She was also curious about the child’s mother. She had seen her with Claire briefly that morning, but didn’t remember anything other than thinking she was pretty. Declan had said that there was nothing sexual about their conversation and that it had centered squarely on the child, but would it remain that way? He was such an attractive man and the attraction must have been mutual since they had slept together once before. She felt her head spinning as she thought of all the different scenarios that were possible there. Her mother always said that life never gave you more than you could handle, but she had a feeling her life was about to put that saying to the test in the not so distant future. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost jumped out of her skin when Declan laid a hand on her leg.

“You were a million miles away, Ellie. I know it’s not fair of me to dump this on you so soon. Is this crossing the line? I can drop you at home if you aren’t comfortable with this.”

She laid her hand on top of his and knew that for tonight, she needed to be the stronger person in their relationship. He had asked her to be a part of one of the biggest moments in his life and she needed to stop thinking about how this would affect her and worry about how it was affecting him right now. If she freaked out over this, he wasn’t likely to include her in any other activities that included his son. Funny, it wasn’t a question to her whether this was his child, she knew deep down that this was no false alarm and Declan seemed to feel the same. “I’m good, I promise. It’s a lot to take in, but I’m here for whatever you need.” He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. She felt that tingle that she always felt when he touched her.

When they pulled into the parking lot, she wanted to laugh at the look on his face. There were kids jumping in and out of cars and minivans and they had to wait on one family of six to cross in front of their car before they could park. Smiling to herself, she had to wonder how many times he had been in a McDonald’s over the years. He didn’t strike her as a fast-food type of guy and certainly not one that catered to children.

He took her hand like a lifeline when they reached the sidewalk. “Showtime.” Somehow his statement seemed more like a question. She nodded her head in agreement and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before they walked inside. “Julie said we should get food so that it doesn’t look strange that we’re here,” he said. They both settled on a quarter pounder and fries. His pace got slower and slower as he carried their tray toward the loud play area. “That looks like total hell in there,” he muttered.

Ella had to laugh. It was adorable that he was terrified to go into a room full of kids. “You can do it; I’ve got your back. They usually don’t bite.”

“Bite? Damn, are they kids or animals?”

Shaking her head, she said, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell, but that goes the same for most people. Do you see Julie?”

Declan looked through the glass enclosure and pointed to Julie sitting in a back booth with a small, dark-haired little boy beside her. Ella almost plowed right into his back when he suddenly froze in place. He turned to her with a look of true panic on his face. “I don’t think I can do this.”

She had been impressed and surprised that he was taking something this huge so well. But here was the true evidence of what he was feeling. Looking at him now, she knew he had been operating on pure adrenaline and now he was crashing. She pulled him gently away from the windows before Julie could see them and took the tray from his hands. “Sit down here for a moment and take a deep breath.”

“Ellie, I . . .”

“I know, Declan, and it’s okay. This is big. I’m not going to pretend it isn’t. If you really don’t think you can handle it, we will walk right out that door. If we do though, you’ll be back. Maybe not tonight, but soon after. Despite how overwhelming this is, you won’t let yourself walk away from responsibility. You aren’t built that way.”

“I’ve walked away from people time and again, why would this be any different?”

Ella put her hand on his chest and looked up into his troubled eyes. “Those women knew the score. I know you never made any promises to them. This is quite possibly your son though, and that isn’t something you could live with. You won’t be able to stay away, I know you well enough to know that. Now we go in there, keep it casual, and just see how it goes. He isn’t going to know you are his father so there’s no pressure. I’ll be right beside you and we can leave anytime you need to.” She hid a smile when she saw him visibly square his shoulders. His temporary panic attack seemed to be subsiding and the self-assured man that she knew was coming back.

Giving him another encouraging smile, she watched while he picked their tray back up. Before he started forward once again, he turned to her and whispered, “Thank you, baby.”

Is it wrong to think that was one of the sexiest things he has ever said to me? He was depending on her to get through this. Plus, having a man like Declan call you baby was something that women everywhere probably fantasize about. Just that simple sentence for some reason boosted her self-confidence and he wasn’t the only one doing some shoulder squaring as they walked toward the door of the playground. The noise was deafening when they walked through the door and made a path through running and screaming kids to reach the table.

As they approached, Julie looked up with a friendly, but curious smile on her face.

“Oh, hi, you two. How great to see you. Evan, these are some friends of mine, Declan and Ella. Can you say hello to them?”

Evan looked up from his meal and gave them a shy smile. “Hello.”

Ella felt her heart stutter in her chest and then flip over. There was no doubt in her mind now that this was Declan’s child. The resemblance was uncanny right down to those beautiful eyes that she admired so much. If love at first sight was possible, she had just lost her heart to the little boy giving her his father’s smile. She shook herself out of her own daze in time to realize that Declan was standing beside her in a similar daze. She gave him a gentle nudge in the side and he lurched forward, almost upending their tray. She decided to give him a moment to recover by continuing the conversation. She couldn’t really tell Julie that she was happy to meet her since they were supposed to already know each other so she settled for giving her a warm smile before turning to Evan.

“Well hello there, Evan, it’s so nice to meet you. I see you got a Happy Meal, what kind of prize did you get?” She knew she had asked the right question when he started digging in his box enthusiastically until he came up with a car and stickers to decorate it.

“I got a race car, but mom says I have to finish my food before I can play with it.”

Declan had finally recovered enough to lower their tray to the table and step back for her to precede him into the booth.

“I bet your mom wants to make sure your tummy is full so you will have lots of energy to play with your new car. I bet Declan would love to help you when you both finish eating.”

Evan swung a hopeful look toward Declan, who nodded saying, “Sure, I’d love to, Evan. I used to collect cars like this when I was younger and still have a pretty good collection.” All three sets of eyes swung to Declan with varying degrees of surprise. He laughed saying, “Hey, it’s a guy thing, right, Evan?”

Evan beamed back at Declan and Ella could literally see the first fragile strands of a bond forming there. With care and attention, she knew it would eventually flourish if Declan treated it with care. As they continued to discuss cars, she turned her attention to Julie and saw her valiantly trying to wipe at the moisture welling in her eyes. She grabbed a napkin from their tray and quietly passed it over to her. She took it with a smile of gratitude. Since Declan occupied Evan’s attention, Ella quietly said, “You have a wonderful son. You must be so proud of him.”