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time when she walked away, he let her go, his mind in turmoil as he returned to his mother’s hospital room, trying to absorb that he had not only abandoned his new bride, but also his own daughter. It seemed impossible to believe he had behaved so terribly. Again. Could he do anything but make mistakes with Molly?
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    Molly was relieved not to see Aronne for several days, somehow able to time her visits to Sophia with his absences. She was still reeling from the knowledge he hadn’t bothered to read her letters and hadn’t known about Cara. How could he have been so immature? Did he imagine she’d been writing him heartfelt letters full of desperate love, begging him to return to her? She snorted at the thought.
     
    Her luck ran out as she and Cara returned home after an afternoon outing with Carter. He parked his sedan in her driveway, and she groaned when she saw Aronne standing on her porch.
     
    “What’s wrong?” asked Carter.
     
    “That.” She pointed to Aronne.
     
    “Is that him?” Usually mild-mannered, he sounded irked. “Is that your almost ex-husband?”
     
    “He can’t be my ex fast enough.”
     
    “Do you want me to walk you up?”
     
    Molly shook her head. “I might as well get it over with, and I think the talk will go faster if we’re alone.” She leaned forward to press a small kiss to Carter’s mouth. “Thanks for a nice day.”
     
    “You’re welcome. I had a great time at the zoo.”
     
    “So did Cara,” she said as she got out. “Poor baby is exhausted.” Molly retrieved her daughter, leaving the car seat, since it was one Carter kept in his car. She waved as he backed away, glad he had given in gracefully to her request to face Aronne alone. Not that she’d expected anything different from him. He respected her wishes and didn’t treat her like crap—more than her darling husband could say.
     
    He made no secret of his annoyance when she stepped onto the porch. “Who the hell was that?”
     
    “My boyfriend,” she said, striving for a cool tone. “Hold this.” She tried to thrust the diaper bag at him, but he snatched Cara from her before she could stop him. “Give me back my daughter.”
     
    “She’s my daughter too,” he said in a soft voice that still smoldered with antagonism.
     
    After a second, she turned to unlock the door and stepped inside the small bungalow. The air conditioner had made it pleasantly cool. She held the door until he’d crossed the threshold before closing it. “Follow me. You can put her in her room, so we can talk.”
     
    Every one of her senses tingled, and she didn’t know why, other than his presence. It definitely couldn’t be physical attraction, because that had died long ago. The last trace of any kind of warm feelings for him had disappeared the night she gave birth to Cara by herself. Well, she’d had Margot and her midwife, but not a loving partner. Accepting, finally, at that moment she would never have one in Aronne, she had forced herself to move on.
     
    She opened the nursery door and let him precede her. Proud of the décor, which she had done mostly by herself, she watched him assess it, knowing he couldn’t find it lacking. Like a hawk, she watched him carry Cara to the crib and lay her in it. She held her breath, waiting to see if the baby would stir, but she didn’t. Instead, she curled into a ball and kept sleeping.
     
    Molly clicked on the monitor and gestured for him to leave the room. Preparing for the likelihood of raised voices, she closed the door and led him into the living room. “Have a seat.” Before taking a chair herself, she turned on the portable monitor she kept on a side table. Not bothering with social niceties, like offering him a drink, she asked, “What’s on your mind?”
     
    “Cara.”
     
    So, someone had told him her name, meaning he probably knew more than that. “Why?”
     
    He looked put out. “She’s my daughter. It’s natural to