MACK
“What baby?”I stare into Sunny’s eyes and compel her to speak. Did I hear her right? I knock the side of my head to unclog my brain. I could be having delusions. All this sex could be creating a fantasy fog where my whole perfect life exists.
“B-baby?”
It’s the stutter that convinces me. I get up and pull her to her feet. “Where’s your purse?”
“Downstairs.”
I pick her up and carry her out of the bedroom.
“Mack, put me down. Where are we going?”
I don’t reply because I can already anticipate the comments. It’s too late. We don’t have to get married. Let’s co-parent. All those modern terms that might be fine for other people but not for me and not for Sunny.
I spot her purse on the kitchen table and sweep it under my arm.
“Seriously, Mack. Where are you taking me?”
“Courthouse.” I kick the door open and make my way to the car.
“The courthouse? It’s past ten. The courthouse is closed.”
“Not tonight it’s not.” I curse my electric car for not having automatically opening doors. The thing can drive itself, but it can’t open the door for me? I set Sunny down long enough to open the passenger door, keeping one hand around her waist so she doesn’t escape.
She’s too stunned to struggle, so I easily get her into the seat and then run around to the driver’s side. Once I’m seated and backing out of the driveway, I give Henri Abbott a call.
“Hey, Mack, how’s it going?”
“Good, can you meet me at the courthouse?”
“Sure. What time?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Wait, you mean tonight?”
“Yup.” I hang up because I’ve already got my answer, and I don’t want to hear a different one.
“Turn this car around right now, Mack. I am not getting married to you at ten in the evening wearing black sweatpants and a sweater that needs depilling.”
“No.”
“This is madness. You can’t marry me the second you hear I have a baby on the way.”
“First, that’s my baby, and second, you bet your sweet ass I can.”
Henri is waiting outside of the courthouse, his hands in his pockets whistling. The noise cuts off abruptly when he spots me carrying a struggling Sunny in my arms. “Don’t mind Sunny. She’s not used to being carried.”
“Don’t open the door, Henri. I’m being kidnapped here. I’m being held against my will.”
“That’s not what you said last night,” I growl. “Henri, open the damned door right now.”
When he hesitates, I pull out the big guns. “Remember when you lost all your money in an NFT scam and were afraid to tell Lauren so I gave you a crypto account that had even more money in it than the one you’d lost?”
Henri mouths Sorry to Sunny and sticks his keys into the lock.
“You’re a whole traitor, Henri,” Sunny shouts. “I’ll never forget this.”
She wriggles again, causing me to clamp down harder around her arms and legs. Henri sends me a pleading glance for me to give up, but I glare him down until he opens the door and steps back.
When we get into his office, I set Sunny on the counter and pull the marriage certificate request form out of one of the folders hanging on the wall.
“What’s your social, Sunshine?”
She folds her arms over her chest. “Not telling.”
As if that’s going to stop me. I dragged Henri out of bed and am forcing him to notarize my marriage certificate request, probably pissing him off for years. I’m not stopping until Sunny’s name is legally Sunny Roseanne Gibson.
“Sign.” I shove the paper under Sunny’s hand.
“And if I don’t?”