She took a deep, slow breath, tears in her eyes.
“I’m here to say what I should have said the other day. Gage is yours!”
Chapter 26
VALENTINO
Iwasn’t the type of man to be thunderstruck. At that moment, however, there was little else I could do.
“He’s what?” I placed my hand on the doorframe, trying to wrap my head around what was happening.
Ashley narrowed her eyes at me, as if I were doing her a great unkindness by not taking her immediately at her word.
“You heard me.” She shoved the baby out toward me. “He’s yours.”
Gage, as if realizing he was the subject of discussion, reached out his little hands toward me and let out a happy coo. As flummoxed as I was by what was happening, there was no denying that he was an adorable baby.
I suddenly realized that Piper was there, standing a bit to the side of my big front porch, her eyes narrowed, and her arms crossed. She said nothing, and I could sense she wanted to hear what I had to say about this before chiming in with what would no doubt be a strong opinion on the matter.
I shook my head. “No, there’s no way.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ashley asked, a fire in her eyes that bordered on maniacal. “You think that I'd come over here andlieto you?”
“It’s not a matter of lying. It’s a matter of... possibly being mistaken about all of this.”
I could sense by the angry flash in Ashley’s eyes that I hadn’t chosen the right words at all.
“You think I’m lying,” she said, repeating the word, this time with acid dripping from both syllables. “Even worse, you think I'm a little skank who’s sleeping with so many men that I can’t even keep them straight. Well, that’s not the case, Valentino. You were the only man I'd been with at the time, because I don’t just sleep withanyone.”
My stomach tensed. Discussing my sexual history with Ashley right in front of Piper only made the matter more unbearable. I was hard pressed to think of what could make it even worse.
Right as I had the thought, of course, I spotted Maddie and Mick and my parents returning. I’d expected them to come back a bit later; something must’ve happened to cut the trip to the dog park short.
“What’s going on here?” Mom asked as she approached the scene. “Val, who is this woman?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, attempting to come up with a simple explanation for it all. Or, at least, a way to take some of the tension away.
I didn’t get a chance. A proud smile appeared on Ashely’s face, and she turned on her heels to greet the group.
“Are you Val’s parents?” she asked sweetly.
“Yes, we are,” Dad answered. “What’s the meaning of all this?”
Ashley once more held Gage out like a trophy. “This is your grandson!”
Gage giggled again. The one small silver lining in this debacle was that Gage didn’t seem too bothered by it all. I had major doubts that he was mine, but his coolness under pressure sure seemed modeled after my own.
“Ourwhat?” Mom asked.
“He’s so cute!” Maddie said, her and Mick bounding up the steps to get a better look at him.
“Isn’t he?” Ashley asked. “And who are you?”
“Enough,” I said. “Don’t talk to her.”
Ashley turned toward me, shooting hard daggers. “Don’t tell me who I can and can’t talk to.”
Piper, who also looked quite pissed, spoke up. “No, enough is right. Mads, let’s go home. I see that Dr. V. has some personal business to get figured out. Good luck to him, I say.”
