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“You’re hard not to fall for, Johnny.”

John smiled to himself, feeling great. So his plan was working. Be one step ahead and show her that he wasn’t going anywhere. Most of all shower Brooke with love, which wasn’t hard at all. He was pretty sure he loved her the moment he met her.

“Look …” John whispered.

“You’re not allowed to ever leave,” Alyssa whispered back. “That was the quickest she’s ever gone to sleep.”

“Deal.” He said, looking down into her tired blue eyes. If she only meant it …

“You look exhausted. Why don’t you get some sleep too?”

Her eyes were heavy. “I’m so tired, but I have a lot to do still.”

John pressed his lips together. And that’s why he was there. He was going to do her unpacking while she rested. “Let’s put her to bed. You go shower and I’ll take care of the boxes.”

Alyssa stood, and at the wave of her hand he followed her to Brooke’s room. His tiny little girl was secured in his arms now sucking her thumb. Was this how all dad’s felt? Like they never wanted to let go of their daughter, give her the world and protect her all at the same time? Hell, there was a chance she wasn’t even his daughter yet he couldn’t control the feelings he was dealing with. She was everything to him. He was wishing to God she was his.

“You’ll always be my little cupcake …” he mumbled in her ear, giving her a tender kiss before he laid her down.

It didn’t take long to settle into her apartment. Soon after she did, Alyssa dug deep and took the paternity test like she should have three months ago when Brooke was born. It was exactly how she thought it would be, intrusive and disturbing. She hated the whole thing.

Most of all, she hated Ben. Her hands formed into fists just thinking about him.

A long, giant cotton swab invaded her mouth, as it did her daughter’s and John’s. Her foot bounced wildly up and down on the linoleum as Brooke sat on John’s leg. Alyssa’s nerves were shot, her stomach in knots as the nurse rubbed the swab against her cheek, saliva coating it as she fought the urge to gag. Alyssa felt dirty, trashy, and it was the last thing she wanted her daughter to feel. She didn’t want it and

despised the thought of it happening to her baby regardless if Brooke knew what was happening or not.

John laced his fingers through Alyssa’s and squeezed, not looking in her direction. He just stared straight ahead until the nurse finished up with them. He could feel the anxiety coming off of her in waves and wanted to put her at ease. When the nurse left the room, John finally glanced her way.

“It’ll be alright … You just have to have a little faith.”

Wide-eyed, Alyssa said nothing. Fear swirled in her eyes and her skin was taking on a pale hue. Cupping her face, John kissed her forehead. “Nothing will change,” he reassured, looking deep into her eyes. He meant those words and prayed she believed him.

The results would be back in about two weeks. Was he prepared for them? Hell no. Not in the least. Who would be? His heart hammered against his ribs every time he thought about it, which was a lot over the past few months. He wanted to push Alyssa for a test earlier but decided to wait until she was ready. He said nothing would change for him regardless of the results and he meant it, but would it for her?

Now they were playing the waiting game. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep for the next two weeks. He desperately wanted cupcake to be his, but she’d been with Ben around the same time, so he truly had no idea.

If Brooke turned out to not be his, would Alyssa’s feelings change toward him? The thought cut through John harder than usual. He prayed to God she wouldn’t change. He was in too deep to back out, not that he would.

Knocking on the door, John could hear Brooke squealing inside and he wondered what she could be giggling at. He smiled to himself, excited to see her. He’d been separated from her for a week, and he was having withdrawals. He needed his baby girl.

The door unlocked and Alyssa swung it open. At first glance, she looked like a hot mess. Her blonde hair was wild and messy at the top of her head and she didn’t have a stitch of makeup on. She wore an oversized white t-shirt with shorts just peeking out. Did she ever wear anything else? And yet, she looked so beautiful.

He grinned. “Surprised to see me?”

Alyssa nodded … if he only knew.

“Can I come in?”

“Oh! Yeah, I’m sorry.” John stepped in and she locked the front door. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

He shrugged walking toward Alyssa. Brooke’s chubby arms flailed as she bounced on her mother’s hip. “Just felt like seeing my two favorite girls.”

John scooped Brooke up from Alyssa and placed her against his chest giving her a hug.

“Hey cupcake. Did you miss me like I missed you?”

Brooke leaned into John with a slobbery, wet mouth. Her mouth was wide open and her tongue hung out as she went for John’s nose. He scrunched his face and huffed out a laugh. “Nice to see you too, cupcake.”