“All of it. I’ve never had anyone waiting at the airport for me, much less with a cute sign and a wet pussy.”
She burst out laughing, and the tinkling, delighted sound woke me up a little more. I planned to make it my mission to keep her laughing like that. Making her happy filled a cold, shriveled part of me I hadn’t noticed had been empty until her.
“You were saying some crazy things in the back of the limo,” she said.
“Mmm. Not crazy if you liked it.” I pressed my thumb to her plump bottom lip. “And from how tight you squeezed my cock, I think you liked it.”
Her tongue darted out to lick her lip, getting my thumb too. “I didn’t expect it, but yes, I liked it. The talk part. Getting pregnant while I still have a small baby sounds like a nightmare.”
“With you, it wouldn’t be a nightmare.” I kissed her cheek, then the corner of her mouth. “But for now, it’s just talk.”
“Really hot talk.”
Reaching down, I adjusted my half-hard cock in my sweats. “I wish I had more energy, sweetheart. I would love nothing more than to spread you out in my bed and tell you all the ways I’m going to fill you up.”
Her palm slid along my jaw. “I would love that too, but you need rest, and to be honest, so do I.”
“You didn’t sleep well when I was gone, did you?”
She shook her head. “No, it seems I’ve gotten used to you. Cuddling a pillow didn’t cut it.”
I heaved a sigh like I was burdened. “All right. If you’re going to insist, I’ll hold you all night long. Let’s go.”
We still had to talk about the Liam situation, but that would wait until tomorrow. For now, I was taking my girl to bed.
I was staring blindly at the computer screen in my home office, trying not to think about what was going on in the den, but it was impossible.
When I’d told Catherine about my visit to Liam, she hadn’t been pleased, to say the least.
“You spoke to Liam? Without consulting me first?”
“I did what I had to do to protect you, sweetheart.”
“And I appreciate that. I really do, but Elliot, you can’t go rogue like that. Not when it comes to my daughter.”
She hadn’t stayed angry at me long, though. Quickly, it had cycled to fear then determination as she’d swiped up her phone and gone to another room to call him in private.
The last hour, I’d sat in my office, holding my breath and cursing every fucking second that passed. I had no control here. No power. I could only wait to find out the outcome, which would happen without my input.
My advice would have been to communicate through lawyers, but she hadn’t asked.
This wasn’t how I’d thought it would go. I knew she’d be pissed at me for speaking to Liam without running it by her. I also knew she’d get over it. The rest had come as a complete shock.
If I’d predicted what Catherine would do, it would have been to tell William van der Wyck to get bent, not initiate a phone call behind closed doors.
I never saw this coming.
Catherine appeared in my doorway, clutching her phone in her hand. She circled my desk and tossed her phone down beside my mouse. I swiveled to face her, surprised but extremely pleased when she sat down sideways in my lap and nestled into the crook of my neck.
“Good talk?” I forced out the question through the melting wax dripping down my throat. “Must’ve been. You were in there for a while.”
“Our phone call lasted ten minutes. I’ve been sorting my thoughts the rest of the time.”
I wanted to demand answers, but it wasn’t my place. This was about her daughter and her daughter’s father. Not me.
So, I waited.
She sucked in a breath. “I told him all about Joey. Her milestones, how she’s sleeping, who she looks like, that kind of thing. He said he was glad we were doing well and apologized.”
“Do you believe him?”
A shrug. “I don’t know. He might be sorry, but he doesn’t love her, so he doesn’t really get how sorry he should be.”
But I do.
She went on. “He says he’s going to come here next week to meet her. He actually emailed me his flight information once we were off the phone, so I think he really meant it. Oh, and he sent me the money he stole from me. Fudging asshole.”
My heart slammed then stuttered to a stop. During my conversation with Liam, I never truly believed he’d had an interest in Joey, nor had I imagined in my wildest dreams he’d book a flight to meet her, that he’d want a relationship with her.