“Can You Be The Father Of My Baby For One Day?” She Asked… And I Said, “Only If You Tell Me Why”
Chapter 1
Daniel Harper had heard strange requests before.
He had worked as a contractor, a mechanic, a delivery driver, and, for the last three years, a single father trying to keep his life together.
But he had never heard anything quite like this.
It was raining when the woman approached his truck.
Daniel had just finished picking up his eight-year-old daughter, Sophie, from school.
He was standing beside the passenger door, holding an umbrella over her head, when the stranger stopped a few feet away.
She looked exhausted.
Not ordinary tired.
The kind of tired that came from crying when nobody was watching.
She was young, maybe thirty.
Long brown hair.
A cream coat that looked expensive but was soaked at the shoulders.
And she was very obviously pregnant.
Very pregnant.
Daniel immediately glanced around.
No husband.
No family.
No car.
Just her.
She swallowed.
“Excuse me.”
Daniel turned.
“Yes?”
Her eyes moved toward Sophie.
Then back to him.
“I know this is going to sound completely crazy.”
Sophie looked up at her father.
“That usually means it is.”
Daniel sighed.
“Sophie.”
“What?”
The woman gave a tiny, unexpected laugh.
Then her expression became serious again.
“Can I ask you something?”
Daniel nodded cautiously.
She took a breath.
“Can you be the father of my baby for one day?”
Daniel stared at her.
Sophie stared at her.
Rain hit the pavement between them.
Daniel blinked.
“I’m sorry?”
The woman looked embarrassed.
“I know how it sounds.”
“No.”
“It is insane.”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
Daniel pointed toward the parking lot.
“You should probably know I don’t usually pretend to be people’s husbands.”
“I know.”
“And I definitely don’t pretend to be fathers.”
“I know.”
“So why me?”
She looked at him.
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then she whispered,
“Because you look like a man nobody would question.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“You were holding your daughter’s umbrella.”
She glanced at Sophie.
“You didn’t care that your shoes were getting soaked.”
Daniel looked down.
His sneakers were indeed drenched.
“And when she dropped her backpack,” the woman continued, “you stopped everything to pick it up.”
Sophie smiled proudly.
“He always does.”
The woman gave her another look.
“He looks like someone who knows how to make a child feel safe.”
Daniel studied her.
“You’re asking a complete stranger to pretend to be the father of your unborn child.”
“Yes.”
“For one day.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked down at her stomach.
“Because tomorrow, I have to go somewhere.”
“Where?”
“A family estate.”
Daniel waited.
She swallowed.
“My baby’s father will be there.”
Something about the way she said it told him the story was far from simple.
“What happened to him?”
“He left.”
“Because of the baby?”
Her jaw tightened.
“Because of me.”
Daniel looked at her carefully.
“That’s not the same thing.”
She gave a sad smile.
“I wish it were.”
He glanced at Sophie.
His daughter was watching the woman with the serious expression she usually reserved for people she thought were hurt.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“You should help her.”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
“You don’t even know her.”
“She needs help.”
The woman laughed softly.
Then tears slipped down her cheek.
Daniel sighed.
He hated that Sophie was right.
But he still needed one answer.
“What’s your name?”
“Olivia Bennett.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
He knew that name.
Everyone in the county did.
The Bennett family owned half the businesses around Greyhaven.
Hotels.
Construction companies.
A shipping company.
Private land.
Olivia Bennett was the youngest daughter of Richard Bennett, one of the wealthiest men in the state.
Daniel looked at her coat.
The expensive clothes.
The anxious eyes.
Suddenly, the pieces looked different.
“You’re a Bennett.”
“Yes.”
“And you want me to pretend to be the father of your baby.”
“For one day.”
“Why?”
She stared at him.
Then quietly said,
“Because if I show up alone tomorrow, they can take my baby away.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“Who can?”
“My family.”
He looked at her stomach.
Then back at her.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Olivia stepped closer.
“My baby’s father knows a secret about my family.”
Daniel felt the first pull of something he couldn’t explain.
He should have walked away.
Instead, he heard himself ask,
“What time do I pick you up?”
Olivia stared.
“You’ll do it?”
“For one day.”
He paused.
“But only if you tell me why.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
She just didn’t tell him that she intended to wait until they reached the estate.
Because the truth was dangerous.
And once Daniel heard it, he would no longer be pretending to be the father of her baby.
He would be protecting two lives.
