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His eyes rested on the soft cushion of her mouth.
* * *
The coffee shop was still busy enough that they had to queue for their drinks, but they managed to find a table.
‘Thank you.’ He gestured towards his espresso.
His wallet had been in his hand, but she had sidestepped neatly in front of him, her soft brown eyes defying him to argue with her. Now, though, those same brown eyes were busily avoiding his, and for the first time since she’d called out his name he wondered why she had tracked him down.
He drank his coffee, relishing the heat and the way the caffeine started to block the tension in his back.
‘So, I’m all yours,’ he said quietly.
She stiffened. ‘Hardly.’
He sighed. ‘Is that what this is about? Me giving you the wrong name.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘No, of course not. I’m not—’ She stopped, frowning. ‘Actually, I wasn’t just passing, and I’m not here for myself.’ She took a breath. ‘I’m here for Sóley.’
Her face softened into a smile and he felt a sudden urge to reach out and caress the curve of her lip, to trigger such a smile for himself.
‘It’s a pretty name.’
She nodded, her smile freezing.
It was a pretty name—one he’d always liked. One you didn’t hear much outside of Iceland. Only what had it got to do with him?
Watching her fingers tremble against her cup, he felt his ribs tighten. ‘Who’s Sóley?’
She was quiet for less than a minute, only it felt much longer—long enough for his brain to click through all the possible answers to the impossible one.
He watched her posture change from defensive to resolute.
‘She’s your daughter. Our daughter.’
He stared at her in silence, but a cacophony of questions was ricocheting inside his head.
Not the how or the when or the where, but the why. Of course he’d used condoms but that first time he’d been rushing. And he’d known that. So why hadn’t he checked everything was okay? Why had he allowed the heat of their encounter to blot out common sense?
But the answers to those questions would have to wait.
‘Okay...’
Shifting in her seat, she frowned. ‘“Okay”?’ she repeated. ‘Do you understand what I just said?’
‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘You’re saying I got you pregnant.’
‘You don’t seem surprised,’ she said slowly.
He shrugged. ‘These things happen.’
To his siblings and half-siblings, even to his mother. But not to him. Never to him.
Until now.
‘And you believe me?’ She seemed confused, surprised?
Tilting his head, he held her gaze. ‘Honest answer?’
