The bodyguard caught Meghan’s eye. He looked almost sympathetic.
“But now that you’ve seen Meghan again I bet that’s all changed, hasn’t it? You can be a family. Isla will love that.”
“You’re unhinged.” Dylan turned to look at Meghan. “I had no idea you didn’t know I was coming. I wouldn’t have turned up like this if I’d known. I promise you.”
“It’s okay. I believe you.” Meghan’s voice was thin. There was no way she wanted to tell this man about Carlyn’s obsession with Rich. Not when he was here to talk about Isla. What if he wanted custody? What if he used this crazy woman against her? She needed to think about this… somehow.
“There’s a chance for him, right Meghan?” Carlyn persisted.
“Can you get her out of here?” Dylan asked his bodyguard, who gave a quick nod. “I’d like to speak with Meghan alone.”
“Come on, ma’am, follow me.”
“But this is my office,” Carlyn protested. “I should stay.”
“And I should call the damn police because this is fucked up,” Dylan said. “Now get out of here, before I get Ger to carry you out.”
Carlyn blinked and looked at Ger, then pressed her lips together. “I’ll be outside if you need me,” she told Meghan.
Yeah, she really was unhinged. Why would Meghan ever need her? She never wanted to see her again.
“I’ll wait outside, too,” Ger said. “Make sure you have some privacy.”
When he closed the door behind him, Dylan sighed heavily and propped himself against the desk. His eyes met Meghan’s. “I really am sorry about this.”
“It’s okay.” She exhaled heavily. “I just wish I’d known you were coming. I’d have been a little more prepared.”
“I did try to contact you. My lawyer went to your place in White City.”
“My place?” she frowned. “I live in Angel Sands.” She blinked, realization washing over her. “Oh, god, you mean my parents’ place. My dad gave me a card and I forgot all about it.”
“I figured you didn’t want to see me, and I respected that. But then that woman called and said you wanted to meet me here tonight. I jumped at the chance.”
“You did. Why?”
“Because I want to meet our daughter.”
Meghan’s hands shook, but she said nothing.
“I know I don’t have a right to. And that I fucked everything up from the start. But to be honest, she was probably lucky not to know me for the past few years. We hit it big and we partied even bigger, and I became a bit of a dick.” He pressed his lips together, shaking his head. “I was full of myself and thought I didn’t need to be a father. But that all changed when I met Natalie.”
“Your fiancée?”
He nodded. “Yeah. She’s a good woman who made me take a hard look at myself. In the past year I’ve cleaned myself up, gone to counseling, and tried to become a better person. So when I was contacted by a PI I thought it was my chance at finally meeting my kid. My chance at redemption.”
“Wait a minute,” Meghan said, confused. “You paid a PI to find me?”
“No. The PI was paid by somebody else to find me. Said he had information about my daughter.”
Carlyn. There was nobody else who could have paid somebody to do this. Ugh, what a mess.
“I spoke to my lawyer who suggested he contact you first. And I’ve been waiting on tenterhooks in hopes to hear from you because I go on a tour in a week and a half and won’t be back for six months. So when this woman called me about tonight, I thought it was meant to be.”
He sighed again, looking down at his hands. “I guess I should leave now, huh?”
“No.” Meghan shook her head. “You can stay. We can talk about Isla. She is your daughter, and she knows all about you.” And that was almost certainly how Carlyn found out. On that day by the pool when she’d been sitting next to Isla.
“Are you sure?” he asked her.