Page 9 of Kiss Me Forever

I pulled my gaze away from the little girl and stared at the older couple, trying to figure out if I even knew them. They looked completely unfamiliar, and I wanted to be anywhere but here.

But here I was a forty-one-year-old man, who had lived life. I wasn’t a virgin by far, but I hadn’t slept around to a ridiculous extent like many of my peers.

I’d dated, been married once, and had always made sure I wore a fucking condom. These two were not my ex-wife’s parents, meaning this girl had a different mother. Although it could all be a lie. Maybe this was one of my brother’s kids, but I didn’t think so. Not when it felt as though someone had kicked me in the gut, and it all sounded too true to be anything else.

“Why don’t you guys take the back conference room, so you can have some privacy?” Brooklyn put her hand on my arm, startling me out of my thoughts, and I turned to her, wondering why that small touch felt so comforting.

I didn’t dislike Brooklyn. In fact, parts of me liked her a little too much. We got along except for when we didn’t, and that was just fine with me. She wasn’t my boss. Dash Montgomery was. And she didn’t treat me like shit like some of the other people I’d worked with. She might be a little overprotective and reactionary for some things but considering the hell she had been through in the past year, I didn’t blame her. And every job I had been in were primarily male dominated fields, so I knew a little bit of what women had to go through in order to gain any respect. She had my respect. And she was so fucking hot that sometimes it was hard for me to breathe. But I wasn’t going to go there. She was way too damn young, and fucking with any Montgomery was asking for trouble or commitment. And that wasn’t something I wanted in any shape or form.

I pulled my arm away, ignoring the odd look on her face. It wasn’t hurt. It couldn’t be. “Yeah. Let’s do that.” I cleared my throat and looked over at the older couple who sneered at me. In their eyes, I was a deadbeat dad who had fucked their daughter and left her alone to raise a child. Or, this was all a lie, and I had no idea what the hell was going on. Part of me hoped it was the latter. Only the fear on the little girl’s face caught my gaze, and it was another kick to the gut.

I found myself in the conference room, Bella’s grandparents and their lawyer sitting in front of me. Brooklyn had taken Bella to our lounge to get a sparkling water and a snack, and for that I was grateful. I had a feeling that no little girl needed to hear what was about to be said. The grandparents didn’t look like they wanted to part ways with her at all, but the lawyer had urged Bella to go with Brooklyn. It was just one more mark in the column of what I owed the Montgomerys, and I wasn’t sure when I was going to be able to pay it. I hadn’t said a word since our first interaction, and neither had Bella. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

“Mr. Fox,” the lawyer began.

“Call me Reece.” My father was Mr. Fox and frankly I needed a moment to catch up.

The older woman lifted her lip in a snarl but didn’t say anything.

I stared at the lawyer. “Is what Bella said true? You think she’s my kid?”

“You know damn well that’s your daughter.”

I turned to the older man, at the pure hatred on his face, and raised my brows. “I don’t know a damn thing. This is the first time I’m hearing of it. Who is her mother?”

The older woman clutched her bag to her chest, grief etching lines into her face, and a sudden gross feeling slid over me. “You know who she is.”

“I don’t. If I knew I had a kid out there—which I’m not sure that I do—I would’ve done something about it.” I turned to the lawyer. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Mr. Fox.” A pause. “Reece. I am here on behalf of the Longs. Cassandra Long passed away last month, and after going through probate and her will, we thought it best to come to you directly.”

My mind whirled as I tried to put pieces together. Cassandra Long. Cassie. I hadn’t heard that name in years. Twelve years to be exact. We’d dated for a little while, though we’d mostly only slept together. She’d been going through things with her parents, and I had just left the station, unable to be a fireman anymore after hurting my back. I’d been in the middle of changing careers, and she had wanted a little fun. And we’d walked away without saying another word to each other, at peace. I would’ve thought so at least.

I reached for the water bottle that someone had left on the table for the meeting, unscrewed the cap, and drained a good third of it.

“Cassie,” I rasped.

“Her name is Cassandra,” Mrs. Long snapped. “She wouldn’t be so lowbrow as to go by Cassie.”

Now things were coming back to me, and it made sense. There were reasons why Cassie had wanted to be away from her parents, even though we had been adults. And it seemed they hadn’t changed in all these years.

“Mr. Fox, we are here to stay on target,” the lawyer stated again, and I didn’t bother to correct him.

“What happened to Cassie?” I asked, ignoring her parents.

“After a long illness, she passed away last month. As we were going through the will, we realized that there were a few legalities to go through. You were named as father on the birth certificate.” The lawyer continued to speak, but it felt like I was in a tunnel, trying to catch up to the words.

She put me on the birth certificate. And she hadn’t had the decency to tell me? There was a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo, and I tried to pay attention, but nothing was making sense.

“Bella wanted to see you,” Mr. Long said into the sudden quiet, and I turned to the older man. “We’re going to allow that. And frankly, we’re getting too old to deal with her. Our daughter wanted her with you, and that means we’re done.”

My heart raced, my mind whirling. The casual cruelty of his words couldn’t have come from that old man’s mouth but reality was far too fragile for them not to have. “I’m sorry. What?”

“You’ve been out of her life for its entirety. You didn’t even bother to care about her. But we are going to listen to our granddaughter’s wishes and let you deal with the consequences of your actions.” I blinked, trying to catch up.

I didn’t think that’s how custody worked, but I wasn’t a lawyer, and I’d never had a child before. I wasn’t even sure if she was my kid—looks deceiving me or not. “You’re...just giving up a child? To a stranger? That I don’t even know is mine?”

“It’s not quite like that.” The lawyer cleared his throat, sweat beading on his forehead. “We will talk to your lawyer, have a DNA test done of course, but if things go as I believe, we can finish things up quite easily without any need for dramatics.”