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A mischievous smile stretches across his face, and I can’t help but smile at the sight of the missing front tooth. “I bet Uncle Jax will let me stay up late.”
“Hmmm,” I say, playing along. “Are you going to stay up late to do homework?”
He giggles. “Uh-uh.”
“Will you be scrubbing dishes and mopping floors?”
“No!”
“I know! You can clean up Woof’s dog poop from the yard,” I suggest, referring to Winnie’s beloved labrador.
“Ewwwww,” we squeal together as I pull him into a bear hug.
“I love you, Mommy,” he says.
At the sound of his sweet words, tears of gratitude prick the backs of my eyelids. As much as I’d love for Sebastian to find me again and be a father to our son, he’s already given me the best gift I could ever have hoped for.
“I love you, Navy. Forever and ever, with all my heart.”
Chapter 3
Sebastian
As I drive down the mountain to the valley to find the office of the private investigator I found online, I drum my fingers on the steering wheel. I have the same tingly feeling I had when I walked into Omnivore Tavern for the interview this afternoon. It just feels like everything is falling into place exactly as it should. I’m going to find her. I know it.
I turn onto Main Street and start reading the numbers on the buildings. I spot the office I’m looking for and pull into a parking spot across the street. As I climb out of the car, a colorful sign in a shop window catches my eye. In big, bold letters, it says, “Gourmet treats for man’s best friend!” Stepping onto the curb, I look up, and my gaze lands on the name of the shop above the door.
WINNIE & WOOF.
I trip, falling hard, and colliding painfully with the asphalt. My heart thunders in my chest as I climb back to my feet. Is this my Winnie? Could it be this easy to find her? Maybe I don’t need the private detective, after all?
Forming a sunshield with my hands, I lean forward to peer through the shop’s glass window. My cheeks burn with embarrassment as it occurs to me that if this is her store, she may have just seen me faceplant on the pavement. On the other side of the glass, a face stares back at me. Someone did see my fall… fortunately, it wasn’t a human.
The big, yellow lab looks friendly, and not the least bit judgmental, with his wagging tail and his lolling tongue. With a laugh, I push open the door and step inside. The dog is well-trained, waiting for me to step forward and hold out a hand before coming to me. I pet his head, scratching behind his ears. “Woof, I presume?”
“The one and only,” a woman says behind me.
I turn slowly to face her, and my heart stutters in my chest when I see the familiar face smiling back at me. It’s her! It’s really her!
“Winnie,” I gasp, stepping toward her.
Her eyebrows knit together, and she holds up a hand to stop me. “Sorry… do I know you?”
Her tone isn’t unfriendly, but the words pierce deeper than a rattlesnake bite. She doesn’t remember me. She has no idea who I am.
How could something that meant everything to me mean nothing to her? How is that possible?
She rests a hand on her stomach, and I see a fullness there that wasn’t there last time. She’s going to be a mother. Bile rises in my throat, and I choke it back down.
She belongs to someone else. She’s not mine. I realize now that she never was.
As I look at her closely, really look at her, I have to admit that the spark of irresistible attraction isn’t there anymore. She’s still as beautiful as ever, but I don’t feel the same magnetic pull that I felt before. It’s almost like she’s a completely different person.
That doesn’t make the blow of her lack of recognition any easier, though. In some ways, it makes it harder. Because I have to wonder if the whole love affair was only ever in my own head.
“Honey,” a man calls. Her eyes swivel to look at him, and her face alights with pleasure and love. The man walks over to her, holding a translucent plastic box filled with dog treats and sloppily tied with a purple ribbon. He only has eyes for Winnie, and I may as well be the Invisible Man.
“Did I get the ribbon right this time?” he asks.
