Page 142 of Sloane

Maddie shot him a look. “You’re a reformed manwhore—at least you better be reformed. There’s like a whole chapter in psychology textbooks dedicated to guys like you.”

He looked over at her with a grin.

“And you’re marrying me of your own free will, so what does that say about you?”

She let out a heavy sigh. “Like I said, we all have our crosses to bear.”

~~~~

About fifteen minutes into our stroll around the carnival, and I was rethinking my decision to use a cane instead of a walker.

After twenty-five minutes, between the pain in my good leg and people obviously trying not to stare but failing miserably, I was rethinking the entire idea of being there in the first place.

Then I saw Dr. Connolly pushing Millie’s stroller, and I felt my spine stiffen. That was my daughter’s stroller; he had no business pushing it. All the pain associated with walking fell by the wayside as I made my way toward them.

Ashley’s eyes grew wide when she saw me, and she gasped, “What are you doing here? Where’s your walker?”

“We came out to support the WWP. And I thought a cane would be easier to use than a walker with all these people around.”

“But we haven’t done any cane training,” she admonished.

I gave her a small smile when I confessed, “I’m learning that lesson the hard way.”

She grabbed my right arm as she looked around. “Let’s find you a bench.”

I patted her hand and kept it in the crook of my arm.

“I’m okay. Really.” I turned my body so she could see who was behind me. “You remember Craig, Maddie, and Grace.”

A bright smile lit up her face. I loved that smile. I remember when I was the recipient of it.

“Of course! How are you guys?”

She exchanged hugs with each of them, including Ryan, then said, “It’s so nice of you to come and support the Wounded Warriors.”

Maddie answered on behalf of everyone.

“We’re grateful for what the program is doing for our friend, so we wanted to be here and spend our money.”

I was happy she didn’t dime me out and tell Ashley I had insisted they come.

Dr. Connolly stood by quietly observing the exchange until Ashley put her hand on the man’s shoulder and went through introductions.

When they’d exchanged pleasantries, I pointed at the sleeping baby in the stroller and proudly proclaimed, “And that’s our daughter, Millie.”

The ladies oohed and aahed about how beautiful she was, and Maddie caressed her little fist as she said wistfully, “Craig and I are available to babysit anytime.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jeff turn to Ashley and murmur something, then she subtly nodded her head yes with a sad smile. He pulled back with a solemn look of understanding.

If I were a betting man, Millie’s paternity hadn’t been a topic of conversation until now, and I suddenly felt like a dick for forcing her hand.

What had started as a mission to stake my claim on my family fizzled fast, and I was looking for the next opportunity to make an escape.

What was the saying? The obvious answer is usually the right one?

“I think I should probably get home and put my legs up,” I said with a wince I wasn’t faking.

“We’re going to have a conversation about this tomorrow,” Ashley chided.

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