“You were wrong.”
She flattened her lips together. It was a hot night, and for the first time since he arrived, she was conscious of how little she wore – the singlet top without a bra hugged her body like a second skin and her damp hair hung down her back in chocolate-coloured swirls. “I know that,” she whispered, after a beat. “All I could think about, this last month, was how much I’d messed up. At the time, I swear, I thought I was doing the right thing. That you’d even be grateful to me for taking on all the parental responsibility and leaving you free to live your life. But after last month, when you came here, I just…I couldn’t keep her from you. That’s what I’ve been focused on.”
He was quiet as he absorbed those words, but his features gave nothing away, no hint of whether he understood her position and accepted it. “And you didn’t speculate on how I’d react?”
“Honestly?”
He dipped his head once, bracing his palms on the counter.
“I guess I thought you’d be glad that I wasn’t asking you for anything.”
A muscle jerked in his jaw. “Even though you’re more than entitled?”
“I don’t see it that way,” she said proudly, reminded of her mom and how hard she’d worked to support Abby on one income. “Your money never had anything to do with what I wanted from you.”
He was completely impassive and unmoving. Silence stretched between them, heavy and loaded, and the longer it stretched the more it weighed down Abby’s shoulders, so she could hardly move, barely breathe.
“Nonetheless, it’s a reality of who I am. Our daughter is worth a fortune. Did it occur to you that there’s a risk to her? That someone might kidnap her to secure some of that fortune?”
She gasped. “No. Never.” She shook her head to dispel that thought before it could take hold. “No one knows you’re her dad.”
“No one?”
“No.”
“What about your mother?”
“No.”
“So what did you tell her?”
Heat stained her cheeks. “That I’d had a one night stand after Eric. That I was on the rebound and didn’t bother to get the guy’s number and had no way of contacting him. I said it meant nothing.”
He stared at her, frowning.
“It’s basically the truth,” she defended.
He didn’t react or respond for a few moments, and then finally, the door buzzed. She jumped, surprised.
“That’ll be dinner,” he said, as if he was gentling a skittish horse. She went to move to the door but he was there first, his long stride carrying him across the apartment. He opened the door as though it was his place, taking the brown paper bags with a nod of thanks, before removing a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and handing it to the delivery guy as a tip.
Abby used the few seconds to pull her thoughts together.
She needed to think, and it was hard to do that with Grayson Fortescue right in the heart of her home.
He began to unpack the bags, removing tub after tub and placing them on the table. A delicious, lightly-spiced smell began to fill the air and her stomach grumbled.
“Got bowls?”
She removed one from the cupboard.
“I ordered more than enough for you too, Abby. Don’t go hungry to make a point.”
Heat flashed in her cheeks and she spun away from him, removing another bowl.
He’d ordered a mix of sushi and noodles, as well as a light curry and rice. She chose a few pieces of sushi and topped up their drinks.
“Where do you eat?”