Father by Choice. Amanda Berry

would try to bargain more with her. He let out his breath in a puff. “I’ll have to work while I’m there…”

      Joy welled within Maggie, but it was tainted with concern. What if he didn’t love Amber the way she deserved to be loved? What if he decided he didn’t want to be a daddy to their daughter? What if Maggie accidentally drove him away and Amber hated her for the rest of her life?

      She shook the doubts from her head. “We’ll make it work.” Realizing she held his hand, she released him and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

      “I’ll need a few days to straighten things out, but then we can head back,” Brady said.

      Maggie’s smile slipped as she focused on what Brady was saying. “We?”

      “You don’t think I’m going to let you go without me?” His half smile reminded her of the high school Brady she’d known. It was the same smile he’d given her when he’d caught her staring at him during gym class. The clanking of plates pulled her out of the small bubble she’d been in, bringing her back to the diner. Back to reality.

      The reality was she needed to go home. “My plane ticket is for tomorrow. I have work and I need to take care of Amber—”

      “All important details, but Sam obviously owes us. My assistant can take care of the ticket.”

      “I can’t afford to stay at the hotel another night—”

      “Stay with me.” He cleared his throat. “I meant stay at my apartment.”

      The background noise faded again as she met his eyes. If only she were eighteen and willing to throw caution to the wind, to have one more night in Brady’s arms. If only she’d let Penny pack her pretty nightgown. With her mother’s illness and taking care of Amber, Maggie hadn’t had time for anything else. She opened her mouth to say no, but the words stuck in her throat.

      The girl she’d been would have been happy to let him take control of the situation, but now…“My flight is already booked. Penny is expecting me. Amber is expecting me. I should go home.”

      “I have a guest room,” Brady said. “It will be easier if we head back together. That way you can make sure I get out of here. And you can get to know me better. You can fill me in on the last eight years.”

      “What do you mean?” Maggie asked, suddenly filled with nervous energy. Time alone with Brady Ward? Her inner teenager squealed with delight. She had to get ahold of herself.

      “It’s been years, Maggie.” Brady sat back and looked for all intents and purposes to be a big-shot CEO as he stared down his fine nose at her. “We don’t know each other that well. I’ve missed so much already. Birthdays, Christmases, her favorite color. All these things a father should know. I don’t even know her birth date.”

      That twinge of guilt for her part in his missing Amber growing up picked at her conscience.

      As if reading that she was wavering, Brady added, “You might decide I’m not the type of guy you want to bring home.”

      Given that he’d insisted that he wanted to meet Amber, Maggie suspected this was his way to make her feel comfortable with his plan by making it appear that it was in her best interest.

      She wasn’t eighteen anymore. Guilt or not. “And if I decide in the next few days that I don’t want you to come meet Amber? You’d be fine with that?”

      His eyes narrowed, but that cocksure smile of his told her that he had every intention of making sure that didn’t happen. He leaned in conspiratorially and suddenly the air surrounding her was sucked away. “Of course. I’d respect your wishes. But you have to promise me something.”

      She returned his smile, wary but willing to play the game. “We don’t make promises. Remember?”

      His smile only faltered for a second. “That was years ago. Surely we can make a few promises now.”

      “Okay.” She leaned away, ready to negotiate. “A promise for a promise.”

      He stroked his chin as he contemplated her. “You drive a hard bargain. Ladies first.”

      “You won’t make any promises you can’t keep to Amber. No promises of gifts or time unless you fully intend to live up to that promise.”

      Brady nodded. “Fair enough.”

      “And that extends to parenting,” Maggie added.

      “How so?”

      “I’ve been with her these past seven years. You can come to visit, but she is my daughter. What I say goes.”

      “All right. No promises I can’t keep and no going over your head on parenting.” Brady’s eyes twinkled mischievously though the serious look on his face never changed. “That sounds like two promises.”

      “Take it or leave it.” Maggie shrugged. He’d either accept her decision or he could stay out of their lives. She expected him to ask for two promises, but instead he looked at her with something like…respect. Warmth blasted through her.

      “Accepted.” Brady moved in close and the diner faded into a distant rumble. “Now for your promise to me.”

      She squirmed in her chair. Whatever he was about to say she could walk away from if she needed to. She held that thought close to her heart as she gave him a nod to continue.

      “You promise you’ll give me a chance.”

      Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. “Would I be here if I wasn’t ready to do that?”

      “I don’t know.” Brady stroked his fingers along his jaw. “I don’t know you any more than you know me.”

      “We grew up together,” Maggie protested.

      “We grew up around each other and except for one night, we never talked that much. We’ve both changed over the past eight years, Maggie.”

      He didn’t have to remind her of that. Everything about him had changed. Clothes, hair, even his attitude. Eight years ago he’d had a haunted look about him. Even with his confidence, he hadn’t been able to hide that look from her. For a brief moment, she’d met a kindred spirit and she’d let her impulsiveness get the best of her.

      She definitely wasn’t that girl anymore. Her first one-night stand had given her a daughter and a taste of responsibility she’d only toyed with before that. She was as firmly planted as the oak in her backyard.

      “Give me a chance to get to know Amber and give her a chance to get to know me. Trust me to accept responsibility for this child I never knew I had. Trust me to try my best to not hurt Amber’s feelings. Allow me to make a few mistakes without cutting me out of her life.”

      Could she trust him? What choice did she have? He was Amber’s biological father. Maybe part of her had actually hoped he’d leave them alone and want nothing to do with them.

      Maybe that’s why it had been such a shock when Sam had delivered the money. Sure, Brady had been in London, but he probably would have wanted to be involved, somehow. Or maybe he would have been like Maggie’s father and tossed her away.

      “Maggie?”

      She pulled herself from her past pain. This was a new future.

      “Can you give me a chance?” Brady asked.

      “I’ll try.” She gave him a halfhearted smile.

      “And you’ll stay with me until I can get away?”

      How could she say no? She needed to get to know this man before she introduced him to her daughter. And she owed him the chance to learn about Amber.

      “I don’t know if this is a good idea.” Insane was what it was; she was actually considering spending the next few days in Brady’s apartment. Alone. With him. Certifiable. But if it meant Amber got to meet