by Taryn Quinn
“Preston, please.” His smile was professional and a little stiff. Preston had always been a bit on the formal side. “Let me take your coat.” She handed it over. He quickly hung it on a peg behind the door. “Please, sit down.”
I sat next to Gina and clasped my hands under the table.
Preston slid a folder down in front of us. “The lab sent a copy of the report to you, but since you signed off for a copy to be sent to me, I got a digital one from the clinic.”
My knee started bouncing under the table. “And?”
Preston smiled. “You are definitely the father.”
I let out a slow breath. Gina’s hand settled on my knee and I stopped jittering. “Good.”
“Yes, very good. You told me you wanted to keep the baby regardless, but this makes things easier.”
Gina’s head swiveled to stare at me. “You did?”
“Of course.” I covered her hand. “She’s mine.” I ached to say ours, but I didn’t want to upset her. That word seemed off-limits lately. And I was going to get to the bottom of that today.
“Yes, we’d have a much harder road to travel, but I’ve seen it done before. However, we don’t have to worry about that. We’ve located the baby’s biological mother. She was very worried she was in legal trouble for leaving the baby with you, but once I explained you weren’t looking to file charges, she’s been much easier to speak with.”
The three-hundred-pound weight of worry dropped off me instantly. I clutched Gina’s hand on my knee. “I’d looked into her, but I was afraid I’d hurt my chances of keeping Sami if I did anything untoward.”
“I appreciate that. It makes my job much easier with the judge. You have a great reputation and the few people I pooled for references—”
“You did what?”
Preston gave me a brief smile. “It was easier to go about getting references without your knowledge so I could get an accurate assessment. Again, I knew I wouldn’t have issues. You’re a stand-up man, Jared. Your town respects you greatly.”
I swallowed and looked down at the table. Being a man of law and order in town meant I didn’t always make the Christmas card list. I was fair, but I wasn’t a pushover. “That’s very nice to hear.”
“And with that, I have just a few things for you to read over and sign. We’ll file the petition for all parental rights for Samantha Mae to be yours. Trina will not have any legal rights to the baby, but if you choose to allow her into your daughter’s life in the future, we can revisit things.”
“Not in this lifetime.”
Bee covered my hand with her other hand. “Things change, Brooks. But for now, you will have her safe and sound in your house.”
“Our house.”
She looked away, and one hand slipped away.
“In most cases, a marriage would help this case, but in this instance, it isn’t necessary. I expect Trina to sign off on the paperwork without any issues. She was mostly worried about getting in trouble.”
“She should have been. It was a cold night, and she left my little girl on the porch. I would have helped her. I would have taken the baby.”
“She didn’t know that. She’s a scared young woman who was overwhelmed. But now Sami has a wonderful family.” He looked at Gina and then at me. “I’ll leave you both to read over the paperwork. Take your time.” He stood and held his hand out to me. “I know it wasn’t the best way to get us talking again, but I’m glad I could help.”
I rose. “Thanks, Pres.”
He smiled and left as quietly as he’d come in.
I slipped the piece of paper out of the folder and skimmed the contents. A lot of it was legalese and dry, but the gist of it meant Sami would be mine very soon.
Not that she wasn’t already, but I could make sure everything had my goddamn stamp on it. And she had my name legally.
I quickly signed the paper and slid it back into the folder.
“Tell me why you keep saying you aren’t Sami’s mom.”
Bee flinched. “Because I’m not.”
I turned in my chair, and then spun her around to face me. “You are. In my heart, you are her mom.”
“Brooks, please don’t.”
Frustration bunched all the muscles in my shoulders again. “Why is that so hard to imagine?”
“It’s not. I feel like her mother.”
I grabbed her hands in both of mine. “Then what’s the problem?”
Finally, she looked up. “Is that all I am?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you see me, is that all I am? Just the woman that conveniently fits into your checkboxes?”
“What? No.”
“Aren’t I though?” She pushed back and tried to untangle our fingers. “You keep talking about us like we’re a forgone conclusion, but nowhere in there have you actually seen me. A woman who deserves to be loved. Not just a mother to your child.”
“What?” Panic clawed up my throat. “It’s not like that.”
“And you keep talking about a future together when we haven’t even had a present. We raced past all of it. Do you know we haven’t even had a normal date?”
“We tried to, but then the tree lighting thing kind of got pushed aside for a near concussion.”
“That wasn’t our date, you jerk.” She stood up and I had to let her hand free. “I had a date with Caleb because he saw me. Wanted to go out with me.”
“The hell with that. He doesn’t know you. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“Oh, and you do?”
“No. I don’t deserve you, dammit.” I slid my hand around her waist.
She pushed me away. “It’s not just that. In all the future plans you have, you keep talking about a baby, more kids, a family for Sami.”
“Of course. I want a family with you.”
“But what if I can’t have one?” Her eyes were wild and brimming with tears.
“What does that mean?” My stomach pitched. This seemed way bigger than just my forgetting to romance my best friend.
“I’ve had a lot of female problems over the years.”
I frowned, but I didn’t interrupt her.
“I don’t want to give you a lesson in the female reproductive system, but in layman’s terms, I might not be able to have kids.”
“Oh, Bee.” I went to her again, but this time, I wouldn’t let her push me away. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”
Misery etched her face, and her tears flowed unchecked. “Just stop.”
“No, I won’t stop. You’re all I want, Bee. All I’ve ever wanted.”
A sob broke from her, but she didn’t nudge me away.
“I’ve never been a guy who wanted a family. I came from a pretty fucked-up one. You know that. My dad did the best he could, but I always figured I wasn’t meant for it.” I cupped her face. “Then I met you.” I thumbed away her tears. “I was too afraid to screw us up. I settled for friends because then I knew you’d never leave me.”
“Jared.”
My eyes stung, but I kept going. “You have to believe me. You’re who I want to be a better man for. I love you, Bee. The way you are with my baby only emphasizes that love.” I lowered my mouth to hers for a soft kiss. “You fit me. We fit with Sami and Sadie and make a perfect family. I don’t need anything or anyone else.”
“What if you want more kids someday? I can’t keep you from that.” Before I could answer her, she shook her head. “I know you. You always do the right thing. You’d stay with me even if you weren’t happy.”
“I don’t want more kids unless they’re yours, or if we decided to adopt one day. That would be okay too. Someday. It doesn’t have to be this year or five years from now. All that matters is you’re with me.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because it’s always been about you. Just you, Bee. I wish you knew that.”
She shut her eyes, but the tears kept flowing. She wrapped an arm around my neck. “I love you too.”
I crushed her to me. I kne
w in my heart she loved me. She showed me every day, but the words washed out the last of the nerves. “I wish you’d told me all this sooner, Bee. I never would have let you suffer thinking you were worth any less. You’re so much more than that.”
“Yeah, well, we haven’t been very good at talking.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist. “That’s true. But I promise I’ll woo you.”
“Woo me?” She cocked her head. “Do you even know how to do that?”
“I can learn. There’s YouTube and my friends. They managed to marry very nice women. Well, except John. His woman is kinda mean, but she grows on you.”
She laughed and buried her head in my chest. “Don’t let Macy hear you say that.”
“That she’s mean?”
“That she grows on you. She likes being mean.”
I lifted Bee off her toes and took her mouth. I didn’t want to talk about Macy or anyone else. I just wanted to show her every day that she was supposed to be mine, just as much as I was supposed to be hers.
“Can we go home and see our daughter now?”
She laughed. “Yes. But I still expect a date night every week. And I’m not moving in with you right away.”
“We’ll see.”
“Brooks.”
I set her down and cupped her face. “Bee?”
She sighed. “Yes?”
“I love you. That’s all that matters.” I grinned. “And I’ll make sure you know it every damn day.”
Epilogue
Gina
January
“Why on Earth would you move in winter?” Luna grunted as she tossed another bag of clothes into the back of the U-Haul I’d rented.
“You should be happy since you’re moving into my place. And believe me, it is clean. Between my mother and my sister, there isn’t even a speck of lint in there.”
I rolled my planter off the curb and onto the ramp. I blew out a breath and shoved it up the rollers.
“I appreciate it. It has decent energy too. I’ll be cleaning the crap out of it though. Between the sex vibes in the building and the ghost hanging out on the third floor, I have a little work to do.”
I shook my head and collapsed on my hassock that Jared and Mason had loaded onto the truck before they took off. Jared’s brother was very handy with his big Dodge Ram pickup. They’d taken my mattress and box springs for the spare room.
It had been Jared’s storage and dumping ground for useless junk. His secret Monica closet. He hadn’t gotten the reference. My guy wasn’t much for pop television.
After I introduced him to Friends, we’d been binging it on date night. True to his word, once a week Jared found ways to do something romantic.
Sometimes it was his version of romance, which meant sex and a steak. Handily, I enjoyed both of those things, as well. But other times he got more creative.
Like a drive through the lights in the park for Christmas in Syracuse, which included a very off-season custard place. Evidently, no one got between the people of Syracuse and their frozen treats.
But mostly, we just got to know each other on another level. We’d been best friends for years, but there was a surprising array of things I didn’t know about Brooks.
Like he loved to take photos of trees. He’d been rebuilding a boat with his dad for a while now. And in the secret shame room, he hid a model train set he’d kept since he was a boy.
He didn’t know it yet, but that train would be set up next Christmas. I’d already found some online places to buy tracks. It seemed like the perfect thing to build up every year as a little something between us.
Luna disappeared for another load of clothes. They were the last bits we had left to move. The guys had done all the heavy lifting, thank God. I collapsed back on the hassock and willed myself to move.
My will was not strong.
“Attention, people of Crescent Cove!”
I sat up. What the hell? I peeked out from the truck. Who the hell was using a megaphone? My apartment was above Brewed Awakening, which was right across from the park near the gazebo and the lake.
“I have an announcement to make.”
No. He wouldn’t. That couldn’t be him.
“Regina Maria Ramos, I see you over there.”
I ducked back into the truck. “No Regina over here.”
“Bee, don’t make me come over there and drag you out of that truck.”
I was filthy, sweaty even though it was barely thirty-nine degrees today, and wearing the junkiest clothes I owned. He was not going to put me on the spot.
“Ladies and gentleman, the woman I love is moving out today. Do you know why?”
“To live in sin,” came a loud female voice.
“Dios mio.” That was my mother’s voice. I tried to get farther into the back of the truck but damn Jared and Mason for being Tetris experts. There was barely an inch left for me to hide in.
“Bonnie, she won’t be living in sin.”
My heart raced. No way. He wouldn’t. Brooks would prefer to saw his badge in half rather than make a public spectacle.
“Bee? I have a question for you.”
I peeked out from the truck again. “What are you doing?” I raised my voice so hopefully he’d catch a hint. “Aren’t you supposed to be delivering my things to your house?”
“I have something important to do first.” His voice got louder. Where did he go?
The front door of the moving van opened then the whole damn thing shook. A loud bang thundered over my head.
“Brooks?”
“Up here, Bee.”
I peered up and almost fell out of the truck. “What are you doing?”
“Well, you mentioned I didn’t woo you enough.”
“This is your idea of wooing?” I jumped down off the ramp to the street.
He was sitting cross-legged on the roof of the van. “I wanted the entire town to know just how serious I am about you.” He lifted the megaphone to his lips again. “Bonnie, you still out there?”
“Yes. Go on, future-son-in-law.”
I covered my eyes with my hands. “This is not happening.”
“Regina Maria Ramos—”
“Can you stop saying my full name? I feel like I’m in trouble.”
“You are in trouble. You’re going to have to deal with me for the rest of your life.”
“Again, you aren’t asking anything!” I shouted back.
“I love you, Bee.”
Tears sprung unchecked down my face. “You’re crazy.”
“I am. I’m crazy about you.” He rose, his arm tucked against his side. His incredible blue eyes were either red-rimmed from the cold or from tears. “Marry me.”
I shook my head. “Still no question mark in there, Brooks. I’m not a foregone conclusion.” But I really was, and I was okay with it.
I’d never tell him that though.
He tossed the bullhorn at me and climbed down the ladder on the side of the truck.
I was too busy laughing as he stalked toward me. He went down on one knee and held his hand out for the megaphone.
“I think we can do without it.”
He grinned up at me and fumbled in his pocket. With more pomp than I’d ever expected from my stoic best friend, he pulled out a velvet box and flipped it open. “Will you marry me, Bee? Take me and Sami and Sadie forever?”
“Oh, Brooks.” I couldn’t even see what was in the box through my tears, but I knew it would be perfect.
Well, perfectly Brooks.
I threw myself into his arms. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
“Thank God.” He fell back onto the ground on his butt and I straddled him in the middle of Main Street. I held out my hand and he slipped the ring on, and then pulled me in for a kiss. “I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world,” he said against my mouth.
“You’re going to drive me crazy is what you’re going to do.”
“Probably.” He wrapped his arms around me and k
issed me hard, his lips cool and warm at the same time. And just maybe they were a little salty.
“You’re still living in sin until you get married, you know.”
We broke apart at the booming voice.
“Ma,” I laughed.
Bonnie had the megaphone now. “You’re all invited to the wedding.”
“Oh, shit.” Jared lifted me off the ground and stood. “Wait, Bonnie. We want a small wedding.”
“No, we don’t.” I moved over to stand by my mother. “I think I want a big wedding.”
Brooks paled. “You do?”
I smiled wider. “Oh, yeah. Think your brother will give us a deal?”
He blew out an exasperated breath. “Probably.”
“Good.” I ran over to him and jumped into his arms. “We’re getting married.”
He flashed me his hugest grin yet. “Damn straight, we are.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Don't count out the babymaking process yet, this is Crescent Cove, you know…
Thanks so much for reading DADDY UNDERCOVER. All we had was one seductive night, New Years Eve. No names. No phone numbers. No second chances. Then I accidentally ended up working as his nanny...and I just found out I’m pregnant.
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CEO Daddy
I might be single and alone on New Year’s Eve. But I’m not woe as me. No, ma’am. I’m looking at this moment as an opportunity to cherish my solitude.