Anger simmered inside me. I’d tamped it down over the weeks, but now it was back full force. These were my children, and I had rights, too. Damn it, and damn her.

“Who are you?” my daughter, Hailey, demanded again and not very politely. She craned her neck way up to see me. I knelt down so I’d be at eye level.

“I’m Easton. I’m—” I glanced up at Caro, who hovered nearby. Her eyes pleaded with me, and I couldn’t bring myself to be the asshole I’d planned to be. “I’m an old friend of your mother’s.”

Hailey’s expression softened slightly, going from hostile to curious. “I’m Hailey, and this is my brother, Heath. We’re twins but we don’t look alike. Not like most twins. There were twins in my old school, and no one could tell them apart. They would pretend to be each other. Heath and I can’t do that because I’m a girl and he’s a boy, and we don’t look anything alike. Were you friends with my father too? He’s gone, you know. Mommy said he’s gone to heaven, and he won’t be back, but he’s watching over us, and we have to make him proud. Do you have a mommy and daddy? Do you have a dog? We want a dog. I want a pony too. Do you like to ice skate? Heath and I ice skate. He plays hockey. I do figure skating. I’m the best figure skater in the world.”

Holy shit. I struggled to keep up with her steady stream of words as she pounded me with a hundred questions and zero time to answer them. But damn, she was adorable, and I fell in love with her at first sight.

My baby girl.

My heart swelled, and I fought to control my emotions. How did a guy do that when he laid eyes on his children for the first time? I blinked back tears and slid my gaze to Caro. She stepped forward as soon as Hailey paused to draw a breath, put her hands on the little girl’s shoulders, and squeezed.

“Hailey, slow down. Easton is very busy and regretfully doesn’t have time to answer your questions.”

“Actually, for you, sweetheart, I have all the time in the world.” I winked at Hailey and grinned at Caro with evil pleasure, reveling in the disapproving scowl on her beautiful face.

“Well, we were just leaving, so if you don’t mind, I need to get the kids’ shoes on, or we’ll be late.” Caro attempted to move both children aside and away from me. Hell no, that wasn’t happening, and the kids weren’t budging, and neither was I.

I turned my attention to the boy, Heath.

“Hi, Heath, I’m Easton.” I held out my hand. He stared at it for a moment, seeming to struggle with what to do next. He shook my hand and gawked at me. The kid had a firm handshake.

“We aren’t going anywhere. You said so. You said we didn’t have any money and had to stay home all weekend. Mr. E, would you stay and play with us?” Hailey challenged her mother while Heath continued to gawk at me, reminding me of the starstruck kids I’d met at team events. Did he realize who I was?