Anton stood at Hannah’s door and took a moment to breathe deeply. He wiped his palms again on his pant leg. Too much was riding on this night. He’d known the instant she’d decided to tell him about his daughter. At least there was no surprise there. He’d had two days now to toss the idea around his head. He was a father. He had a nine-year-old daughter.

And now he was going to attempt to have a relationship with both his daughter and his daughter’s mother. If tonight went badly, there was no telling what the outcome would be. Maybe Hannah would vanish with his daughter and he’d never see either of them again. Maybe Hannah would shut him out and he’d have to fight for every minute he spent with his daughter. He didn’t think it would come down to that, but he’d never known Hannah as a mother. If she perceived him as a threat, she might take legal action to keep him away. Of course, he could make two phone calls and have that taken care of, but he didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to make her love him again.

He’d decided to bring gifts. Well, one gift that was really for both of them. He had at first planned to bring something for each of them, but then he remembered he wasn’t supposed to know that Melody was his yet. If he was just a guy showing up to meet a woman’s daughter for the first time, it might be weird to bring a gift. So, he’d settled on the fanciest box of chocolates he could find. Assuming girls loved chocolate as much as women did, this should be a fine gift. Once he got to know her a bit, he could start buying Melody nice things.

He could afford to buy her the best. He didn’t want his own child to grow up like he had, with no name brands, no clothes that fit, the laughing stock of the school. And he was sure that being a single mother who hadn’t gotten any child support from him, that Hannah didn’t have much money to provide the finer things. He’d looked into her job and found out what she made. Not bad for someone like her, but pennies on every dollar he made. He could give them a better life. And he would do all he could to make sure it happened. If nothing else, Hannah would have to accept him paying her some kind of regular support payment. And if it gave Melody a better life, he didn’t care what the cost was.

He took one more breath, adjusted his grip on the chocolates, and knocked on the door. Hannah opened it a moment later, looking as beautiful as ever. This might be what life was like if they had a family. She’d welcome him home after a long day of work. Maybe she’d have dinner ready or they’d go out to the best restaurants. Melody would be there, home from school, doing her homework. It could work. It could be the perfect life.

He put on his charming smile and stepped inside as if he actually felt the confidence he displayed. “Brought you a little something to sweeten your day.” He handed the box to Hannah.

Her eyes widened for a moment. “I love these!” She turned her head and called out down the hall, “Melody! Come see what Anton brought us!”

Perfect. So far, so good. He heard footsteps coming down the hall and sucked in another breath. When she appeared, it was like seeing a family member again after having not seen them for years. Her face was familiar to him, though he’d never seen her in real life.

The girl smiled at him politely but gave no sign of recognition or nervousness. What had Hannah told her about him? She had told her he was coming and given her his name. That much was clear.

Melody carefully selected a chocolate from the box and popped it into her mouth. “Mmmm. So good!” she said a moment later, chocolate covering her teeth.

“I thought you might like them,” Anton said.

The three of them stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. Then Hannah said to Melody, “Why don’t you go on back to your room so Anton and I can talk?”

“Okay.” Melody eyed Anton for just a moment before disappearing around the corner.

Hannah faced him and she looked as nervous as he felt.

“Care to sit?” he asked.

“Sure.” She moved toward the couch, then hesitated. “Do you want water or anything?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

She sat beside him stiffly.

“It’s okay,” he said. He almost told her that he knew. It would make this much easier. But on the off chance he was wrong, he didn’t want to look like a complete fool.

She let out a breath and turned to him. “This isn’t easy to say. I mentioned before that I had something to tell you. A… secret I guess you could say. Something I should have told you a long time ago.”

“Does it have to do with Melody?”

She looked shocked. “Yes.”

He nodded. “Go on.”

“She’s… your daughter.”

He nodded again. “That’s what I thought.”

“You did?”

“I saw the photos online. I did the math. That time I saw you walking with that other guy and you were pregnant? Unless you’d cheated—which I never would have suspected you of—then it was much too soon to be that other guy’s baby. At the time, I had no idea what seven months pregnant looked like. I didn’t know… But after I saw the photos. She looks so much like me and you. But certain photos look more like me. And then you said you had something to tell me. So, I figured this was it.”

“I guess I didn’t have to be so nervous then.” She chuckled and scratched the back of her neck. “Well, now you know. You have a daughter.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner? Like, oh, maybe nine years ago?” He had done a good job, he thought, of keeping his anger at bay. He wanted to give her the chance to explain, and he didn’t want to end up yelling at her. That would only ruin it all. But he couldn’t hide his anger entirely.

“I don’t blame you for being mad. All I can tell you is that you broke my heart. You left and didn’t call. I found out I was pregnant and I had no one. My parents kicked me out. That guy you saw me with left me before she was born. I had no one.”

“Even more of a reason you should have called me.”

“And how would I have done that?” Now her words took on an angry tone as well. “You didn’t leave a number to reach you. You didn’t give me your address. All I knew was that you were going to live with your grandfather in New Jersey. I couldn’t have called you or contacted you if I wanted to!”

He sucked in a breath and clenched his jaw. “Okay. You’re right. I left and I have to face that. I know I hurt you. And I guess you got me back, but I—”

“Oh, don’t act like I did this on purpose. Like I kept her from you to punish you or hurt you. I did it because I had to and I did it to protect us both. How was I supposed to think you’d stick around when you’d just left? One heartbreak from you was enough.”

“That doesn’t explain why you never looked me up later. At any point in the last nine years, did you not once think of calling me?”

“Sure I did. A hundred times. I could have found you, later. Sure. But you’re forgetting that the more time that passed, the less likely it was you would stick around if I told you. If I had called you up seven years ago and said you had a toddler while she was screaming in the background, would you have come running? Swooped in to be dream dad of the century? I don’t think so.”

“We’ll never know, will we?”

“Just like we’ll never know what would have happened if you hadn’t left. Or if you’d had the decency to call me even once.”

She crossed her arms and sat back hard against the couch. He tapped his fingertips together, trying to get the anger to settle.

“Okay, look,” he said after a few tense moments. “We both hurt each other and did things we shouldn’t have. There’s no point arguing about it now.”

She glared across the room, but at least she didn’t glare at him.

“We have to deal with where we are now,” he said. “We’re here. Both of us. And we have a daughter. I can’t believe it. But there it is. I want to meet her. I want to be part of her life. Even if you and I never end up together again—”

“We won’t.”

“Fine. I’m still her father, and I have a right to get to know her.”

“I brought you here, didn’t I? I told you. Even if you knew, I told you. I do want to give you a chance. But know this, if you disappear, if you hurt her like you hurt me, I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I will not let you be that father.”

“I don’t want to be that father. I’ll do whatever necessary to be in my daughter’s life. I have rights, you know.”

“Is that a threat?” Now she turned her glare on him.

“Not unless it has to be. I don’t want to get into any sort of custody battle or anything like that. It’s not good for anyone. And I sincerely hope that nothing close to that ever happens between us. You don’t have to be with me. But you did love me once, and I hope there’s enough of that still left in your heart that we can be friends. We can raise our daughter together. I would never try to take her from you. I want to help out. I’ll start giving you money. I’ll take care of whatever she needs.”

“Do you think that’s why I’m telling you? To get money?”

“Not at all. If that’s what you wanted, you would have shown up after my name started hitting the papers. Or you would have told me right away. But you didn’t. You did what was best for Melody. And I see that. I appreciate that. I know you’ve done a great job with her all these years because of the person you are. But, I do have means. I don’t want her—or you for that matter—to go through life like I did, always in want and need. It can’t be easy being a single mom. And every single parent deserves child support, so I’m going to do my part. I would have helped you all along if I knew. I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I regret that every day of my life. I want to make up for it now.”

The tightness in her jaw softened. “Okay. It’s not like a little extra money wouldn’t help me out, but that is not why you’re here.”

“I know that.”

“Okay. One more thing.” She stood to face him. “Whatever it was you were trying to say earlier today? About the danger of your business or its questionable nature? Whatever it is that you’re into, make sure you keep it far away from Melody. I don’t want her getting mixed up in some kind of crazy life that will bring her harm.”

“I would never let anything happen to her. I have the means to keep her protected. Whether it’s the school bully or some pervert out stalking children, I will keep her safe.”

“Okay. You want to meet her?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Hannah left the room and returned a short time later with Melody. Her expression looked stunned. He guessed Hannah told her in private before bringing her out.

“Melody, this is Anton DeCalvo, your father.”

“Hi,” Melody said, much more shy now than she’d been before.

“Hi there.” Anton wasn’t sure what to do now, either.

Luckily, Hannah was much better at this sort of thing. “Honey, why don’t you go and get your school folder. I’m sure Anton would love to see what you’re working on and learning.”

She hopped out of the room and Hannah leaned toward Anton. “I told her she didn’t have to call you dad. Not yet. Not unless she wanted to.”

“That’s fine. I know this must be hard on her. I remember meeting my grandfather for the first time. A lesser scale, but I was going to live with him, so maybe just as jarring.”

“Right. Talk to her about that. A shared experience might help you connect.”

“Thank you.” He stood to give her a quick hug. “Whatever happened between us, you’ve raised our daughter alone for the last nine years and dealt with a surprise pregnancy all on your own before that. It couldn’t have been easy, but it shows just how amazing you are.”

“Thanks,” she said and stepped away from him as Melody returned.