Page 84 of The Sweetest Mistake

Harper didn’t wait for a response. She simply took Ava from Barbara and motioned to Julia, who grabbed the diaper bag and followed her down the hall to the spare bedroom.

Once they were safely behind the closed door, Julia let out a loud sigh. “Thank you,” she said.

Harper had laid Ava down and was rummaging through the diaper bag. “Barbara really knows how to put someone on the spot, huh?”

But Harper didn’t seem to be as thrown by it as Julia was. Of course, she’d known the O’Briens a lot longer than Julia had and was probably used to Barbara’s personality.

“How do you feel about having her for a mother-in-law?” Julia asked as she handed Harper a wet wipe.

Harper plugged her nose with one hand while she used the wipe with the other.

“Well…” she said, sounding funny because her nose was plugged.

Julia giggled. “Here. Let me finish,” she said, nudging Harper aside. She’d had plenty of practice with this from working at her dad’s office, and she finished changing the diaper with crisp efficiency.

Wrapping the soiled diaper in a tight ball, she tucked it inside a plastic bag, which she tied and handed to Harper.

“Oh, great. So, I’m stuck holding the sh—”

“Shhh,” Julia warned. “Don’t say that word in front of Ava.”

Harper giggled. “Right, because she’s smart enough to understand it already!”

Julia picked up Ava and gave her a hug. “There you go. All clean.”

“You’re a pro at this, Jules.”

“I love babies. You know that.”

“I know, but it’s really special how you’ve taken to Ava when she’s…”

“Not even mine. I know. It’s strange, but I’m trying not to think of it like that anymore. She’s part of Connor, and I love…oops!”

Harper’s eyes danced. “You love him! I knew it!”

“Shhhhh,” Julia implored.

“Why? Ava won’t mind if you love her daddy, will you, sweetie?” Harper said as she tugged on Ava’s bare toes.

“Don’t say a word about this, Harper. I mean it. I haven’t even told him yet.”

“I won’t. I promise,” Harper said solemnly.

“Right. Like you promised not to tell him when I went up to the lake house?”

“That was Connor’s fault. He pressured me into it. This is different.”

“You’re right, and I want to be the first one to tell him.”

“When?”

Julia shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. There’s a lot going on right now.”

“No time like the present,” Harper said.

“I seem to recall you holding out on Finn for quite some time,” Julia reminded her.

“Yes, but I’ve made up for it since then,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.