I laughed, putting my hand on her shoulder as I led her into the house.
“Alright, dogs first. Let’s go get Auntie Britt, OK?”
Britt was standing in the entryway with a glass of wine in her hand when we got back inside.
“Mads, why don’t you go put on your sneakers, OK?”
“OK!”
She hurried up the stairs. The moment she was gone, I turned to Britt with fire in my eyes.
“What theeff?” I exclaimed. “You were supposed to come out there and give me an excuse to leave!”
“I know, I know. It’s just that when the ten minutes were up, I did head out there to talk to you. But first, I peeked out the window and saw you two and, well, you looked so freaking cute together and happily involved in a conversation! How the hell was I supposed to spoil that?”
I sighed. “That was the whole point; I didn’t want to get too wrapped up with him.”
“Well, that’s going to happen sooner or later on account of you-know-who.” She nodded toward the stairs. “Do you think he knew?”
“If he did, he wasreallygood about hiding it. But I’m fairly certain he’ll figure it out eventually.”
“Or—call me crazy—you couldtellhim.”
“I know. But right now, there are too many factors to think about. What if he gets pissed? What if he wants custody? What if…” I shook my head, leaning back against the nearby wall. “I just need time to process.”
“Yeah, I get it. And I’m not going to hound you about it. All the same, I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t tell you that the sooner he finds out, the better.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond.
“Mommy! Can you help me put on my shoes?” Maddie’s voice carried down the stairs.
Britt raised her palm. “Let me take care of this. Give yourself a second to decompress, OK?”
“Yeah, OK. Thanks.” I offered a weak smile.
“Auntie Britt’s coming, kiddo!” she called out as she went up the stairs. “Which shoes are you wearing?”
“Um, purple ones.”
“Those aresocool…” her voice trailed off and I was left alone.
Britt was right—I had to tell him.
Chapter 9
VALENTINO
Iawoke that next morning feeling strange, as if what happened the afternoon before had been a dream.
In fact, I had to step over to the window of my master bedroom and check the newly occupied house next door to be certain it was true that not only was Piper back in my life, but that she was mynew neighbor.
There she was. Piper was outside on her back patio, dressed in a sleeveless shirt and pair of shorts that showed off her long, curvy legs. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of big sunglasses, a smile on her face as she sipped her morning coffee and watched Maddie play.
It was her. The woman who’d been lingering in the back of my mind for the past five years now lived in the house next to me.
And she had a little girl.
A little girl who was four. Couple that with her dark eyes and hair and the fact that she looked just like me and it didn’t take a damn genius to figure out that she was most likely mine.
