Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“No.”
She answered him without even a hesitation and something swelled deep inside him. Something he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before.
He grabbed her hand to stop its motion, then lifted her fingers to his lips, brushing his mouth along the tips.
“Emma,” he murmured. “Never want you to regret bein’ with me. Got me?”
“I just said I didn’t.”
She thought he meant only in bed. It was more than that. “Not now. Later. Don’t wanna be the one to hurt your chances gettin’ full custody of Lily. Don’t wanna be the reason anyone would call you an unfit mother. Because you on your own are not. With me by your side...” He let that hang and laid her hand on his chest, covering it with his.
“My daughter comes first, Dawson. No matter what,” she said softly.
Of course she did. He’d expect nothing less from Emma.
His mother never made him a priority. Having a man in her bed, taking care of the lot rent and being able to buy her cigarettes was the most important to her. Whether that man was a drunk or not. His mother couldn’t care less whether that man was good to her son. Or even a good influence. To her, Dawg was simply an inconvenience.
What if one day Caitlin found out the truth and he’d never come forward? What if she found out that he knew about her but didn’t do shit about it? Would she feel the same way about him as he did about his mother? Would she feel unwanted?
He didn’t want that. All children should feel wanted, loved.
Right?
He opened his mouth to tell her how he knew that Lily would be first on her list but he’d like to be on her list, too. Second, third, whatever. As long as Emma could slip him somewhere into her life, he wanted to be a part of it.
Maybe, just maybe, he could build a life, a family with Emma, Lily and Caitlin, too.
He closed his mouth and stayed silent as the ache in his chest grew. He wanted to build something he’d never had. Something he never thought he would have until a honey-smooth, husky voiced kindergarten teacher showed up in his club begging for a stripper job.
“Did you ever think about approaching her mother, telling her that you know, and asking for visitation? It doesn’t have to be court-ordered, you know. She might be agreeable.”
“Doubt she’ll be agreeable.”
“You don’t know that until you ask.”
“Yeah, baby girl, she kept Caitlin a secret, so I can pretty much guess what her answer will be. A big ‘fuck you.’”
“It can’t hurt. Especially if you’re going to proceed in court, anyway. Try to be civil first. Approach her, see if she’s even willing to consider it. It also might give you an idea of what kind of fight you might have on your hands.”
What Em said was true. He might want to get a read on Regan.
“You know if you establish paternity, you might have to pay back child support. I’m not sure on how all that works.”
He wasn’t, either. Especially since Regan kept him in the dark all those years and allowed her husband to adopt her. Or that’s what he heard. He didn’t know if the adoption was true or not. “Yeah.”
“It might be a lot.”
“Yeah,” he grunted.
“Are you prepared for that?”
“Got the money.”
“Another reason why you shouldn’t be financially covering anything for me. You need to cover your own expenses. Not mine.”
“Got the money, Em. Ain’t a problem. Club’s got fat coffers, worse comes to worse. A lotta that comes from my club. Z would have no problem agreein’ to get shit settled for me. An’ for you. ‘Specially now he’s got a family of his own. He gets it.”
“I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around why any of you would spend resources like that on me and Lily.”
Dawg rolled quickly, taking Emma with him until she was flat on her back and he was perched above her, practically nose to nose. “How many times have the women welcomed you to the sisterhood?”
“Too many.”
“Think there’s a reason for that?”
She got quiet.
“Asked you a question,” he prodded.
“I think you’re expecting me to stick around after Lily comes home.”
She thought right. “Yeah.”
“I think we need to discuss that, too.”
Fuck. “Em...”
She reached up and cupped his chin. “Dawson...”
“Don’t wanna fuck up your chances with all the legal shit, but also don’t want you to walk outta my life. Got me?”
There. He said it. He laid it out for her.
“You want a relationship.” Not a question, but a confirmation.
“Want you in my life, baby girl. An’ before you argue again ‘bout how we’ve only known each other not very long... Fuckin’ know that. Lemme tell you somethin’ ‘bout us Angels. We’re fuckin’ stubborn. Hard-headed. An’ when we see what we want, we go for it. An’, baby girl, I want you. Nobody but you, got me?”