My stomach had churned all morning.
When Jasper had suggested taking a ride to Costmart to stock up on diapers and pick out a few new outfits for our little meatball of a baby, I jumped at the opportunity.
It had never occurred to me that a mundane task like picking up necessities with the person I loved could be so cozy and fun. Arguing over the playlist on the drive and pushing the cart around the store? More enjoyable than I could have imagined. And that was before we freaked out over all the infant Halloween costumes on display.
I was giddy the whole way home. Jasper’s trunk was stuffed full. We’d even picked out a highchair, since we’d started dabbling in solid foods. It felt like a massive new mom milestone.
As we pulled into my driveway, I couldn’t help but grin at Jasper.
Dimple popping, he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
I was instantly consumed by a wave of peace. Safety and contentment had somehow become my companions, and I hadn’t really noticed until now. Was this what I had been missing my entire life? This feeling, the ease that came with knowing that I wasn’t in it alone?
He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled back before he could. We’d been snacking on kettle corn, and I was certain I had a piece stuck between my teeth. Still grinning at him, I flipped down the visor to check myself in the mirror.
As I turned toward it, a dark brown folder slid out, startling me, and landed in my lap. I picked it up to put it back but froze when the words typed on the label at the top registered.Evangelina Marino and Vincent Marino.
My stomach dropped and my vision went a little blurry, but I blinked rapidly, clearing it, and opened the folder.
Jasper tensed. “Evie, wait?—”
Ignoring him, I pulled out a stack of neatly organized papers.
The first line of the first page caused bile to rise in my throat.
Petition for a Paternity Test?
The next was labeled Sample Parenting Plan.
Then Custody Agreement Draft and Child Support Calculation Guidelines.
Despite the heat outside, the temperature in the car plummeted. The only sound was the pounding of my pulse and the rustling of the papers.
A rush of humiliation flooded me, and my eyes filled with tears. Dropping the documents, I covered my face.
How could I have been so naïve? I thought he loved me. That what we had was real. That we’d bonded and grown. That we were doing life together.
“Evie,” he rasped. “Let me explain.”
I dropped my hands and turned to him, red crowding my vision. “Was all this part of the plan?” I unbuckled my seat belt and shifted, needing to put distance between myself and this man. “Was all this”—I gestured between us—“just a legal strategy? Make me comfortable so you can catch me off guard and take my son from me?”
Without waiting for him to respond, I threw the door open and climbed out, then I unhooked Vincent’s car seat from its base with a violent jerk.
The sharp movement startled him awake, and he wailed.
Dammit. I really was a shit mom.
Jasper had already rounded the car and was standing next to me as I fumbled to put Vincent’s binkie in his mouth.
“Nothing has been filed,” he said. “Gabe and Brian drafted those for me weeks ago. I forgot they were even there.”
I shook my head. A person didn’t draw up legal paperwork to litigate the well-being of their infant casually and then forget about it.
I’d foolishly trusted him. And here he was, making choices for me, not with me.
“You know me better than that,” he pleaded. “Have I ever done anything to jeopardize Vincent’s well-being? Or yours?”
“It’s hard to say when I don’t really even know you.” My stomach churned. “You slept in my yard for months and have been sleeping in my bed for weeks, but we’re still practically strangers. This is a messy situation filled with too many unanswered questions.”
