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Her eyes darted fro baby in his arms

“Anthony?”

Charlotte Price stared at her estranged husband—the one , the oneto divorce But what he held in his arms pulled her attention even more

Not a what…a who

A hotshot Hollywood director, Anthony Price didn’t look too comfortable with the bundle wrapped in a pink, silky blanket, a swirl of black hair dotting the top of her head

And speaking of hair, Anthony’s stood on end The top three buttons of his royal-blue dress shirt were undone, and was that…oh, yeah, that was spit-up The milky-white substance spread across the top of one broad shoulder, and she’d bet it had traveled down his back, as well If she weren’t so shocked she’d laugh at the irony of this entire situation

Her husband holding a child She’d alanted to have a child with him…but he’d never been ready

“Rachel’s daughter,” he said in a gravelly voice

Rachel Anthony’s sister who had suddenly died in a car crash less than a week ago, leaving behind an eight-irl

An ache spread through her as she eyed the precious child, and Charlotte opened the door to her best friend’s apart her in and lay her down”

Charlotte showed hi in while her friend was off traveling, taking her dream vacation Charlotte had packed only her most favorite clothes and other essentials, unsure of when she’d have a place of her own She was getting the alone ti to the sae was concerned

Their life together was over No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she wanted Anthony to love her the way she deserved, it just wasn’t meant to be

And now that he was here, she couldn’t help but wonder why he’d cos out now? Was he willing to try the therapist she’d suggested?

She’d moved out in June, and now nearly three months of aard calls, not to o he’d come for a visit to talk and they’d foolishly ended up in bed, was about to come to an abrupt halt Communication had always been a e The sex, however, had never been a problem because most of the times they were alone, they were naked

But talking was inevitable—over more than just his surprise bundle She had an appointment on Friday to file for divorce

“I’m afraid to lay her down She cried all the way here,” Anthony told her, panic lacing his voice “I gave her a bottle and she threw up all over me, then cried some more A three-hour car ride and she didn’t fall asleep until about ten o”

More than coently slid her hands between her husband’s hard body and the soft bundle With care she laid the baby down in an oversized arainst the cushion so she couldn’t rabbed a velvety throw pillow and laid it beside the baby so she wouldn’t roll off

With questionsin her mind, Charlotte motioned for Anthony to step into the kitchen, where she could still keep an eye on the child over the wide granite bar that separated the two rooms

“What is going on, Anthony?” she demanded in a harsh whisper as soon as he came to stand beside her

“You have to help with Lily”

Help with Lily?

“Oh, Anthony Oh, God” A sense of what he meant enveloped her and left her just a bit more crushed He wasn’t here because he loved her and wanted her back—he wasn’t even here for sex He was here because he couldn’t take care of the baby alone Ironic that he wanted her to play fa he had used his career as a crutch not to have children

She knew she needed to keep her distance For so long she’d let hie with suave words and s in hopes that his attention would soon follow—only to be left heartbroken again Obviously, their ideas of love landed on two opposite ends of the spectruh, is that she knew he loved her in his oay He just lovedblockbuster more

But Anthony had co her help, and that said a lot Theor anyone, and he’d never opened up or talked with her about his feelings If he wasn’t in work mode, they were naked And she didn’t knohy it had taken her this long to realize that even though she loved him, she deserved better

“I’m the next of kin,” he told her, throat thick with emotion “We’re the only family she has left, Charlie”

The nicknae had lost the char rooistered “Wait What do you mean we are the only family?”

“We were nauardians in case of Rachel’s…death Because she was artificially inseminated, there’s no father to contest this”