Page 50 of The Sweetest Mistake

She was busy eating her sandwich and watching the seagulls circle overhead and hadn’t noticed that anybody was nearby until she felt something brush up against her leg. Startled, she turned to find the source and had to look down. At her feet, there was a large plastic ball and a little girl, maybe two years old, staring up at her.

“Ball,” the little girl said and pointed. Just then, a man, who Julia presumed was the girl’s father, rushed up beside her.

“Sorry about that,” he said and scooped up the girl and the ball.

“No worries,” Julia said, smiling up at him. She couldn’t help but notice how good looking he was as he stood there backlit by the sun, his light-brown hair ruffling in the breeze and a sweet smile on his face.

“Chips,” the little girl said, pointing at Julia’s Doritos bag.

“Would you like one?” Julia said, holding the bag out.

“Oh, no. That’s okay. We don’t want to interrupt your dinner,” the man said.

“It’s fine. I don’t need all these anyway,” Julia said.

He set the girl back down, and she scrambled up on the seat next to Julia and plunged her little hand into the Doritos bag.

Julia laughed to see that the girl was as big a fan of chips as she was.

Looking uncomfortable, the man took a seat on the other side of the girl since she wasn’t about to settle for just one chip.

“What’s your name?” Julia asked.

“Scott,” the man said, followed by, “Oh. You meant my daughter. This is Ava.”

What are the chances? Julia gripped the edge of the table to steady herself. “Ava. What a pretty name.”

“Thank you,” Ava said before stuffing another chip in her mouth.

Scott looked at Julia curiously, obviously having noticed her reaction.

“I know an Ava too,” Julia explained, “but she’s only five months old.”

“Your daughter?” Scott asked.

“No. My boyfriend’s daughter.” If I can still call him that.

“Ah.”

Just then, Ava scooted off the bench and started playing with her ball again.

“Stay near me this time,” Scott instructed before turning his attention back to Julia. “Thanks for the chips. I hope we didn’t disturb you too much.”

“Not at all,” she said and smiled.

“Say goodbye to the nice lady,” Scott said to Ava.

“Bye, nice lady,” Ava called, an orange outline from the Doritos lining her little pink lips.

Too choked up to speak, Julia waved, and then she watched them walk away, Scott clasping his daughter’s hand tightly while she kicked the ball in front of her.

They were nearing the parking lot when a woman approached them with her arms outstretched, and Ava ran into them.

The mother, Julia assumed, noticing the look of pure joy on the woman’s face as she hugged Ava to her chest. After she set Ava down, she reached up on her tiptoes and gave Scott a quick kiss on the lips. Julia was still watching the happy reunion when, suddenly, Ava pointed in Julia’s direction and started waving.

She hated to be caught staring, but it was too late, and then all three of them waved to her before they turned away and got into the car that the woman had driven up in.

After they left, Julia sat there for a few more minutes, her mind whirring. Was it possible for her to be that happy with Connor and his daughter? Did it really matter that Ava wasn’t hers? Having Ava didn’t mean they couldn’t have their own children someday. But would Connor want that?