Chapter 7
"You took your time."
Frowning at her tone, Andre glanced around the room at the other occupants.
"I was... occupied. Grandma, why are you here? What's this about?"
"Might I interest you in a cup of coffee, son?"
"No thanks, Dad. I have to be in court--" He glanced at his watch. "Another thirty minutes. What's this?"
Abigail stirred restlessly and went to the sideboard to refill her cup. "Kincaid Tyrell wants to take my daughter away from me."
"Abby." The mild reproof came from her mother. "We always speak truth in this family."
"Okay, fine. He wants to meet her."
"He found out." Andre shrugged out of his suit jacket and wondered if he should call and have an associate fill in for him. This looked like it was going to be a long one. "How?"
"I saw him at that charity event a few nights ago. He approached me and wanted us to go out for coffee. I turned him down."
"Naturally."
She sent him a grateful look. "I also told him where he could get off and avoided him the rest of the evening." She took a fortified sip and wandered around the room.
They had decided to have the meeting in the sunny yellow and white salon where a cheerful fire was blazing in the hearth.
Breakfast had been served there as well, not that anyone had done justice to the scrambled eggs, freshly baked bread, and crispy bacon.
The coffee pot was getting all the work out.
Zoe had left a while ago for kindergarten. The meeting had started as soon as Adelaide had arrived. She was sitting in a wingback chair close to the fire, her posture straight and unbending. Abigail had called her last night to explain what was going on.
"He came to the bookstore. I will forever blame myself for not anticipating he would. Zoe was there."
"He took one look at her and figured it out." Andre decided he would have coffee after all. Last night had been... energetic and a complete surprise.
He had spent the entire night getting acquainted with every inch of Jillian's delectable body. Even now, he could hardly keep his mind from straying to her. "It was bound to happen sooner or later." He glanced at his sister. "You were hoping for later."
Taking the cup with him, he went to sit on one of the delicate chairs plumped with cushions. "He just wants to meet?"
"Yes. Or so he said. He's given me until tomorrow." Her hands trembled and she had to put the cup down. "I'm scared."
"That he will want full custody." Andre nodded.
"Can that happen?" Adelaide demanded, speaking for the first time since the meeting started.
"We're getting ahead of ourselves." Andre figured he was going to have to be the voice of reason. Glancing at his sister, he continued. "Has he made threats?"
"Not specifically."
"Word for word, tell me what he said."
She did the best she could and related the conversation.
"Seems to me he just wants a chance to get to know his daughter." He looked around the room at the anxious faces. "And Zoe is his daughter. He does not have to do a DNA test to find that out. She looks too much like him to be otherwise."
"Here are the facts. You're the mother, and the courts do not look favorably on taking a child from his or her mother. But--" His gaze touched on each of them in turn. "He was not made aware that he had a child. That could weigh heavily on his side."
He glanced at his sister, his gaze sympathetic. "Not to mention that his name happens to be Tyrell. People like them tend to have a fleet of very expensive lawyers on retainer."
"You're not making me feel better." Abigail had to rein in the panic.
"I'm here to state facts. So far, he's given you a choice. Have you told Zoe?" The expression on her face gave him the answer.
"Let's face reality, and this is it." He eased forward, his expression intent. "He's her father, and he wants to be in her life. You're going to have to bite the bullet and deal with him in a civilized manner."
"Meet with him, arrange a time for Zoe to see him as well. Tell her, Abby. As soon as she comes back from school, tell her."
"Sit her down, take her to the park or out for ice cream, and explain as best as you can that her daddy has come back and wants to get to know her." He gave her a hard stare. "She's going to ask why he wasn't there for her before. You're going to have to tell her he didn't know she was his."
"You cannot make him out to be the bad guy here. I don't need to tell you that we're dealing with a very powerful family, and I'm sure by now, Tyrell has already informed his family about her. They will want to meet her as well. She's the only heir to that particular fortune."
"She's not a damn heir! She's my little girl." Fighting the panic was not working. She could feel the pressure on her chest.
"Stating facts." He rose and went to her. "I'm here." He turned her to face him. "We're all here. We love her too, but you're going to have to let her go, learn to share her."
"She has a whole different set of family, and they will want a piece of her too." He brushed the tears that had trickled down her cheeks.
"Send him the message that you'll meet him. I would suggest somewhere neutral but private. Like I said, he's a Tyrell, and his face has been splashed all over the press for one reason or another."
He bent to kiss the tip of her nose. "If you need me, just call. Now, I'm afraid I have to dash." He turned just inside the doorway. "It's going to work out."
She wasn't so sure. What was she going to tell her daughter? 'Hey honey, guess what? Your daddy wants to meet you.' And if she asked where he had been, what was she supposed to say?
'Oh, we had sex one night, and he went his way and never returned my call, so I decided to keep you to myself.' Would Zoe hate her? She mentally shook her head. Her little girl was too sweet, too good-natured to harbor hate. She might be puzzled, but hatred? Never.
"Girl, sit. You're making me tired just watching you prance all over the room."
Glancing over at her grandmother, she plopped down on an ottoman. "I don't know what to do." She admitted to the three people in the room. "I've disappointed you once again."
"Stop this nonsense right now." Adelaide ordered.
"You could never disappoint us." She did not look at the other two for confirmation.
"You will go ahead and meet with this man.
Zoe deserves a father. This cannot be about you.
He's obviously anxious to be her daddy. Let him. She can only be better off for it."
"I agree with Mama." Her father rose and came to sit in front of her.
Taking her delicate hands in his large ones, he studied her coral painted nails before lifting his head to her face.
"We have to start thinking about that sweet little girl.
Tell her the truth, or as much of the truth as you can, and get it over and done with. "
"Daddy, I'm scared." She whispered. The fact that she had reverted to calling him a name she had when she was a little girl broke him to pieces. He wanted to fold her against him and assure her it would be all right.
"I know, baby." Lifting their joined hands, he brushed them against his weathered cheek. "But we're here for you. Just do the right thing."
Abigail wiped her eyes, drawing in a shaky breath as the room settled into a heavy silence. She felt the weight of their expectations but also the net of love holding her steady.
For a moment, she simply listened to the quiet: her father's steady presence beside her, her grandmother's unwavering gaze, the gentle hum of reassurance that, no matter what happened next, she was not alone. The fear hadn't vanished, but it felt just a little less paralyzing.
She squared her shoulders and nodded, determination flickering in her eyes. "Okay," she whispered, mostly to herself, "I can do this."
*****
He received the text early the next morning. It was terse and to the point. 'I'll meet you at the publishing house where you've set up office. Make it ten. I have a meeting and cannot get away before then.'
The abrupt manner was fine with him. He had spent last night tossing and turning and dreading that he was going to have to drag them through a lawsuit. That was not the way he wanted to start a relationship with his daughter or, for that matter, her mother.
He shot back an equally abrupt one as it dawned on him that he needed to see documentation of his daughter's years before he knew about her. 'If you have photo albums of her from birth to now, I'd appreciate you taking them with you.'
The reply was so long in coming, he thought she wasn't going to respond. Then another terse response. 'Will see what I can do.'
'Thanks.' He sent back and shut down his phone.
At least they were communicating, he mused wearily. Leaning his head against the solid mahogany headboard, he tried some deep breathing. A careless seduction five years ago had changed his life. Forever.
He had a person, a small person who was depending on him. He had lost four years of her life, including the nine months she had been inside her mother's womb.
He missed doctor's visits and the anxiety of being in that delivery room to watch her take her first breath outside the safe cocoon of her mother's uterus. He had missed everything and wondered if she had told him of the pregnancy, would he have graciously and excitedly accepted it?
He could honestly say no. His first instinct would have been to question whether or not he was the father. Yes, he had been the one to take her innocence, but after two months, he would have figured she would have been with someone else.
Did she have a lover even now, he mused, and wondered at the slice of pain that went through him. Was another man involved in his child's life? He wasn't going to allow that. But if that was the case, what right did he have to put a stop to it?
He had forfeited the right to tell Abigail what to do with her life. He hadn't stayed, had he? He had spent that one glorious night with her and left without looking back.