Page 159 of All That Glitters

“It’s ours.”

He leads me inside as I struggle to find the right words. “You bought a house?”

“I bought us a house. I need you and our daughter to make it a home.”

He guides me around the downstairs, and I fall in love with it instantly. It’s huge, light, and airy, and I can picture it filled with the scent of baking cookies and little girl laughter.

He takes me upstairs and shows me our bedroom first, along with the opulent bathroom, which includes a huge ornate bath I’ll be spending as much time in as humanly possible.

And then he leads me to the room next door.

“Oh my god, it’s beautiful.” And it is. The walls are a soft pink, lined with white shelves that have prints of teddy bears and dolls. A changing table sits against the far wall, while a built-in oak crib sits along the wall opposite it. A rocking chair is by the window, with a snuggly throw draped over its back.

“It’s perfect, Midas.”

“You think you could be happy here?”

“I think we’d be happy if we lived in a barn as long as we had each other, but yes. I love it here.”

“Good, because we’re officially moving in today. I gave Delphi the deed to Au and the apartment above it. I owe her for what Kiki did.”

I reach up on tiptoe and kiss him. “You’re a good man, Midas.”

“I’m not, but I can be a good man for you.”

I pull back and take a deep, steadying breath. “What will you do without Au?”

“You were right when you said I hated it. I need something new to sink my teeth into. I think I’ve found something that looks promising, but I want to talk to Powers first and see if he wants in on it with me.”

“You don’t want to jinx it, do you?”

He grins and shakes his head, so I let it go. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.

“I need to tell you something. Shit, this is hard.”

“You can tell me anything, Legs. Here, let’s go sit down.” He walks us to the bedroom and sits beside me on the end of the bed. “What’s wrong? You’ve gone pale.”

“I’m scared. I don’t know how you’re going to react.”

“I’m not the same man I was before, Legs. Please believe me.”

I take a deep breath and sigh before opening the zipper on my bunny and pulling out the folded piece of paper inside. “I want you to know who the father is.”

“What?”

“I always knew who it was. It could only have been one person. I got a sample of their hair and saliva and sent it off for testing, and it came back as a 99% match.”

“Do they know?”

I shake my head, feeling a tear run down my face.

“I won’t let anyone take her from you,” he vows.

“I know.” I hand him the slip of paper. “But it’s time her father knew about her.”

He flips it open and reads it over before freezing when he gets to the name. He looks at me and swallows hard, his eyes flooding with tears. “You’re sure?”

“It could only have been you.”