Gabe shot her a look that spoke of disappointment. She remembered how Paula had welcomed him, literally with open arms.
She dropped into a crouch. “He’s nervous,” she whispered, although she wasn’t sure if she cared if Matt heard or not. “You’re his first little boy. So maybe we can give it time. He’ll get used to you.”
Gabe sighed. “Can I go on the slide?”
“Sure.”
She watched him go and wondered if Matt cared that he’d disappointed his son. She knew Gabe had been hoping for
She moved to a table where she could keep an eye on the play area. Matt hesitated, then followed. He’d seen his kid-did he consider the meeting over?
“He’s doing really well,” she said, deciding to just start talking. “He’s been in preschool for a year now and it’s been great. He’s highly verbal and outgoing. He makes friends easily. The teachers like him.”
Matt looked at her rather than Gabe. “He must get that from you.”
“Maybe. He’s good at math, which is probably your doing.” She hesitated. “This has got to be strange for you. Seeing him like this. He’s probably not even real.”
“He’s real enough.”
So Matt wasn’t going to make it easy. “What do you want?” she asked. “Have you figured that out?”
He stared at her. “An interesting question.”
“We should probably set up some time for you two to get to know each other. You don’t have a lot of experience with children, but that’s okay. The two of you can work it out as you go.”
“You sound very sure of yourself.”
“He’s an easy kid to be with.” She smiled. “I want this to go well, Matt. You’re his father. That means so much to him.”
Jesse sounded earnest and sincere, Matt thought grimly. There was a time when he would have been young enough and stupid enough to believe her. Not anymore. She was playing him, which was fine. He was going to play her right back. He just had to decide how.
He followed her gaze and saw her watching the kid. Gabe had stopped to talk to a girl about his size. They were laughing, then the two of them went to the slide together. Jesse smiled, as if pleased by the exchange.
She didn’t look all that different, he thought. Still blond, blue-eyed and pretty. She looked like she belonged on a surfboard, or modeling as a milkmaid. When she turned and caught him watching her, she smiled again. An easy, shared smiled. As if they had something in common. As if she’d never betrayed him.
“Gabe has a way with the ladies,” she said. “I’m worried about how that will play out when he gets older, but one problem at a time, right?”
Matt nodded, not interested in Gabe, except as a means to an end.
“Why now?” he asked.
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. “Gabe’s been asking about you for a while now. I wasn’t going to lie and tell him you were dead, so I told him the truth. That you didn’t know about him.”
“But I did know. You told me.”
“You didn’t believe me.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I understand why. I mean, sure, it hurt, but given my past, I shouldn’t have been surprised, right? Telling you I loved you wouldn’t have changed anything, would it?”
She looked at him, all wide-eyed and hurt, as if remembering distressed her. Did she really think he would buy that?
“I hoped you’d think about it later and maybe wonder, but you didn’t,” she continued. “So we’re back and we’ll figure this out.” She rose. “Could you watch him while I get him a snack?”
She was gone before he could say anything, leaving him responsible for a four-year-old kid.
Matt sat in his seat, not sure what he was supposed to do. What did he know about children? He turned his attention to Gabe, but the boy hadn’t noticed his mother was gone. Instead he continued talking to the little girl. They were playing with a big truck and laughing.
A few minutes later, Jesse returned with milk, two coffees and a yogurt parfait. She handed one of the coffees to Matt. Gabe ran up and pointed at the parfait. “Is that for me?” he asked with a grin.
She ruffled his hair. “I’ll share. Oh, look. Your shoe’s untied.”
Gabe looked at Matt, then bent down and slowly, carefully, tied his shoe. Jesse watched anxiously, as if this was a big deal. Matt realized he didn’t know when kids were supposed to learn to tie their shoes. Was Gabe early, late or on time?
The kid finished and straightened. Jesse hugged him.
“Excellent job. Good for you.”
Gabe looked at Matt, who gave him a slight smile. Gabe turned away.
“He’s just learned,” Jesse said by way of explanation. “It’s tough for little kids. Their fine motor skills take a while to develop.”
“Uncle Bill helped me,” Gabe said as he took the milk.
Who the hell was Uncle Bill? Matt might not have any big interest in the kid, but he wasn’t happy about Jesse’s boyfriends hanging around him. Or was he more than a boyfriend? He dropped his gaze to her left hand.
“You married?” he asked.
Jesse choked on her coffee. “No.” She cleared her throat, then laughed. “Married. That’s a good one. I don’t have time to get to the dry cleaners, let alone date. If only.”
Was she telling the truth about dating? He would know soon enough. She’d always had guys around. She was that kind of woman. Men found her sexy and attractive. Even now, angry and looking for ways to punish her, he noticed how the light played on her skin and the easy way she smiled. If he let himself, he could remember how sexy he’d always found everything about her. Childbirth hadn’t changed her body in any way that he could tell.
Jesse without a man? Impossible to imagine. So she was lying about that, too.
An older woman in a suit walked into the play area. Matt had never seen her before, but she looked official and out of place, so he waved her over.
“Mr. Fenner?” she asked. “I’m from the lab.”
“DNA test,” Matt said when Jesse raised her eyebrows.
She blinked at him. “Oh, right. Okay. Sure. What do you need?”
“A cheek swab. It doesn’t hurt.”
Jesse looked doubtful. “Can you do me first?” she asked. “I know you don’t need it, but it would make Gabe feel better.”
“I’ll be doing it as well,” Matt told her. “Is that good enough?”
She hesitated long enough to annoy him, then nodded. She called over her son.
“This nice lady needs to do a special test on you,” she began, then held up her hands. “No needles. Look, Matt is going to show you what’s involved so you can see you don’t have to be scared.”
Gabe looked doubtful, but stayed in place. The woman put on plastic gloves, then removed a swab from sterile packaging and asked him to open his mouth. Seconds later, she was finished.
“That looks easy,” Jesse said cheerfully. “Did it hurt?”
“Not at all,” Matt told her, feeling like an idiot. It was a swab. How could it hurt?
Gabe swallowed, then opened his mouth. When the test was done, he grinned. “I was brave.”
“Yes, you were,” Jesse told him. “This is to make sure Matt’s really your daddy.”
“But you said he was.”
“I know, but this makes it official. Just to be sure.”
Gabe obviously wasn’t used to having his mother’s word questioned. Give it time, Matt thought.
The woman from the lab left.
The boy slid close to Jesse. “When he’s sure, will he like me?” he asked in a loud whisper.
Jesse shot Matt a look, then hugged Gabe. “He likes you now, honey. But the test will make everyone feel better.”
Matt had the feeling of being judged, which didn’t make sense. What had he done wrong?
Jesse picked up the kid and set him on her lap. “You’re getting big,” she said. “Some days I can actually see you growing.”
