The Virgin Cowboy Billionaire’s Secret Baby(58)
Dara smiled, and as her eyes teared up again, she quickly swiped at them. “Damn it, Matt.”
“Just hormones, right?”
“Absolutely.” She sniffed, then wrapped her arms around him. “And thank you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Any time.”
“You still want to go out drinking?”
“You really want to watch me drink?”
“If it’s tequila and there’s karaoke, you’d better believe it.”
“Hey, if it’ll make you feel better.”
She drew back and met his gaze. “No, I’m kidding.” She wiped her eyes again. “But I could stand to kill some shit in CGI.” Gesturing toward the living room, she added, “Join me for some Call of Duty?”
Matt grinned. “Sounds better than tequila.”
Chapter Sixteen
“So my ex-husband paid me a visit yesterday.” Dara glared at her mother across the kitchen table. “Any thoughts on how he magically knew about the baby? Or my address, for that matter?”
Mom looked right at her. “He and I talked, and he wanted to see you.”
Dara gritted her teeth. “He could have called me.”
“Would you have taken his call?”
That was a fair point. From the time she’d left Los Angeles, she’d told him she only wanted to hear from him through their attorneys. She’d have answered if he’d called, but it wouldn’t have lasted long.
She rested her elbows on either side of her empty plate. “No, I wouldn’t have taken his call, which should clue you in on how much I wanted to see him.”
“He has a right to speak to you about his child.”
“He signed away his rights, Mom.”
“He made a mis—”
“How could you tell him? And telling him where to find me?”
Mom folded her arms across her chest. “He deserved to know that his wife is having—”
“Ex-wife, Mother! Ex. Wife.” Dara threw up her hands. “This was his choice. And it wasn’t like he had any right to be surprised that I was pregnant. He was right there when they—”
Her breath caught. She was going to say he was there when the embryo transfer was done. He’d been the previous four times, after all. But the last time…
Dara fought back sudden tears. “Oh God.”
Mom reached over and put a hand over hers. “Honey, it’s not too late to fix things. You can—”
“No, it’s not that.” She wiped her eyes and met her mother’s gaze. “I just realized that was the first time he didn’t go in with me when they were doing the transfer. He stayed out in the waiting room that time.” She forced back the threat of both nausea and fresh tears. “Out in the waiting room where that fucking receptionist worked. How could I be so stupid?”
Mom touched her arm. “He made mistakes, honey. But he came all the way out here to see you and make those mistakes right.”
“And so, what?” Dara jerked her arm away and stood, nearly knocking her chair over in the process. “I should just take him back? Mom, this man cheated on me while I was going through an incredibly painful process—for the fifth time—so we could have children together!”
“Another man’s children, Dara.”
“He knew that going into it, and he agreed to do it. And he told me he was perfectly happy with it in the beginning.”
“What was he supposed to do?” Mom shrugged tightly. “The two of you couldn’t have children of your own.”
Dara winced. “If it bothered him that much that the baby would have my DNA and not his, we could have adopted.”
“Mmhmm. After you’d gone to that trouble and expense to store them, he must’ve known you wouldn’t have taken it well if he told you that you couldn’t use them.”
Dara eyed her mother. “Did he tell you that?”
The stiff upper lip answered her question.
Dara blinked. “He seriously said that?”
“Yes. He did.” Mom took her hand. “But now that there’s a baby on the way, he wants to fix things. He made a mistake.”
“A mistake?” Dara laughed bitterly. “He cheated on me, and he left me. During a very stressful period, I might add. I don’t want him in my life again.”
“Honestly, Dara.” Her mother stood. “Stop being selfish.”
“How is it wrong to be selfish in this instance?” Dara threw up her hands. “It’s my life. My future. Why in the world should I—”
“Your baby deserves a father!”
“The baby has a father!” As soon as the words were out, Dara’s heart stopped. Oh shit.