I made it to the nursery and laid Bree in her crib before I completely fell apart.
A couple of minutes later, Luka came in and once again pulled me into his lap.This time, I couldn’t resist his scent or his comfort.The path forward had begun to take shape, but I was going to hate it every painful step of the way.
Luka
Millie was hurting,and I didn’t know how to fix it.Emotions were horrible—so deep and thick, impossible to wade through.I gritted my teeth as I picked her up, adjusting her position in my lap.
Cowardly though it was not to meet her eyes as I bared my soul, she needed to hear the words, and I wanted to hold her close.Bree’s soft breaths from the crib eased some of the tension from my muscles.
“I’ve never doubted that Bree was mine,” I began.
Millie stiffened but remained quiet.
“I didn’t.I need you to know that.”
“Okay.”
“No, this is important, Millie.I never once doubted your word about Bree.As for us…well, I hated feeling led on and ghosted.I hated that you didn’t think enough of me to believe I could be the father our child deserves and that I want to be.”
“Luka, I don’t know how to be in a relationship,” she said.“My parents didn’t love each other.”
“Neither did mine.And they didn’t show me affection.”I kissed the top of her head, reveling in my ability to do so.
“Exactly.And when I searched for love—”
“Your father made it sordid.Something to use against you.”
She nodded, clearly too overcome to speak.
“Well, we know what not to do withourdaughter.”
She tipped her head back, so I dropped my chin to meet her gaze.“Ours, Millie.I know we still have details to hammer out—like your job, my job, where we’ll live…”
She offered a faint smile.“Small details.”
“They are and they aren’t.They’re small because they don’t matter as much as loving you and Bree, being there for you and Bree.”I looked over at the crib.“She meanseverything.Even if somehow she wasn’t mine, I’d still love her as my own.”
I’d realized that.I loved Bree.It was that simple.She was mine because I wanted her to be.
Millie’s eyes widened and tears spilled down her cheeks.These were different, though.I could see that instantly, and I heaved a relieved breath.She wasn’t sad and anxious.She was happy.
I’dmade Millie happy.
“And I get it if you don’t want to marry me right now.There’s so much going on, and if you just want to see how things go—”
She shifted so she could kiss me.Her lips were soft and firm.She slipped her tongue into my mouth, and I groaned.I wanted to gather her closer, kiss her harder, show her just how much she meant to me.But Millie needed this moment just as it was, and so did I.She needed to be in charge of her life, to choose me out of love because she wanted that on top of everything else she faced—not out of fear of her father or a court-ordered conservatorship or because she didn’t feel she had a choice.
I’d always give her a choice.And I’d love her, even if she didn’t choose me.
I tried to pour all that into the kiss that tangled and twisted our mouths.When we finally pulled apart, she met my gaze for a long, painful heartbeat.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay.”
“I’m tired,” she said.“I think I’m going to nap while Bree’s asleep.”
I nodded, unsure how far to push.
