Grace was extra careful not to wake Mason as she carried him and his stroller up the stairs, but his eyes opened the moment she got inside. For the next thirty minutes, she tried everything she could think of to get him to fall back to sleep. Not only because she knew he still desperately needed the rest, but because the clock was ticking down and Dylan would be knocking on her door soon.
Finally, he lay peacefully in his crib, his breathing slow and steady as he cuddled his blanket and stuffed animal close.
It will be okay, she told herself as she took a moment to watch him sleep. Everything will work out, one way or another.
Grace closed the bedroom door with a soft click and was just about to pick up the plastic bag containing the pregnancy test when there was a knock on the door.
Oh no, Dylan was early! She quickly brushed her hands over her face and hair, even though she knew he’d take one look at her and instantly know something was wrong.
Working to draw from her newfound confidence, she took a deep breath and reminded herself that no matter what happened from here on out, she’d proved that she and Mason would be okay. They would not only survive, they’d thrive.
Without looking through the security glass, she opened the door. “You’re earl—”
Her words fell away as she realized she wasn’t speaking to Dylan.
“Hello, Grace.” Richard Bentley smiled at her without so much as a shred of guilt or remorse. “I’m here for my son.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Grace had played out this scenario a thousand times during the past ten months. Each time she’d thought about what would happen if Richard changed his mind about not wanting Mason, fear had skittered up her spine. But now that he was really here, all she felt was anger. Such deep fury that he’d dare to come and claim the son he’d walked away from without so much as blinking that she nearly slammed the door in his face.
But she knew she needed to think clearly, needed to make sure she learned exactly why he’d had a supposed change of heart, so that she could bolster her fight to keep her son from him. And she also needed to keep him physically as far from Mason as possible.
She stepped out on the landing in front of her apartment and closed the door behind her. “Why are you here?”
“I saw a picture of you holding a baby at a Sullivan party.” On his face she could see the primal urge to claim his child now that he’d finally seen Mason’s picture and knew for sure he existed. “Which one of the Sullivan men are you screwing to get an invite to a private celebration?”
There was a picture of her and Mason from the party Tatiana had thrown for Mia? Grace knew with perfect certainty that none of the Sullivan girls would ever pass on their personal shots to the press. Not when Mia, Tatiana, and Nicola already had to deal with far too much pressure from the paparazzi. Had one of the wait staff secretly taken pictures and leaked them? Was that what those flashes had been when she’d been holding Mason and speaking with Mia? And did any of the Sullivans know yet that it had happened?
Fear was trying to clamp around her chest, but she wouldn’t let it. Wouldn’t let anything rob her of the ability to think clearly.
“I’ll bet you’re doing the architect, aren’t you?” Richard continued with a sneer. “I shouldn’t be surprised you landed on your feet, given that seducing rich men is your specialty. Still, I didn’t think you’d be able to get a Sullivan to fall for your tricks, especially dragging a baby around with you.” He gave her his best threatening look. “I want to see him. I want to see my son.”
By the barest of threads, Grace held back from punching him in the face. Not just for talking about her as though she were a slut with ulterior motives, but for daring to bring Mason into it. But she knew better—knew that if she so much as laid a finger on him, he’d likely call the police to have her arrested, and she’d be unable to protect her son while dealing with his charges.
“He isn’t yours,” she said first, knowing the truth of it all the way to the depths of her soul. “And he’s at his babysitter’s,” she lied. “But that’s irrelevant, given that you didn’t want to see him before, didn’t even want him to exist. What could possibly have changed?”
He’d looked so confident when he’d greeted her a few moments ago, but now she saw the first flicker of confusion cross the face she’d once been foolish enough to think was handsome. How had she not seen the weakness beneath the veneer of polish learned at the boarding school and Ivy League college his parents had sent him to?
“You’ve changed,” he replied. “You used to be so—”
“Malleable? Naïve?” She shook her head. “All that changed the minute I realized what you and your family are really made of. What makes you think you have any right to come here?”
“I never thought you’d go through with it. That you’d actually have the kid on your own. But when I saw the pictures of you and him, I realized I already had the son I’ve been trying for with my wife—”
“And you suddenly thought you could change your mind? Well, you’re wrong. You can’t. You gave him up, and he’s all mine.”
“You’re just bitter because I didn’t want you, because I didn’t want to marry you and take care of you.”
A couple of months ago, she might have let him convince her this was true. But now she knew better. So much better that she didn’t even need to argue or to protest that it wasn’t true. When he’d turned away from her when she’d first told him she was pregnant, she had been horrified to realize that he didn’t want to know his child. Worse, that he’d told her to get rid of it without blinking an eye. But now she realized what a gift his disinterest had been, because Mason was a million times better off without the Bentleys in his life.
“You didn’t want to take care of anyone but yourself,” she countered. “Your name is nowhere near the birth certificate.”
“I can easily get a DNA test.”
“I suppose you could,” she agreed. “Although I can’t help but wonder how your wife feels about your plan.” She could see that he was still confused about why she wasn’t yet cowering or giving in to his demands. “Does she even know you’re here?”
“It doesn’t matter what she thinks. She’ll do what I tell her.”
“Even taking on another woman’s child after she’s ‘failed you’ by not being able to get pregnant?” But Grace didn’t need to wait for his reply. “Actually, I’m sure she will, since that’s probably how your entire relationship has been so far.” Grace knew she shouldn’t feel anything for Richard’s wife, but how could she help but feel sorry for someone who was a part of that horrible family? “What about your parents? Have you consulted them about your change of heart?” He flinched, and she didn’t care if it was small of her, she loved seeing it, enjoying his discomfort. “They wanted me and the baby even less than you did.”