A Baby for the Billionaire(63)

“You’re welcome. In fact, I think it’s best if I bowed out for the rest of the evening. I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.”

“Again, thank you. We definitely do.”

Nodding, she turned to leave, trying to think of anything she needed to take with her. This would be the first night she’d slept in her apartment for weeks.

A hand grabbed her arm as she entered the hall.

“Where are you going?” Walker demanded.

She gestured to the living room. “You need to get everything sorted out, and that will be an easier conversation without me.”

“Not true.”

“Really? You want to discuss the custody of your child with your old lover when your new one is sitting right next to her?

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right. Fair point.”

“I’ll sleep at my place tonight,” she said. “It’s fine.”

“Nothing about this is fine.”

Her lips quirked. “I told you before. You never do anything the normal way.” She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go. Instead he pulled her closer.

“None of this negates the conversation we were having before we were interrupted.”

She stared at the buttons on his shirt for a long moment before allowing her eyes to rise to his.

“It doesn’t?”

“Not even slightly,” he promised, his voice low.

Unable to stop herself, she touched her lips to his, reveling in the fact that she still had the power to do so.

Lightning fast he had them rotated until the wall hit her back. Giving herself over to the feelings he inspired, she relaxed into his arms. His lips slanted over hers in a thorough kiss before he lifted his head.

“Once this is all sorted, I want to get back to what we were discussing.”

“And your question?” she whispered, running her lips along his jaw.

“And my question.”

The pit in her stomach eased at his words. “You know where to find me,” she told him.

“Thank you,” he told her, sincerity in his eyes. “Thank you for being so understanding about all this. I don’t deserve you.”

“Truer words,” she teased. “Let’s just try to weather this latest Beckett storm and we’ll figure out the rest.”

Nodding, he stepped back to release her, looking back toward the door to the living room. “You’re sure we’re okay? I should be getting back to Hunter.”

“Go,” she said, shooing him away. “I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He leaned forward to brush his lips over her forehead. “Sleep well, sweetheart.”

“Alone?” she asked, cupping his cheek. “Not likely.”

A low growl rumbled from his chest. “I know the feeling.”

With a last squeeze of her fingers, he was gone. Back to his ex and the child they’d created together.

Leaving Clara standing in the hall.

Alone.





Chapter Twenty


“I don’t know how I feel,” Clara said to Diane.

“Yeah well, this wasn’t covered in How to Be a Girl 101. I think we can both agree to cut you some slack here.”

They sat at Diane’s desk, cups of coffee in both their hands. Clara had tried to work today. Really, she had. But there was no stopping the thoughts that always spiraled back to Walker and Veronica. What had they talked about last night? Was she staying for good? Had she slept over in the bed Clara had vacated?

Nausea rose in her at the thought.

“The mom showing up is a good thing, right? I mean, in the grand scheme of things. Kids have questions about that sort of thing eventually.”

“I pointed that out,” Clara sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Yeah, from a detached perspective, and not as someone caught in an emotionally tangled ten-year-long will-they-won’t-they relationship with the father, this is a great thing. Hunter will grow up knowing his mom.”

“His mother,” Diane pointed out. “Biology makes her his mother. It doesn’t make her his mom. That position is still up for grabs.”

And I want it.

She never had before. Hell, she’d sworn never to have kids. And yet somehow Hunter had slipped into her heart much the way his father had. One day she’d woken up and simply couldn’t picture a life without either one of them.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t her decision to make. If it was just between Walker and her, she’d fight for him and never give up. But this wasn’t just them. And it wasn’t just a game of adults. There was a child involved. Her child. An innocent boy who was looking to his parents to ensure his world would be safe and happy. As much as she wanted to demand that Walker see what was right in front of his eyes, she had to think about Hunter. Was she what was best for him?