“Mama?” The hesitant voice of Paige broke up their argument. She stood on the stairs behind them in her pajamas, an odd look on her face.
Derek winced, wondering just how much of their ugly argument she had overheard. Then he realized he was looking at his daughter. God, his daughter. He didn’t think there were two sweeter words on the planet.
She pinned him with a frank blue stare. “Is it true? Are you my daddy?”
“Yes,” he said simply. “Yes, sweetheart, I am.”
Paige didn’t need to hear the words twice. She flew down the steps in a blur and threw herself into his arms. Tears stung his eyes as he crushed her to him, her blonde curls tickling his cheek.
Derek lost it. He abandoned all pretenses of masculinity. For the first time in his life—without being on camera—he cried. Like a damn baby too, but he didn’t care. He’d found the redemption he was looking for, and she was hugging him as if she were afraid he would disappear.
She didn’t have to worry. He wasn’t going anywhere.
Her worst fear had played out right before her and there was nothing she could do. Wynne hugged herself as she watched Paige cover Derek in kisses. She couldn’t remove her eyes from the tears unabashedly rolling down his cheeks. There was genuine emotion in his face, raw and real and right there for her to see. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t.
The implications of her long-ago decision weighed heavily on her. She had never thought Derek would even want a daughter, had never stopped long enough to think she had deprived him of precious years with Paige. And she didn’t want to think of it now. She didn’t want to feel the awful, weighing guilt consuming her. She knew she had made the right decision for both herself and her daughter at the time.
Paige was so thrilled she was talking faster than translation from four-year-old jibber-jabber allowed, about how many things she wanted to show Derek and how they could do all sorts of things together since he wasn’t too busy for her anymore.
The look he sent Wynne was ice. “We’ll spend lots of time with each other from now on, Paige. I promise.”
He promised.
She already knew how this story ended. Paige was a novelty now, but give him a week. He’d be on a plane back to LA so fast he was a blur, and Wynne would be left behind, picking up the pieces of her daughter’s broken heart.
Then Paige asked the question Wynne had been dreading.
“Daddy, why didn’t you come sooner?”
Wynne froze, unable to breathe, unable to move. Derek met her gaze, telling her he wasn’t going to lie to spare her. Fine. She didn’t expect him to lie for her. He didn’t owe her anything.
“Your mama didn’t tell me about you.”
He explained it with more tact than she’d expected. She gave him that much credit.
“What d’you mean?” Paige asked, casting Wynne a confused look.
“I didn’t know about you, sweet pea,” he said, easily taking up Wynne’s nickname for her daughter.
How dare he call Paige that? It was Wynne’s pet name for her daughter. She was about to open up her mouth to tell him, but Paige’s words stopped her.
“You weren’t too busy for me, Daddy?”
It hit her then, and she had to lean back against the wall for support. She had continued to live a lie with her daughter, and it had hurt Paige. She felt as if she were scum. Worse than scum.
“I could never be too busy for you, Paige.” Derek’s voice was rough with emotion.
Wynne could hear the sound of the final nail being driven into her coffin. Her daughter was completely in love with her newfound daddy and there was nothing Wynne could do to stop it. It would only be a matter of time before he disappointed Paige.
“Please don’t make promises to her that you can’t keep.” Wynne pushed away from the wall. “She’ll be devastated when you leave.”
“Don’t leave, Daddy,” Paige protested. “You just got here. You got to stay longer than one day.”
“I’m not leaving,” Derek said again, still cradling Paige against him as if protecting her from Wynne.
Wynne pressed on, determined not to allow him to hurt Paige by encouraging false expectations. “You’re going back to LA. Don’t lie to her.”
“Stay out of this, Wynne,” he warned.
“She’s my daughter and I don’t want to see her hurt,” she shot back. “You know you’re going to leave.”
“No! Daddy’s not gonna leave,” Paige shouted.
Wynne was taken aback. It was the first time her daughter had ever raised her voice to her, beyond the usual temper tantrum. Even worse was the way Paige clung to Derek’s neck and looked accusingly at Wynne, as though she would try to pry her away from her father.
He’d stolen her daughter already.
“It’s okay, Paige,” Derek soothed, his eyes shooting blue sparks at Wynne even as he gently patted Paige’s curls. “I’m not going anywhere. And if I do, you can come with me, okay?”
Paige nodded, sniffling.
“No she can’t.” Fury spiked within her. “You have no right to take her anywhere without my permission.”
“I’m her father,” he said, his voice steely. “And we’re only a courtroom away from me getting the right to take her everywhere without your permission.”
There was the word she’d been dreading the most, flying into her heart with the precision of a bullet. Courtroom. With it came the ugly implication of a custody battle. She couldn’t bear to lose her daughter. It would kill her. Paige was the best thing in her life. She’d waitressed her butt off for two years to be able to afford the loan for her flower shop so she could earn enough money to raise Paige and send her to college. She’d changed a million diapers and cried at two o’clock in the morning as she breastfed because she was afraid to raise a child on her own. She’d held Paige through her first steps, had celebrated her first birthday with a homemade cake because she couldn’t afford to buy one at the grocery store. Now he thought he could just waltz in and act like none of that had happened?
Over her dead body, she vowed.
“Do you really want to put Paige through that?” Wynne asked him, striving for calm.
“Only if you make me,” he said evenly. “We’ve been apart long enough. She needs a father.”
No she doesn’t.
Wynne almost said the words, but she reined herself in. Paige had survived four years without him and she was a normal, happy child. Wynne had made certain her daughter never wanted for anything. She’d certainly always been loved, not to mention provided with a stable environment.
That was more than Derek could have given her. All he could provide was empty money and a bad example.
He stood, picking Paige up in his arms. Paige gave him a monkey hug, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“It’s past Paige’s bedtime,” she informed him coolly, hating that the two of them had bonded so quickly. She couldn’t resist the urge to break them up. She was so afraid he would disappoint Paige. No, strike that. She knew he would disappoint her. It was only a matter of when and where.
His gaze narrowed on her. “She can’t stay up a few minutes past it?”
“No. Routine is very important in a child’s life. We were just about to read her bedtime story.”
“Why don’t I read Paige her bedtime story, then?”
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive stance. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” A muscle in his cheek started clenching.
“Because.” Wynne glared at him. “Paige and I always read her bedtime story together.”
“Nuh-uh,” Paige chimed in. “I want Daddy to read to me.”
“Daddy has to go home for tonight. I’ll read your story,” Wynne said in her no-nonsense, I-am-your-mother voice. She held her arms out to Paige.
Paige, meanwhile, shook her head, a stubborn look coming over her face as she clung to Derek’s neck. “No! I want Daddy.”
“You can see
him tomorrow,” Wynne reasoned, trying to remain calm.
“I don’t want you!” Paige yelled. “I want Daddy.”
I don’t want you. The words echoed in Wynne’s mind. Paige was choosing Derek over her. Wynne’s arms dropped to her sides. She felt suddenly ineffectual.
Derek gave her a look of pity. “I’ll read her the story and go.”
“I don’t trust you,” Wynne blurted.
The look on his face changed from pity to fury in a millisecond. She seemed to have a knack for angering him. Not that she cared one way or the other.
Derek whispered something in Paige’s ear before setting her back on the floor. Wynne watched as her daughter all but skipped back upstairs.
She waited until she heard Paige’s feet padding across the floor before starting in on Derek. “What did you say to her?” One thing she would not allow him to do was turn her daughter against her. She’d forbid Paige to see him first, and let him take her to court.
Derek stuffed his hands into his pockets and faced her, looking once more like the cool, unruffled movie star he was. “I told her to go upstairs and hop into bed while I talked with you.”
“If you say anything to her about me, I’ll—”
“I’m not trying to come between you and Paige,” he interrupted. “You’re her mother. All I want is to be a part of her life now. I think that’s more than reasonable considering that you kept her a secret for four years.”
“I kept her a secret for a reason,” Wynne pointed out, wanting to draw blood. She couldn’t help it. Something about this man brought out the absolute worst in her. For four years, her entire life had revolved around being the best mother to her daughter that she could possibly be. She was extremely protective of Paige, and she was terrified the gorgeous man before her would break that sweet little girl’s heart.
“You’ve made that clear,” he bit out. Apparently, her barb had hit its mark because his eyes were flashing again. “Despite what you think of me, I would’ve been there for you both. I take responsibility seriously.”
She raised a skeptical brow. “In between the drugs, the alcohol, and the parties?”
He clenched his jaw. “I admit that I had problems in the past, but I’ve been clean and sober for a year now.”
“A year.” She raked him with a scornful glance. “Give the movie star a medal.”
“Who the hell are you to judge me?”
“I am Paige’s mother,” she said fiercely, pointing upstairs. “And I will do anything to protect her. You want to just sweep in here and pretend to be a hero, but you’re forgetting who raised her.”
“I’m not pretending to be a hero,” he shot back, striding toward her. “I am her father.”
“You’re a sperm donor,” she corrected coldly. “I’m the one who gave up everything to have her. I worked two jobs while I was pregnant just so that I’d have enough money to raise her. I waitressed all night. I changed her diapers, I helped her take her first steps, and I heard her first word.”
“If you had told me about her, I would have been there,” he said, dark and angry. “But I’m here now and I’m going to make up for the years I missed.”
“Until the novelty wears off,” she retorted. “Then you’ll jet back to Hollywood and your mansion and your clubs and your wife. And you’ll leave a brokenhearted little girl behind you.”
A snide smile curved his lips. “If you’ve been keeping such close tabs on me, you’d know that I’ve been separated from my ex for over a year and a half and our divorce is almost finalized. I’ve been living on the East Coast with a friend of mine.”
Obviously, his friend was a woman. Wynne wasn’t impressed. Wasn’t that just like an actor to jump from marriage to another woman’s bed? He’d probably cheated on his wife and that was why they were getting a divorce.
“I don’t want your girlfriend around my daughter,” she informed him. “I don’t care if you’re living with her.”
“That’s not up to you to decide.”
“Yes it is.”
“Damn.” Derek raked his hand through his hair. “Can we argue about this later? I just want to spend some time with my daughter.”
Wynne sighed and stepped back, away from him. He made her uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. She wanted to put some distance between them, give her mind time to process everything that had just unfolded. It wasn’t every day that her world imploded on her. “I still don’t want you to intrude on our routines.”
“What’s the worst I can do?” He shot her a look of pure annoyance. “Love her? Look, just give me one hour. You owe me at least that much.”
“I don’t owe you anything.” He had moved closer to her again and she couldn’t think straight. Why did he have to be so reasonable about this, so handsome? It made his nearness disconcerting. She wasn’t attracted to him, of course. But he still unnerved her.
“Paige wants to spend time with me,” he said, stalking her again as she moved across the room. Either he knew the effect he had on her and was taking advantage of it, or he was determined to run her down if it meant she’d agree.
Paige did want to spend time with Derek, and Wynne could at least admit that much to herself. It made sense—he was her father, after all. But could she really entrust her daughter to a man who was almost a complete stranger? She’d spent the last four years watching over her daughter, practically the world’s most paranoid mother.
Then she thought of Paige’s hopeful, tear-stained face. It’s only an hour, she told herself. What could happen in a mere hour’s time? Besides, Derek was famous. He couldn’t afford the bad press. Not to mention that she wouldn’t mind having some time to herself to regroup.
“An hour,” she decided. “I’ll give you an hour.” An hour couldn’t do that much harm. It would be long enough for Paige to at least learn a little about her father before he disappeared back to LA. Because there was no doubt in Wynne’s mind that Derek Shaw would be returning to Hollywood. He was an actor. He had every reason in the world to return. “I have some grocery shopping I could do.”
“Thank you, Wynne,” he said quietly, looking suddenly relieved.
“She’ll ask you for ice cream,” Wynne said, no nonsense, “but she isn’t allowed to have it before bed and she knows it. There are healthy snacks in the refrigerator if she’s hungry. Don’t let her have any candy either. And don’t let her watch television. I don’t like her to see it for more than two hours a day.” She paused, trying to think of anything else. “I’ll have my cell with me. My number’s tacked to the fridge. I keep it there for the babysitter. If you need anything, call me.”
“I will. Wynne, you realize you’ll only be gone an hour.”
She just flashed him a look. “I have to go get my purse and give her a kiss.”
As Wynne began heading for the steps, Derek grabbed her hand. She spun around, startled by the contact. Actually, startled was an understatement. It was more like it shook her right down to her bones.
“Thank you.”
Trying to ignore the way he made her traitorous body feel, Wynne eyed him. “Don’t mess this up, for her sake.” The tone she used made it clear she was confident he would.
“Daddy.”
Derek started, realizing Paige was addressing him. That would take getting used to, him as someone’s daddy. So far, he’d been alone with his newfound daughter for all of half an hour and things had been going well. Of course, Paige refused to stray more than three and a half inches from his side, convinced he would disappear at any moment, but he didn’t mind. He kind of felt the same way, like any second he would wake up and realize he’d been trapped inside a very bizarre dream.
Daddy. Hell, he was a father. Most men were allowed nine months to plan, to slowly metamorphose into Super Dad. He’d been given all of fifteen minutes, tops.
“Daddy, could I have some ice cream?” Paige flashed him an innocent smile.
He returned her smile, unable to help it. Looking at her, being
with her, made him feel happy, free in ways he had never felt before. The instant she’d wrapped her arms around him and called him “Daddy” for the first time, something within him had shifted. And he knew she was the missing link in his life. His daughter.
Right now, his daughter was looking up at him hopefully, tiny hands clasped together. “Please, Daddy?”
Hadn’t Wynne warned him she would request ice cream and, moreover, she wasn’t allowed any? Derek shook his head and reached down to ruffle his daughter’s blonde curls. “Sorry, sweet pea. No can do. Your mom said you couldn’t have any.”
“But Mama went shopping,” Paige pointed out shrewdly. “’Sides, I’m really hungry for it, Daddy.”
Hell. When she called him Daddy, it made him want to give her anything she requested. He thought about it. On one hand, he didn’t want to anger Wynne by undermining her rules. On the other hand, he figured she was already pretty angry with him, and his allowing Paige ice cream probably wouldn’t amount to much of a difference. How could he really say no to those big blue eyes?
He bent down until they were nose-to-nose. “I’ll tell you what. You know what secrets are, right?” She nodded eagerly, her face brightening. “Good. I’ll let you have the ice cream, but it has to be a secret between you and me. Okay?”
“’Kay, Daddy,” Paige agreed easily, grabbing his right hand with two of hers and tugging. “C’mon.”
He followed his daughter into the kitchen, allowing himself to be led like a dutiful mare. Derek liked the way her small hands felt wrapped around his. While he hadn’t regretted his effort to stay sober over the last year, he was even more thankful for it now. His daughter needed him in her life, and he was intensely relieved he was able to give her that. Secretly, he acknowledged Wynne’s decision to keep Paige from him might have been a wise decision, at least for the first three years of her life. He liked to think he would have sobered up to raise his daughter, but he’d been pretty far gone. He’d been hooked on so many prescription drugs he couldn’t even remember what they were called. It had numbed his mind but not the emptiness inside him.
Win My Love (Love's Second Chance Book 3) Page 3
