Page 53 of Desperate Games

“You were what? Were you gonna send a text? When?” My voice sharpens. “When the baby was born? When I ran into you on the street like this? When they put my name on the fucking birth certificate? Oh wait, you weren’t gonna do that, were you?”

“Remy, be reasonable. You weren’t exactly looking for a happy ever after, were you? Just a happy ending!” she snaps back.

“I’m telling you right now, Andy, no child of mine is gonna be born a bastard!”

She flinches, tears welling, and I immediately feel like a dick—but not enough to stop.

I shake my head. “You had no right to keep this from me, Andy.”

“You don’t have to do anything, Remy. This is my concern, and I’ll take care of them.”

“Them?” I ask, freezing in place, glancing at Callie to make sure she’s okay. She is. Giggling with the saleslady.

“Um, yeah. Twins,” she whispers, smiling through her tears.

“I’m a twin,” I choke, throat constricting.

“You are?”

“I, uh, had a sister. She died,” I tell her, shaking my head.

“I’m sorry, Remy?—”

“For lying? For sneaking around? For hiding this from me,” I grit the words between my clenched jaws.

“Honestly, I figured you wouldn’t be interested. I thought you’d walk away,” she says, like that’s an excuse.

“You didn’t give me the chance, did you?”

There’s a pause. Her hand rests protectively on her belly.

“Look, I don’t know what to say,” she whispers. “I just really wanted this. I needed this. Understand?”

“Well, guess what, sweetheart,” I growl, stepping in until there’s barely air between us. “You need this? Well, you’ve got this. That includes me, too. Whether you like it or not.”

She gasps at that, blinking fast.

“You don’t mean that,” she says.

“You think I’d walk away from my kid? From you? I fucked up by letting you push me away, but this? These are our babies, Andrea.”

She flinches when I say her full name.

We’re quiet for a moment.

The tension between us vibrates so loud, it practically drowns out the elevator music in the store.

Then a little voice interrupts.

“Daddy, I want the one with glittery stairs!”

Andrea blinks, turning toward the sound.

Callie.

And that’s when she sees her.

Her expression softens with confusion, and I watch her try to make sense of the tiny tornado barreling toward us.