My Secret Daddy (Daddy Knows Best Book 1)

by Kelly Myers

  So, I would release him from all obligations via email. I would tell him that I didn’t want to see him, it would be too painful. I wouldn’t rely on him for a single thing. I wouldn’t rely on my mother or my family either.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if Richard never speaks to me again after this shameful mistake. My mother might come around at some point. Maybe when the baby’s three or four, she’ll babysit. Maybe.

  I smirked at that. There was a small chance that my mother would enjoy spending time with this child more than she had enjoyed spending time with me. This child wouldn’t be a burden to her or a reminder of her failed marriage; it would just be a grandchild that she could see every now and then. There was a silver lining I could cling to.

  I sat up and took a deep breath. I patted my cheeks. They were definitely red and puffy from all the crying, but at least they were dry. It appeared I had run out of tears.

  Just as I was about to hop off the bed, I heard the front door bang open.

  I nearly fainted when I heard the unmistakable sound of William’s voice.

  “Where is she?” he demanded in a clear and ringing tone.

  “Who are you?” my mother cried out.

  Oh god, this was bad. It was worse than bad. This was a catastrophe.

  I listened with terror as his footsteps started pounding up the stairs and my mother squawked at him to stop at once.

  And then the door to my room was pushed open with a force, and he stood there, glowering at me.

  He knew. Somehow he knew.

  And he was furious.

  Chapter Twenty

  William

  I scanned Olivia from head to toe. She was sitting, pale and in shock, on her bed. From her red and puffy eyes, it was clear she had been crying. She looked alright otherwise. Healthy. Beautiful. Pregnant. Obviously, she wasn’t showing yet, but just knowing she had that life growing inside her beneath her cotton yellow dress made me want to pick her up and protect her from any and all harm.

  Not yet though. We had several issues to sort out first.

  I fixed my gaze on her face.

  She wasn’t crying anymore. She was sitting with her back ramrod straight as she met my angry stare. I had always known that beneath Olivia’s shy manners and soft features there existed a backbone of steel, and now it was on full display. Everything in her life had altered, but she was not about to back down.

  I closed the door behind me and turned the lock. Let her mother object from downstairs, I don’t care. I only cared about Olivia.

  She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms. She took a shaky breath, but when she spoke, her voice was steady as a rock.

  “How did you find out?” she asked.

  “How could you not have told me?” I countered.

  “I was going to tell you,” she said. “I was going to send you an email.”

  “Fuck that,” I said. “That is wrong, and you know it’s wrong.”

  Olivia flinched at my harsh tone, but she kept her eyes firmly planted on a space just above my right shoulder. It was killing me that she wouldn’t look at me. It was killing me that she hadn’t wanted to include me in this.

  “I know you didn’t want this,” she said. “So I’m releasing you from all obligations.”

  “You don’t know anything!” I yelled.

  “Yes I do!” Olivia surged to her feet and pointed one finger at my chest. She was looking at me now, and the anger in her eyes was heart wrenching. “You told me you didn’t know if there was a future with us. I know you were having fun taking my virginity, but you knew you could never commit. I knew that, and I don’t blame you for feeling that way, and I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did. And I have to do what is in the baby’s best interests. And I will not let my child have a father who is only partly interested. I won’t do that. No father is better than half a father.”

  I was temporarily rendered speechless. This is what Olivia thinks of me? Yes, in the beginning, I had been unsure if I could commit to everything Olivia wanted. But that had changed. It had all changed, and I just hadn’t told her.

  Olivia took another deep breath. She smoothed her hands over her shirt as if brushing off invisible dust.

  “Please leave my mother’s house,” she said.

  Her stern expression wavered for a moment, and her lower lip trembled. It was a brief movement, but I saw it, and it made me want to weep for her. My beautiful and brave girl was trying desperately to hold it together, when really she was scared and alone.

  “We can discuss details later if you want,” she said. “I just know you don’t want to settle down, and I can’t ask you to do something you don’t want.”

  There was no way in hell I was leaving her there. I stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

  “William,” she said.

  “No,” I said. “You’re coming with me.”

  I led her out of the room and down the stairs. We passed her mother who had been shocked into silence in the living room.

  “Olivia, is this the man?” she screeched as soon as she saw us.

  “Mom, I’ll call you later,” Olivia mumbled as I guided her out the door.

  I stopped outside my car. As much as I wanted to shove her in, I wasn’t going to kidnap her. She had to come with me of her own volition.

  “I have some things to say,” I said. “But I’m not saying them anywhere near that house.”

  Olivia chewed her lower lip. I just needed to get her to listen. That was all I needed.

  “Will you come with me?” I asked. “And after you hear me out, I’ll take you back here or to your house, and I’ll do whatever you want, I just need you to listen for a little bit.”

  Olivia stared at the ground. She was hovering on the fence, I could tell.

  “Please,” I said.

  Olivia’s eyes flew to my face. Then she nodded and walked toward my car.

  I drove back toward Connecticut. I headed to a secluded back road I had noted on my drive over. I drove a ways down it before pulling over next to a green field. There were no houses in sight, and the road didn’t even have lines. It was peaceful.

  I switched the engine off and turned to Olivia.

  “I love you,” I said.

  Olivia jumped in visible surprise. She opened and closed her mouth.

  “Don’t say that unless you mean it,” she said. “Please, William, I couldn’t bear it.”

  I reached over and picked up her hand.

  “I mean it,” I said. “I’ve loved you almost since I met you, and I wish I could have realized it sooner.”

  “I love you too,” she said.

  My heart swelled at her confession.

  “But that doesn’t change who you are,” she added.

  “I have changed. You’ve changed me. I want a life with you, Olivia.”

  She blinked up at me, and I saw the hope start to grow in her eyes.

  “I want it all,” I told her. “The marriage, the house, the kids. And I wanted that even before this happened. So we do it a bit out of order, so what? We’re never going to be a conventional couple.”

  “Are you sure?” she whispered.

  I lifted my hands to her face and held her head.

  “I have never been more sure of anything in my life,” I said.

  Then I kissed her. I poured every thought and feeling of the past few days into the kiss, and she responded with her own desperate passion.

  My need for her in that moment surpassed anything I had ever felt. I slid my hands down her torso and gripped her lower back, pulling her toward me. Olivia knew what I wanted and crawled over the center module until she was straddling me, her back pressed against the wheel.

  She clutched my neck and kissed me, her tongue savoring my lips as I nipped at her lower lip. As she shifted, my erection throbbed with anticipation. For not just what was about to happen, but for all the lovemaking in our future. I had been the first man she slept with, and I was going to be the last.
r />   “I’m never going to let you run away from me again,” I murmured.

  Olivia smiled against my mouth.

  “And I’ll never run,” she said.

  She tipped her head back as I began to kiss her collarbone.

  “You had better not,” I growled into her neck. “Because I will always hunt you down.”

  Olivia squealed with pleasure as I found a particularly sensitive spot beneath her ear.

  “Yes, Daddy,” she sighed.

  I nearly came just hearing her say those words.

  I knew sex in the car would be messy, but I also knew there was no way I was holding back.

  I shifted Olivia off my lap.

  “Take off your underwear,” I said.

  She didn’t need to be told twice, and soon her panties were on the floor. I lowered my own pants, before yanking Olivia back into her former position and pushing the skirt of her buttercup yellow dress up around her waist.

  One touch with my finger confirmed that Olivia was wet for me. She was just as impatient as I was, and she shifted until I was pressed against her entrance. Then she lowered herself onto me in one smooth motion.

  She let out a moan as I filled her to the brim.

  “I love you,” I said again. “I’ll always love you.”

  Olivia buried her fingers in my hair as he began to move up and down atop me.

  “Say it again,” she said. “Please.”

  “I love you,” I gasped.

  She was tight and perfect, and I had never felt so close to anyone.

  We moved as one, her breasts pressed against my chest and my hands gripping her back as if I would never let go. I was never going to let go, not that day, not ever.

  We were so desperate for each other, there was no way we could make it last long. Olivia clenched around me as she surged into her climax, and I joined her in an instant. She cried out as I exploded, and she dug her fingers into my shoulders as her pleasure hit her hard and fast.

  When she was done, she collapsed against me, burying her face in my neck. I stayed inside her and held her close.

  “I love you,” she said. “I’ll never get tired of saying it.”

  “Good,” I responded.

  I gave her one last squeeze and then guided her off of me and back to her seat. She looked over at me, her face flushed with happiness.

  “I’ll have to change my plan,” she said.

  “What was the plan?” I asked.

  She let her hand fall against her stomach as she stared ahead.

  “I was going to make a budget,” she said. “Buy some healthy food, and then make an appointment with my gynecologist.”

  I chuckled.

  “You won’t have to worry about a budget, first of all,” I said. “And I’ll go buy all the food you could need. And we’ll find the best gynecologist in the city.”

  Olivia frowned.

  “Or in Connecticut,” I said. “We’ll live wherever you want.”

  “You can’t move up here,” she said. “Your work.”

  “Well, we can move in somewhere in between,” I said. “I’ve got a house not too far from here. There are ways to commute to my office.”

  I didn’t really care where we lived, as long as we were together.

  Olivia nodded.

  “We’ll figure it out,” I said. “I promise.”

  “You’re sure?” she asked.

  “Olivia,” I said. “Please don’t ask me that again. I’ve never been as sure about anything in my life.”

  Her eyes shimmered, and she reached up to whisk a tear away.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I think it’s the hormones.”

  She laughed and shrugged.

  “Or maybe I’m just emotional anyway,” she said.

  I glanced down at her stomach.

  “Do you feel it?” I asked.

  “No… Or maybe a little. It’s hard to explain.”

  I reached over and gently placed my hand on her stomach. Olivia smiled as she put her hands atop mine.

  “It’s going to belong to both of us,” I said. “And that makes me so happy.”

  “Me too,” Olivia replied.

  “Alright. Let’s go to yours and make a new plan.”

  Olivia’s smile was so wide and bright that I promised myself then and there I was going to spend every single day making her smile like that.

  Then I turned on the car and headed into my new future.

  Epilogue

  Olivia

  I peered into the mirror and adjusted my veil for the hundredth time. It was a simple veil that flowed down from a clip at the back of my head. I had only pulled my hair back into a simple chignon. But at William’s insistence, I was wearing the diamond earrings he’d given me.

  I was nervous. I had known I was going to be nervous. I hated being the center of attention, and nothing was more central than a bride at a wedding.

  My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it from the vanity table. A text from William.

  Don’t be nervous – it’s just a few seconds down the aisle, and then you’ll be holding my hand.

  A smile spread across my face. He knew me so well.

  “Alright, look who’s up from his nap!”

  I turned to greet Grace with glee as she walked into the small room in the church, holding my son.

  “Ben,” I said. “Come here.”

  Ben reached out with his little hands towards me, as I extended my arms.

  “Thank you,” I said to Grace.

  My friend had been a huge support to me in the past year. She had helped me navigate New York when I moved in with William. We had decided that during my pregnancy, I would leave the farm and live with him in the city. There wasn’t much to do in the winter anyway. We spent the months of my pregnancy deciding what to do next.

  I had wanted to get married right away. Something small and simple and quick. A trip to the courthouse.

  William had been adamant we wait. He told me that I deserved a big white wedding, not some speedy and shameful last-minute affair. He wasn’t ashamed, and he told me I shouldn’t be either.

  I had argued against the “big” part though. That just wasn’t me. So it was close friends and family at a quaint little church in Connecticut.

  We decided to move into his house upstate. It was an easy thirty-minute drive to the farm, and an easy thirty-minute train ride or drive to the city.

  Somehow, I was getting everything I had ever wanted.

  Ben cooed in my arms and I bounced him up and down.

  “Careful that he doesn’t spit up on your dress,” Grace said.

  “I wouldn’t care if he did,” I laughed.

  Grace rolled her eyes as she leaned down to inspect her hair in the mirror. She had finally stopped drinking as much because she’d gotten more serious about her career. She had also promised me, a month after I got pregnant, that she would always be there for me, no matter if my mother ever came around.

  In the end, they both did come round.

  My mother and Richard had gotten used to everything pretty soon. Richard just wanted to be connected with the powerful and wealthy William Hart. My mother had been pleased that he was “doing his part”. She also made a comment that since he was so old, he was even less likely to stray or divorce me. I had been too happy to argue with her over that.

  William had told me what I already knew: I needed space from my family. I needed to recalibrate my relationships. I didn’t have to always be thanking Richard for whatever scraps he threw my way. I didn’t need to constantly feel like I had to apologize to my mother for my existence.

  As William and I grew closer, I found it easier and easier to deal with my mother and Richard.

  I knew people had whispered about me and William. William Hart getting engaged to a twenty-two-year old. Who was also pregnant. It was scandalous.

  William had been concerned for me. He had wanted to shield me from all comments, but I assured him that gossip didn’t bother me. I
wanted to live my life to the fullest, and I was proud to walk into restaurants and parks with my hand in his.

  And the thing was, the people who mattered didn’t care. Grace had raised her eyebrows at first, but once she saw us together, she told me it made sense. Then she started asking William for career advice. Bridget as well had gone out to dinner with us in the city and assured me that love did not know limits based on age. Deborah and everyone else from his office had been supportive too, assuring me that I was perfect for William.

  As for everyone else, I didn’t care what random people said. He was what I wanted. He was kind and handsome and successful and funny and responsible. I wouldn’t let a thing like age hold me back from the joy I got from being with him.

  He was also an amazing father. I had thought it might take him some time to adjust to the idea of a family, but ever since the day he declared his love for me in his car, he had been the very standard of excellence in fatherhood. I should have known. William Hart was good at everything he set his mind to accomplishing.

  He had accompanied me to every doctor appointment, he read every book. He held my hand through the labor, and he was right by my side during the sleepless nights and early mornings. He made sure he was home from the office early every night so he could help me. He even worked from home multiple days a week and made plans to pass big cases to the other partners so he could have more time with us.

  I gazed down at Ben in my arms. He had my dark hair, but William’s brown eyes. I hadn’t known it was possible to love anyone so very much.

  “It’s time,” Grace announced.

  I stood up and handed Ben over to her. She was going to sit in the front row with him so she could hand him over to us as soon as we were married.

  I stood up and adjusted my full white skirts. I had chosen a simple and elegant dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves, a cinched waist and a poofy skirt that hid the extra baby weight around my lower stomach and hips. Not that William cared. He told me I was beautiful every day.

  Grace handed me a bouquet of purple hyacinths. Bridget had donated them from the farm. I clutched them to my chest and took a deep breath.