"Why don't you tell me what I'm supposed to say here, Xavier? Because I feel like whatever I say or do is wrong." My heart raced. As much as I wanted to be the newer, bolder version of myself, it wasn't always easy.
"I need to take Violet to a doctor."
I nodded my agreement. "It's probably a good idea just to get her a checkup and make sure she's had vaccinations and all that stuff."
He sighed heavily. "I need to do a paternity test."
Ew."You think she might not be yours?"
His jaw clenched at my question, and it was the first real sign that he wasn't entirely comfortable having this conversation.
"Sorry. None of my business. I'll have her ready for her appointment. Just tell me when."
"Her mother seems tothinkI'm Violet's father, and I need to be sure so that I can move forward and proceed with all the rights of a father. I want you to come with us to the appointment."
"Of course." Violet was my job; of course he'd want me there.
"She likes you better than me," he said with a sheepish smile. "And I don't know how she does with doctors, so having her favorite person there will likely put her at ease."
Holy Swoon City!"Yes. Of course. Just tell me the date and time."
His broad shoulders seemed to relax now that he had my agreement, and he sat back and dug into the stew. "It's pretty good. Never had this kind of stew before. Or the bread."
"You don't like Indian food?"
"Not a lot of that up here," he growled in response.
"I doubt you've lived your entire life on this mountain." But it was clear he didn't want to share details, and I didn't want to have to pull answers from another strong, silent type, so I hit play on my book again. Fictional boyfriends were superior to real-life men anyway, and when they disappointed you, they figured it out and made it right.
Two bowls later, Xavier waved a hand in front of my face to get my attention again. "Thank you for lunch, Rosalee. It was delicious."
"You're welcome."
"Thank you for all the lunches. It's been very helpful," he grunted.
"Well, Iamthe help, remember?" It was a joke, but Xavier's face paled, and I made a quick exit before the conversation turned into something confrontational.
Chapter 11
Xavier
"Wow, you were able to get an appointment quickly. It usually takes at least a couple of weeks to get into any pediatrician." Rosalee's brows furrowed and her lush lips pushed out into a small frown, which morphed into a smile when Violet smiled up at her. "It's because you're such a special girl," she cooed and followed me inside the squat brick medical building.
I should've felt bad that Rosalee didn't know who I was, but it was refreshing. She didn't know I was rich and powerful, but she was attracted to me anyway. She also didn't like me very much, which was a novel experience. Despite being a growly bastard most of the time, most people liked me—well, they pretended to like me—which made it impossible to know who was genuine and who was being mercenary. "I guess we just got lucky."
She shrugged it off and kept her focus on Violet while I filled out what I could of the paperwork. Five minutes later, we were ushered into a small examination room and joined by an elderly man with a fluffy white beard. "And who do we have here?" he asked as he focused on his patient.
"This is Violet," Rosalee offered with a kind smile. She really was beautiful when she smiled, which was all the more reason Ineeded to keep my distance and be even more of my usual self. The less she smiled and the more she scowled back at me, the better.
For both of us.
Thirty minutes later, the DNA swabs were complete, and Violet had a clean bill of health that put her at just over ten months old, with another appointment scheduled to make sure she was making all her milestones. "When should we expect the results?"
"Three days is our standard. We'll call when they arrive, and you can pick them up or log into a system to access the results." Dr. Porter flashed a friendly smile as he answered.
"I'll need, um, formal results for legal proceedings." I rubbed the back of my head, a nervous gesture I'd tried to get rid of for most of my adult life.
"No problem. You can still access the results online, but you'll have to pick them up in person."
