Her Perfect Valentine Birthday Surprise Read Online Free

gazed down at her upturned face.  “What kind of important stuff?”
       “My Barbies and my dollies, my coloring books, and my Disney movies.”
       “Wow, those are very important stuff.  I’ll bring you and Mommy back to her car after ice-cream, okay?”
       “Okay?”
       I didn’t say much at the ice cream parlor.  Marissa and Sheldon had a lot of catching up to do.  I sipped lemonade while my daughter took her father on an informational ride into her world.  She named all her friends at school.  She told him about the time she fell on the ice and broke her arm and had to wear a cast for eight weeks.  She told him about little Jacob whom she punched in the nose when he tried to kiss her.
       Sheldon threw back his head and laughed at that one.  “No boy steals kisses from my baby-girl,” he exclaimed.
       “I’m not your baby-girl,” Marissa said adamantly.  “I’m my daddy’s little baby-girl.  I love him.  I’m his baby girl!” She crossed her arms and dropped her chin.
       David always used to refer to her as his little baby girl—well until he found out she wasn’t.  She missed that.  She missed him.  Seeing the hurt in Sheldon’s eyes, and the sadness on my daughter’s face, I intervened.  “I think we should call it a day.”
       We rode in silence back to the daycare center.  Marissa’s goodbye to Sheldon was cold.  I buckled her into the back seat of my car then walked Sheldon to his.  “You have to give her time,” I admonished him gently.  “David is the only father she has known.  She misses him.”
       “I know.  I understand.  And it’s driving me crazy to know that I can’t be there for her.  Be a father to her, yet.”  He looked at me thoughtfully then asked,  “Can I come by tonight after she’s asleep?”
       “Why?”
       “I need to talk to you.”
       “About what?”  Did he want custody of Marissa?  He was rich; I was poor.  He was married; I was not.  He could offer her all the luxuries in life when I can barely pay for her afterschool daycare.  The familiar courtroom drama flashed across my mind.  The knots formed in my stomach.  I glanced back at my car and hopped from one foot to another, the fear building inside me at an enormous rate.
       “It’s nothing to worry about,” he assured me, sensing my fears, as he seemed to have a knack to do.  “There are important things we need to discuss.  I promise, Elizabeth.  I just need to talk with you.  I just found out you had my baby.  There’s a lot we need to discuss, don’t you think?  I’m not taking Marissa away from you.  I would never do that.  We just need to talk,” he reiterated, gazing down at me with earnestness in his blue eyes
       I knew I was crazy, but I agreed to let him come by.  “Okay.  She’ll be asleep by nine.”
       “Thank you.  See you at nine, then.”
       I rushed home and cooked a burger and fries for Marissa.  I couldn’t eat.  I put her to bed, then showered and splashed on some perfume.  Sheldon knocked on my door at 9:05.  He was wearing the same suit he’d worn all day.  He hadn’t been home, it seemed.
       “Elizabeth, I love you.  I’ve been in love with you ever since that night we met,” he blurted out as he came through my door.  His eyes shimmered with warmth and passion.
       “Sheldon, you’re married,” I reminded him after the shock wore off.
       He closed the door and gazed down at me.  “That’s the thing, Elizabeth, I’m not.”
       My mouth dropped open.  “You’re not what?”
       He cleared his throat.  “Denise and I don’t love each other.  Hell, we don’t even like each other.  Our parents forced us into that marriage to merge our companies.  It was business, not love.  I love my kids, but that marriage has been slowly choking the life out of me.  After spending two weeks with you and a few hours with Marissa today, I