Page 7 of Mad Love
He reaches out and touches Caleb’s fingers, and his eyes are glassy when he looks at me again.
“My legal team will be here shortly. We’ll do a paternity test to be certain. They’re equipped to handle it and the results will be faster through them.”
I roll my eyes. “It doesn’t matter what the test says. You haven’t been here. I have. And I’ll be the one taking care of him.”
“You don’t know me yet, Sadie, but you will. I’m a decent person. I’m kind. Compassionate. I’m a good brother and son. A good friend. I’m not perfect. I give my friends shit, but it’s all in fun. I know how to take it from them too. I don’t have a great track record with women, but it’s not that I’m dishonestor that I treat them poorly—it’s that I haven’t had the time or the desire for a committed relationship and I’m clear about that from the start. What I’mnotis someone who doesn’t take his responsibilities seriously. I’m not the enemy here, and there is no way in hell that I’m walking away from this little boy now that I know about him.” His eyebrow lifts as he finishes. “Got it?”
I curse under my breath.
A thread of uncertainty weaves through me. What if he’s telling the truth? What if he didn’t know all this time? I grip the edge of Caleb’s crib even tighter to keep standing. The one person who could set all of this straight is gone.
Would Sasha have lied to me about something as serious as this?
It wouldn’t be the first time.
But no, I watched her call him. Right? She said she called him at least ten times.
She also claimed she didn’t put his name on the birth certificate, and that wasn’t true.
Fear settles in my chest. I’ve given up a lot to take care of this little boy, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
But I don’t have a legal team. My parents are crazy about Caleb, but Sasha never told them the father’s identity, and they’re not in a position to help me fight this with a millionaire quarterback. Our landlord Jess has been kind to Sasha and me, but it’s not like she could say or do anything that would back me up in court.They always pay their rent on time.How much weight does that hold?
Am I really going to lose my nephew to this playboy asshole?
I don’t know how to stop it, but I know I can’t ever let that happen.
CHAPTER THREE
IT’S ALL NEW
WESTON
The next twenty-four hours go by in a blur.
I’m a father.
I can’t believe it.
Caleb Sebastian Shaw arrived on December fifth at 10:50 p.m., a night when I thought the most important thing in my life was the game we’d just won at Clarity Field. I was completely clueless that my son was being born across town.
He is two months, two weeks, and three days old.
He’s perfect.
When he’s hungry, his face curls up and he howls like he’s facing the worst injustice. But Sadie picks him up and soothes him, and his tears stop.
He has a full head of dark hair and blue eyes that stare back at me, full lips that lift in a smile when I talk to him, and when he stretches and his mouth opens impossibly wide to yawn, I’ve never seen anything cuter.
I’ve stared at him for hours, captivated, and when Sadie falls asleep in the chair next to his bed, I cry.
I can’t believe I’ve missed this much time with him.
My parents are lawyers, but I didn’t want to bring them into this until I knew without a doubt that he’s mine. That’s not exactly right—I knew he was mine the moment I saw him, but I needed proof. So I asked the team’s legal team for help and they delivered. Once they arrived, Sadie retreated to her corner like she was already defeated.
I don’t know what to say to her. I feel awful for her even though I don’t understand what all her anger toward me is about. I should be the one angry for being kept in the dark, but I think none of this has sunk in yet. I’m moreconfusedthan anything and still in shock that I’m a dad.
Sadie’s lost her sister. No one should have to endure that.