I shake my head. “I signed a contract stating I had no parental rights. Her mother made plans for Lily’s care in the event she died, and I need to honor those plans. Besides, Lily loves Quinn, and Quinn is wonderful with her. I can’t see putting Lily through any more upheaval.”
“She’s going through upheaval anyway. Why let her adjust to living with a stranger when she could be adjusting to living with her biological father?”
“Quinn’s not a stranger. She’s Lily’s godmother, and she’s known her all of her life. Quinn is already a mother figure to Lily.”
“I could be just as good a mother.”
I’m beginning to think that Jess has had some kind of breakdown or something. “Jess, you’re not looking at this from the child’s perspective.”
She bulldozes on, as if I hadn’t spoken. “Brett says that courts usually favor blood relatives.”
“Brett seems to have a lot to say.”
“Is he right?” Jessica presses.
“In a regular guardianship case, if all other things are equal,” Iconcede, “but not in an anonymous donor situation. The chances of the donor contract being overruled are minute.”
“You could try.”
What part of this isn’t she getting? “It isn’t right, Jess—and not just because of the contract. The court always tries to do what’s in the child’s best interests, and in this case, that’s Lily staying with Quinn. That was the mother’s wish, and Quinn is the person Lily is most attached to.”
“Yes, but Margaret reached out to find you while she was the primary guardian.”
“Which I never would have known about if you hadn’t gone through my papers.”
Her mouth flattens. “That’s water under the bridge.”
To you, maybe. I don’t want to hold a grudge, but damn it, I don’t feel the same about Jessica. The whole incident has opened my eyes to some things I’ve avoided looking at. I blow out a hard sigh. Hell. I need to get over it.
“Margaret obviously wants you in Lily’s life,” Jessica says.
“Yes, and now I am.”
“What if Margaret wants you to have custody?”
Jess has always been persistent—it’s a quality I admire about her—but right now, it’s getting under my skin. “Even if that were the case, Lily belongs with Quinn. The mother’s wishes should take precedent.”
She opens her mouth as if she’s about to argue with me further, then closes it without saying a word. She toys with the paper napkin under her glass of iced tea. “I wonder if the will says who’s supposed to be Lily’s guardian if something happens to Quinn?”
“I don’t know.”
“You should find out, just so you know where things stand. Don’t wills get filed somewhere after they go through probate?”
“In Louisiana, it’s called succession instead of probate, but yeah, most wills are filed at the parish courthouse.”
“So you could easily take a look at it.”
“Yeah, if it’s been filed.” I tap my fingers on the table. It wouldn’t hurt to know exactly what Brooke specified.
The waitress brings our food, and the conversation drifts to Jessica’s family, but there’s a stilted, phony feeling between us. I’m acting like an attentive husband instead of really being one. I feel like Jess is pretending, too. Her voice sounds a little too peppy and she keeps giving me her selfie smile.
“Is something wrong with your po’boy?” the waitress asks as she passes our table.
“Nah. I just don’t have much appetite,” I say.
“What time will you be home tonight?” Jessica asks after the waitress whisks our half-full plates away.
“I’m supposed to meet Richard for a drink after work,” I tell her, naming a mutual friend who works at another firm. “He’s giving me some help on my pro bono case.”
