Kayden slowly lifted his face to mine, and when he locked eyes with me it felt like an entire conversation was passing between us in a single second.
Is she mine?
Do you want her to be yours?
But is she mine?
Of course she’s yours, you just did the math.
I saw the wheels turning in his mind and my heart thumped in my throat.
“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Maybe we should take that walk,” I said.
“Hey, Kaylee,” Jace interrupted. “Come check out the new swivel chair in my office and I’ll set upPaw Patrolon my computer while your mom finishes up out here.”
“Yay!” Kaylee yelled, jumping out of my chair and running into Jace’s office.
“Olivia, who is Kaylee?” Kayden asked softly, jaw tight.
“She’s my daughter.”
“Fuck,” Jace said.
Kayden turned to him as if he just remembered that Jace was there. “And who exactly are you to Kaylee?”
Jace’s face sank and he took a step forward. “Kayd.”
“How old is she?” Kayden asked, looking between us.
“Can we just maybe go somewhere and talk?” I asked, throat constricting.
“Olivia, what the hell is going on? How old is your daughter?” Kayden asked, his voice rising in panic.
“She’s three and a half, Kayden.”
He turned his pale face to Jace as if he sought confirmation from someone in the room who he trusted.
“Please hear her out, Kayd. Please,” Jace begged, looking desperate for Kayden to understand the situation.
What the hell is their deal?
Kayden’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he turned back to me as Jace followed Kaylee into his office and shut the door.
“Is she mine?” he asked, reaching up to tug on his thick brown locks. “She looksa lotlike me, Olivia. And the timeline—”
“I know. I’m sorry. This is why I wanted to talk to you,” I said, standing up from my desk. “I didn’t want to just spring her on you, but yes, she’s your daughter.”
“How? But—” he stammered. He turned toward the closed door and back to me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I sighed. “How was I supposed to find you?”
“Did you even try?” he asked, clearly becoming flustered.
“No,” I said with conviction. “I did not look for you, Kayden. I was alone and pregnant and I was adjusting to a lot of fucking things. Playing detective to track down a guy who’d made it clear he never wanted to live in Boston again was not at the top of my to-do list.”
He took a deep breath and gripped the strap of his messenger bag, his knuckles white. “Does she know anything about me?”
