Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-one
Ben
After I finished eating, I went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. Mazzy joined a minute later, placing a piece of paper on the counter beside me.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. If we both sign and file it, you’ll be added to Katty’s birth certificate and legally be her father. If you’d like to do a paternity test first, I completely understand—”
“I know she’s mine.” I yanked open a drawer, grabbed a pen, and scrawled my name faster than I could blink.
Mazzy laughed at my enthusiasm. “Okay. I guess that answers that.” She added another stack of papers to the counter. “This is a preliminary custody agreement.”
This I was far from happy to see. “We don’t need this.”
“We do, Ben.” She inched closer, her hand coming to rest lightly on the back of my arm. “I work in family law. I’ve seen parents blindsided far too many times. This will protect us both—and Katty.”
I frowned, my gut plummeting with dread.
Things were going so damn well between us, and this felt like the beginning of the end.
Next thing I knew, we’d have drop-offs and pickups, and our easy, cozy evenings would be a thing of the past. I’d get a lot less time with Katty—and Mazzy.
The thought of losing either made my stomach roil and knot.
Mazzy leaned her head on my arm, her silky hair brushing my skin. “Things don’t have to change just because you sign this. I’d like to continue as we have been. This is just for our protection. Both of us.”
“I hear what you’re saying,” I muttered, shifting so I could curl my arm around her. “I don’t like the idea that either of us needs protection from the other.”
She tipped her head back to meet my gaze. Her eyes were a cloudless sky, pretty and serene. “I don’t think we will, but when it comes down to it, we’re two strangers who met on a plane.”
“Right.” My head dropped. I wasn’t one to admit defeat easily, but hearing her say that did me in. “Funny, you don’t feel like a stranger to me.”
“Me either. It’s really easy to get swept up in you, Ben Wells. That’s how we got here in the first place. But I’ve got Katty to think about, so I’m trying to be a little smarter this time.”
I nodded. “I know you’re right.” I reached for the pen again, ready to sign before my heart could argue with my head, but she swatted my hand away.
“Ben!” she cried, ducking out from under my arm.
My brow furrowed. “What? Isn’t this what you wanted me to do?”
“You didn’t even read it.” She plucked the pen out of my hand and pointed it at me like a weapon. “I forbid you to sign anything until you’ve read it and had your lawyer look it over.”
I turned to face her. “You forbid me?”
She jutted out her chin, like she was a tough guy. If I hadn’t been so upset, I would’ve thought it was cute. “That’s right.” Then she gave my chest a shove. “Don’t be dumb.”
“Maybe I want to be dumb.” I folded my arms across my chest, fighting a grin despite myself. “You can’t stop me.”
She wagged the pen at me. “How are you going to sign it without a pen?”
“You think that’s my only one?”
I turned to open the drawer, but something small and plastic dinged my forehead before I could.
I froze, blinking in disbelief. The pen clattered to the floor.
Mazzy’s hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes rounded in surprise. “Oops,” she gasped, her voice strangled with laughter. “I didn’t mean to hit you.”
I rubbed the spot. “You threw a pen at my face, but didn’t mean to hit me?”
She was already giggling, trying to look apologetic and failing miserably. “I usually have terrible aim.”
“Right.” I straightened slowly. “Now you’ve done it.”
“Ben, I’m really sorry.” She backed away as I took a step toward her.
“It’s too late. You're in trouble now.”
I lunged, and she yelped, darting around the counter. I caught the hem of her shirt, but she wriggled free, laughing and squealing.
“Stop! You’ll make me—” Rounding the corner, I hooked an arm around her waist, hauling her back against me.
She shrieked and twisted, trying to escape, but I tickled her ribs until she was gasping and smacking at my arms.
“Okay, okay,” she cried between laughs, her head falling against my chest. “Truce! You win.”
I stilled, her words distant as her soft body melded against mine. I hadn’t intended to put us in this position, but now that I had her in my arms, memories of the last time she’d been there came rushing back.
Heat. Her mouth on my neck. Driving into her. Arching hips. Clawing fingers. Endless need.
Blood flooded my core so fast my vision went spotty. The last thing Mazzy wanted or needed was my erection prodding her very lush ass, so I yanked my hips back and loosened my hold enough for her to turn around and face me.
That wasn’t any better, though. Not with her flushed cheeks and bright, shining eyes. I was thinking about kissing her, but even I wasn’t dumb enough to do it.
She placed her hand against my chest. “Thank you for that.”
“For attacking you?”
One more breathy laugh. “That, I could have lived without. I’m thanking you for making me laugh. The past few weeks with you, I’m pretty sure I’ve laughed more than I have in a couple years.”
“Baby…” I tucked her hair behind her ear and grazed her cheek with my knuckles. “Stick with me. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
“I think I needed this.” Her fingers curled into my T-shirt. “You have a way of coming in at exactly the right time. Are you magic, Benny?”
“No one’s ever accused me of that. I’m just glad I get to hang out with you for the rest of my life.”
She sniffed then laughed. “Whoa. That’s intense.”
“Right? I said it without thinking. Whoa is right.” I chucked under her chin. “’Least you know you’ll have a decade or two without me in the end since I’m a senior citizen.”
“Ben,” she rasped, “don’t even mention that. Do you want to make me cry?”
“Crap.” I gathered her against me, relieved my erection had deflated. “I’m good at spoiling the mood, aren’t I?”
She knocked her head on my shoulder. “The things you say…”
“I have a way with words. Not a good way—but a way, for sure.”
Allowing myself a modicum of creepiness, I stuck my nose in her hair. Silk, sunshine, and flowers. I couldn’t remember if she’d smelled like this when we’d first met or if it was new, my memories hazed with blue drinks and years gone by.
Mazzy was the one to step back. “I hate to say this, but I have some reading I need to do tonight. Would you mind me being a really bad guest and locking myself in my room right now?”
I tried my level best to be cool. “I mean, I’ll probably sit outside your door and whine, but go ahead.”
She snorted. “You’re the best, Ben. And I really do mean that.”
Once she disappeared upstairs, the house felt too big and quiet.
The kind of quiet that made my thoughts wander all over the place.
I glanced at the counter, where the papers sat beside the dish towel I’d abandoned.
The acknowledgment form was already signed, both our names side by side.
That looked right. The custody agreement lay underneath, thick with legal jargon.
I picked it up and thumbed through the pages, catching words like custody, visitation, shared responsibility. My stomach turned.
I didn’t want to mess with what we had, but I wasn’t stupid. Life didn’t freeze just because I wanted it to.
With a sigh, I set the agreement flat on the counter and reached for a pen. I didn’t sign. Not yet. Just tapped the end against the page and stared at where my name would go.
“I’ll read it,” I murmured to the empty room.
Upstairs, a floorboard creaked—the sound of Mazzy moving around, maybe getting ready to study. I pictured her in my guest room, comfy in the bed I’d bought just for her, focused and determined in her smart little glasses.
A small smile tugged at my mouth before fading.
Yeah, I’d sign it. Eventually. Because it mattered to her and would make her feel safe. And that mattered to me more than anything else.