Page 9 of Forever Flirting

He hung his head over a trashcan, knowing deep in his gut already that the boy was his… and he was being punished for what they deemed a shameful event, making an example for the other officers that might shirk their ‘duties’.

Taking several deep breaths, Alex remembered that night vividly, despite the tequila he’d drank. He had been on a mission to wipe Everly’s rejection from his mind, only to firm up her obvious opinion of him.

Yeah, he had been ‘slumming’ alright.

He had seduced the first woman who smiled at him, followed her back to her car in the parking lot… and made a complete fool of himself. The angry words that woman had shouted at him when she found out that he didn’t bother to use protection – she’d slapped him, shoved him away, and then he put his foot in his mouth.

It was downhill from there… and the shame that filled him afterwards was staggering.

No, that hadn’t been one of his finest moments at all.

He had been so upset, so embarrassed, and irate at how the entire evening had gone… one mistake after another… that he’d abandoned the woman without a second glance – and now this?

Yeah, everything in his world, his life, was a mess – and he was struggling to keep it all together. His stomach was rolling turbulently, almost as fast as his thoughts – before giving in.

Alex threw up in the trashcan, knowing that somehow, someway, the pendulum was about to swing in the other direction once more.

Now what?he thought morosely.

* * *

A month later,Alex was in Texas getting off the plane and catching a cab. He was supposed to meet his son in a neutral location so they could exchange information and he could get updates on the child, before leaving for his new assignment.

A part of him wondered if the boy would even look like him.

He didn’t have the heart to tell his grandmother… nor was he prepared for the discussion that would follow. His grandma held nothing back – and she wasn’t going to say anything that he hadn’t already thought of. He was going to break the news to his Nana – after he was certain that the child was his.

As the cab took him into town, he saw the familiar pergola and saw the plane overhead… and then he saw her.

The woman from that night.

Alex cursed softly under his breath as his stomach and intestines gave a nervous lurch. Yep, he recognized that angry glare easily. Paying the cab driver, he got out of the vehicle and started to walk towards her.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me,” Alex said quietly.

“Thank you for not being drunk, angry, or completely stupid this time around,” she muttered under her breath, and then smiled at the baby in the carrier. “I suppose you are here to see him – and not me.”

“I did come to meet him,” Alex said quietly, feeling his intestines gurgle once again, knowing he was going to end up being sick once more before the day was over. “How come you never told me you were pregnant?”

“How come you never called like you said you would?”

Alex didn’t have an answer.

“Exactly,” she said evenly, picking up the baby.

He couldn’t help but gawk at the child, looking for any indication or confirmation that it was his. The baby curled up sweetly as she kissed his cheeks, before handing him over to Alex.

“This is Caleb…” she announced in a gentle voice for the child – certainly not him. “Caleb, this is your wretched sperm-donor.”

Alex rolled his eyes in irritation – glaring at her.

“What?” the woman said angrily in a tight voice. “If you can’t bother to getmyname right – then why should I bother withyours?”

“I’m sorry, Mallory… for everything,” Alex said quietly, staring at the boy who had just opened his eyes – and his own hazel eyes stared back at him, full of wonder and curiosity. The baby in his arms had his same brown hair, including the cowlick at the temple that had plagued him as a boy and a teenager. This was definitely his son, and there was no denying it.

“I will provide for… m-my son – I just want him to know me.”

CHAPTER4

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