Page 33 of Daddy's Reckoning

I heaved a sigh. Aside from my doctor and Theo, I hadn’t told anyone about the baby. I didn’t really have anyone to tell. Saying it out loud to Ashlyn was going to make it feel more real. Although it was already starting to feel pretty real. “Not exactly a fling,” I confirmed. “And not new, either.” I pushed away from the door and cracked it open to make sure Theo wasn’t on the other side. All clear. “I’m having his baby.”

More screaming. I held the phone a full arm’s length away from me, and I could still hear her perfectly. “What? What! Oh my god, what? A baby? Theo Montgomery’s baby? Damn girl, you don’t fuck around. And here I thought you were a good girl.”

I rolled my eyes. She’d been to The Penthouse with me. She knew I wasn’t.

“Anyway,” I said, hoping to put an end to the screaming fit still taking place on the other end of the line, “now you know, and uh… I hope I didn’t leave you in a lurch. Theo says we’ll be there in about an hour to pack my stuff up.”

“Wow.” Her voice was finally quiet for the first time since I’d picked up. “You didn’t. I mean, yeah you would have screwed me over, moving out with no notice, but Theo took care of that, didn’t he?”

“I guess so.” I sucked in a breath, annoyed at his heavy-handedness, even though I knew it was just him trying to take care of me.

“Since the room is paid for… are you sure you don’t want me to keep it open for a while? I could, you know. He sent me enough to cover you for… almost a year.”

It was tempting to tell her I needed the safety net, to have a place to go when Theo was driving me crazy, as I suspected he was going to, but it wouldn't really be fair to her. “No, it’s fine… it’s okay. His best friend is a lawyer. He's going to have an agreement drawn up tomorrow. I really will get the house if it doesn’t work out.” Even as I said it, a rock of uncertainty settled in my belly, because as far as I was concerned things weren’t going to work out. But Theo seemed to think differently.

“Okay, if you’re sure… I guess I’ll put an ad up next week.”

“I’m sure.”

I wasn’t, but I forced a smile and reassured her anyway.

“Okay, well, congrats, and you know, don’t be a stranger and all that. You better invite me to the baby shower.”

Her directive turned my forced smile into a genuine one. Nyla and Jasmine were still insisting on throwing one. At least there would be one person at my baby shower that was there just for me. “I will,” I promised. “But I have to go. I’ll see you in a little bit. And Ashlyn? Thanks for checking on me.”

“Of course. See you soon.”

As soon as I hung up with her, Theo knocked on the door again, and when I threw it open, he was standing there with a crooked grin. “Car’s all packed up. I ordered a grocery delivery for this evening, so we’ll have food and stuff.”

When I didn’t say anything, he kept talking. “You never really unpacked, so we’ll just grab your bag. We just need to add your vitamins, the thermometer, Tylenol, and blood pressure cuff, and we can be on our way.”

I nodded, because of course he’d thought of everything. That was just who he was.

CHAPTER 9

THEO

I felt like a whole-ass grown up. I was well into my thirties, a successful entrepreneur with a college degree, a hefty stock portfolio, and millions in my bank account, but as I unpacked my suitcases into the closet of my new room in the house I’d bought all by myself, that was the thought that kept running through my head.

I felt like a whole-ass grown up.

And I should. After all, I was moving in with a woman for the first time in my life, and I had a baby on the way. I was living in a real house, with a wraparound porch and a full backyard, instead of an apartment on the top floor of a skyscraper I’d bought with my best friends the day I graduated college. It felt huge.

It didn’t just feel huge, it was huge, I corrected myself. Erin could be in denial, and she could fight me as long as she wanted, but I knew I would win in the end. After all, I was a man used to getting what I wanted. I played the field, but this time I was playing for keeps.

This woman. This house. Our baby. I wouldn’t stop until all three were mine. Forever.

I settled my last suit into the closet and stepped back to assess the room. Everything was just the way I liked it, minus one important thing. Erin’s room was across the house.

Striding out of my room, I went over my plan as I walked. She’d changed the subject on me earlier, and I’d let her, but that wasn’t going to continue to fly. Step one in getting my naughty girl back was reminding her how it felt to have a Daddy.

I pushed her door open and walked in, intent on putting the wheels in motion.

“Theo!” she yelled, scrambling to sit up against the headboard.

“Yes?”

She glared at me. “If we’re going to do this, you have to respect my privacy. You can’t just barge into my room whenever you feel like it. We’re roommates, not lovers.”