The next night, Nick left for Harper’s place with a bit of time to spare. He wanted to get her something, a token to show he was acting in good faith while they tried to work things through. Besides, she was in a tough place—pregnant with twins and thinking she had to leave Texas to get the support she needed. At least he could show her she was wrong about the last part.
He wanted a small gift, just to show he was here, ready to play his part. He’d heard some men bought their wives or partners jewelry when they became pregnant, but from the way Harper had reacted during their talk last night, he guessed a gift that expensive would overwhelm her. He just needed something to make her smile. Maybe he could start with flowers?
He ducked into the local grocery store and was confronted with rows and rows of buckets overflowing with blooms. And he hit the snag in his plan. In his experience, most women had a favorite flower, but he knew so little about Harper that he had no chance guessing. Sure, he knew more than he had twenty-four hours ago, but there were certain things that a man should know about the woman who was carrying his babies. Starting with her favorite flower...
“Daddeee!” The sweet, familiar voice rang out and his heart melted into a puddle. He turned in time to catch his three-year-old in the air as she launched herself at him.
“Hey, beautiful girl,” he said, squeezing her tight against his chest.
She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Can you have dinner wiv us tonight?”
When she leaned back to see his face, her eyes were huge with entreaty, and it killed him to h
ave to say no. Her mother, Melissa, and Melissa’s fiancé wouldn’t welcome him into their house, so even if he hadn’t had plans with Harper, he would have to decline.
He glanced around, and sure enough, Melissa and Guy stood about ten feet away, both holding various grocery items, and neither smiling.
“Aw, baby, that’s probably not a good idea. But I’ll see you this weekend. How about we go to the park this time?”
Immediately distracted, Ellie nodded. “The big one wiv the swings?”
He grinned. “That’s the one.”
“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered, gripping his neck tight.
“I love you, too, Ellie.”
“Flowers. Are you going on a date, Nick?” Melissa was closer now. “You know I don’t want girlfriends around Ellie. It’s too disruptive for her. And my lawyer agrees.”
Nick stifled the retort that sat on his tongue. He was perfectly capable of working out what was and wasn’t good for his daughter. But getting into an argument in front of Ellie was definitely something that wouldn’t be good for her.
“Nice to see you, Melissa.” He tipped his chin at the other man. “Guy.”
“I mean it, Nick,” Melissa said, undeterred.
“You know what?” her smarmy fiancé said. “How about you go ahead and do it, and we’ll have a much stronger custody case. Ellie tells us everything anyway.”
Despite the pressure building in his head, Nick refused to rise to the bait. He gave Ellie another squeeze and put her down. “I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I have to go.” He grabbed the closest bunch of flowers, said, “See you soon, baby,” to his daughter, gave the adults a tight smile and headed for the checkout.
A few minutes later, he slid into the driver’s seat of his car and paused before starting the engine. His lawyer had given him similar advice about women—if he was trying to prove that he was a stable influence in Ellie’s life, then a parade of girlfriends would work against him. That had been such a nonissue at the time, he’d barely paid attention. But now...
...now a woman he barely knew was carrying his twins.
He didn’t have to run it by his lawyer to know that this would make him look irresponsible. And, as Malcolm had said, there were no secrets in Royal with Maverick on the loose, so Melissa could find out any day. Added to the PTSD he’d struggled with since his last deployment, it might be enough for the judge to award full custody of Ellie to her mother instead of the shared custody he was asking for. He couldn’t go on with only a day every two weeks with his daughter. His lungs squeezed tight.
He had to do something.
Something to make him look more stable.
He ran through scenario after scenario, but, really, there was only one solution.
If he and Harper were married, not only would he avoid any appearance of irresponsibility, but, in the judge’s eyes, he’d have a stable family unit to offer Ellie. Turning a negative into a positive.
The more he thought about it, marriage would not only help him with the custody case, it would also keep Harper here in Royal so he could be involved in the babies’ lives. It was a win-win.
But could he do it? Marry a woman who was practically a stranger? Could he convince her to do it?
Movement at the front of the store caught his attention. Ellie danced around Melissa’s legs as they made their way out the door and toward their car. His heart thumped hard. He’d do anything for that little girl. And he already felt the same about being a part of the twins’ lives, too. For all three children, he’d do anything. Even marry someone he didn’t love.