“Hey,” he said, pulling a chair across the table from her. “Long time.”
“You look great.”
Nope, he wasn’t touching that. Instead, he lifted the envelope. “I brought Lily’s latest school pictures.”
She glanced at the envelope, then laughed. “How…cute. Who would have ever guessed such a badass ho
ckey player would turn so soft over a kid?”
Her insensitivity or attempted jibe or whatever the hell it was didn’t bother him in the least. The fact that Kim ignored the photos bothered Beckett far more.
“So, what’s up?” he asked, setting the photos aside.
She reached out and put her hand over his. “How are you, Beckett?”
He gently pulled his hand back, but revulsion rolled beneath his skin. “I’m good, but I don’t have a lot of time. What did you want to talk about?”
She sighed, and her smile turned petulant. “I know how much Lily means to you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And I know this custody issue is important to you.”
“It’s important because it’s the best thing for Lily.”
“And I’m inclined to agree to your request if you’d be inclined to agree to mine.”
Patience. Patience.
“It’s not a request, Kim. We had an understanding when I took over her care last year.”
“That was then. This is now. Things have changed.”
“You may have a hard time convincing a court of that considering the condition you left her in.”
“I really don’t want to take this to court, Beckett.”
Anger formed a rock in his throat. “What do you want?”
“Five million,” she said with a matter-of-fact air. “And I’ll sign over custody of Lily. Permanently.”
Beckett choked out a laugh at the sheer absurdity of the number. “Five million? Where the hell did you come up with that number?”
“Don’t act like that’s a lot of money to you.” Suddenly, she was disgusted. “I’m not an idiot. The way you’re playing, you’ll make that in your performance bonus alone this year.”
He shook his head. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t buy Lily from you. Lily isn’t property, and this isn’t a deal. This is about Lily’s welfare. Lily’s best interest. Lily’s health and happiness—”
“Don’t give me that shit. I know you’re not raising Lily. I know you’ve got a nanny doing all the work. And you’re probably also doing the nanny on the side. You’ve probably already got Lily’s boarding school all picked out and paid for. You don’t want her disturbing your lifestyle any more than I want her disturbing mine.”
“About that lifestyle,” Beckett said. “What does Henderson think of having to father another man’s kid?”
Kim’s lips pressed together, and her chin lifted.
“That’s what I thought.” He picked up his phone and offered her the envelope again. “Would you like any of Lily’s pictures?”
“No, I don’t want her pictures,” Kim spat, furious. “I don’t want anything to do with her. But you’re going to have to pay to get me to say that on the record.”
Beckett exited the café, stalking to his car and wishing he had a game tonight so he could smash some guys against the boards.