Fuck. I shifted in my seat so we were facing each other. “Whether I have a daughter or not, even if I had not met you, there is no way in hell I would be getting back together with Genevieve.”

“But you loved her at one time.”

She stared down at the floor. “Soraya, look at me.” Her head lifted, and eyes returned to meet mine. “The woman cheated on me with my best friend and then didn’t tell me that I could possibly have a child. For four years. Trust and loyalty are important to me. I wouldn’t even hire someone to work in my business who I couldn’t trust, no less build a life with. We are not getting back together, no matter what.” My next words came out slow, each one given careful consideration, yet I was still cautious about saying them. “Your father could have been involved in your life while he was married to another woman. People do it all the time. He made his choices. And if you ask me, he made poor ones. I am not your father.”

Just then, Louis, my driver, interrupted. “Mr. Morgan? Are we heading back into Manhattan or to Brooklyn? The exit for the Belt Parkway is coming up.”

“My place or yours?” I looked to Soraya.

I was relieved to hear a flash of my girl come back. “You’re assuming an awful lot with that question.”

“I’m just being a gentleman. You’ve had a tough afternoon. I know the perfect remedy to make you feel better.”

“Of course you do.”

“It’s my duty, and I take it very seriously.”

“You know what would really make me feel better?”

“Name it.”

“You, not being a gentleman.”

The corners of my mouth twisted up while my cock hardened at the thought. I didn’t take my eyes from hers as I spoke. “To my place, Louis.” Then I whispered in her ear. “And to think, I was going to fuck you full of nice. You never cease to amaze me, Soraya. It would be my pleasure to leave the gentleman at the door and fuck you four ways dirty.”

***

THE NEXT FEW DAYS, THINGS RETURNED to normal between Soraya and me. Her anxiety over the prospect of my having a child seemed to diminish. During the day, I threw myself into my work, and at night, I worked just as hard at pleasing Soraya. If she was going to be weighing her options soon enough, I needed to make her decision to cut me loose as difficult as possible. Pleasing her sexually was my favorite part of that plan.

On Monday morning, the lab came to my office at seven to collect my DNA. They had an appointment with Genevieve to take a sample from Chloe a few hours later. I’d paid a fortune for fast results and by Wednesday, I’d be certain whether I was a father or not.

A father.

Having never really had one of my own, the thought in itself was a novelty to me. If it was confirmed she was mine, there was no doubt I wanted to be involved in her life. Although I had no fucking idea what that looked like. What did a grown man do with a little girl who became his child overnight?

Monday night I had to go out of town, up to Boston for a quick meeting early Tuesday morning. My flight was delayed, and I was sitting in the airport reading the paper. Before Soraya, I started with the business section first. These days, I turned to Ask Ida, before catching up on the market watch. Between soap operas and now reading an advice column daily, I was fast becoming a pussy.

Dear Ida,

My mother was recently remarried. Bill, my new stepfather, has a nineteen-year-old son, whom I had never met until three weeks ago. Alec was away at college and came home to live with us for the summer. The problem is, I’m extremely attracted to Alec. I’m pretty sure the attraction is mutual since the sexual tension is so thick, sometimes it’s hard to breathe. Is it wrong to be with my stepbrother?

-Gretchen, Manhattan

Dear Gretchen,

While technically you are not blood-related, there is still a familial connection and many people will frown upon a relationship between the two of you. By your writing the letter, I suspect you think it’s not right to be with Alec, and you’re looking for someone to give you permission to go against your own beliefs. My advice to you is to be true to yourself, and the rest will fall into place.

I texted Soraya.

Graham: I’d fuck you even if you were my stepsister.

Soraya: LOL. You read the column?

Graham: I do. I like to figure out which ones you have a part in responding to.

Soraya: How can you tell which ones I responded to?

Graham: I just can.

Soraya: Did I write today’s response?

Graham: Do I get a prize if I answer correctly?

Soraya: I thought I gave you your prize last night.