Questions

Somehow, Ava was not surprised to find herself in this situation. In fact, it felt like on a subconscious level, she had been hoping that Derek would find out that he had a daughter from her this way.

He had not yet pieced the puzzle together, but was instead, smiling and looking at her uncertainly, probably wondering why she was acting strangely.

Ava willed herself to smile … do something … say something, but all she could manage was to open her mouth and close it several times like a fish out of the water, totally at a loss as to what to say.

“Well, fancy meeting you here, Ava. What are you doing here, if I may ask?” Derek asked.

“Hello,” Harper said to Derek before her mother could answer the question, choosing that moment to greet him, and he smiled warmly down at her and told her hello in return.

“Um, well … I …” Ava stammered, her face flushing. Harper came to the rescue in the next second.

“This is my mom. Mom, this is Barry’s Dad. He has many nice cars.” She introduced Derek t