Joseph never beat around the bush-he said what he meant and didn''t bother hiding it. He might be arrogant, but he wasn''t clueless.


    So when Mr. and Mrs. Walker suddenly wanted to make him their godson, Joseph knew there had to be something more going on. He remembered how Autumn had argued with him at the hospital, all for Daria''s sake. The motive was pretty obvious.


    He''d heard plenty of stories about mothers gaining status through their kids, but this was the first time he''d seen a father try to do the same.


    Feiman looked at Joseph, totally confused, his eyes practically shouting, "What''s going on?"


    Joseph''s blunt response made Mr. Walkerugh. He hadn''t thought much of Joseph before, but now, he actually found him a bit admirable. The guy was genuine and straightforward said exactly what was on his mind.


    Most people, offered the chance to be the Walkers'' godson, would have grinned ear to ear and agreed without a second thought. But Joseph? You could see in his eyes he just wasn''t interested.


    Mr. Walker didn''t know much about Joseph beyond the gossip—he was Feiman''s illegitimate son, owned apany, showed up in the tabloids all the time, and changed girlfriends like he changed shirts. Even his wedding with Julie had ended in disaster.


    But Joseph had stepped up and acknowledged Daria as his son. That counted for something. He''d never confirmed publicly that Julie was Daria''s mom, but everyone knew she''d married Joseph because she was pregnant.


    Mr. Walker nced at Autumn, then smiled at Joseph. "You don''t have to give us an answer now. These things are a matter of fate. If you''re not interested, that''s fine—it just means it wasn''t meant to be. As for this ''dad getting status through his son'' stuff, well, Daria''s a lovable kid. My wife and I are getting older, no kids of our own, and the thought of having family around, maybe even grandkids someday, is nice. But it alles down to fate, right, Feiman?"


    Feiman nodded eagerly. "Exactly, fate is what matters. Mr. Walker thinks highly of Joseph, and that''s a good thing. Let''s let Joseph think about it. Mr. Walker, let me pour you a drink."


    Joseph didn''t say a word. Autumn was anxious, but Mr. Walker shot her a look, telling her not to push.


    It was all pretty sudden-no need to rush.


    After dinner, Autumn held back her urge to ask about Daria and got in the car.


    Only after the Walkers left did Feiman finally turn to Joseph. "Joseph, what''s going on? Why does Mr. Walker suddenly want you as his godson?"


    "No idea," Joseph said, not even bothering to exin.


    "Joseph, this is a good thing. Mr. Walker was really polite at dinner, didn''t act superior at all. Even when you pushed back, he didn''t mind."


    Joseph let out a coolugh. "So you want me to be someone else''s son? How generous of you."


    He didn''t even want to join the Salstrom family tree, let alone sign up for another.


    Feiman looked a bit embarrassed but tried to keep it together. "It''s a great opportunity. The Walkers have no kids-if they want to help you, that''s a huge advantage. If you turn them down and Mr. Walker takes it the wrong way, that won''t help you."


    Joseph shot him azy look. If this wasn''t his own father, he''d probably say, "Why don''t you go be their son?"


    "No thanks."


    He dropped that and walked off.


    He had no ns to be Mr. Walker''s godson. Even if it meant offending the Walkers, he didn''t care.


    Joseph lived for the


    1


    moment—parties, women,


    everything easye, easy go. He didn''t have big dreams for his business, and no one truly had his heart. These days, the only one who could stir his emotions at all was his son, Daria.


    Plus, Autumn''s attitude toward Daria was just odd. Until he figured out what that was about he wasn''t


    about to get tangled up with the


    Walkers. He wasn''t the kind of guy to trade his kid for some personal gain.


    Thinking of Daria, Joseph suddenly changed his mind, canceled his ns for the afternoon and evening, and headed home.


    When he got there, he asked the nanny where Daria was. "He''s in the yroom," she told him.


    Joseph had converted two rooms


    into y spaces for his son-ball pit, slides, blocks, colorful sand, you name it. He just wanted Daria to be happy.


    When Joseph stepped inside, everything was quiet. He spotted Daria curled up against a pile of foam blocks, clutching something in his small hands.


    "What''ve you got there?" Joseph walked over.


    Daria jumped, quickly hiding whatever it was.


    It was a photo of Julie-Autumn had given it to him.


    Daria missed his mom and liked to look at her picture.


    "Dad," Daria whispered, voice trembling.


    "Let me see. What is it?" Joseph''s tone was firm.


    Daria squeezed the photo tighter, refusing to let go. Joseph frowned and simply took it from him.


    When he saw Julie''s face in the photo, Joseph was surprised. "Where did you get this?"


    "Dad, give me Mom''s picture back!" Daria burst into tears, desperately reaching for the photo.