She tried to tug away her hand, but he held on.“I’ll just have to find a way to prove to you I’m sincere.I want you, me, and the baby to be a family.Together.”
“Ryan, I’ve already told you—”
He waved a hand.“I know.It’s just sex.No strings.You don’t trust me, so I’ll have to find a way to convince you I mean it when I say I love you.”
“It’s not only a matter of trust.What if we have a real relationship and then things go wrong and we break up?What if we hate each other?Where does that leave Sophie?”
“Do you really think that if we did break up, we’d hate each other?So much that it would interfere with co-parenting Sophie?”
“Maybe not, but it’s a big risk to take.”
“Not if we’re honest with each other.If either one of us wants out we tell the other one.Then we go back to being Sophie’s parents.Separately.”
Someone knocked on her door.“Who could that be?”She glanced at her phone.“Oh, I guess it’s not that late.I just usually collapse after I get Sophie to sleep.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aria opened herdoor.An older man—probably in his late fifties, or even early sixties—stood on her doorstep.His hair was dark, liberally streaked with gray, and his face was careworn.He looked like he’d had a hard life.He also seemed very nervous.
“Can I help you?”she asked when he stood there without speaking.He didn’t appear to be selling anything.
“Are you Aria DeLuca?”
His voice sounded… not familiar but she might have heard it before.She had no idea where though.“Yes.Why?”
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.I can’t believe I finally found you.”
This was getting weird.“Who are you and what do you want?”
“I’m your father.”
Her stomach dropped to her toes.Could it really be him?She hadn’t seen him since she was seven.How would she know what he looked like after all these years?
“My father?I haven’t seen you in twenty-plus years and you show up on my doorstep?Why?And how did you find me anyway?”
“I know how strange this is.But I want to… not explain.There’s no excuse for what I did.But I’d like to tell you why.”
“If you even are my father you’ll have to prove it.No, never mind.I don’t care.”She tried to shut the door, but he stopped her by sticking his foot in the door.
“Please, Aria.I only want to talk to you.”
“Ryan, can you come here?”
A moment later he stood beside her.“Do you need help getting rid of this man?”
“He says he’s my father.You know, the man who deserted me and my mother over twenty years ago.”
Ryan frowned.“A little late, aren’t you?Do you have any identification?Can you prove you actually are her father?”
The man pulled out his wallet and gave his driver’s license to Ryan.“It says he’s Steven DeLuca,” he told Aria.“Was that your father’s name?”
“Yes.But big deal.That could be faked.”But was it?What if he was telling the truth?Did she even want to see him?“What’s my mother’s name?”
“Susan.Does she live here too?In this town, or with you?”
“She’s dead.She died several years ago.I’d say it was a broken heart but it was cancer.”
Stricken, he said, “I’m so sorry.I wanted to talk to her too.”
