One Baby Daddy (Dating by Numbers #3)(90)

“Come on.” I nudge his shoulder with mine. “Give it a try. You never know, your new favorite dessert might be sitting in front of you right now.”

“Pretty sure it isn’t.”

“Hayden, don’t make the pregnant woman ask you again. Pick up a piece of that brownie, dip your pinky finger in the honey mustard for your brownie chaser, and follow my lead.”

Shaking his head, he does what I say and holds the brownie bite to his mouth. Watching me first, I eat the brownie, chew, swallow, and then clean my pinky finger off, getting every last drop of honey mustard. “Mmm . . . so good. You’re turn.”

Apprehensive and possibly a little scared, he eats the brownie, eyes his fingers and then pops it in his mouth, sucking off the yellow-colored condiment.

Wincing, his throat muscles working up and down, he finishes swallowing and takes a big gulp of his water. Sticking his tongue out, he pats it with his cloth napkin and then politely sets it on his lap.

“Yup, the baby is a demon.”

“As long as we’re in agreement, I’m good with that.”

“Thank you for dinner, I had a good time.” Hayden pulls up to the curb of the apartment building and puts the car in park.

“So did I, almost felt like old times, huh?”

“After the awkward faded, yeah, it did.”

Rubbing his hands together, he turns in his seat and says, “Now to finish our dates like we used to.”

He obnoxiously puckers up and leans forward. Palming his forehead, I push him back. “As I can remember, you didn’t kiss me for a very long time. And don’t forget, this wasn’t a date.”

He laughs. “Yes, you keep reminding me of that.” Moving back to his side of the car, he says, “I forgot to ask, are you liking your new job?”

“Love it actually. When I was at the hospital, I truly wondered if I was in the right profession, but at the new office, I feel at home. The doctors and staff are amazing, Shannon has been so sweet, and I’m not draining my body like I did at the hospital. I think it’s one of the reasons I haven’t been as sick as I was at the beginning of the pregnancy.”

Growing silent, Hayden stares at his hands that rest on his lap. “You know, I never really told you how sorry I am that I wasn’t there for you, at the beginning. It kills me thinking about you being so sick and me not there to help you.”

“You didn’t know.”

“I should have checked in.”

“You did.” I touch his shoulder, wanting him to look me in the eyes. “You checked in, but I didn’t respond.” Not only that, I deleted every one of his texts, unable to face the reality that I was pregnant with a man who lived across the country.

“Why didn’t you?”

The light and breezy atmosphere between us immediately turns heavy and emotional like there is a weight above us, pulling the air from the car.

“Because I didn’t think we could honestly reach a point like this, where we could be friends, live near each other, and both be involved in the pregnancy.”

“Friends.” He breathes out the word with a heavy dose of disappointment lacing it.

Not wanting to get into that conversation right now, I reach into my purse and pull out a few pictures. “I almost forgot; I brought these for you to have.” I hand over the pictures and turn on the light that rests above the dashboard of the car.

It takes Hayden a second to realize what he’s looking at, but the moment he does, his face softens and his eyes well up with tears.

“Uh, I thought maybe you could hang one in your locker or something. I don’t know if you guys do that or not—”

Clearing his throat, Hayden says, “This is perfect.” He wipes at his cheek before I can catch a tear falling from his eye. “Tell me what I’m looking at.”

I didn’t expect this, his reaction to be so sweet, so heartfelt. It’s cutting me deep, an arrow straight to my soul with Hayden’s name attached to it.

Feeling overly emotional, I take a second to catch my breath before leaning over and describing everything in the picture. We spend the next five minutes looking through the photos, marveling at the little human inside of me.

Passing a thumb over the picture, Hayden says, “This means the world to me, Adalyn, that you would give me these pictures. Thank you.”

“Of course, it’s your baby too.”

Moving his focus to me, he tilts my chin up, our eyes connecting, fusing together. “Our baby, Adalyn. This is our baby.”

Under the dim light of the car, parked in front of my apartment building, Hayden moves in closer, his thumb and forefinger gripping the tip of my chin. I have room to move away, I have plenty of time to stop him, to tell him no, but the emotional side of me, the side that just watched a grown man cry over ultrasound pictures of his child? That side allows the softest press of Hayden’s lips against mine.

He doesn’t linger, he doesn’t part my lips with his tongue, and he doesn’t search for more. It’s a light brushing of our mouths, but it speaks a thousand unsaid words. He still has feelings for me. I know this. But there is something else . . . appreciation.

Like he’s thanking me for being the mother of our child.

Feeling weak and a bit wobbly, I pull away and tightly grip the strap to my purse, holding on to it like a lifeline.