“Here,” she pointed to the one solitary bar stool that sat on the other side of the counter. Rather than a highchair for Charlotte, which took up too much space, she’d bought a nifty little clip-on seat from eBay. It was designed for travelling, but that didn’t preclude it from everyday use.
Grayson lifted the stool, bringing it into the kitchen and placing it beside Abby. “Have a seat.”
She didn’t point out to him that he didn’t have to make that offer in her own home. He was just trying to put her at ease. She ignored the chair though, lifting another piece of sushi into her mouth while eyeing him in what she hoped wasn’t too combative a manner.
His mocking glance made her feel about an inch tall.
“It’s not possible to keep my parentage a secret indefinitely. I’ve already instructed my attorney to have my name added to her birth certificate.”
Abby’s jaw dropped. “You’vewhat?”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
She was flustered and panicked. All the walls were closing in on her. Charlotte washers.He couldn’t do this.
“You should havetalkedto me about that, Gray.”
“That’s a bit rich, isn’t it?”
She shook her head. “I thought I was doing the right thing. This is just petty. What the heck does it matter what her birth certificate says?”
“It matters.”
“I don’t care about your damned fortune.”
“Are you really comfortable making that decision for our daughter? Out of pique? Yes, her ability to inherit is helped by my being on her birth certificate, though I have also instructed my solicitor to add her as a beneficiary in my will.”
Abby’s head spun. It was all happening way, way too fast.
“That’s not the kind of thing that can be kept secret.”
“Then maybe you need to hire better lawyers,” she muttered.
“My legal team I trust. But these changes also involve county administrative staff. Want to take a guess how long it will take before one of them sells the salacious titbit to the tabloids?”
Her jaw dropped. “If you know this to be a possibility, then you should have waited. At least until we’d spoken! I don’t want anyone to know about you,” she hissed.
“Evidently.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and her heart thumped hard. She needed to find a way to switch off her attraction to him, to push away the physical desire she felt.
“I’m serious! You just found out about Charlotte this afternoon. Don’t you think you might be reacting in a somewhat knee jerk fashion?”
“She’s my daughter. I’m going to want the whole bloody world to know that – now, tomorrow, and in ten years’ time. More than that, I’m going to wantherto know it, and to know that I fought to have her in my life.”
Charlotte’s pulse picked up several notches. She was terrified of the implications of his statement, but the strength of his protective instincts touched something deep inside of her, so she felt the sting of tears in her throat. Damn it, she didn’t want to cry! But she’d never had a father to love her. She’d only had a failure of a father figure, a guy who couldn’t be counted on, who definitely didn’t speak about her – ever – in the way Grayson was talking about Charlotte. Could she feel relieved and jealous all at once?
“I’m her father,” he said, this time, the words were wrapped in steel. “And I intend to be in her life. Every. Single. Day.”
It was all of Abby’s worst fears confirmed. She hadn’t even put words to them, but as soon as he said those three little words, she dropped her head and struggled to breathe. Her eyes seemed to fill with stars and heat and her stomach dropped to her toes.
“Abby?”
She couldn’t breathe. She sucked in air but her lungs wouldn’t work. She shook her head, and felt faint. He was going to try to take Charlotte away. Try? He was Grayson Fortescue. He was born a billionaire, just like Charlotte. He wouldn’t ‘try’ to take her away. He’d succeed. With his money and connections, it would be a walk in the park.
Charlotte groaned, or tried to, but no noise came out. There was no air. Nothing. His hands on her shoulders were gentle, insistent, guiding her towards the couch.
“Sit.” He guided her into a seated position. “Put your head between your knees.” Her eyes, round and loaded with fear, met his and she did just that, while he rubbed a hand down her back slowly, rhythmically, in time with the breaths she should have been drawing.
“Just focus on your breathing,” he said quietly, his voice strange even to her panicked ears. “One after another, that’s it.”