The Boss Project

That wouldn’t make much sense for a lot of people, but he’d clearly gotten to know Amelia pretty well. His theory wasn’t that far-fetched. Though his answer just made me angry, and I wasn’t sure why I’d asked those questions to begin with.

“Is Eloise…okay?”

Aaron’s face lit up. “She’s very okay. At the rate she’s going, she’ll be smarter than me in a few years.”

I smiled for the first time in a week. “And her hearing?”

He nodded. “She’s completely deaf. It’s common in premature babies.”

“Her legs?”

“Just a little bowlegged. Doc says she should be done with the braces in a few months. Other than that, she’s perfectly healthy. Small for her age, but that’s also another common preemie issue. She caught up a bit in her first year. But I think she’s just going to be on the low end of the height chart, like her mother.”

I blew out a deep breath. Since I hadn’t planned on talking to Aaron, there wasn’t much else I needed to say. I nodded. “Thank you.”

“I know I must have caused you a world of pain during those difficult times, and I’m very sorry for that. Not that it helps, but on the rare occasion I get out and meet a woman, I run the other way if she’s involved in any way.”

Aaron walked behind me to the door. He opened it, and I stepped into the hall and lifted my hand in a wave before heading to the elevator.

“Merrick?” he called after me.

I turned back.

“Would you like to see her? To get to know Eloise a bit?”

I wasn’t sure I could handle that, but I appreciated the offer. “Can I get back to you?”

He smiled. “Sure. You obviously know where to find me.”