Page 40 of Just Another Chance

I know he’s right, but things are different this time around. “We’re good together. Like matching pieces of a puzzle.”

He smirks and tosses me a sardonic look.

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand since you’ve never been in love.”

“You say it as though it’s a bad thing,” Sawyer comments. “I’ll have you know that I’m damn proud of that fact. Sometimes I think I’m the only smart one. First Nash falls head over heels for his nemesis and now you’re back with the heartbreaker. You guys are gluttons for punishment. Love is for suckers.”

“Maybe I should be talking to Nash about this,” I say.

“Fuck Nash. You talk to me.”

“Then I’m going to need you to set aside your hostility toward love.”

“Done,” Sawyer says with a wave of his beer bottle. “So, what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know if I’d say it’s a problem so much as there is a small complication.”

Sawyer arches a dark brow.

“Addie has a son,” I say.

“Really?” He taps a finger on the tabletop, eyeing me closely. “And how do you feel about that?”

I’m not sure how to answer that question yet, so I don’t. “His name is Owen and he’s almost two.”

“Where’s the father? Is he in the picture at all?”

“That’s where things get weird. She claims he’s not around, yet she won’t go into any detail. Here’s the thing that’s bothering me– Addie was never the type to sleep around. She didn’t have hook-ups or one-night stands. And, Sawyer, the kid…” My voice catches.

“What?” he presses.

“He looks like me.”

“Holy shit,” Sawyer murmurs. “You think he’s yours? Is that even possible?”

“Yeah, it is. The timing is right. So, either he’s mine or she had a rebound right after leaving here. And I just can’t see that happening.”

“She must’ve already been pregnant,” Sawyer muses and scratches his chest.

“The age and timing make sense.”

“And you don’t think she would’ve hopped into bed with someone else just to spite you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t. And, like I said, that was never her style. She’s got too much class.”

“So why the hell wouldn’t she tell you if the kid is yours?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s scared we’re going to break up again. Or that I don’t want to be a father.” I shove a hand through my hair, trying to understand her logic for keeping such an enormous, life-altering fact hidden from me. “Maybe she thinks I’ll be a bad father.”

I hate that thought, but what if it’s true?

“Please,” Sawyer scoffs. “You would be Father of the Year– despite having a terrible role model yourself.”

He has a point. If I had a child, I’d do everything in my power to give him the best life possible. “If Owen is mine, apparently Addie doesn’t think very highly of me when it comes to being a father if she won’t even tell me I am one.” And that hurts me on a visceral level.

“Maybe you should just flat-out ask her.”

“Maybe.” I sigh and take a drink of my beer. “After all we’ve been through, I can’t imagine that she’d lie to me.”

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