Page 94 of The Sweetest Mistake

“I know that,” he said. “You’re the most loving person I’ve ever known.”

“You and Ava are easy to love,” she said, her eyes misting over.

“I can’t promise you that life will be perfect. But I can promise that I’ll love you, and Ava, and our own children with everything I have. Forever.”

And of that, she had no doubt.

Epilogue – Two Months Later

“We made it!” Julia said as they pulled up in front of the lake house.

“Barely!” Connor replied sarcastically, although he was smiling.

“We only had to stop a few times.”

“I would say five times is a bit excessive for a four-hour drive, wouldn’t you?”

Julia laughed. “C’mon. Let’s get Ava inside. She’ll be more comfortable here than in the car.”

Even though the drive to Petoskey had been challenging, Julia was exhilarated by the sights and sounds of summer on Walloon Lake. Over the past two months, she’d been mentioning the idea to Cam, and she remembered when Cam had finally agreed…

“But she’ll be so far away. What if something happens to her and I’m way down here?” Cam said.

They’d been at Connor’s house during one of the drop-offs when Julia had brought it up, and she’d asked Connor ahead of time not to interfere.

“I won’t let her out of our sight for a minute. I promise. We’ll be just as diligent about watching her there as we are here,” Julia said.

Cam appeared to be considering it, but Julia could tell she still wasn’t sold. And then she remembered something. Maybe it was underhanded, but she needed to use everything in her arsenal to convince Cam.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to take Ava to visit your sister in Denver this fall?”

“Well…yes…but…”

“Imagine how we’ll feel when she’s all the way across the country. At least Petoskey is only a few hours away,” Julia said.

Connor shot her an approving look before he ducked his head back down and continued playing with Ava.

“But that’s different. I’m her mother,” Cam argued. And then everyone froze except for Ava, who had just knocked over a tower of blocks and was giggling.

The adults exchanged looks and waited for someone to speak. Finally, Connor, who had abided by Julia’s wishes up until then, spoke up.

“I’m her father, and I’m going to miss Ava when she goes to Denver just as much as you’re going to miss her when we go Up North. We both have to compromise, Cam.”

That did the trick. Cam stopped arguing and agreed to let Ava go as long as they called her every day and sent pictures of Ava to assure Cam that she was fine.

“Hell, we’ll Facetime with you if that’ll make you feel better,” Connor said. And then noticing the disgruntled expressions on Julia’s and Cam’s faces, he said, “What? I thought that was a good idea.”

Julia shook her head. “It’s a fine idea. We’re upset about you swearing in front of Ava.”

“She’s right. Julia and I talked about this the other day. Ava’s starting to learn more words, and we don’t want her to pick up any of your bad ones!”

“Oh. Sorry,” Connor said.

And now here they were, loaded down with luggage for a four-day stay. It would be just the three of them on Thursday and Friday, and then Julia’s parents were joining them on Saturday and Sunday.

Since meeting Ava earlier in the summer, Julia’s parents had made a concerted effort to smooth things over with Connor just as Julia had anticipated. They’d fallen in love with Ava at first sight, and there were no further mentions of Alec.

Connor and her father might never be the best of friends, but as long as they were respectful of each other, that was all Julia could ask for. Debra, on the other hand, had become quite enamored with Connor and, of course, with Ava. She’d offered to be a backup babysitter for them any time, and between her, Barbara, Harper, and McKayla, they had a whole slew of helpers at their disposal.