looks just like you, but I had the same hair color when I was younger.”
“Nobody drives past my mom’s place. It’s not on the way anywhere.”
Greg’s brows furrow and he frowns. “Sorry, this is coming out wrong. I’m not saying any of this as a threat.”Feels like it.“I just… I want to get to know her. Ever since finding out I have a child, I can’t get her out of my head. And since you’re ignoring me, I wanted to see her. That’s all.”
I sigh. That calms me a little, though it probably shouldn’t. He seems sincere but then again, that’s how Greg works. He always managed to suck me in, one way or another, in the past, so I need to stay alert when it comes to him.
“You can’t just show up where she is, Greg. Even if she was your daughter—”
“She is.”
“Evenifshe was,you can’t do that to her. She needs to be eased into it.”
“So can I see her? To ease her into it.”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.It’s okay. Katie’s okay. Just be rational.
“You know we’ll never be a family, right?” I ask, instead of answering his question.
“Maybe not. But I still deserve the chance to be her dad.”
Ugh, unfortunately that’s true. It doesn’t matter what he’s done to me; I have no right keeping her from him, especially now that he knows she exists.
“How about we plan a time together? I’ll bring Katie,andDylan, and you can meet her.”
“Why does Dylan have to be there?”
“For Katie. He comes or she doesn’t.”
He nods as a smile lights up his face, coming across as genuine.Please let it be genuine.
“I’ll text you on your work number. But maybe sometime next week?”
“I’d prefer sooner, but I’ll take what I can. Thank you, Lucy. I’m going to show you that you can trust me again. I will.”
“You better hope so, because Katie will only be in your life if you do.”
Greg presses a kiss to my cheek before walking away, and as soon as his back is turned, I exhale, my body deflating as I wipe all traces of him from my face.
This is my worst nightmare coming true. I have to believe that he’d never hurt Katie, but I’m terrified that he will.
Falling back against my car, I blow out a breath and still myself, until my pulse returns to normal. I don’t want her to know him. But keeping them apart is not really my decision to make. The last thing I want is for him to go the custody route, because then anything could happen.I could lose her.
