No Stranger to Scandal - By Rachel Bailey Page 0,61
hate Hayden? He’s the one who pursued you until you ended up here.”
“If I never lay eyes on that man again it will be too soon,” he said heatedly. “But much as I might hate him, I love you more. I’d give anything to make you happy, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” she said past the tightness in her throat.
He looked directly into her eyes, not bothering to hide his emotions as he usually did. “If this is love, Lucy, grab it. Treasure it. Don’t let anything stand in your way.”
“What if he doesn’t want to grab it back? If—” The pain of his apology in response to telling him she loved him took hold, until she was able to stuff it back down and take a breath. “If he’s walked away?”
“Then he’s an idiot, just as I suspected.” He leaned forward in his chair. “But if you still love him, go get what you want. Life’s too short, too unpredictable to waste a second of it.”
Lucy looked hard at the man sitting across from her. This wasn’t the same man she’d known—she’d always been a bit in awe of that man, who’d been a little distant, despite their closeness. He’d never talked to her about his relationship with her mother, never opened himself this way. Even though her world was crumbling around her, and she’d do almost anything to save Graham from being incarcerated, this—their first ever heart-to-heart—was like a small ray of sunshine shining through the parted clouds.
“He has a son,” she found herself saying. “Hayden Black. He’s a widower with a one-year-old son called Josh.”
Graham’s face folded up into a frown. “You’re too young to become a mother.”
Not long ago, she would have thought the same. Since becoming part of Josh’s life, though, she saw motherhood and parenting differently, as something she’d relish if she had the opportunity. She’d been involved with babies through her charity for years, but getting to know Josh had been a new experience. And, no question, she’d fallen head over heels in love with the little boy.
“He’s such a special boy. And he loves Rosie,” she said, remembering how cute they were together. “The first time I met him, I had Rosie with me and he called out ‘Goggie.’ When I met him again the next day, he wanted to know where she was.”
“You haven’t asked me about Angelica,” Graham said abruptly.
She hesitated, trying to catch the change of direction the conversation had suddenly taken. “That’s your business. I won’t pry.”
“I never should have abandoned her as a baby.” He clenched a fist on the table. “I thought I was doing enough by paying money to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. Sending her to school. But it wasn’t enough. I should have seen that at the time instead of being focused on my own distaste about being weighed down by a baby...or her annoying mother. If I’d raised Madeline, maybe things would have been different.” His expression drooped, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “Maybe she wouldn’t have turned out so bitter.”
She bit down on her bottom lip. Maybe Angelica would have been different had Graham raised her—he certainly should have tried. Though saying that wouldn’t be helpful to a man already riddled with regrets, and in all honesty, was that the only problem Angelica had? She couldn’t think of a single useful thing to say, so she went with the generic. “Babies are so precious.”
“You obviously have feelings for Josh,” Graham said, pointing a finger at her. “So you’re poised to repeat both of my biggest mistakes in one giant blunder. Are you ready to walk away from the man you love, as well as a kid you want to be yours?”
She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms under her breasts as if she could pull herself away from the terrible picture he painted. “I don’t know, but I promise I’ll think about it.”
He nodded, satisfied. “I know you’ll do the right thing. You always do.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “Now you go on and leave me here. You don’t want to spend your days keeping an old man company.”
“I’ll be back to see you again before your court appearance,” she said, keeping the tears that threatened in check. The last thing Graham needed was to think he’d made her cry. “Whatever happens with your sentencing, I’ll be here for you.”
By the time she made it to her