Aspyn sat across the table and folded her hands in front of her. She took a deep breath. She looked like she was going to say something, but then stopped and glanced at the bag.
“What’s with the bag?”
I pushed it toward her. “A muffin, an apple, and some coffee. I wasn’t sure if we’d be going somewhere.”
Aspyn opened the bag. A soft smile appeared on her face. “That’s thoughtful.” She chuckled. “You know, I hadn’t even thought about that. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her smile filled me true warmth, and not just the lust that my lower half kept obsessing over.
Then her smile slid away, and my stomach tightened. Maybe she’d called me over to let me have it again.
I didn’t care. Every time I saw her again or spoke to her, I remembered not just three years ago, but all those years of longing, wanting.
Friendship wasn’t enough. I craved more. And I was about to find out if that was even a possibility.
“There’s something you need to know,” Aspyn said, her expression serious.
“I’m listening,” I said.
“I called you, you know. Over and over.” She shook her head. “And texted, over and over.”
I furrowed my brow. There was no way she could have forgotten the conversation we’d had the day before.
“Yeah, you told me this already. We already wen—”
I held up my hand to cut him off. “You don’t understand. I stopped calling, and then I started calling again.”
“Okay, I understand that, but I told you why I didn’t call back.”
“The second time I was calling to tell you I was pregnant.” She locked eyes with me. “And you were the only one I’d been with. Kadie is your daughter.”
My heart thundered. I stared back, not sure how to feel. I’d suspected this for days. It explained the way she’d been acting and the way Carl had been behaving. Hearing it was different than guessing.
I was a father. I had a daughter. Excitement and fear both filled me.
“Kadie is a little over 2 now,” Aspyn said softly. “She’s a sweet little girl.”
“Does she know about me? At all?”
She shook her head slowly. “No.”
“And she never asked?”
Aspyn shrugged. “She’s 2, Alex. She still believes in fairies, dragons, mermaids, and Santa. It hasn’t occurred to her to ask where she came from.”
I closed my ears for a moment and took a few deep breaths. I guess I should have better prepared for this moment.
“I get why you were mad before,” I said, “but why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought you’d ignored me both before and after. I thought you didn’t care about me, and I didn’t want a selfish man to be involved with my daughter.”
“Our daughter,” I corrected.
“Our daughter,” Aspyn repeated.
“I don’t have much to say. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I thought you were a selfish guy who only wanted a one-night stand.”