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Chapter 25

PIPER

“How’re you feeling?” Valentino regarded me with concern. John and Karen were out on the patio, having their breakfast with Maddie while Mick played in the yard.

I sighed, still wrapping my head around the morning’s events.

“Well, I had your parents burst into the bedroom while we were in there resting after a night of amazing sex. So, that got my morning off to a, ah, different kind of start.” I followed this up with a smile, letting him know I wasn’t too bothered by what had happened.

“To be fair, it was only my mom who marched in there. Dad at least had the courtesy to stay at the door.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that’s true.”

He put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Seriously though, how are you? I know we’d planned to ease into

everything. But as you can see,” he swept his hand toward the breakfast-in- progress out on the patio, “sometimes life has other ideas in store.”

“I’m OK, just recovering from the surprise of everything that just

happened. What I'm really thinking about is how damn happy I am.”

He let go of my shoulder, stepping over to the coffeemaker to refill our mugs.

“Yeah?”

I nodded, even more certain of my words. “Yeah. It’s... a little nuts how quickly this all happened. But the fact of the matter is that Maddie has two grandparents in her life now who obviously love her like crazy. Grandma Bets was only around for the first year or so of Maddie’s life. She loved her, but she didn’t really get a chance to see her start to grow up. Knowing Maddie’s got two more loving grandparents ready to dote on her and fill her life with love, how could I not be happy about that?”

Valentino smiled, leaving no doubt that he felt the same way. He set my steaming mug in front of me before sitting down.

“In addition to her not knowing they’re her grandparents, she doesn’t know I’m her dad, either.”

I traced the top of the mug with my fingertip, trying to figure out how to respond.

“We need to figure that out. I don’t like keeping this from her any more than you do.”

He nodded, wrapping his big hands around his mug and looking forward. “I like to plan things out, to sit down, put some thought into what I'm

going to do, then do it. Naturally, that’s what I'd had in mind with the Maddie situation. But we could spend all day and all week and all damn month trying to figure out the best way to handle this, how to tell her. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced we need to do it as soon as possible.”

“How soon are we talking?”

“Tonight. Today. As soon as possible.” “You’re right.”

“Don’t forget that there’s still the matter of figuring out all the details. We need to decide where Maddie’s going to be staying, on what days…”

A tinge of disappointment ran through me. “So... you’re thinking of some co-parenting type of situation?”

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it when he seemed to realize that he hadn’t thought through the matter that far.

“We need to talk about all of this. You and I, we need to sit down and figure out where to even begin.”

“And what we want.”

“Hm?” he turned toward me.

“That’s the first step, right? Right now, I don’t think we even know what it is that we, you and me, want. That’s what we need to sort out first. There’s more to this than just loving our kid and wanting her around.”

He sighed. “Once again, you’re right.”

Before the conversation had a chance to go on, the patio door opened, and Karen, John, and Maddie came back into the kitchen, Mick bringing up the rear. Valentino and I shared a look assuring me that we were thinking the same thing, that the conversation would have to be tabled for the time being.

“We’re going to the dog park!” Maddie shouted triumphantly. “Huh?” I asked.

“Now, hold on, Maddie,” John said, raising his hand. “We still need to talk about this with your mom and Dr. V.”

“OK,” she said, wasting no time turning to Mick and lavishing him with more attention.

John and Karen walked over to where we were seated, expressions of concern on their faces.

“We saw you two talking from outside,” John said. “Looked like you two were in the middle of some serious and intense conversation.”

“We were,” I replied. “Lots to talk about.”

“Oh, I'm sure,” Karen said with a nod. “And the last thing we want is to cramp your style. So, Maddie mentioned the dog park near the house, and John and I were thinking that if you two needed a little time to talk things over, we could take her there for a half-hour or so.”

“It may not be all the time in the world to talk,” John began. “But hopefully enough to clear your heads.”

It sounded perfect.

“That’d be great,” Valentino said. “That work for you, Piper?” “Yeah, it does. It’d give me a little bit of a chance to freshen up, too.” Karen clasped her hands together, a big smile on her face.

“Then it’s settled. Maddie, you ready to go?” “Yep!”

“No, you’re not,” I interjected. “You need to get up there and clean up, brush your teeth, and put on some outside clothes. No daughter of mine’s going to the dog park wearing her pajamas.”

“Aw, man!” The disappointment was intense, as if she couldn’t stomach the idea of even a second’s delay from getting to the dog park.

“Let me handle this,” Karen said. “I’ll get her dressed, if that’s alright with you.”

“I’ll be down here with Dad if you need anything,” Valentino said. “Go on, take your time.”

“Thanks, guys,” I said. “Seriously. Be good with Dr. V.’s parents, OK?” I directed toward Maddie.

“I will!”

I hurried over and gave her a hug, covering her little face with kisses before sending her off with one more “I love you.” I had left my personal effects at my place, so I rushed out of the house and walked next door. The moment I shut the door, a whirlwind of emotions ran through me. I was still overwhelmed by his parents showing up, but the excitement of knowing that Valentino and I were on the verge of finally getting this all sorted out made my heart begin to beat like a drum.

I ran upstairs, taking off my clothes and changing into something a little nicer—a floral-patterned sundress and flats, both perfect for the warm summer day outside. Once dressed, I brushed my teeth and hair, throwing on a little deodorant.

When I was ready, I stepped over to my bedroom window in time to see Maddie and Val’s parents heading down the street, Mick obediently at their side. My heart warmed, and a smile spread across my face. She had grandparents. More than that, she had aunts and uncles and cousins, all ready to love her and welcome her into their family.

On top of it all, she had a dad. Valentino might’ve still been wrapping his head around his new role as a father, but as far as I was concerned, he was kicking ass. I had no doubts that he’d become more and more of an amazing father with each passing day. All we had to do was talk this through, to figure out how this whole thing was going to look.

I hurried out of the bedroom and out of the house, a huge smile on my face as I headed back to Valentino’s.

Right as I crossed the boundary of our property lines, I spotted a brown- haired woman, looking about my age, pushing a baby stroller down the path around Valentino’s driveway. She took no notice of me, her pretty face focused straight ahead, as if she were on a mission that no one was going to dissuade her from.

I watched as she stopped in front of the big, stone steps that led up to the front doors. Once there, she reached in the carriage and took out an adorable

little baby, one that couldn’t have been older than five or six months. She went up the stairs, marching toward the front door with the baby in her arms.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Hi!”

She turned to me with big green eyes, barely giving me any notice before knocking on the door as hard as she could.

“Hey!” I said again, running up the stairs. “Can I help you?”

She looked me up and down, sizing me up right then and there with a narrowed and defiant gaze.

“I don’t know who you are but I'm here to talk to Valentino, so please leave me alone.”

“I’m Valentino’s...” I didn’t know how to finish. I wasn’t his girlfriend or fiancée. I guess I was his... baby-mama?

Her eyes flashed with anger and impatience. “You’re his what?”

I looked at the baby in her arms, a precious little thing that was, thankfully, totally oblivious to the negativity of the situation. It reached out for me with tiny hands, babbling happily to his or herself.

I didn’t have a chance to answer the question. The door opened, and Valentino stood there with a shocked expression on his face.

“Ashley.” His voice was calm and cool, careful, even. “What are you doing here?”

She took a deep, slow breath, tears in her eyes.

“I’m here to say what I should have said the other day. Gage is yours!”