The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) by Theresa Meyers

both. He was solid and warm and it felt good to be held. And just as she was sinking into the sensation, he pulled away, making her acutely aware of the loss.
    Emily woke at the movement.
    “I want to stay here tonight,” she mumbled.
    Taylor roughly brushed her damp cheeks with the back of her hands. “No. We need to go home now, Emily.”
    Emily was instantly wide awake. She crossed her little arms. “I’m staying here.”
    The words staying here lodged in Taylor’s brain like a bullet, shattering her last fragile bit of emotional control.
    “You’re welcome to stay here in the guest room if you like,” Reece offered.
    Anger replaced pain and she took hold of it, knowing she could do more with it than she could with the debilitating loss. “Look, I’m going. Emily is going. She’s not spending the night under a stranger’s roof.”
    Taylor quickly gathered up the albums and hurried Emily downstairs. Once in the car, they had barely passed through Reece’s gate when Emily started her lecture.
    “Mommy, you did not play nice at Reece’s house,” she said as she patted and stroked her new zebra. “You were very mean to him. You should tell him you’re sorry.”
    But I don’t want to . “What makes you think I was mean?”
    “Because he was being nice to you and you didn’t want to stay.”
    You mean I don’t want him to butt into our life. Take it over. Make me feel things I’m not sure I can handle. “Honey, things are a little more complicated than that.”
    “Why?”
    Because I can’t let him get too close. “Because mommies have a lot of other things to work on than just being nice. I have to worry about taking care of you, too.”
    “Reece is very nice. If you would just give him a hug, you would see.”
    Taylor rolled her eyes. Sure, that would fix everything.

Chapter Seven
    Although Reece called to talk to Emily during the two weeks between their family dinner and the court date, Taylor didn’t speak to him beyond a simple greeting as she handed the phone off to her daughter. She didn’t trust herself to.
    The dinner at his house had left her shaken and confused. She was angry because of his decision to pursue joint custody in court, grateful because he had let her cry and said nothing when her emotions had become too much to bear, afraid because Emily seemed to become attached to him in a way she couldn’t control, and worried that she might find it far too easy to lean on him herself. He’d been so good with Emily, and her daughter only thought Reece was a special friend. What would happen once she discovered Reece was her father?

    The morning of the court appearance, Taylor took special pains to make sure her powder-blue suit was immaculate. She dropped Emily off at preschool and drove to the courthouse downtown, her hands damp as they clutched the steering wheel.
    “They can’t take Emily from me. They won’t take Emily from me. They’ll see she belongs with me,” she kept chanting to herself under her breath until she turned in to the parking lot and stopped the engine. Anything less than sole custody was having her daughter taken from her. If Reece wanted to be legally responsible for Emily, as he’d said, couldn’t he just petition to be put on her birth certificate or something? Was joint custody really necessary? She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then got out of the car and hurried past a number of local news vans assembled on the side of the building.
    The halls of the courthouse echoed with hushed voices and shuffled feet as people went to the various courtrooms. Taylor glanced down at the paper she’d put into her purse confirming where she was to meet her attorney.
    Alex West waited for her by the double doors of room 3B. He gave her a reassuring smile and guided her with a hand at the small of her back. “I’m glad you came early. We need to get you into the briefing room.” He steered her into a small area just off the entrance and closed