He had his first picture. From his son. Holy hell. That gave him a jolt of pride right in the centre of his chest.
Sophie was shaking her head, her ponytail swinging, eyes blazing. So utterly at odds with the woman he’d shared the night with. This was a lioness protecting her young. She was vibrant, strong and determined. This was what parenting did to you and even though he’d only known about his child for a matter of minutes he felt the stirrings of that inside him. ‘He drew me a picture?’
‘Don’t worry; I just said it was for the nice man at the clinic. I didn’t mention your real connection, just in case—’
‘In case I didn’t want to know?’ Shame flooded through him; of course he wanted to know. How could he not? How could he deny the boy this right? Deny himself the dreams he’d had growing up? He picked up the paper, which had some of the superhero stickers on it and brown and yellow crayon squiggles. His heart contracted. ‘I won’t lose it, I promise. Thank you. Please sit down; let’s talk this through.’
Her eyebrows rose. ‘No. You need time to think and I have to go; it’s bedtime and I don’t want to wear out my friend’s generosity.’
‘I imagine things have been difficult for you. To get time for yourself.’
She stiffened. ‘I manage.’
He didn’t want her to go and told himself it was because he needed to sort all this out today. ‘We could both go to your house now and talk, work out a plan.’
She took a step back, palms raised. ‘Whoa. No way. A minute ago you wanted to stay away, now you want to see him this minute. Like I said, Finn, we need baby steps and we need to draw up some rules. Have a think about it all and email your expectations through to me. I’ll do the same. Then we can talk further. Then, and only then, can you meet him for a supervised visit.’
‘Supervised visits? You’ve pulled out the big words for this.’ He knew why. He hadn’t exactly proven himself, not just once but repeatedly. He’d wavered from promising he’d be the best father in the world to shying away from the realities of his missing leg and his limitations. But proper unconditional love overrode those things.
She shrugged. ‘I don’t know you and I’m damned sure I won’t let you hurt my child. I’m just protecting us all.’
If she was intending to rile him it was working. She was clearly very protective of Lachie, and he admired that, admired how she’d brought up a good kid on her own. But her lack of faith in him stung.
‘Our child, Sophie. I’m his father; I won’t hurt him.’
She shook her head and he could tell she was not going to give in easily. ‘You provided some DNA, Finn. Let’s just see how much of a father you can be.’
* * *
‘Hi, I’m back! Thanks so much for having him for me.’ Sophie bundled through the door of her late grandmother’s house and found her friend Hannah sitting on the sofa in front of a blazing coal fire, playing with Lachie and a digital tablet. Her heart squeezed as he looked up and grinned. Her boy. Just hers for a few precious months, really, and now she was having to share him... Was she doing the right thing by letting Finn in?
She didn’t really have a choice if she was going to be able to live with herself, one way or another. Time would tell.
She let all the anger and irritation and the surprising jolt of attraction go—the guy had been through a lot and yet he was still gorgeous, still capable of being serious and yet funny. Still hot enough to make her heart race and her palms itch to touch him. He was all the things she’d promised herself not to get involved with. She needed to be just a mother now. ‘How’s my boy been?’
‘Very good—eaten all his supper and had a nice play.’ Hannah wriggled out from Lachie’s grip, planted a kiss on his head and grabbed her coat and bag. ‘Bye-bye, Lachie! Be good for Mummy.’ She leaned close to Sophie and whispered, ‘I thought I’d leave the torture device to you. I’m not brave enough to tackle that. I want him to like me.’
‘The boots and bars? Hush now. They’re for his own good.’
‘I know. I just don’t like conflict.’ Hannah wandered towards the door and waited for Sophie to join her. There was a teasing light in her eyes and Sophie’s heart fell. Because, knowing Hannah, she wouldn’t be allowed to get on with the evening without an interrogation. ‘How was the dad?’
Gorgeous. Enigmatic. Inspiring. Probably useless.
‘Shocked, but I think he’d worked it out. So I’m glad I fronted up and told him.’
‘Does he want to be involved?’
Sophie put down her bag and went to stoke the fire, absentmindedly answering her friend. ‘With Lachie?’
‘Of course with Lachie.’ Hannah glanced over to the little boy on the sofa swiping pages and telling himself the story he knew off by heart, and then back to Sophie. ‘You didn’t think I meant involved with you...’ Her eyes grew. ‘You don’t want...do you? I mean...you did like him once. Enough to sleep with him, and that’s not like you at all.’
‘Hush! No. Of course I don’t want to be involved with him.’ She didn’t. She really didn’t. ‘I can’t trust him as far as I’d throw him. My heart’s not part of the deal, nor my body. I told him Lachie needed a father; I didn’t mention anything about a family.’ Which was ironic, really, given all she’d ever wanted was a proper family of her own. But she had that now. Her and her boy.
Hannah seemed to have other ideas. ‘Still eye candy though?’
‘Outwardly, yes, gorgeous. Inwardly, a little hung up. He had an accident and I think it’s shaken him up.’ But hell, losing a limb would have an effect on...everything. ‘You know it’s not about how good-looking he is; it’s about what he can bring for Lachie. I really wish you’d never got that eye candy information out of me.’
Hannah winked. ‘What’s a best friend for?’
‘Babysitting?’
‘Any time. I love that boy. Ciao bella. Love you too.’ Then she darted out of the door, blowing a kiss. If it hadn’t been for her, Sophie would never had stayed sane over the last couple of years.
Closing the door behind her friend, she took a deep breath and tried to get rid of the strange feelings she’d had since seeing Finn. Through two and a half years of silence she’d been downright annoyed, then frustrated, then, to varying degrees, angry all over again. Eventually the simmering anger had faded into...nothing. She’d had no feelings about him at all. Until yesterday, when her ire had risen again, punctuated with the annoying fluster of being with someone who she’d been too honest with.
And then there was the giddy heartbeat and the uplift in her gut just to be around him and the little tug in her belly—stirrings of something she’d forgotten she was even capable of: attraction.
Damn him for appearing just as she was getting her life into some kind of routine after the craziness of childbirth and learning how to be a parent, especially when she’d had little blueprint for that from her own parents. She looked over at the only male she wanted in her life and her heart softened. ‘Okay, gorgeous little man, it’s time for bed. Come on, let’s get that bath run.’
After much splashing and then warm milk he was just about ready for bed. ‘Right, let’s get on and do your superhero boots.’
‘No.’ Lachie waddled to the other side of his bedroom and hid in the wardrobe. ‘No.’
‘Hey...don’t forget you’ll get the stickers. That nice man, Finn, at the clinic said you could