by Rose, Louise
“You have a little girl,” I repeated. “Her name is Amber.”
“But I thought we used protection?”
“We did.” I shrugged. “We were unlucky.”
“A daughter…” Lucas gazed off into the distance. “I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well, I tried to tell you, but you disappeared. I guess falling into bed with me was a mistake, but you didn’t have to run like that. I’m a grown up. I could have coped if you’d just told me you weren’t interested in seeing me again.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Lucas said.
“So, what was it like?”
He pursed his lips and shook his head. “It’s not important. What’s done is done.”
Chapter Seventy-Two
Lucas
It had been tough enough coming back here knowing that I’d have to face Milly after all these years. Archer had been very clear. I wasn’t to tell her he’d warned me off and I’d respected that. After what I’d done to Ivy and the way I’d supported Solomon, I figured it was the least I could do.
But knowing I had a daughter? That changed everything.
“Do you have a photo of her?” I asked.
“Of course.” Milly took her phone out and opened up the photos folder. Selecting one, she handed the phone over. The little girl in the picture was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. She looked a lot like Milly, but she had my grey eyes and the way she was holding herself reminded me a lot of photos of myself at that age.
“She’s beautiful,” I said, passing back the phone. “But then I guess any daughter of yours would be. Jeez, Milly, I wish I’d known. I’d have been there for you. For both of you, no matter what anyone else said.”
Milly frowned. “Why would anyone else want to get involved?”
Damn. I’d almost put my foot in it. “You and I both know I was public enemy number one after what happened with Solomon,” I said, smoothly covering. “Do you really think your family would be happy to see you play happy families with me?” A thought struck me. “Do they know I’m Amber’s father?”
“Archer may have done the maths.” I shrugged. “I mean, he knew we’d spent the night. But if he suspected you’re Amber’s father, he’s never said anything. And I never told anyone else, not even Ivy. I was too ashamed.”
“Of being with me?” I laughed bitterly. “That figures.”
“No!” she protested. “I don’t mean it like that. It’s just that I’m supposed to be the heir to House Knight. I’m here to set an example and getting pregnant after a one-night stand isn’t exactly in the business plan. But everyone was so supportive, after a while, I became used to the idea of bringing up my daughter by myself, even though my parents try to marry me off every now and then. They’re starting to get the message that I prefer to be on my own.”
So, Milly was single. That was good to know. I wasn’t in the mood to square up to another alpha male to fight for my daughter. And if Archer tried to interfere again, this time I was going to let him know he couldn’t push me around. I left because he was right – it wasn’t fair to start something with Milly if I couldn’t see it through. But knowing I had a daughter changed everything. I’d come back to find my sister. Now it turned out I had even more family here than I realised. I wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how much Archer Knight tried to push me around.
I cut straight to the chase. “So, when can I see my daughter?”
Milly bit her lip, nervously shuffling around. “Do you really think that’s such a good idea, Lucas? Amber’s settled. Do you really want to disrupt her life? Is that fair on her?”
“Is it fair on her to deny her a relationship with her father?” I countered. “You’ve had it your way for the past few years, but it takes two to make a child and a whole village to raise one. I’m part of Amber’s family, whether you like it or not. But if you want to try to stop me seeing her, that’s fine. I happen to have an excellent team of lawyers who I’m sure would be more than happy to take you on. And given that you’ve hidden my child’s existence from me for so long, I think it would be only fair for me to go for full custody.”
Milly paled.
“I’d rather not go that route,” I continued. “Whether you believe it or not, I’ll always act in Amber’s best interests and I don’t think it would be good for her to see her parents fighting it out in court. I know all too well what that sort of experience can do to a child’s mental health. But make no mistake. If you keep me away from my daughter any longer, I’ll bring the full force of my legal team down on you and we won’t stop until Amber’s living with me.”
“You wouldn’t,” Milly whispered. “You can’t possibly think you’d win. You’re not the only one with good lawyers.”
“Maybe I’ll win, maybe I won’t.” I shrugged. “But at the very least, I’ll get access to my child, so what good will it do to delay the inevitable?”
“You’re right.” Milly sighed. “Fine. You can see Amber. Why don’t you come round to my place this weekend? I think it would be easiest for her to see you at home. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about being her father before then. Give me a chance to prepare her. I know her better than anyone. I’ll explain who you are when the time is right.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I can do that.”
“Fair warning, I’m not the girl you left in that bed. I’m her mother and I will fight to the death for Amber. So hurt her, Lucas, and you will be dealing with a storm,” she warns, fire burning her in eyes. I like that fire.
Way too much.
“I will never hurt her,” I simply reply, smiling a little cockily.
She searches my eyes for a second before nodding. “Good. I’ll see you at my place, say, Saturday at one?”
“Saturday at one would be perfect.” A warm glow spread through me at the thought of having a daughter. I’d always dreamed of having a little girl, someone to spoil like the little princess she was born to be.
I couldn’t wait to meet her.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Milly
I paced up and down my lounge, compulsively gnawing at my fingernails. What had I been thinking, agreeing to let Lucas see Amber? So, he threatened me with lawyers. So what? I was a Knight. I’d faced off bigger and nastier demons than Lucas Donatello.
He’d caught me off guard, but it wasn’t going to happen again. I was going to make sure I was the strong, confident woman Ivy always told me I was. Lucas couldn’t steamroller me into doing what he wanted. Nobody could.
“Are you okay, Mummy?” Amber came skipping into the room, stopping when she saw my expression.
“Of course I am, sweetie.” I inhaled deeply, pulling myself together to put on a brave face for my child. I had to model the kind of behaviour I’d want to see in her. I’d hate it if Amber was intimidated by some man. “I’m just getting ready for our guest. You remember who’s coming to visit, don’t you?”
Amber frowned. “You said it was my daddy. But I don’t have a daddy. I just have you and you’re the best!”
She came and threw her arms around me, squeezing me in a tight bear hug.
“Oh, Amber.” That kid practically broke me with how sweet she was. I closed my eyes as I leaned over to hug her back. I loved the way she smelled, the way she felt in my arms, everything about her. The way I loved Amber was fierce and all consuming. There was no room in my heart for anyone but her.
Still, I was going to have to share her from now on. Lucas was right. It had taken two of us to create this beautiful little person. All I could do was hope he’d get bored with playing happy families and disappear off into the sunset again, just like he always did.
I knelt down so I could look straight into her eyes. “I know I told you that you didn’t have a daddy and I thought I was telling the truth. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. But you do have a daddy and he’s coming to see you. He’s very excited and he wants to get to know you. You’re going to spend lots of time together and I know you’re going to
have so much fun.”
“No, I won’t.” Amber stamped her foot and pouted. “I don’t want a daddy. I only want you.”
“Amber…” I frowned. “I need you to be a good girl and be nice to your daddy.”
“I won’t be nice!” Amber shouted. “I won’t! I won’t!”
She turned and ran out of the room, just as the doorbell rang.
“Great.” I rolled my eyes, as I went to answer it. If that was Lucas, his timing couldn’t have been worse.
I opened the door to find myself being faced by the biggest teddy bear I had ever seen.
“Hi!” came a squeaky voice from behind the bear. “My name is Tyrone and I’m here to see Amber! Is she here?”
“Come in, Lucas,” I said. “But I warn you now. Amber’s not in the best of moods. She may not come down from her room. She has a bit of a temper.”
“I wonder where she gets that from?” Lucas grinned, as he followed me through to the lounge. He sat the bear down on one of the armchairs. It barely fitted, it was so large.
I went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up. “Amber! Come down and say hello to your visitor!”
“No!” I knew exactly what Amber would be doing right now. She’d be sat on the end of her bed, arms folded, kicking her feet in the air, ready to kick out at anyone who dared come close.
I turned to Lucas, shrugging in frustration. “I’m really sorry, Lucas. I told her you were coming and you were her father. Unfortunately, she didn’t take the news all that well. I guess she’s so used to it being just the two of us, it’s been more of a shock to her than I expected to discover she has a dad after all this time. If you hadn’t left, maybe things would be different.”
“Now don’t you put this on me,” Lucas warned, his expression darkening. “If you’d reached out to me, I’d have come straight back to support you. How was I supposed to know you were pregnant?”
“I know.” Part of me wished that I had tried to contact Lucas when I’d first seen that little blue line, but dealing with him would have been one complication too many for me at the time. “I’m sorry.”
Lucas’s face softened. “Look, we’ve both done things we regret,” he said. “How about we draw a line underneath the past and try to do better moving forward?”
“Okay.” I nodded, smiling a little.
“Now if you tell me where I can find my daughter, I’ll go and have a word with her.”
“Her bedroom’s upstairs, first on the left,” I told him. “But I warn you – Amber can be very stubborn. I promise you that I tried to persuade her to be nice to you, but she didn’t want to know. It might be better to leave it for today and try again some other time.”
“I’m here now,” Lucas said. “You might as well let me try to work my magic on her. I can be very charming when I want, you know.”
Oh yes. I know.
He turned and went upstairs to find Amber. I waited a moment, then tiptoed up after him. My room was next to Amber’s and I hid behind the door where I could hear their conversation.
“Hey, Amber,” Lucas said. “How you doing?”
Silence.
“My name’s Lucas.” Lucas didn’t seem perturbed by Amber ignoring him. “Do you know who I am?”
“Mummy says you’re my daddy, but I don’t believe her.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t have a daddy. Only Mummy. And she’s the best Mummy in the whole wide world.”
“I bet she is,” Lucas said. “I’ve always thought your Mummy was a very special person.”
I smiled when I heard him say that. Maybe he didn’t mean it and was just saying it to get Amber on side, but it still felt good to hear Lucas compliment me.
“So, you won’t try to take me away from her?”
I could have cried when I heard Amber say that. So that’s why she was so angry at the thought of meeting Lucas. She was worried he was going to make her leave me.
“Of course not.” Lucas sounded shocked. “I would never want to take you away from your Mummy. I know how much you love her. Can I let you into a little secret?”
“Uh-huh.”
Lucas lowered his voice to a whisper. “I love her too.”
My heart skipped a beat. Lucas loved me?
“You do?”
“Of course! I love her because you love her. Anyone who is important to you is important to me.”
I was surprised by how disappointed I felt when Lucas said that. I’d always thought I felt more strongly about Lucas than he did about me, but hearing him admit that he was only telling Amber what she wanted to hear hurt more than I’d have expected. I guessed those feelings I thought were long since gone weren’t quite dead and buried after all.
“Now,” Lucas went on. “I’ve got someone downstairs who really wants to meet you.”
“Who?”
“His name is Tyrone,” Lucas said. “And he’s very excited about seeing you. Do you want to come and say hello?”
“Okay.” I heard Amber scramble off the bed and thump her way downstairs, her running sounding more like a herd of elephants than a small child in her excitement to see this mysterious Tyrone.
I stayed where I was for a moment, wanting to give Lucas and Amber a few more minutes to connect. It seemed like Lucas had managed to work his way into Amber’s affections, just like he did with every woman he met.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. If Amber hadn’t liked Lucas, it would give me a strong argument to stop him seeing her again. But if the pair of them were bonding already, I couldn’t exactly stand between the two of them. It wouldn’t be fair to Amber.
I supposed I was stuck with Lucas, for the time being at least.
Putting on a brave face, I went downstairs to find Lucas and Amber playing with Tyrone. Amber was using the giant teddy bear as a trampoline and Lucas was pretending to speak on behalf of the bear, begging her to stop, which only made her laugh and want to be even rougher.
“Okay, you two,” I said. “Who would like some lemonade and cookies?”
“Cookies? Really?” Amber looked at Lucas. “Mummy says I shouldn’t have too many cookies because it will spoil my appemite.”
“It will spoil your appetite.” I gently corrected her pronunciation. “But we can make an exception just this once. It’s not every day a little girl gets to meet her daddy.”
“I have the best daddy in the whole wide world.” Amber gazed at Lucas adoringly, an expression she’d only used for me in the past. I hated that she was connecting with him so easily, but I had to think about what was best for her. Lucas was her father, after all. She deserved a good relationship with him.
“And I have the best daughter.” Lucas reached out and ruffled her hair.
“Why don’t you take Lucas out to the garden and I’ll bring the cookies out to you?” I suggested. “You could show him your swings.”
“Yay! Swings!” Amber ran off in the direction of the garden. Lucas pulled himself up, taking a little longer to drag himself to his feet.
“She’s a real live wire,” he remarked. “She’s got so much energy. I don’t know how you keep up with her. I’m exhausted already!”
“Yeah, it’s tough being a single parent,” I said. “But Amber’s worth it. Even if some days, I’m counting down the hours until she goes to bed!”
“She’s a great kid,” Lucas said. “You’ve done a good job raising her.”
“Thanks.”
Lucas gazed at me, his expression inscrutable. He looked like he was about to say something, but we were interrupted by a little voice calling from the garden.
“Daddeee! Come and watch me swing! I can go really high!”
“You’d better go,” I advised. “Amber doesn’t have much patience.”
“I’ll be right there, honey!” Lucas grinned at me before heading outside to watch Amber on the swings.
I watched the two of them playing through the kitchen window as I poured out three glasses of lemonade and p
ut some cookies on a plate. I put the glasses and plate on a tray and went outside to place them on the garden table.
“Cookies!” I called. Immediately, Amber started wriggling about on the swing, wanting it to stop so she could come and have a snack. A pang of nerves shot through me as I worried about the possibility of her falling off the swing, but Lucas was on it. He grabbed the swing and carefully brought it to a halt so Amber could jump off.
“Race you!” she cried, calling over her shoulder as she set off running as fast as she could.
“I’m going to get you!” roared Lucas, deliberately pacing himself so that he could almost catch her but would never overtake her.
“I won!” crowed Amber, flopping down into a chair and grabbing a handful of cookies.
“One at a time,” I warned.
Amber pouted and looked at Lucas for support.
“Your mum says one at a time,” Lucas said gently but firmly. “That doesn’t mean you can’t have more when you’ve finished that one.”
“Okay.”
I was stunned when Amber put the cookies back. Normally, she’d have argued, maybe even taken a quick, cheeky bite out of the extra ones. Clearly Lucas was a good influence on her. Wonders would never cease.
“So, what do you do, Daddy?” Amber asked, surprising me with how quickly she slipped into using the name.
“I’m Mummy’s boss,” he said.
Amber turned to me, eyes wide. “Really?” she gasped.
“That’s right,” I said. “Daddy is the new head at the Academy. Which means that in theory he gets to tell me what to do.”
“Something tells me that’s not really how it’s going to work though.” Lucas grinned at me and I smiled back.
“Yeah,” said Amber. “Nobody tells Mummy what to do. She’s the real boss round here!”
I laughed and Lucas and I exchanged a knowing glance. This was nice. It felt like we were a real family.
Careful, Milly. You don’t want to let your guard down. You know what always happens. Don’t let another man hurt you.
But I had a feeling it was too late. Being around Lucas felt right. I’d always felt like we were meant to be together, if only I could convince him. Maybe this time, things would be different.
