Page 19 of Hash

Emily taps my leg, forcing a pained smile. “I did say you’d have to catch me.”

“You did.” I chuckle as her man and I help her to her feet.

Once I know he has Emily, I’m shoving my way through the crowd in the direction I saw the woman who haunts my every waking moment go.

“Aisling!” I shout, sprinting after her.

She’s power walking now, but I’m faster.

Aisling looks over her shoulder, her face paler than usual, as if she’s seen a ghost.

My heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest, and my stomach drops.

It’s her.

I can’t believe it’s her.

“Hash,” she whispers in disbelief.

“Baby doll,” I whisper as I try to catch my breath, coming to a stop a few feet from her.

Her head rears back as if I slapped her, a pained expression taking its place.

“I need to go,” she rushes out, turning around to leave.

“Wait,” I plead, reaching out to grab her arm.

Aisling rips her arm out of my grasp. “Don’t touch me,” she hisses.

“Mama, mama, mama,” a baby babbles, drawing both of our attention to the stroller.

Aisling’s face softens, her eyes lighting up as she bends down to pick up the baby. “Hi, baby. Mama’s right here,” she coos.

Holy shit.

Aisling’s a mom.

The same feeling I had the night I left her is back with a vengeance.

I left her, and my woman had another man’s baby.

It should have been mine.

A choked noise comes out of my throat as I try to keep my emotions in check, drawing both of their attention to me.

Holy shit.

My eyes are staring back at me.

Bright green eyes paired with my messy sandy hair.

“Aisling…” I choke out. It’s getting hard to breathe.

“Yes, Hash,” Aisling answers my unasked question, and it feels like a stab to the gut. “He’s yours. I tried telling you, but you flat-out ignored me. I guess that’s what I should have expected from a man who told me I don’t belong in his world, huh?” My firecracker is pissed, and she has every right to be.

I fucked up.

And I don’t know if I can fix it.