Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“Just the bag,” he said and pointed to a pale blue bag covered in daisies. “It had a few baby items in it, but that was it.”
“No note?”
“Attached to the carrier,” he said absently.
The more pieces of the puzzle were revealed to me, the greater my sympathy for this situation became. “Do you mind?” I asked and pointed to the bag.
He nodded.
I went through the bag to see if there was anything he’d forgotten, because in my experience even the most detail oriented man tended to miss important things right in front of his face. I took inventory of what was left and it wasn’t much, about five diapers, two bottles pre-filled with formula, a fresh pack of baby wipes, and a few onesies.
“Told you there was nothing.”
I looked up at him with a smile as the little girl’s head fell against my shoulder. “Did you check all the pockets?” I didn’t wait for an answer as I dug into the smaller zippered areas and found a pacifier with a plastic sunflower on it, a bottle of distilled water, several bottle cleaners, and way in the bottom, a sheet of paper. I slowly freed the sheet and glanced down at what was a birth certificate, but the mother’s name was blacked out. “Her name is Dixie Summer Witter. She’s about six months old, give or take a week.”
He snatched the paper from my hands with an apologetic smile before he gave the document his full attention.
I watched in twisted fascination as at least a dozen different emotions splashed across his face. There was so much happening behind those green eyes, and I was more curious than I should be about the details. Suddenly, every emotion melted away and left a blank stare in its place. He lifted his gaze to meet mine, something akin to embarrassment in his eyes.
“I hate to do this so soon, but, ah, do you think you’ll be all right on your own for a couple of hours? I need to talk to my agent immediately.”
Agent. That was a big clue about what kind of big shot Mr. Witter was. “Sure.” I frowned because I couldn’t conjure up an image of him in anything I’ve seen recently. “You’re an actor?”
Mr. Witter unleashed a beaming smile that made it clear why he was a Hollywood heartthrob here in Texas. “No. I’m a hockey player.”
Okay, now I was really confused. “There’s hockey in Houston?”
Mr. Witter’s smile faded and I worried, for a moment, that I might have offended him. But a beat later, a loud laugh exploded out of him, startling both me and Dixie. “I promise to be offended by that later, but for now, I really need to head out.”
“Dixie and I will be fine for a couple of hours, but this isn’t enough to even get us through the night.” I patted the daisy diaper bag on the sofa to remind him that this wasn’t something we could postpone.
“Yeah, okay,” he nodded absently, clearly distracted. “This first and then baby supplies.” He slipped into a pair of sneakers and grabbed his keyes.
“Uh, Mr. Witter?”
He stopped and studied me. “Call me, Alex. You’ll be living in my home, no need to be so formal.”
“Okay then, Alex. You might want to put on a shirt before you head out.”
He looked down at his sculpted bare chest and grinned. “Good idea. Thank you, Sasha. You’re already helping.” He disappeared down the hall and returned a few minutes later in a fresh pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, looking like a big, beautiful, blond Viking before he rushed out of the apartment.
I turned to Dixie who was still studying my face with a ghost of a smile on her lips. “It’s just you and me for a while, kiddo. Let’s get to know each other.” I held her close and got acquainted with my new work and living space.
Chapter 5
Alex
Jack’s brown eyes held mine for a long, silent moment. With his elbows resting on his desk and his hands steepled together, he watched me until the silence became uncomfortable. Maddeningly uncomfortable.
“What the hell did you do?”
My brows knitted into a scowl. “Why do you assume I did anything?”
“Oh please,” Jack scoffed. “You show up at my office willingly and without an appointment? You did something and you think showing up here will soften the blow. So, hit me with it.”
Sometimes I hated that he knew me so well, and worse that I knew him too. I’d known Jack well enough to know that he wasn’t going to react well, which yeah, was exactly why I’d shown up unannounced.
“I have a baby.” The words kind of tumbled out of my mouth because I just needed to get them out before I said anything else.
“Explain.”
I nodded as I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, repeating the move five times until I knew I could tell him everything I knew without stopping. “I can do the math to narrow down who the mother could be, and I’d like to do that, but my first priority is a DNA test.”