My eyes drifted up to the words typed in the middle of the page.
To Rush. Fortunately, I was a horrible bartender and caught the eye of the mean owner whom I fell madly in love with…
I had no idea when she’d stuck the envelope in my office or if she’d hoped I’d find it today or not.
But I mentally started to fill in the words that came next.
Unfortunately, he was a douchebag who didn’t love me enough back.
Unfortunately, he ran away when life threw us a curve ball.
Unfortunately, he never got to meet Gia’s son.
That last part really fucked with my head. How could I possibly not meet her little boy? It didn’t feel like her little boy…he felt like our little boy.
I reread her note again. Only we’ll know how our story ends and be able to fill in the next sentence.
Was this really how our story ended? It sure as hell didn’t feel like it was over.
Unfortunately, he never got to meet Gia’s son.
Fuck that. What the hell was I doing? He wasn’t Elliott’s kid; he was my son. Pat had taught me better than anyone that paternity may be biology, but acting like a dad is a choice. And that meant a hell of a lot more than donating some sperm. I wanted to be with Gia. I wanted that baby. I wanted to be a family with them. No matter how much I hated my brother, Oak was right—I loved Gia more than I could possibly hate anyone.
I started to panic. Holy shit. What the hell did I nearly do? Grabbing my keys, I ran out of the office and straight to the parking lot. I wasn’t even sure if I locked the door to the restaurant, but it wasn’t important enough to go back and check. Nothing was more important than getting to Gia.
Jumping into my car, my hand shook as I put the key into the engine. I was really going to do this.
Get my girl, have a baby, and live happily ever after. Suddenly, I couldn’t remember one valid reason why I had been holding out. I turned the ignition and my car started to make a choking sound, right before it sputtered out.
No fucking way. This couldn’t be happening. Gia’s old car was the steaming hunk of shit, not mine.
I turned the key again. It started to roar to life and then quickly sputtered out again.
On the third try, it didn’t even attempt to start.
Click-click.
Click-click.
The fucking car was dead.
I banged my head against the wheel a few times before taking out my phone to call Gia and make sure she didn’t leave.
Her phone went to voicemail.
Fuck!
I had Tony’s number from when she’d been in the hospital. Scrolling, I tried him next.
Straight to voicemail.
Fuck!
There wasn’t time to call an Uber and wait. So I got out of the car and started to run. It was a good two miles to her house, but what choice did I have.
Tony was loading a box into the back of his car when I raced up the driveway so winded that I could barely even talk. Bent over with my hands on my knees and panting, I held up one finger to Tony and gulped in a few mouthfuls of air.
“Need…” Breath. Breath. “…to talk to Gia.”
Tony smiled. “I’ll take a walk around the block.” He nodded his head toward the house. “Doors open. She’s staring at some creepy-looking new doll in her room.”
I let myself in and walked to her bedroom, trying to catch my breath as I cooled down. When I got to the doorway, her back was to me. She must’ve heard my footsteps and assumed they belonged to her father.
“This is the last of it. I’m sorry. I know I’m going at a snail’s pace. But it’s just so hard to seal up the last box and know I’ll probably never be back. This place really started to feel like home.”
My heart physically ached. God, I’d fucked up so royally. I hoped she could even forgive me.
I cleared my throat. “Unfortunately, the mean bartender had his head stuck up his ass and nearly let the love of his life slip through his fingers.”
Gia’s head whipped up and around. She stared at me and clutched at her chest. “Are you really here?”
I took a few hesitant steps into her room. “I’m really here. And I’m so fucking sorry it took me this long to come.”
She looked as nervous as I felt. Who could blame her with what I’d put her through? I closed the distance between us and took the ugly doll from her hand so I could hold both of hers.
“Gia. I’m not just in love with you. I’m in love with that little boy you’re carrying for us, too. It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t my sperm that made him. It matters that I’m going to love him and treat him as my own. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I promise that I’ll love and take care of both of you no different than if we’d made him. I want to be the man your son looks up to, no matter what the DNA says.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’m afraid to believe that this is true. That you’re really here and saying all this to me right now.”
“I know. And that’s my fault. But give me time and I’ll make you realize that there’s never been anything truer than what I feel for you. Just don’t leave me. Give me another chance, and I promise I won’t let you down again.”
Gia looked at the floor. I held my breath while she seemed to be thinking it over. She didn’t know it yet, but I wasn’t taking no for answer. I’d steal her father’s handcuffs and chain her to my bed if I had to. It would be my pleasure to spend the next few months doing nothing but feeding her, watching her belly grow, and fucking her senseless until she agreed to stay forever.
But trust and believing that someone was going to stick around meant a lot to both of us, so I hoped it didn’t come to that. She needed to believe it could still work and that I could redeem myself.
Every second that ticked by, it felt like my heart beat louder with anticipation. Eventually, she looked up.
“Fortunately, Gia really liked the sunsets from Rush’s balcony, and her vibrating pussy has been pretty neglected, so she decided to stay.”
I smiled from ear to ear, reached out and picked her up. Spinning her around, I said, “Fortunately, Rush is afflicted with incurable preggophilia so he can’t wait to get his hands on that pussy.”
Gia laughed. “You lost! You started your sentence with fortunately, and you were supposed to start with unfortunately!”
I slid her down my body and cupped both her cheeks. “No, babe, I didn’t lose. From now on, there is no more unfortunately in our story.”
I really hoped this kid was a boy because the thought of a guy who looked like me walking out to talk to me when my daughter was old enough to date really made me ill. Not to mention, I was walking out to square things with Tony after just finishing feeling up his fucking daughter.
He had been leaning against his car and pushed off when I approached.
“Sorry. I guess we had a lot to say to each other.”
“Not a problem. Unless you tell me that my little girl is inside heartbroken and crying right now.
But before you answer that, you should know my gun is in the glove compartment.”
I smiled. “No. We’re good. I apologize for how I’ve acted lately. It took me a while to pull my head out of my ass. But it won’t happen again. She agreed to give me another chance, and I promise I won’t screw it up this time.”
“Good. I’m glad. And for what it’s worth, if you hadn’t struggled to come to your decision, I would have been more concerned. You’re taking on a big responsibility here, and it’s not something a person should take lightly.”
I nodded. “Thanks for being so understanding.”
“So she’s going to stay out here?”
“Yeah. If it’s alright with you, she’s going to move in with me.”
Tony deadpanned. “That’s not alright with me. At all.”
Seeing the freaked-out look on my face, Tony slapped my arm and started to laugh. “I’m just screwing with you.”
I let out a breath. “You and your daughter have a sick sense of humor sometimes.”
Tony chuckled and reached into the back of his car, pulling out a box. Handing it to me, he said,