Page 66 of The Sweetest Mistake

Suddenly, it struck her that her parents still hadn’t met Ava. She was going to have to fix that too. Maybe if they saw her with Connor and his daughter, her parents would start to accept that she was serious about him.

They stayed outside until the sun began to descend, and then Connor stood up and held out his hand.

“Where are we going?” she asked, searching his eyes for clues.

“Back inside. This might be the last night we have alone for a while, and I want to make the most of it.”

Smiling big, she said, “I couldn’t agree more.”

Chapter Twenty

Connor hadn’t realized how much he’d missed his daughter until he held her in his arms again. Her chubby little hands and feet flailed with glee at the sight of him, and he melted. How was it possible for such a little person to have such a big effect on him?

“I think she missed you,” Cam said from where she sat on his couch. “And I did too.”

Uh-oh. Her admission didn’t bode well for the conversation he was about to have with her.

Still holding Ava, he sat down on the chair opposite of Cam and prepared for battle. He handed Ava a teething ring and bounced her on his knee as he tried to figure out where to start. But Cam beat him to it.

“I have good news. While you were gone, an apartment opened up in the building we looked at. I’m going to move in next week.”

“That is good news.”

“And it’s only a mile from here, so you can visit me and Ava anytime.”

“I don’t just want to visit her, Cam. I want Ava to stay with me some of the time too.”

“Of course,” she said, waving her hand around like it was a given. “Will you help me move in when it’s time? The unit is on the third floor, so I’ll need help carrying things up the stairs.”

“Sure. My brothers can help too if we need the extra muscle.”

“Your muscles are more than enough,” she said flirtatiously.

Okay, maybe Julia was right. Maybe Cam did want him back. Just then, Ava dropped her teething ring, and a plop of drool landed on his jeans.

“Is she okay? Why is she so wet?” he asked.

Cam laughed. “Yes, she’s fine. All babies drool, especially when they’re cutting teeth.”

“Sounds painful.”

“It makes her fussy at times, but if she has something to chew on, she’s usually okay.”

Handing the teething ring back to Ava, he tried to remember where they’d left off. Who knew babies could be so distracting?

“Where were we?”

“We were talking about your muscles,” Cam said with a wink. And then she purposefully crossed her legs, giving Connor a view up her skirt.

Averting his eyes, he said, “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” she asked.

“Don’t flirt with me. It won’t work.”

“It used to.”

“That was a long time ago.”