by Emma Hart
THREE WEEKS LATER
My throat was thick as I got out of my car.
I stared up at the house that I loved, the one where Bri and I had lived in for almost her entire life. I leaned back against the side of the car and locked it, and just stared a little more.
The idea that she might not live there anymore was terrifying. The thought that two people who knew nothing about her could take her from me was beyond comprehension.
That was a hole that not even Peyton would be able to fill.
And I was so thankful she’d never have to try.
I blew out a long breath and gave my shoulders a shake, dislodging the stress I’d felt as I’d waited in the courtroom. I hadn’t wanted to be inside, but I couldn’t not be there at the same time.
Luckily for me, Dad had skipped on another fishing trip, so Mom had been all too happy to hang out here with Peyton and Briony while I went.
I walked into the house and into the living room. Peyton was sitting on the sofa. Her feet were up on the coffee table, covered in taco-printed socks. She was typing furiously with Nick Jr. on the TV on mute.
I cleared my throat.
She jerked her head up, her eyes finding me instantly. “You’re back.”
I looked at her flatly.
“Elliott?” She pushed the computer to the side and stood up.
“Where’s Bri?”
“She’s baking cookies with your mom in the kitchen. She got some new Disney cutters. Something about Mickey cookies? I don’t know.” She wrung her hands in front of her. “How are you?”
“I’m okay.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets and immediately took them back out.
“How did it go?” Worry tainted her features, and I knew I couldn’t keep this up for much longer.
I was already feeling guilty that she was so worried, and I had the best news.
“It went well,” I answered, watching her face.
“Well? What happened?”
“The judge threw the case out.”
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish’s, and the finger she tried to point at me twitched in confusion at the same time. “He threw it out?”
I grinned and nodded. “He said they had no basis to request full-time custody. I’d been reasonable in allowing them free contact that they’d never participated in, and he suspected an ulterior motive regarding Jenna. He said I’m obviously a great father, and there are no problems with Briony or her health or her development. Taking her away from me, even partially, would do nothing but hurt—”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence, because Peyton launched herself at me with a scream. Her legs hooked around my waist, and she buried her face in my neck as she hugged me. I had to stagger back a few steps to steady myself, but I hugged her back and laughed.
Mom came running into the room. “What happened? Who died? Why is there screaming? Are we being robbed?”
“What’s robbed, Mimi?” Briony asked.
I looked at Mom. “The case was thrown out.”
Mom touched her hands to her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears, and she fanned her face with her tears. “Oh.”
Peyton slid down my body and sniffed. I glanced down at her. She had tears escaping her eyes, and I reached out to wipe one away.
“Why are you crying, you silly fool?”
“I’m so happy,” she whispered, leaning into me.
I wrapped one arm around her and kissed the top of my head as Mom came to hug me, too.
Briony frowned. “Who frowed out a case? I not allowed to frow fings, am I, Daddy?”
“No. No, you’re not, princess.”
“So, why is everyone happy someone frowed somefing out? I confused.”
Mom laughed, and she covered her mouth once again. “Never you mind, Little Miss Sherlock. Let’s go finish those cookies, huh? We’re almost done.”
“Okay. Can we cutted Minnie ones, too?”
“We sure can!” Mom ushered her out of the room with a wink at us, and the second she was gone, Peyton turned her body into mine and pressed her face to my chest.
I wrapped both arms around her body, resting my chin on top of her head. I took a deep breath and let it go again, briefly closing my eyes to just take in this moment.
She sniffed and pulled back slightly. “So, will they appeal?”
“The judge said that if they had two brain cells to rub together, they wouldn’t. There’s no judge in this country who, in his right mind, would take a little girl away from the only life she’s ever known. He also reminded them that their daughter was the one to willingly sign away her rights, and despite their claims, we had proof. One of the things she left me was a psych evaluation. She was in her right mind at the time the decision was made. He offered for them to try partial or visitation, but he said he’d deny both if it landed across his desk again.”
“Why visitation?”
“Because of the way they handled this without ever seeing her. He doesn’t believe unsupervised visits are the way forward because he doesn’t trust them.”
“Just like you don’t.”
I nodded. “But, it’s done now. The last three months of stress has been worth it.”
Peyton smiled up at me with watery eyes. “I’m so happy for you.” She kissed the corner of my mouth, letting her forehead rest against my chin.
I tilted my face down. “Me, too. But, I’m also happy for us.”
“Me, too.” She looked up, and our lips met for a soft kiss.
“Peyt?” I said, brushing hair away from her face.
“Mhmm?”
“I have to tell you something.”
She blushed and cupped the side of my face. “I love you, too.”
“I was going to say your mascara is running, but I’ll take that.”
“Damn it, Elliott! You just wanted me to say it first!” She shoved at my chest, but I pulled her back in, laughing.
“Damn right, I did!” I lowered my lips to hers, even though I was still laughing. “I love you.”
“You better for the stunt you just pulled.”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
Mostly because it was a surreal moment.
My daughter was safe. Nobody was going to take her from me.
And I’d gotten the girl. The one I’d lose—the one I never thought I’d see again.
But she was mine.
Peyton was mine.
I had the most incredible sense of peace settle over me, and I knew instantly, this was how my life was supposed to be.
Until the crash from the kitchen.
Peyton froze. “Did that sound like eggs to you?”
My eyes widened. “No. Did it to you?”
She nodded, grimacing.
“Uh-oh,” Briony said from the kitchen. “Mimi, we donna need more edds.”
Peyton shook before she pressed her face, again, into my chest, and laughed.
Yep.
This was how my life was supposed to be.
And I’d never been happier.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading The Hook-Up Experiment. I hope you enjoyed Peyton’s story! Chloe’s story, THE DATING EXPERIMENT, is coming May 8th, 2018, and is now available for pre-order across all retailers!
If you find any mistakes, OH NO! We are all human, and hopefully there aren’t too many. I do appreciate emails that detail any mistakes, if you are so inclined, and they can be received at [email protected]. Many thanks!
Read on for a complete list of Emma’s books.
About the Author
Emma Hart is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over thirty novels and has been translated into several different languages.
She is a mother, wife, lover of wine, Pink Goddess, and valiant rescuer of wild baby hedgehogs.
Emma prides herself on her realistic, snarky smut, with comebacks that would make a PMS-ing teenage girl proud.
Yes, really. She's that sarcastic.
You can find her online at:
www.emmahart.org
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Books by Emma Hart
Standalones:
Blind Date
Being Brooke
Catching Carly
Casanova
Mixed Up
Miss Fix-It
Miss Mechanic
The Upside to Being Single
The Hook-Up Experiment
The Dating Experiment (coming May 8, 2018)
Four Day Fling (coming July 24th, 2018)
The Vegas Nights series:
Sin
Lust
Stripped series:
Stripped Bare
Stripped Down
The Burke Brothers:
Dirty Secret
Dirty Past
Dirty Lies
Dirty Tricks
Dirty Little Rendezvous
The Holly Woods Files:
Twisted Bond
Tangled Bond
Tethered Bond
Tied Bond
Twirled Bond
Burning Bond
Twined Bond
By His Game series:
Blindsided
Sidelined
Intercepted
Call series:
Late Call
Final Call
His Call
Wild series:
Wild Attraction
Wild Temptation
Wild Addiction
Wild: The Complete Series
The Game series:
The Love Game
Playing for Keeps
The Right Moves
Worth the Risk
Memories series:
Never Forget
Always Remember
