Page 92 of The Sweetest Mistake

“Yeah. That’ll be good,” he said.

Between the heat and carrying Ava, she figured he must be sweating. At least there was a breeze coming off the water, and she sat down beside him, facing the lake.

Pulling a teething ring out of the pocket of his cargo shorts, Connor handed it to Ava, who immediately plunked it into her mouth.

Then, inhaling deeply, he angled his body to face Julia, and his eyes locked onto hers. There was that intensity she’d been noticing lately, almost like he wanted to tell her something but didn’t know how.

“What is it?’ she said softly.

“I…I…shit!”

Eyes wide, she tried not to laugh. “Connor?”

“Sorry. I suck at this.”

“This what?” Placing her hand on his forearm, she gave it a squeeze. “Just tell me.” If things hadn’t been going so well between them lately, she might have been nervous. But as it was, she just wanted him to be open with her. Their relationship had changed over the past several weeks, and she felt them getting closer and closer. She didn’t want him to clam up on her now.

“Please,” she added.

And then Ava dropped her teething ring on the ground, right in a patch of dirt at their feet.

“Don’t swear!” Julia said when she saw Connor’s mouth open. “I’ll take care of it.” Removing the small backpack she’d worn, she pulled out a pack of wet wipes and thoroughly cleaned off the toy before handing it back to Ava.

“You were saying?” Julia said without missing a beat.

Shaking his head and smiling, he said, “You’re incredible. You know that?”

“All I did was clean it off,” Julia replied, confused.

“No. It’s not that. It’s everything. You’re just…incredible.”

Is that what he’s been trying to tell me for the past few weeks?

“Thank you?”

Connor tipped his head back and laughed, the rich sound filling the space around them. Then, taking one of her hands in one of his, he said, “You don’t even know it, do you? How wonderful you are?”

From the way he was gazing at her, his eyes sparkling, his face lit up with a broad smile, she was finally starting to understand how much he appreciated her and maybe how much…

“I love you, Julia.”

Whoa! Good thing they were sitting down, because she suddenly felt dizzy, and she gripped the edge of the picnic table for support.

“I’ve been trying to tell you for weeks, but I couldn’t get it out. But I do. I love you.” And then, before she had a chance to reply, he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips.

Ava chose that exact moment to show off her vocal abilities. “Wawawawawawa,” she said, flapping her hands up and down excitedly.

Connor and Julia pulled apart to look in the same direction she was, and there, floating leisurely on the lake, were a pair of ducks, a mallard and his mate, not far from shore.

“Wawawawawa,” Ava repeated.

“Maybe she’s trying to say water,” Julia said.

“She is pretty smart,” Connor said proudly.

They watched the ducks for a minute before they swam away, and then Julia plunged the teething ring back in Ava’s mouth.

“See. This is exactly what’s been happening lately. You don’t know how many times I started to tell you I love you and we’ve been interrupted.”