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I jerk at the sound of his voice next to me. He came over?
“Hello, Miles,” I reply in a cool manner.
“Giselle, meet my daughter, Ashlyn. Sweetie, this is Giselle.”
Is this really happening? Is Miles truly introducing me to his daughter?
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Ashlyn.” I smile at the cute girl, even though I’m filled with disbelief. Her glossy blond hair is held back in a ponytail, and her blue eyes are filled with curiosity. There’s a lot of Miles in her features judging by the penetrating way she’s staring at me.
“Hello, Giselle,” she answers in a confident voice.
“And this is Maddie, Giselle’s niece.”
Ashlyn giggles. “You don’t have to introduce us, Dad. We know each other.”
“From school. Of course.”
“We see each other in the cafeteria all the time, and my class visits her kindergarten classroom every month,” Ashlyn explains, smiling at Maddie.
In a matter of seconds, the two girls start talking about Brearley, Maddie’s teacher, and cafeteria food while Miles and I watch them. I lift my eyes from their animated faces to find Miles staring at me intently. He wants to say something, but because of the girls, he can’t. The tension between us is sizzling like fireworks about to explode, and I look away. I didn’t expect to see him here, so my defenses are quite low, especially as I’ve discovered that I’m expecting.
“Tell you what. Why don’t we have dinner together after the show?” Miles suggests, his eyes never leaving me. My heart is slamming in a frenzy, and my head jolts in his direction as anger flows inside me at his audacity. How dare he try to prolong this unplanned meeting?
The girls whoop with delight and stare at me with expectant eyes. I grit my teeth because I know I can’t refuse them wanting to spend some more time together, though I wish I could run in the other direction and not look back.
“Please, Aunt Gigi,” Maddie implores, staring at me with puppy dog eyes.
Incapable of resisting such cuteness and not wanting to disappoint her, I agree. “Dinner sounds great.”
“Yay!” the girls exclaim and giggle.
Even though I know Miles wants to talk to me, I avoid looking in his direction. Once I tell him about the baby, I won’t be able to take it back. On the one hand, I don’t want him to feel obligated toward me, but at the same time, it would be wrong to keep this from him. But I also don’t want him to think that I intentionally got pregnant just to extract a commitment. Who knows how he’ll react?
The things he said to his friend at the reception make me question whether he’ll want my child. His sights are focused on his daughter and nothing else. If I hadn’t overheard that conversation, perhaps I would have told him already. I wish now that my colleagues hadn’t stopped me for a chat while I was a few feet from him at the bar, causing me to overhear what he said. After learning he equated what we had to a casual fling, I hastily excused myself from the group and walked away, feeling as if I’d been punched in the gut.
My head begins to ache from thinking so much. As we wait in the line together, I decide to deal with it later. It’s not something I need to do at this very moment. But hiding it for longer than a few months won’t be possible. Soon enough, a baby bump will appear, and I won’t be able to avoid him completely at the museum.
I’ll have to decide soon. For now, I’ll enjoy my time with Maddie, even though I dread having dinner with Miles and his daughter. I’d love to get to know Ashlyn, especially now that I’m carrying her half-sibling, but I don’t want to be manipulated by her dad again. Being together in a relationship that leads nowhere just because of the baby is a recipe for disaster.
I deserve to have a real family, for both mine and my child’s sake.
CHAPTER19
MILES
“All right, Gabe. We’ll see you later.” Giselle ends the call and places the phone back inside her purse. She carries on with eating her steak and avoiding looking at me as much as possible.
“Your dad said he hopes you are having a good time,” she informs her niece.
Maddie smiles. “I am.”
My gaze is intent on Giselle’s beautiful face, but she doesn’t look in my direction, even though she’s sitting directly in front of me. I ache to tap her on her freckled nose just to get her attention, but I think she might be offended by it.
I look over at Ashlyn and Maddie, who are playing a guessing game, and I smile. They’re obviously enjoying each other’s company. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Giselle and me. Although she agreed to dinner, it’s apparent that she’d rather be anywhere else. I’ve never known her to be this cold and aloof, not even the first time we met. And it worries me deeply. It seems she has disconnected completely, probably as I’ve been sitting on the fence for so long about her. She’s cordial and playful with the children, and it hurts deeply that she’s treating me like a stranger. Watching her with the girls gives me a preview of a family I could have with her.
Ashlyn suddenly stares at her, wide-eyed. “Is it true that you used to dance ballet?”
Giselle nods. “You mean you can’t tell? Don’t I look as graceful as a swan?” She flaps her hands with a twinkle in her eyes.
