Page 38 of Judge Me Not

Great. Did he hear my call?

"Was that your daughter?"

My pulse increases. "How do you know I have a daughter?"

Guilt crosses his face. "HR paperwork."

"Do you look at everyone's HR file?"

"No. Are you going to be mad at me all night?" He raises his eyebrows.

I pause but then reply, "No."

He takes my hand and kisses the back of it. "Good. So your daughter is six?"

"Yes."

What else does he know?

"Her name is Abby?"

"Yes."

He opens his mouth then snaps it shut.

He knows.

I take a deep breath. "What were you going to ask me?"

His eyes drill into mine. "Where is her father? Is he in New York?"

For some reason, I let out a small laugh. "No idea. After two years of marriage, and while I was eight months pregnant, he told me he wouldn't leave me if I got an abortion. Haven't seen or heard from him since the night he left the signed divorce papers on the table."

Colton's eyes widen. "At eight months?"

"Yes."

"What a fucking idiot," he blurts out.

Maybe it's the stress of the day or how I lost it in Colton's room, but I lose it again. Only this time, laughter brings my tears.

Colton chuckles, too. "Why are we laughing?"

"I don't know. Just the way you said it. Plus, he is a huge idiot, isn't he?"

"Yes. Total loser."

When we finally stop, he hands me his handkerchief, and I dab my eyes, fold it to hide my tear and makeup stains, then put it back in his chest pocket.

"So, what else do you know about my life?"

"Thirty-two, manager of the credit union, and you have a daughter. Oh, no offense, and I can say this because I'm from there, but you live in a shitty area of Queens."

I should be insulted, but it just makes me smile. Everyone who lives in my neighborhood knows it's a rundown dump with hardly any taxpayer money to support it.

"You're from Queens?"

He nods.