The strange thing was that a couple of weeks ago he would have high-tailed it out the door. Being faced with a situation like this was so uncomfortable for him that he would have taken this opportunity to relinquish all responsibility. But he was committed to not being that person anymore, and shirking responsibility was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

He listened to the woman and Maddy. Honestly, it sounded like Maddy was talking with her.

“That’s right.” The woman said in a high voice. “I’ll take care of my girl, won’t I?”

Steaming, he took off toward the bathroom. Who did she think she was? Roman had asked him to help, and if he had to take care of Maddy to make everything up to Roman, then that’s exactly what he would do.

This stranger didn’t get to take redemption away from him.

Stalking toward the bathroom, he wasn’t sure what he would do, but he knew standing there in the middle of the dirty living room wasn’t doing him any good at all. The scene he found next would be burned into his mind forever.

The woman had taken off her shoes, and she was sitting on the side of the tub, her feet submerged, and her pants rolled up to her knees. The smile on Maddy’s face right now was the biggest he’d seen so far. Pure joy was the only way to describe it.

At that moment, Sam had what he could only call some type of deja vu. For a few seconds all he could do was.... stare at them.

He didn’t know how. He didn’t know why. All he knew was that this woman, with wet feet and a ridiculous expression on her face, had put him under some kind of spell.

She flung her head to him, her face going from surprised to annoyed. “What?” She cocked an eyebrow, keeping her hands under Maddy’s shoulders. “Haven’t you ever seen a woman in a bathtub before?”

“I…” His voice faltered and he searched for some witty words but couldn’t find any. “Look, first of all, I came to apologize and, second of all, Roman asked me to take care of her.” He pointed at Maddy.

At this, she let out a light laugh. “Right, whatever. First of all, I don’t care about your personal crap. And second, he called me right after he left and asked me to come. I told him I would handle it, because you obviously…can’t.”

It was as if this woman had looked into his soul and seen all the insecurity he’d felt the past year. Clenching his hands into fists of frustration, he let out a breath. He wouldn’t go. “Roman asked you to come, but I was here first.” He said like a six year old claiming a prize under the legalities of ‘firsties.’

Unexpectedly, her eyes went to his chest. She reared back, as if she’d only just noticed he didn’t have a shirt on. “What? No.” She shook her head like she was trying to clear it. “And why don’t you have your shirt on?”

He snorted, gesturing back to her. “Why don’t you have your shoes on?” He knew it was an absurd response, but he couldn’t stop himself.

She glared at him. “Not the same thing.”

“We both have parts of our bodies exposed. It’s the exact same thing,” he insisted, half-amused she’d reacted to his shirtless chest in such an accusatory way.

Hesitating for a second, she turned back to Maddy, picking up a cup and pouring the water gently over Maddy’s head. “Just go away,” she said in the singsong voice. “We don’t need you here.”

Maddy seemed to hold her breath for a minute and then burst into a smile at the water being dumped on her head.

Unexpectedly, her reaction made Sam smile.

But the woman turned back to him, determination in her eyes. “Listen, Sam Dumont,” she said, looking like his last name left a bad taste in her mouth, “I get that you came to atone for your sins or something like that, but you’re going to have to do your thing another time. Cheaters aren’t wanted,” she pronounced the last word sharply.

If she thought flinging that accusation at him would make him leave, she was wrong. He’d heard a lot worse in the press and from himself over the course of the past year. He watched as she rubbed soap on Maddy’s head and then rinsed it off, gently cleaning her whole body. Losing all patience, he took the pink towel off a matching pink hook and quickly plucked Maddy out of the water. He tucked her into the crook of his arm like a game changing ball and rushed out of the bathroom. “I got this.”

Maddy started hysterically shrieking again.

He slipped on the water dripping off the baby and stumbled, but didn’t fall, down the hallway looking for her room.

“Are you kidding me?” the woman yelled behind him. “Give me the baby!”

“No.” This whole thing was unreasonable. He knew that. He just couldn’t seem to stop himself. He found a pink princess room and assumed it was hers. Gently, he laid her on the bed.

Maddy saw the woman walk in and stopped crying. “Gaa.” She reached for her.

The woman rushed past him, going to a dresser and pulling out pajamas.

He stayed next to Maddy, propping her up into a sitting position.

Maddy looked at his face and burst into tears.

The woman reached for the little girl.

But he picked Maddy up, cuddling her to him and moved her out of reach.

Every part of the woman looked tense. “I swear I will call the cops if you don’t give her to me.”

He bobbed the screaming Maddy up and down, patting her back. He would give her to the woman, but he had some demands first. “Only if you quit telling me to leave.”

Maddy was actually calming down, touching the sides of his cheek and smiling through her tear-stained face.

He grinned at her. “That’s a girl. You like Uncle Sam, don’t you?” The same kind of singsong voice that the woman had used now came out of his mouth. He didn’t understand it, but it worked, calming Maddy down.

“Please.” The woman reached for her, and Sam glanced at her, seeing tears in the woman’s eyes. “I’ll quit telling you to leave, but please, give her to me.”

Not understanding why he was acting this way, he reluctantly handed Maddy over. To which Maddy promptly let out a long, happy ‘goo.’

The woman pulled Maddy against her chest and both of them seemed so content in each other’s arms. He couldn’t remember ever feeling that kind of contentment.

Her moisture-filled blue eyes turned to him. “Since you’re staying, why don’t you make yourself useful and clean up the house?”

4

After an hour of sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming, with Maddy sitting in her swing watching the woman do the massive amount of dishes, Sam was doubting his decision to stay and play maid. But he reminded himself he would do anything for Roman. He owed him. “So,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Have you heard from Roman?”

“No.” Her answer was short, and she didn’t look up at him.

Reluctantly, he had to admit to himself that he’d had to make a forced effort not to stare at her. She was beautiful. She didn’t have a speck of make up on, but everything about her radiated a sort of glow. Her golden hair and yoga body didn’t hurt either. “I haven’t either.”

Her eyes flashed up, and she scoffed, “Of course you haven’t. You think he would text you before me? I’m a family friend. You’re…well, why don’t you tell me what you were doing here anyway?”

Not liking her tone, he continued to make little piles of dirt and different types of cereal and crackers at various places around the kitchen. “Apparently you have everything figured out, remember?”

“So you came to apologize.”

He stopped sweeping and met her eyes. “Is that so hard to believe?”

She grunted. “Yeah, it actually is.”

“Why?”

Bending down, she put some dishes away in various cupboards. “Because past behavior predicts future behavior,” she said in an annoyingly know-it-all tone.