Forever My Girl (The Beaumont Series)

me. I bat his hand away.
    “Don’t call me that.”
    “What the hell is wrong?” His eyes flash with rage.
    “Nothing,” I answer sharply. “I want my son and I want to go home.”
    “Our son,” he seethes.
    I laugh at his term our . “Are you sure about that, Liam Page?”
    The look he gives me is one of confusion and hurt. I can see the pain in his eyes when I call him by his stage name. “What the fuck are you talking about, Josie.”
    I can’t take it anymore. I can’t stand here while he plays stupid. I pull the envelope from my purse. “This,” I say through tears as I slam it into his chest. “You did this after you promised me you wouldn’t. I trusted you… again and you’ve broken my heart.”
    Liam pulls the envelope from my hands and tears it open. He reads the first page, then each one after. His face turns white.
    When he looks up at me, I see fear.
     

CHAPTER 31
    LIAM
     
    Josie has only knocked once since I moved in, so when I open the door and she’s standing there I know something is wrong. I can tell she’s upset. Her stance on my porch is defiant. She’s pissed off and I don’t know what I did, but I know her anger is because of me.
    Stepping out onto the porch is probably the dumbest thing I’ve done all week. It’s cold, snowing and I’m not wearing any socks or shoes. I could care less about not having a jacket on. I’m trying to be serious with her when all I want to do is run back into the warmth of my home.
    There is nothing more frustrating than a woman who doesn’t tell you what’s wrong when you ask her. I want to grab her and shake the answer out of her. She stands in front of me, her shoulders hunched, refusing to look at me, to show me her beautiful eyes that I can read like an open book.
    I tear open the manila envelope that she slams against my chest. My eyes read over words like custody, visitation, child support, and California resident. The last page does me in – it says I’m requesting a paternity test to determine if the child known as Noah Michael Preston is my son.
    Josie crosses her arms over her mid-section like she’s been punched repeatedly. She doesn’t bother to wipe the tears that have started cascading down her beautiful face, now marred by deception with my name attached. No wonder she wants to take Noah away. I told her I’d never take him from her and these papers are telling her I am.
    This is not what I want. I want us to be a family. I never even thought about this when I found out about Noah. Never in a million years did this thought ever enter my mind.
    “Where did you get this?” I demand. I grip the papers, crinkling them in my hand as I shake them. She rolls her eyes and turns away from me, pissing me off even more.
    “I just want to get Noah and go home.”
    “Answer me.”
    She shakes her head. “Just give me my son!” she yells, her hands instantly cover her face.
    I can’t, I won’t. I will not hand over Noah without having the answers I want from her. I grab her arm and pull her into the house. She resists, fighting me as I drag her through the kitchen and down the stairs to my studio. It’s a soundproof room so we can yell and scream at each other and Noah won’t hear us.
    I push her into the room and slam the door shut, locking it behind us.
    “Who gave you these fucking papers, Josephine?” I hate saying her full name, but it gets her attention. She looks up at me, determined.
    “You know, I thought we could work at this co-parenting thing, but I was wrong. I don’t want your money, Liam. I don’t need it. Noah and I have managed this whole time on our own so you don’t have to worry about me sucking you dry.”
    “Josie –”
    “No, let me finish.” She holds up her hand, moving away from me, as far as she can get.
    “No!” I yell at her. “I will not. Tell me who gave you these god damn papers. There is no postage so I know they were hand delivered. I’m really about to lose my shit here, so just tell me already.”
    “Why does it matter?”
    “Because it’s fucking bullshit!” I scream. “I didn’t do this. I don’t want this. I don’t want to take Noah away from you or Beaumont.”
    I stalk over to her and push her up against the wall. My body is pressed against hers, as my hand cups her face gently. I want to do nothing more than to kiss her. To rip all her bulky winter layers away from her body and feel her skin against mine.
    “I love our son, Josie. I love him so much. I