Heart on Fire (18 page)

“Truly? You know your neighbor’s the one?” Her mom sniffled.

The fact that she even thought to appease the situation after causing it abraded. “Yes, and I’ll have a paternity test to prove it. You had no right to do this to me. To Cherish.”

“I’m sorry, Mila, baby, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I hoped Paul would take you back.”

“What? So I can throw away my career? Live in New York with a man who doesn’t respect me or my decisions? A man who happens to still be married? No, thank you.”

“I’ll talk to him. I’ll tell him it was a mistake.”

“It’s too late. Once he has his mind set, he won’t give up. I need to go.” Mila hung up, and when it rang again, she turned the damned thing off.

“I’m sorry,” she told Kyle. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, no big deal. People do these tests all the time. It’s not a problem.” Kyle smiled weakly.

“You must have doubts,” she whispered, her heart breaking.

* * * *

As pieces of Mila’s past came out, her hesitancy made perfect sense. He watched all the expressions flow over her face. Hurt, anger, pain, betrayal.

Tracking Paul down to beat some sense into him was awfully tempting. She needed reassurance though.

“Mila, I don’t doubt you for a second.” He closed the distance and captured her face in his hands. “I believe you. We’ll do the test, and he can go to hell.”

“Why believe me? No one else does. My mom—”

He pressed his lips over hers, thumbing her tears away. “I trust you. You have nothing to gain by lying. And I love you, Mila.”

She opened her mouth, and he kissed her again.

“Don’t,” he whispered against her lips. Leaning back he gave her a warm smile. “You aren’t ready, but that doesn’t change the fact my heart belongs to you. We’ll prove the bastard wrong, and then, when things settle down, we can tell Cherish.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“I can say the same about you. Now, can I help you make breakfast? I hear them waking up down there. I know I should have left by now, but it’s too late to sneak out.”

“Please. I’ll go down first. I planned to make bacon, eggs, and waffles,” she whispered, wiping at her eyes.

Kyle placed a soft kiss on each of her eyelids, on her nose, both cheeks, her chin, then finally her lips. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll see about a fast test. Maybe we can dissuade him from perusing action if we can get the results first.”

“He’s a lawyer. My guess is that he’s going to question even that.”

“Well, I have a lawyer, a friend, in fact. I’ll ask him what he thinks. I’ll be down as soon as I get off the phone with him.”

“Won’t you wake him?”

“Nope, he’s always up early. Go, and I’ll be down in a few.” He kissed her again, and she went to the closet to get dressed while he did the same.

He had every confidence in Mila. Now it was time to prove it. If he could turn back time and do one thing differently, he would have gotten that mask off her and begged her for her name and number.

When Mila came out, he was sitting on her bed, waiting for her with a smile. “Go on down. I’ll be there as soon as I’m off the phone.”

“Thank you, Kyle. For everything.”

“I’d do anything for you.”

She moved to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his forehead. She opened her mouth but looked away. He knew what was on the tip of her tongue, but he was finally understanding why she was afraid.

“Go. I’ll be down in a few.”

Nodding, she left, shutting the door behind her.

He called his dad’s best friend, Vance, hoping he wasn’t already at a golf game. “Hi, Kyle, what’s up?”

Kyle launched into the story, and by the end of the conversation, he felt better. Vance Jenson had some great ideas.

* * * *

“What’s wrong?” Barb asked as Mila bee-lined straight for the kitchen. The girls were still snoozing, but Barb had been up reading a book.

Mila’s hands fisted, and she whispered harshly, “Got a call from Paul. Mom told him about Cherish, and because he can’t get his floozy of a wife pregnant, he decided Cherish has to be his. He wants to take her.”

Anger flashed through Barb’s eyes. She sneered, “He can’t do that, that’s ridiculous. Get a paternity test.”

“Yeah, going to do that. I’m having Kyle do one too, so no one can argue.” She swallowed hard, and looked into Barb’s eyes. “He says he believes me. With that call though, I don’t see how that’s possible. I can’t believe my mother thought calling Paul would help me in any way. I could strangle her.”

Barb winced. “Unfortunately, you wouldn’t, because you know it’s her crazy-ass attempt at showing you love—which by no means excuses her actions.”

Mila looked away, realizing Barb was right.

Taking her hand, Barb added, “She’s fucking nuts though. Things were falling apart between you and Paul even before you left him. The timing doesn’t even work. You couldn’t have been pregnant with that little bitty costume you wore. I think I would have noticed, Miss Flat-and-Toned.”

“Kyle said the same thing, but how does he know I didn’t have sex for that long? And Cherish was a couple weeks early, but my period was always like clockwork. Even after I stopped taking birth control.”

“I know your girl isn’t Paul’s,” Barb offered with a grin.

“I’m so freaking stupid. I was sure I was done with men, and would focus on my career. One night, that’s all I wanted. One night to be wild and crazy and do what I never do. I love Cherish to death, and I don’t regret her for a second, but this whole situation is screwed up.” Mila paced away, trying to reign in her temper. She was mad at herself. “Mom… she must have thought Paul could be the father. Now he’s going to try to fight for her.”

“Paul won’t win. Don’t let him ruin this thing between you and Kyle. He’s perfect for you, and if he says he believes you, he must. That man doesn’t strike me as a liar. In fact, he strikes me as incredibly honorable. So remember that.”

“Okay.” She twisted the hem of her shirt. “I need to get breakfast going. He’ll be down in a few. He’s calling a lawyer.”

“A lawyer? You think that’s necessary?”

“He wants to have the bases covered, and he’s a friend of his. Besides, Paul is a lawyer, and without the test, he’d probably find a way to take Cherish from me. He’s that kind of asshole. I still think he put Leslie up to asking me to be her maid of honor.”

“Wait, what? You never told me that.”

Mila turned back with a smirk. “You’d have found her and beat the hell out of her. I know you have my back, but I’d rather you not go to jail because my ex is an entitled asshole.”

“I would have done it anyway,” Barb grumbled before helping with breakfast.

They had everything ready to go half-an-hour later. Kyle was still upstairs. Her hopes were falling, maybe she was wrong. Maybe his conversation caused him to doubt her story.

She couldn’t blame him. She might not believe her, if she were him. There were too many things going against her.

Trying to block the warring emotions, she stared out the window, waiting for the girls to be ready for food.

Kyle came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “Vance says we can have the results by Wednesday. He’ll have it arranged, it’s a well-known company, very respectable. All we have to provide is a few hair samples from each of us. He’s even going to have something drawn up, requesting the test, so your ex can’t fight it when it comes back with the expected result. Hopefully it takes this slime bag a few days to be prepared enough to put something together.” He kissed her ear. “If that upsets you, I’m sorry. I only want to make this easier.”

“You are,” she whispered, turning to drown in the emotion shining back at her.

Kyle always knew what she needed, whether it be words or actions. The words “I love you” were on the tip of her tongue, but Cherish and Jenny came bouncing into the kitchen.

“You’re here, Kyle!” Cherish squealed and wrapped her arms around both their legs. He reached down, putting a hand on their daughter’s back.

Hope flowed through her, threatening to bring her tears back. They could really be a family. There were still too many things waiting in the wings to tear them apart. The what-ifs were terrifying.

Chapter 19

Kyle felt horrible leaving Mila Sunday afternoon but he was on shift. Barb was leaving, and Mila was a nervous wreck. She agreed he could talk to Gavin, who seemed to be on a mission to find out what the hell was going on. Even Cadence was nagging him.

With Paul coming around, he wasn’t sure how much to tell them.

Gavin would have his back. Kyle knew that without a doubt, but he still worried how the rest of the town was going to take the news. Not for himself, but for Mila, who hadn’t caught on to the fact most people would be happy for them after the shock wore off.

Gavin followed him into the firehouse, took a look around and when he saw it was clear, asked, “So what is it? What has you so tightlipped?”

Kyle clocked in. Then he turned to Gavin and discretely said, “We need some privacy for this conversation, and besides Cadence, you can’t tell a soul. She needs to keep it quiet too. I know she will, but it has to be said.”

“All right, dude. I need to know. You’re stressing me out.” Gavin dragged Kyle into the seldom used stretching room. “Spill.”

He did, everything he could think to share. None of it seemed to surprise Gavin. No doubts. He simply listened, his smile never failing.

“You have a family? This is what you want, right?”

“Yes, definitely with all my heart. I want to tell Cherish, but with Paul…”

“Dude, you have a family. I’m so happy for you.” Gavin slapped him on the back. “You love Mila, right?”

“I do, I told her. I think Mila wanted to say it, but she’s so damned scared I’m going to be an asshole and hurt her. I mean, I get it. Sounds like this Paul was a real dick in the end, especially now.”

“Yeah, I don’t envy you. This has to be hard on her. She is used to having Cherish all to herself. Now some douchebag, who isn’t even the father, is trying to take her away.”

Kyle scrubbed a hand over his face. “I want her to trust me. How do I prove to her that I love her and our little girl? That I want to be a part of both their lives, not just Mila’s.” His chest ached. Finding patience wasn’t as easy as he imagined.

“Oh Kyle, where are you hiding?” Rene called, and Kyle had the urge to punch a wall, which would do nothing but probably break his knuckles. “I have some great news.”

His blood froze. Her snarky attitude could only mean one thing. Gavin and Rene’s father was the one that jackass Paul was going through for the local contact. She was daddy’s paralegal, and their firm handled that kind of shit. And it was pure shit.

“I could get rid of her,” Gavin offered quietly.

Kyle shook his head. “She’s not going to stop. May as well listen to the bullshit so she’ll leave. I wish I could tell her, but I don’t want to hurt Mila by letting a rumor start before it’s verified.”

Rene burst through the door with an evil smile. “So, I found out who the father of Mila’s bastard is. Her ex, and he wants the daughter.”

Kyle’s teeth ground together as he took a slow breath through his nose and let it out. With a snarl, he replied, “Mila says it’s not possible, and I believe her.”

“Bullshit, of course she’s going to lie, especially since she’s using that little girl to win you over. If she loses her child, she no longer has anything to keep your damned interest. She’s brunette, blue-eyed, and a liar. None of the things you’ve gone for in the past.”

Which was wrong, but arguing the point wouldn’t convince her. The stupid woman only considered herself in the equation.

Kyle glared back at Rene. “Mila is not a liar. She left the man in question more than a month before she was with the father.”

“And how do you know that for sure? She’s lying, because she doesn’t want her ex to have that baby.” Her voice dropped, “He left her and married someone else.”

Anger darkened his tone. “Please, the man was engaged to another woman two weeks after
she
left him.”

Rene crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk. “We’ll see how you feel when the paternity test comes back. She says she found the father. Maybe that asshole will sweep her away, and you can be mine.”

“That’s never going to happen, Rene. Mila or no Mila,
we
are done forever.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not true. You love me.”

He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “I’ve got news for you. What I felt for you wasn’t love. You only want me because I don’t want you. Get over yourself.”

Her face crumpled. “Why are you so cold? You used to be sweet and caring. And now, you act as if you hate me. I don’t get it.”

He threw his hands up. “You don’t want
me!
You want someone to mold into what you want. You’re looking at the wrong man. I’m done. And I love Mila Day, so that should be your clue there is no you and I.”

“Love?” She laughed out loud. “You love her? You never once, in two years, told me you loved me. How can you love a bimbo you’ve known… for what… three weeks tops?”

“She is not a bimbo,” he ground out. “And I do love her. It’s the only thing I’m sure of. Besides the fact that you have no clue what you’re talking about, contradicting yourself every other statement.”

“Yes, well she’s fabricated some man who is also going to do a paternity test, at the same company. So when Paul wins, and she loses her little girl, you can thank me for warning you. Paul Galloway will wind up with that child, and it will crush her.”

“Not going to happen,” Kyle growled at her through clenched teeth. “And I’m never going to want you back. So stop being a coldhearted bitch, and stop trying to hurt Mila. Do you have any idea what it would be like for her to lose Cherish?” He stormed past her, to the shower room. Before he got there, sirens blared to life.

Turning in his tracks, he hurried to the garage.