Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

DANIELA

My text alert chimed just as Leo, one of the security guards Braden had hired for me, turned into the parking lot of the office building that Glenn Salinger, Attorney at Law, worked out of. Taking a shaky breath in a futile attempt to calm the jittering nerves inside me, I pulled my phone out of my purse to find a text message that made bile rise in my throat as the knot in the pit of my stomach tightened.

Blocked

Fucking bitch. I told you to stay from Braden. I told you he was MINE. And now you've turned him against me.

God damn it. With everything else that had happened in the space of the past seventy-two hours, I'd almost forgotten the reason why I had to have an escort everywhere I went.

What the hell was I going to do if my suspicions turned out to be true and Braden was about to cut me out of his life? How was I supposed to keep Isaac safe all by myself? How was I supposed to keep myself safe every time I left my apartment if I didn't have this security detail with me? This psycho had gone from emails to a text message, which meant she'd somehow gotten my phone number. She was zeroing in on me. Circling the wagons. It was only a matter of time before she decided to strike.

Looking out the window of the Hummer, I spotted Braden's Escalade parked in the second row, and he was standing on the sidewalk right next to the entrance with his hands in his pockets, like he was just as tied up in knots as I was right now. Probably nervous about me losing my mind when he told me he was going to try to take my child from me.

"Do you want me to come in with you, Dani?" Leo asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'll be okay. I don't think we'll be long."

At least I hoped it wouldn't take too long. But really, how long could it possibly take to serve me with legal papers?

"Okay, I'll be right here when you're done," he said with a half-smile.

Taking as deep of a breath as I could manage, I opened the door and hopped down from the front seat of the massive SUV. Braden's lips turned up in a smile as soon as he saw me, and he started walking toward me.

What the hell? Why did he look happy to see me?

"Hey, beautiful." His voice was full of pain and some other emotion I couldn't put a name to as he came to a stop about a foot away from me. "You look like hell. You okay?"

My brain felt like it was short-circuiting as I looked at him like a deer in headlights. Why did he care whether or not I was okay? If he cared so much, then why were we at his lawyer's office?

"No." I blew out a trembling breath. "No, I'm not okay. Your stalker just texted me. Not an email. A text. Said something about how I turned you against her."

His eyes went wide, and I could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard. "Fuck." He took a deep breath. "I think it's Vicki. I can't prove it yet, but the way she was acting today… I'm having my PI run a background check on her, and we're meeting with the detectives who are handling my case tomorrow. Can you do me a favor and send me a screenshot so they can add it to the file?"

I let out a gasp. His publicist was the one doing this to him? To us ? Why?

Not that it really mattered. Not if he was about to cut me out of his life. I'd have to find a way to deal with her and protect Isaac on my own if she kept trying to get to me after today.

I nodded. "Yeah, I can. Look, I know I'm not going to like whatever we're doing here, so let's just get it over with, okay?"

In an instant, his arms were around me. And damn it, I couldn't quell the tidal wave of relief that washed over me as I just melted into his arms. I couldn't stop myself from daring to hope that maybe my life wasn't about to implode.

"It's nothing bad, sweetheart," he said softly. "I promise."

"You…you're not taking him from me?" My voice was as small and weak as I felt right now.

"What? No." Braden pulled back to look at me, his brows knitted in confusion. "Why would you think that?"

I averted my gaze, unable to look at him as my face heated in humiliation. "I…I just assumed… You asked me to meet you at your lawyer's office. I couldn't figure out any other reason."

Gentle fingers landed under my chin as he raised my face so I had to look at him, his brown eyes full of sorrow and compassion. "Dani, listen to me. I would never try to take Isaac from you. Not in a million years. You're his mom. You've taken care of him since the day he was born. I'm the fuckup sperm donor who didn't have a clue about him until three nights ago. I'm just grateful for whatever role you allow me to have in his life."

A sob started to bubble up in my throat, and though I tried as hard as I could to swallow it back down, I wasn't successful. I broke down in tears of utter relief that I wasn't about to lose my nephew. Once again, Braden's arms circled around me, squeezing tight.

"Shh," he murmured, dragging his fingers through my hair and dropping a kiss on my head. "It's okay, beautiful. You're okay."

"I'm…I'm sorry," I blubbered. "I'm so sorry. For everything."

Another kiss landed on my head, and his voice was muffled by my hair as he spoke. "You don't have a single thing to be sorry for, sweetheart."

"I…I told you it was your fault," I sniffled. "It's not. I need you to know that. I don't blame you for what happened to her. Not anymore."

Pulling back just enough so he could look at me, Braden let out a soft snort as he looked at me with sad eyes. "Maybe you don't, but I do. I don't know if I'll ever stop blaming myself. But that's not why we're here, or why I want to make sure you and Isaac are taken care of."

I took a shaky breath as I swiped at the tears on my cheeks. "Why are we here?"

One corner of his mouth turned up in half a smile as he unwrapped his arms from around me and held out his hand. "Come on. There's something you and I need to do. Together."

"Braden. Fancy seeing you here." The middle-aged man I'd met a month ago – who reminded me a little of the character Michael Cutter from the reruns of the original Law and Order I used to watch with my mom – gave us a smile as we walked into his office.

Braden snickered. "Yeah. Long time, no see."

With a chuckle, Glenn turned to me. "Dani, nice to see you again."

"Hi," I mumbled self-consciously.

Glancing around this office at the solid oak desk that sat in the middle of this sleek, modern-looking room with abstract art hanging on the walls, I took a seat in one of the four plush chairs that had probably cost more than Isaac's hospital bills. I felt like I couldn't even afford to breathe the air outside this building, much less be sitting here. But, then again, I was here with someone who could absolutely afford to keep this man on retainer.

"Glenn, do you have the paperwork Dani and I signed the last time we were here?" Braden sat in the chair next to mine, reaching over to give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "The contract, the NDA, all of it?"

Glenn dragged out the middle drawer of a filing cabinet and retrieved a manila envelope. Opening the envelope, he pulled out all the paperwork Braden and I had signed together that laid out the details of our arrangement.

"Yep. It's all right here."

"Good. Now, do me a solid and stick all that shit in the shredder. Delete any digital copies. It doesn't exist anymore."

Glenn must have known about this ahead of time, because he grinned as he made a show out of putting his trash can shredder on top of his desk and sticking the stack of papers into the slot at the top. I couldn't help chuckling at the satisfying whirring of the motor as it tore that stupid contract and non-disclosure agreement up into a thousand pieces.

"Did you…really ask me to come here just so I could watch your lawyer shred our contract?" I asked.

"Hell yes, I did. Because you're worth so much more than a stupid piece of paper to me, beautiful. And whatever relationship we have from now on, it's not going to be based on a bunch of legalese," Braden said. "But Glenn does have some other paperwork for us to sign, I think."

"Not quite done yet, unfortunately," Glenn said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I meant to have it all squared away for you two to sign by the time you got here this afternoon, but I've been talking to Bob Higgins at Garman for the past hour trying to negotiate a settlement on your lawsuit. Just like I figured, they're trying to do everything they can to handle this quickly and quietly."

I turned to look at Braden, my head tilted to the side in confusion. "Lawsuit? What?"

He sighed. "Not my idea. He wanted to make sure the PR firm understood how serious what Vicki did was, so he suggested suing both the company and her personally for negligence and emotional distress. No amount of money can bring your sister back or give me back the time I've lost with Isaac, but that's where the other paperwork he's working on comes in. I'm setting up a trust for you and Isaac. I want to make sure you're both taken care of, no matter what. Not because I feel guilty or obligated, but because you're my family and I care about you. And in addition to contributing to it myself, I'm going to put every cent Glenn manages to squeeze out of those assholes into the account."

I would have loved to see my face as I processed what he was telling me. Isaac and I would never have to worry about how we were going to survive again. I'd be able to keep paying the woman who had been a literal godsend for us until he didn't need a nanny anymore.

No matter what happened between me and Braden, I would always know that my nephew would never want for anything a day in his life. And I knew – I just knew – that he'd tried to have his lawyer finalize everything for that account before saying a word to me so I wouldn't be able to stop him. That was how strongly he felt about it.

If only everything else about the gnarly mess we'd found ourselves in was that simple.

"Come back to my car with me?" Braden asked as we walked out of the office building twenty minutes later. "I, uh…I have something for you."

"Something that doesn't involve money, hopefully?" I chuckled humorlessly.

"Well…" he trailed off. "Yes and no. It's something specifically for you , not for you and our little man."

Our little man.

He'd just called Isaac ours .

I had to close my eyes to prevent the tears that welled up from trailing down my cheeks as I swallowed the lump in my throat. Not because I was upset, but because another little part of the tangled web that was our lives right now had been untied. He'd told me exactly how he felt about the sweet little boy he'd helped bring into this world: he was claiming him. Accepting him as part of his family.

But the way he'd said it…it almost sounded like he was claiming me too.

I nodded quickly as I blew out a slow breath. "Okay."

Braden reached for my hand as we walked toward his Escalade, and I couldn't help thinking how easy it felt. How natural. How right .

Unlocking the vehicle, he reached into the backseat and produced a gift bag with a cartoon graduation cap on it. I laughed quietly as he handed it to me with a self-conscious smile.

"I asked one of the team doctors what to get someone who was about to start med school, and this is what he suggested," he mumbled. "I wish I could be there to watch you walk across that stage on Thursday, but I'm going to be on a plane to Kansas. Ian and Kyler are getting engaged and I promised I'd be there. So I wanted to give you your gift before I leave."

Opening the bag, I pulled out a black leather zipper case, as well as two sets of gorgeous, high-quality scrubs with butterflies all over the tops. More tears welled up as I fingered the pendant around my neck, letting a memory of trying to catch butterflies with my sister when we were kids float to the forefront of my mind.

"I noticed that necklace you always wear. That's why I picked butterfly scrubs," he said quietly. "I'm guessing it was Amara's?"

"Yeah," I sniffled with a nod. "She loved butterflies. Our Grandpa Isaac gave her the necklace when she graduated from college a semester early. She was going to be a teacher. Second grade."

He gave me a soft, sad smile. "I'm sure she would have been a great one. Just like I know you're going to be a great doctor. Speaking of…open the case."

I obeyed, pulling the zipper around and unfolding the top to find a very fancy-looking stethoscope, complete with a thick instruction manual. A slightly closer look told me it was digital, with a display that showed the heartrate and alerted to things like heart murmurs, atrial fibrillation, and other irregularities.

Holy shit. How much had this thing cost?

No, scratch that. I didn't want to know. Because I knew it was way more than he should have spent.

"Thank you," I choked out. "This is…wow. I'm going to have the swankiest stethoscope in the whole school."

"Don't get too mad, but I also got Mal to tell me what program you got accepted to, and I got in touch with the school and paid your first year's tuition. I'd have given you a check, but I had a feeling you'd just rip it up if I did."

Of course he'd done that. Because he was Braden fucking Hicks, the highest-paid rookie wide receiver in the League last year.

I let out a weak snort. "Figured me out, huh?"

"Pretty much. At least enough to know that you won't ask for help, no matter how much you need it."

"I suck at asking for help." I sighed. "I always have. And I suck even more at accepting it when people offer. I'm sorry for trying to push you away. For trying to tell you I didn't need charity or handouts. I know that's not what you're trying to do. And honestly, I do need the help. I was just…" I trailed off, not even sure what to say. Because I didn't have a single good excuse for the way I'd treated him.

"I know, sweetheart," he murmured, pulling me into his arms, which were quickly becoming my favorite place in the whole world. "Please stop apologizing. You're human. You're allowed to get upset. You're even allowed to get angry. God knows you've had enough reasons to lately."

"Yeah, but you're not one of them," I mumbled against his chest. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Not after I found out you had nothing to do with how Vicki treated Amara. So, anyway, if you can still stand being in the same room with me, I'd really like for you to come over and spend some time with Isaac when you get back from your trip."

"Just Isaac?" He pulled back to quirk a brow at me.

I chuckled. "No. Me too. But mostly him. You've spent enough time with me over the past month. You need to get to know your son."

"There's no such thing as enough time with you, beautiful." Braden leaned forward to press his lips to my forehead. "Or with him."

And there were those butterflies again. Except now I wasn't afraid of them or confused by them. I didn't hate them. Now I could only wonder if he still felt the same way as he had on Friday night before I dropped the bombshell to end all bombshells on him.

"Have a safe flight to Kansas," I whispered as I pulled away. "Text me when you get there safe?"

"I will," he promised. "Congratulations, sweetheart. I'm so damn proud of you."

"Thanks," I said, blowing out a long breath. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," he said with a melancholy smile.

Turning around, I started to walk toward the Hummer that was parked in the back row of the parking lot, the butterflies in my stomach turning into another knot.

Where were we supposed to go from here? How did we move forward from the wreckage lying all around us, the aftermath of the grenade I'd so carelessly tossed into the middle of our lives?

"Dani, wait," came his voice from behind me.

I spun back around to face him, and he cleared the distance between us in four long strides. Without another word, he cupped my cheeks in his hands and crashed his lips to mine.

Unlike the two times Braden had given me brief, chaste pecks on the lips, there wasn't a hint of hesitation in this kiss. Not one iota of awkwardness. This wasn't him testing the waters. It was him pouring every single emotion from the past seventy-two hours into the connection. All the pain, grief, fear, heartache, and confusion. It was a plea for me to let him in. Him imploring me to see where this could go if I'd let it.

As I let out a startled gasp, he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth, searching mine out and massaging it with determined, purposeful strokes. One of his hands left my face and slid around the small of my back, pulling me flush against him as our lips and tongues moved together effortlessly like an intricate choreographed dance. The rest of the world just faded away, leaving only me and him and this strange, yet hauntingly beautiful connection that had been forged between us when we weren't looking.

When I finally pulled back, breathless, he brushed his lips over mine one more time. Softer. Sweeter. So heartbreakingly tender that it made my eyes mist over.

"I had to do that just one time," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine.

And then he turned around and walked back to his car, leaving me standing in the middle of this parking lot, completely speechless.