Adam paled. Jess looked ready to collapse. I gestured toward the table.
“Dinner’s hot. Don’t let it go cold.”
Lily was already seated, kicking her legs, beaming. “I told him it’d be fun!” she chirped.
Adam sat stiffly. Jess avoided my eyes. I poured wine, filling Adam’s glass to the brim.
“So,” I said, sitting across from him. “Been busy?”
“Yeah,” he said, voice cracking. “Work’s been nuts.”
I nodded. “Not too busy to visit, though.”
He stiffened. Jess looked like she wanted to disappear.
“What does that mean?” Adam asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just heard you’ve been around. Chocolates. Dinners. Tea parties.”
“Just once or twice?” I asked, locking eyes with Adam.
“Maybe… three times,” he mumbled.
“Right. No big deal. Just a guy stopping by to see his daughter.”
The air thickened. Jess’s fork froze. Adam set down his wine, hands trembling.
“What are you talking about?” Jess whispered.
I turned to Lily.
“Sweetheart, who’s Adam?”
Silence.
Jess made a strangled sound. Adam turned ghost-white.
“We were going to tell you,” he said. “Eventually.”
“It never felt like the right time,” Jess added.
I leaned back, too calm. “When would’ve been the right time? After I taught her to ride a bike? After the bedtime stories? Or maybe at her next birthday party?”
No one answered.
Adam stood, palms out. “I just wanted to be there for her.”
“For your daughter?” I said. “The one I’ve raised for five years?”
Jess sobbed. “You loved her so much. I didn’t know how to take that away.”
“You already did,” I said. “You just didn’t admit it.”
I stood. My heart pounded, but my voice stayed even.
“You both have ten minutes. Get your things. Get out of my house.”
Jess gasped. “You can’t just—”
“I can. And I am.”
Lily’s lip trembled. “Daddy?”
I knelt beside her. “Sweetheart, I love you. I’m not going anywhere. You’ll always have me.”
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