Sitting back in her seat, Julie expelled a breath and said, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting you to take it this well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that you are, it’s just a bit surreal after all of this time. As far as seeing Evan, maybe you could meet us at McDonald’s. He loves the playground there and he wouldn’t question your presence as much as he would if you were to come to our house.”
“McDonald’s, huh? I’ve avoided the playground there like the plague my whole life,” Declan joked. Was he in shock? Why was he still sitting there instead of running for his life?
Julie laughed, “I don’t think it’s the dream place of any adult, but you get used to it.”
Out of nowhere, Declan found himself asking, “Do you . . . would it be a problem if I brought someone with me?” For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why he had asked that question. Who was he going to ask? There was no way he could tell Ava or Brant. They would freak out and make things worse. That only left Ella and that seemed like too much to spring on someone you had just started seeing. Hey, before we go out tonight, can we swing by McDonald’s and meet the son that I never knew I had? If she was smart, she would take her chances and jump out of the moving car rather than continue on with him. But he knew he had to tell her if he expected this thing between them to continue for any length of time.
She looked surprised, “Sure. I guess I should have asked, are you married?”
Grimacing, he shook his head, “No, I’m not. I’m seeing someone though and I would like to bring her.” Seeing the hesitation on Julie’s face, he raised a brow and added, “Relax, she’s nothing like me. She’s a nice person and likes kids.”
“Oh . . . Okay. When would you like to meet? How about this weekend?”
“Why not tonight?” he countered. He hated to admit that he was afraid to have too much time to think. After he saw the child, he would be requesting a DNA test. She seemed sincere, but life had taught him that facts in black-and-white seldom lied, but people were another matter.
“I thought you would need more time. You’re actually taking this better than I would have expected. Are you sure you aren’t in shock?”
Declan smiled his first genuine smile of the strange meeting. “More than likely I am, but I’m not much for indecision. I need to see your son and I’d prefer it be sooner rather than later.” He could tell that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with his thinly veiled demand.
“Alright, but this is how I want to do it. Evan and I will be at McDonald’s at six in the playground area. I think it would be best if you came a little after that. I’ll introduce you as friends, although he is very bright and will probably wonder why I’ve never mentioned you before. Also, if you could buy food and have it with you, I think that would look less suspicious than you dropping in without eating. I’ll also need your date’s name so that I can introduce him to you both.”
Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s Ella Webber.”
“Evan will spend a lot of his time running around and playing so don’t expect him to sit down to talk for a long period,” Julie added fondly, “Plus, conversations at McDonald’s are a little difficult sometimes depending on how many kids are there.”
Declan said, “Yeah, I can only imagine. Will half past six give you enough time to get there and settle in?”
“That’s fine. Just remember, please, that we aren’t mentioning anything about who you are other than your name.”
Standing, he said, “I’ve got it.” He waited for Julie to stand and followed her out the door. “I’ll see you later.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned back toward Danvers International and knew that the rest of his day would be a total waste. How were you supposed to go back to business as usual when something like that was dropped in your lap? On the other hand, sitting around his apartment brooding about it wouldn’t do any good either. He’d go back to the office and get lost in work for the afternoon. He also needed to tell Ella what was going on this evening. He hoped that after, she would be willing to go with him to see his son . . . f**k, that was unreal to even think. Yet this was how things went in life. You were coasting on a good wave and the next minute you were spitting out dirt.
First, he needed to make sure that Evan was actually his and he would begin that step tonight. No need to look ahead until everything was confirmed. Possibly it would be better to wait until that happened before he told Ella, but he needed her tonight. She was always the calm to his storm and never had he craved that more than right now.
Chapter Thirteen