“Easy access to a yacht helps.”
“Dammit, Walker.”
“I know, I know.” He held up his hands in peace. “I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Her eyes narrowed before she turned her back on him. “At least you’ve got the money to open a children’s home if more babies in baskets end up on your doorstep.”
“Come on. That’s a stretch.”
She glanced back. “And two days ago, how likely did you think it would be to have a baby on your floor?” Parting shot delivered, she lifted her chin and sailed from the room.
Walker crouched down by his son, giving the baby his finger to grasp. “I’ll say this for you, little man,” he said. “You’ve got an aunt who’ll keep you in check even if you run roughshod over me.” He stared at the doorway she’d slipped through. “And she’ll be your rock if you let her.”
Just like she’d always been his.
Chapter Four
“You’ve got a healthy son here, ma’am. You must be a proud mama with this little guy in your life.”
Clara offered a brittle smile. “He’s not mine.”
The pediatrician blinked and glanced between her and Walker. “Sorry. Not all families are brought together through biology. A child this young should have no trouble bonding with you, however. Already he understands who loves and cares for him.”
This is not getting any better. Maybe I should have led with “He’s not mine but my idiot best friend’s. A man who understands the inner workings of the most complex software on the planet but struggles to comprehend latex.”
Probably not the best first impression to make on the top pediatrician in the city.
Keeping her thin smile in place, she stayed quiet.
“He came into our lives in an unorthodox way,” Walker cut in. “We just want to know if he’s healthy.”
“Smart,” the doctor replied. “You’ll need regular checkups, of course, but my initial exam suggests your son is doing just fine. No need to worry.”
“That’s a relief,” she said. “We want to make sure he’s doing well.”
“I can promise he is,” the man said. “He appears to be a healthy baby progressing as he should be. I’d say there’s no need to worry, but I understand how overwhelming having a new baby can be for first-time parents.”
“Yes, it’s been a shock,” she said. “Doctor, how soon can we get a paternity test done?”
Both men blinked.
“It is a relatively simple test,” the doctor said, recovering first. “I can do it today and you’ll have the results next week.”
“Excellent. We’d like to do one.”
“Doctor, could you give us a minute?” Walker interrupted.
“Absolutely. I’ll go check on another patient and be right back.” Excusing himself, the pediatrician let himself out of the small white office.
When the door clicked shut, Walker turned to her. “What are you doing?”
She arched a brow. “I should be asking you the same thing. You need a paternity test.”
“Why?”
“Why? Your net worth has more digits than my phone number. You don’t think it might be in someone’s best interest to fake a pregnancy?”
“I don’t think anyone would go this far for a paycheck,” he said, giving Hunter one of his fingers to gnaw on.
Sighing, she walked over to the pair, resting her hand on his shoulder. “I’m not saying he isn’t yours,” she said quietly, crouching down. “I’m just saying let’s make sure now before this goes any further.”
He gazed down at his son. “It’s only been one night,” he said. “One awful, sleepless night and yet…”
“And yet you don’t want the test to say this is all a lie.”
“It’d be the easiest way out of all this, but I can’t believe anyone would use a child as a pawn like this.”
Her heart cracked just a little more. For a man as brilliant as Walker, he’d always struggled to recognize the extent some people would go for a payday. His mind was all logical and reason. He’d forget the outside world existed if she wasn’t around to pull him back to reality every now and then.
Which was why he needed her. This was her area of expertise, not his. She’d spent her life writing about human nature and knew firsthand not all of it was rosy. She hoped for Walker’s sake that Hunter was exactly what they thought he was, an abandoned child in need of his father’s protection. But she wasn’t going to shy away from answers, even if they weren’t the ones she wanted to hear.