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"I think we should tell Mandy the truth as soon as possible."
Adam's firmly spoken words struck Amy momentarily speechless and still as she gazed into his eyes. It was the morning after she'd revealed to him that he was in fact her daughter's father. The tall blond man had spent the night here, in her hotel room, in her bed, though they hadn't done anything. That was, they'd done nothing more than talk, hold one another and sleep. It seemed that, one moment, the redhead felt numb, while the next, she felt a measure of relief - a huge, massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"It's only fair," the blond man went on when she still didn't speak. "I'm her father, and she deserves to know that, and *we* deserve to have the kind of parent-child relationship we should have had over the last six years."
Amy closed her eyes slowly, trying her best to just relax. How were they going to tell Mandy without the girl mentioning something to Matt when he came back? She was only a six-year-old, after all, and young children didn't have the capability of lying or hiding things - keeping secrets. Amy only wished to be able to tell Matt the truth *herself* before Amanda let on to him.
She took a deep breath, held it for a beat, and then exhaled. She felt Adam's warm, soft fingers twining through hers as they continued to lay on their backs beside one another on the bed. She opened her eyes, squeezing his hand gently, and nodded.
"We'll tell her together," she said in a soft voice.
The Canadian nodded.
"That's how it *should* be."
He felt a rush of tenderness as he turned his body around to full face her. Releasing her hand, he pressed his palm to her cheek, and he gazed down into her eyes deeply, his breath warm against her face. Finally, he lowered his head to hers to place a soft, sweet, lingering kiss on her warm, moist lips. He sighed as she responded, her hand coming up to caress his long hair. He deepened the kiss, and that was when she pulled back, as though she'd been burned.
"Adam, no," she protested, sitting up and shaking her head. "She's in the next room."
"Yeah, and?" he said softly, teasingly, a gleam in his emerald eyes. "How do you think she *got* here?"
The redhead sucked in a breath, swatting him in the chest.
"That's *not* what I meant!" she said in a loud whisper. He was incorrigible - incorrigible, but so damned adorable and irresistible. "But what if she wakes up and comes out here and sees us kissing?"
Adam shrugged.
"Again, I guess we'd just tell her the truth."
The redhead simply stared at him.
"The truth?" she echoed. "You mean that Mommy is seeing *you* while she's still with Matt?" Her own words hurt her heart.
"What we'd tell her," the blond man said, sitting up as well to pull her against him, "is that you and I love each other very much and you're not with Matt anymore." He gazed down into her face, one hand coming up to tilt her head up at the chin. She had no choice but to meet his eyes. And she couldn't, for the life of her, look away. He was the most beautiful and special man she'd ever known.
Amy closed her eyes as he closed that tiny distance between them with his lips, and they met hers in a passionate
kiss. Instantly, she melted and responded with equal fervor - and this time, she didn't dare to pull away.