“Good point. I just don’t have a lot of experience with them, that’s all.”
“You seem fine with Maddie. Better than fine, really.”
“You can thank Magic Mick for that. When you’ve got a dog as handsome as he is, you don’t need to worry about dealing with random kids you might bump into at the park. Why talk to a boring adult when there’s a cute dog to play with?”
I felt tense, needing to get away for a moment and wrap my head around everything that was going on.
“You know what? I could do with a splash more—that’s damn good wine you were nice enough to bring over.”
He glanced down at his glass, which was just about empty.
“Sure, I could do with a little more. Or I can go in and refill if you want to stay out here with Maddie.”
The idea of Valentino going into my house was too much to take.
“No, it’s fine, as long as you don’t mind keeping an eye on her for a second.”
“Not at all.”
I turned to Maddie. “Hey, Mads! I’m running in for a second; be right back.”
“OK!” she said, not even looking up.
“Something tells me I could go in for an hour and she wouldn’t even notice,” I said with a smile as I took his glass.
“I’m telling you—Magic Mick.”
The smile still on my face, I went into the house. Relief washed over me once I was away from him. The relief was replaced by fear, however, when I realized that I’d left Maddie out there withher father. Either he was the most clueless doctor in the world, or he just didn’t want to admit that she could be his. I wasn’t sure how I felt about either possibility.
I hurried into the kitchen. Britt was still there, seated at the nook with her glass of wine in one hand and phone in the other. The phone went right onto the table as soon as I entered the kitchen, and her eyes lit up with excitement as she sprang out of the nook and hurried over to me.
“What’s happening?” she asked, her voice low and hushed. “Is he still out there?”
“He is. I stupidly left him out there with Maddie.”
Britt cocked her head to the side. “Stupid? Stupid how?”
“Valentino isn’t dumb. It’s only a matter of time until he puts the timeline together; not to mention the fact that she looks just like him.” I hurriedly poured the wine into the two glasses. An idea occurred to me. “OK, can you come out in ten minutes and tell me that we’ve got dinner reservations?”
“You serious?” As if something very interesting and scandalous had occurred to her, Britt leaned in with a sly look on her face. “Why? You think that you’re going to have a hard time tearing yourself away from him?”
“Funny.” I was being glib, but there was some truth to her words. If I hadn’t forced myself to get away from him and come inside, there was a damn good chance I’d easily be able to spend the rest of the evening chatting away. “Just do it, OK?”
She gave me a finger gun and a wink. “Will do.”
With that, I hurried back outside. Valentino was still in his seat, watching Maddie and Mick play. The look on his face was strange, his brow knitted as if he were trying to figure something out.
“You alright?” I asked.
He blinked and shook his head, coming back into the moment.
“Fine. Just have the week ahead on my mind.”
Was he telling the truth? Or was he putting it all together?
“Busy stuff in the ortho world?” I asked, sitting down next to him and handing over one of the glasses.
“Always. Thankfully, all my appointments for the next few weeks are in town. The less traveling, the better.”
