"You don't really think he'd come to your place, right? Like how would he even know?"
"You know everything has a price, Dani. And trust me, whatever the price is, he can pay it. I just want to stay out of his way and hopefully let him forget all about us." I sighed.
"What's with you, Deira?" I looked up to see Dani's troubled eyes fixed on me.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I don't think you've ever backed down from a fight. Why are you running scared from this guy?"
"He's not just some guy, Dani. He's her father. He could sue for custody, and he's rich. I don't mean kind of well-off. I mean incredibly rich. He offered to replace my car with a new one out of pocket and didn't even blink. And, well, you remember what I told you his um... personality? When we were... together..."
Dani rolled her eyes.
"When you had wild, passionate sex all night? Yeah, I remember. You wouldn't shut up about it."
I could feel my cheeks flush. I thought I was done being embarrassed about this one-night stand. After all, choosing to have Makayla meant everyone who was acquainted with me knew it had happened. Even Dani saying that was enough to bring the blood rushing to my face. I suddenly had a flood of memories, of sensations from that night that I thought I'd long forgotten. His hands on my skin, strong, commanding. Him pushing me to the bed, rough in just the way I liked it. His eyes running up the length of my body and meeting my own with pure desire. God, more than my cheeks were getting hot. I shook my head to clear it, but the hold he still had on me just proved my point.
Dani wouldn't talk about it so casually if she'd experienced it, if she'd looked into his eyes and felt how impossible it was to not give him everything he wanted. A man like that, and with money, too? I might not be afraid of a fight, but I knew better than to punch above my weight. If he decided to take Makayla, I was sure that was a fight I'd lose. And unlike that night, he wouldn't make it enjoyable.
"Hey," Dani said, bringing me back from my memories. "Don't worry about it, okay? It's all going to work out."
"You can't possibly know that," I said.
"Of course, I can. Because I'm here, and I'm going to help!"
"Oh, yeah? You're going to get me a new job and a new car and a fighting chance at taking on maybe the richest man I've ever met in person in a court of law?"
Dani winked and snapped her fingers to point at me. "Yes! Exactly!"
I rolled my eyes.
"I appreciate the confidence, but forgive me if I don't hold my breath."
"You don't have to hold your breath," Dani said, sitting down beside me on the couch and wrapping her arms around me. She hugged me tightly, and I involuntarily sighed. I was so tired.
"All you have to do," she continued, "is trust me. First of all, there's no way any jury is going to look at you and Makayla's bond and think she could ever live with anyone else. Okay? So put that thought out of your mind. And second, I am going to find you the perfect job, and then you'll have money to get a car, and your life will be good again, and it's all going to turn out fine." She punctuated those last few words by squeezing me tightly. "Okay?"
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Your line is, okay, Dani, I trust you. It's all going to turn out fine," she said.
"Okay Dani, I trust you. It's all going to turn out fine," I repeated.
She frowned. "We need to work on your emoting, but I'll take it for now." She squeezed me even tighter, and I leaned into the hug, laying my head on her shoulder.
God, I hoped there was a way that it all would turn out fine.
TWELVE
CASSIUS
The first thing I did when I got back to Scott's was call the private investigator. I explained that I had some urgent business I needed to settle with Deira, but that I couldn't find her. I relayed the whole conversation with the neighbor. It took some persuading, but he finally agreed to look into it.
I hung up and paced the guest room, my head spinning.
If this kid was mine, that meant I had missed five years of her life. Not only that, but the first five years, and all the other firsts that come with them: first birthday, first tooth, first word. And who knows what she knew about me. Did I even exist to her?
I tried to calm myself by making an action plan. The first step was to find Deira and Makayla. The next step was to get a paternity test. And then...