Page 7 of The Sweetest Mistake

“Do you want to hold her now?”

“Sure.”

Once Ava was settled between his large hands, she gazed at him almost as if she recognized their connection. Was that even possible? Could Ava sense that this man was her daddy? She reached out her chubby little fist and batted his face, and Connor laughed.

“You’re not the only woman who wants to hit me,” he teased, glancing over at Julia.

For a few minutes, she’d been able to forget about her anger, but now that he’d brought it up…

“You’re right about that,” she confirmed.

“How can I make it up to you?”

“You can start by explaining why you didn’t tell me about Ava when you first found out.”

Ava started fussing then, and Connor looked panicky. “What should I do? Do you think she’s hungry?”

“Hold on,” Julia said. “Let me see if Cam packed any toys in the diaper bag.” Rummaging through the bag, she came up with a rattle, a stuffed bear, and a teething ring. “Here, let’s try these first.”

Connor took the rattle from her and shook it in front of Ava’s little face. Her frown turned upside down, and she seemed pleased again.

“See. It’s not so hard,” Julia said.

“Maybe not for you, but this stuff isn’t instinctual for a man.”

“You’ll learn,” she said, realizing that Cam had said the same thing while caressing Connor’s arm.

“To answer your question, I freaked. When Cam called and told me, I didn’t believe her at first. But then she sent me some pictures, and it was obvious that Ava was mine.”

“And you have no doubts? What about Cam’s boss?”

“That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s black.”

“Oh.” Now she understood why Cam and Connor had been so adamant about Ava’s parentage. Ava’s skin was milky white.

“And the timing makes sense. Cam said she hadn’t slept with anyone other than me and Tyler, her boss, and I believe her.”

“Is she still seeing him? Personally, I mean.”

“I’m not sure.”

“Hmm.” There went any hope that this had all been a mistake. As cute as Ava was, Julia didn’t enjoy the thought of her being the catalyst that brought Connor and Cam back together.

“Hey,” he said as if he could read her troubled mind. “There’s no reason for you to be worried about this. I have zero interest in getting back with Cam.”

“Yes, you’ve said that. However, she is the mother of your child, and that means she’s back in your life to stay.”

Connor scowled. “Well, when you say it like that…”

“You still haven’t completely answered my question. After you saw the pictures of Ava, why didn’t you come and tell me instead of acting all secretive and running off to Colorado?”

“I guess I felt like it was something I had to do alone. When I went there, I didn’t even have a plan. I just wanted to talk to Cam and see Ava. But after I spent some time with her, Ava that is, I couldn’t imagine coming home without her.”

“And Cam too.”