Mine to Promise (Southern Wedding #6)(21)

Her eyes go big, usually we have pizza night on Fridays, so this is a very special treat for her.

“With french fries?”

“You bet,” I say. “Give me a kiss.” She leans in to kiss my lips. “Have a good day.” I get up and hold her hand as I walk her to the classroom door.

The teacher is there waiting for her. “Happy Monday,” she greets me, and all I can do is smile at her.

“Happy Monday,” I say to her as Avery runs into the class and toward her friends. I wave before walking back out and heading to work. I zone out mostly everything as I think of what is going to happen tonight. My head is already throbbing, and it’s not even nine o’clock. Grabbing my purse before walking up the steps to the office, I take my keys out to open the front door of the little bungalow they built with five offices where the bedrooms would be. I’m always the first one in since they were kind enough to work around the daycare’s schedule. I get to work by nine, and I work until four. It’s perfect, and I’m so grateful. I step in and press in my code for the alarm before looking around the living room and dining room that have been converted to the waiting area. It’s filled with pictures of past events they have done.

I put my purse on my desk before walking around to the kitchen in the back of the house. I look out of the window, seeing the side of the barn. Or at least what looks like a barn. Once you get inside, you’ll find rustic wooden floors and exposed wooden beams that can be dressed up. It can fit up to five hundred and fifty people. Right behind the barn is a kitchen where the caterers can set up.

I’m about to grab a cup of coffee when I hear the front door open and then close again. I walk out

of the kitchen toward my desk. “What are you doing here?” I ask Sofia, who is standing next to my desk.

“I work here,” she says, laughing as the front door opens and Clarabella comes in.

“Is there a meeting I didn’t know of?” I ask, seeing Presley walk in, followed by Shelby.

“She called a Code Purple,” Presley reminds me, pointing at Sofia.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” Clarabella huffs, looking at Sofia.

“Are you crazy?” she asks Clarabella. “She just found her baby daddy.” She points at me. “Who slept in my spare bedroom last night!”

“What?” I ask, shocked.

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Presley singsongs, clapping her hands. “Let’s go to the conference room.”

“Do we really have to?” I ask them, and the sound of their laughter fills the room. “Yeah, I knew even as the words were leaving my lips it was a silly question.”

I follow them to the back of the house and into the conference room. “Okay, let’s hear it,” Shelby demands, pulling out one of the chairs around the round table.

“Well, I don’t know what to say, we met yesterday afternoon,” I share, pulling out my own chair and plopping down in it.

“And?” Clarabella prompts, as she sits down next to me.

“Well, he’s her father,” I say, “and he is going to meet her tonight.”

“Holy shit,” Sofia says.

“I know.” I throw up my hands. “How do you tell your kid this is her father?” I look around the table at all of them shaking their heads, not sure what to say.

“If it’s any consolation,” Sofia adds, “I turned out fine.” I roll my eyes.

“What did you tell her about her father?” Shelby asks softly.

“That he was at work,” I tell them and the whole room again laughs. “What was I supposed to tell her?” I look around the table. “Your momma had a ho moment and boom you were born?”

“You are not a ho, nor did you have a ho moment. It was two people who had needs.” Clarabella tries to make it sound better. “Two consenting adults.”

“Who didn’t even share last names,” I add in.

“When you spin it like that,” Presley waffles, “it does sound bad.”

“Presley,” Shelby snaps at her.

“What? It does.” She looks back at me. “Sorry.”

“What if he doesn’t like the way I parent her?” I admit my biggest fear to them. It’s also the question that kept me up half the night.

“Um, fuck him,” Shelby declares.

“Yeah, that.” Presley points her thumb to Shelby. “You did the best you could with what you had, and Avery is perfect, so there isn’t anything that will happen like that.”

“Well, when is he going to be telling everyone else?” Sofia asks. “Because I was waiting all night for him to say something, and he didn’t even say a word. I mean, he came home, went to the bedroom, and stayed there all night.”

“No idea. I was, like, freaking out, so he decided we should tell his parents first and then slowly…” I trail off.

“Have you met the family?” Sofia gawks at me. “There are no secrets in that family. They pretend they will keep secrets and then one person quietly tells another and then boom there are five different text chains that you are a part of.”

“Can we focus on what the hell is going to happen?” I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“You are going to go for dinner and then it’ll all be okay,” Shelby tries to reassure me.