Page 40 of One Little Mistake

I lose track of time. I could sit like this forever, just memorizing every perfect detail of his tiny face.

I wait, hoping he’ll open his eyes, look at me, recognize me somehow—know that I’m here, that I never left, that I love him with everything I have.

But he keeps sleeping peacefully, even as Max returns, knocking quietly before stepping into the room.

He stops beside me, looking down at the two of us.

“He needs to go back now,” he says softly, almost apologetically.

“Already?” I exhale in disappointment.

“You’re recovering fast,” he says. “If all your tests come back clean, they’ll discharge you in about five days—on the condition that you take it easy, stick to a strict routine, and come in for weekly checkups. So, you’ll be together again soon.”

“You’re weird.” The words slip out before I can stop them.

“Yeah, well, it is what it is. Sorry,” he smirks.

“No, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just meant… anyone else would’ve forgotten about me by now.”

“You’re hard to forget. Your stuff’s still all over my apartment,” he says with a dry chuckle.

“Oh my God, please don’t remind me,” I groan, my cheeks burning. “I feel so embarrassed. Not only with you, but also with Vivienne, and your sister. I can’t even look them in the eye. I mean, how dumb do you have to be not to realize something was wrong?”

I turn away from him, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from crying.

“Not gonna lie and say no harm was done,” he says, sounding almost amused. “Simmons’ already blabbed to half our friends about my ‘adorable, sweet, pregnant fiancée’, and now I have to explain to everyone it was just a huge misunderstanding. Thankfully, Elena had the sense to keep her mouth shut and not tell our parents the ‘good news’.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, the full weight of everything sinking in.

I barged into his life, turned it upside down—and now I have no idea how to fix any of it.

How did this even happen?

What were the odds that I’d end up in the wrong apartment, with a sailor who just happened to have the same name as my boyfriend?

Or… was it really a coincidence? Maybe my Max meant to send me there? I don’t know what to think anymore.

“If you want,” he says, almost reading my mind, “I can track down your Max. Just give me more info on him.”

“No. I don’t want to know anything about him. It’s just the two of us now.” I clutch my baby to my chest, unwilling to let him go. But I have no choice.

Max promises they’ll bring him back to me for an hour tomorrow—and the day after that, too. Reluctantly, I hand Tim over, feeling like I’m abandoning him forever; betraying him. My mother’s heart shatters at the thought of even a short separation.

“Get well soon,” the strange man says with a nod before disappearing through the door, my son in his arms, leaving me alone once again.

CHAPTER 15

Max

I know exactly why I’m helping her. And it’s not out of some damn sense of chivalry or good upbringing. It’s because, better than anyone, I get it.

Betrayal by someone you love and trust cuts you down, no matter how strong you are. When the people you thought you could count on walk away, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, a cynic or a dreamer—the blow still hits just as hard.

That’s why I’m stepping up for her, convincing the doctor to at least let me bring Erin her baby for a few precious minutes. Even I, the cold-hearted bastard that I am, can see what it’s doing to her—being so close to her son and yet so painfully far.

If you ask me, separating a mother from her newborn is nothing short of cruelty, and it’s doing her no favors when it comes to getting better.

I try not to get too caught up in all this caring crap. Try not to think about the redhead. Or the tiny kid who snored so sweetly in his crib that even my hardened heart clenched for a second, and for the briefest moment, I pictured my own kid lying there instead.

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