“You need to know,” she whispered to him. “You need to protect yourself. Having proof he’s yours also allows you to better protect him. It gives you legal claim over him. You need this documentation, Walker. Please, trust me on this.”
Blue eyes met hers before he drew one finger down her arm in an absentminded caress.
“I hate that you’re always right,” he murmured.
Her heart kicked up a notch. “I know,” she replied. “It’s a terrible cross I have to bear.”
His lips twisted in a brief smile. “Okay. Let’s do the test.”
She gave his hand a squeeze before pushing to her feet again. “I’ll go get the doctor.”
Leaving Walker behind, she slipped out of the room and went in search of their pediatrician. She found him at the front desk, talking with a nurse.
“Ah, Mrs. Beckett,” he said when he saw her.
A shiver ran down her spine.
Mrs. Beckett.
She didn’t hate the way it sounded.
Stop it. That will never be my name. I shouldn’t want it to be. And I don’t.
That would be the most ridiculous thing she’d ever done. She knew how Walker felt about relationships.
He felt the same away about babies, and look at him with Hunter.
Forcing her mind back to the matter at hand, she said, “We’d like to go ahead with the paternity test.”
The doctor touched her arm, gliding her into a hall corner that offered at least the semblance of privacy.
“I’m sorry you must deal with this unpleasantness,” he murmured. “If you need support dealing with your husband’s…infidelities there are numbers I can get you.”
“No, it’s not that,” she replied. “Walker isn’t my husband, and he hasn’t done anything wrong. I’m just trying to protect his best interests.”
The doctor blinked. “All right, then. I’ll go and collect the samples. Would you like to come with me or wait in the waiting room?”
“The waiting room is fine,” she said.
“This shouldn’t take too long. I’ll send them out to you shortly.”
“Thank you.” Taking a seat on one of the white chairs, she grabbed a glossy magazine and stared sightlessly at the page.
One day down, twenty to go.
It’d be a piece of cake.
Right?
…
Hunter slept happily in his car seat as they drove home from the doctor’s office. In a few days, he’d have the verdict. The paternity test would prove Hunter was his.
He might not be.
The thought brought a tangled surge of emotions to the surface. If the child wasn’t his, he’d make sure it was cared for but he’d be off the hook. He could go back to his normal life and so could Clara.
Then again, he’d be back to where he started. No family. Only Clara. That should be the outcome he hoped for. What did he know about raising a child? Hunter’s mother clearly felt the same or he wouldn’t be in the position now.
Once more his mind drifted to the nameless woman who’d helped get him into this mess. Part of him wanted to track her down and demand answers. But another side, the side that wanted the paternity results to come back positive, wanted to keep her away for as long as possible. He needed time to process. To understand what it meant to be responsible for another human being before he could deal with a mother who had no qualms about abandoning a baby.
He dragged a hand down his face. What a mess this all was. He wasn’t father material. Never had been, never wanted to be. But there was no escaping his new reality.
Glancing in the rearview mirror he saw Clara staring at the baby. A baby that wasn’t hers regardless of how the test came back. Yet she still had a soft smile on her lips as she looked down at the child.
“Andrew said he sent a nanny to the penthouse for us today. He interviewed several and thinks she’s the best,” he said to his companion.
Clara glanced up at him. “Your poor assistant. I hope you give him a good bonus for doing all this.”
“He’ll be fine,” he assured her. With the salaries he paid his people, Andrew was probably happy to jump at any request, no matter how unusual.
“If the nanny works out, I’ll call Diane and let her know I’ll be in tomorrow for work.”
“We’ll be fine. Give her a call.”
Pulling up in front of his building, Walker swept from the car and handed the keys to the waiting valet before helping Clara unbuckle Hunter. Pulling the baby into his arms, he tried to ignore the still uncomfortable feeling of holding his own child.
You’ll get the hang of it eventually. Right?
He had no choice. And if there was one motto in his life, it was never to quit. Over and over the world had tried to crush him and where was he now? Living most people’s fantasy.