To say fate works in mysterious ways is an understatement. Fate controls everything around us, the course of our lives. Everything we’ll ever do is already predetermined, along with the decisions we make along the way. Those decisions aren’t really ours at all, they are fate and fate alone, steering us where we’re meant to be.

When I stressed out about telling my parents about the baby being Leo’s and went back and forth over the decision it was pointless. The decision was already made. When we told them, they understood everything.

Or when we were supposed to leave the house at eleven fifteen this morning but didn’t leave until noon, which put us in this restaurant at the same time as Leo. This moment was already decided.

“I can see if they have a back entrance,” Parks offers, but it’s too late. Leo has his eyes on me from across the room, which is unnerving. I actually feel more unsettled than the day I caught him cheating on me. This is the exact moment I’ve been dreading since I heard the news, the girl Leo assaulted had dropped the charges, and he was free.

We thought today would be relaxing. Lunch and then a walk around the park. Work has been crazy lately; the photography business is booked out a few months, so these days where it’s just the three of us seem so far and few between.

“No, I need to do this.” It’s the truth. Something in my gut is telling me not to bail, not to run and to finally face my fears. Parks kisses me again, his soft fingers trailing up and down my arm, almost as if he’s sending a message to Leo. I close my eyes, the simple touch and attention from Parks that normally settles all my worries isn’t helping right now.

Leo’s eyes move between Parks and me, but they never stray to Chloe, who is sleeping peacefully in her car seat, beside us.

Parks tenses, his firm grip tightening around me as Leo heads toward us. “Stay calm,” I whisper under my breath.

“What’s up, guys?” Leo asks casually, but his voice is slurred from the alcohol. Clearly, he is still living life as if it’s a joke. His eyes are glazed over like he’s been on a weeklong bender as he stands across from us.

I have no clue why I was ever with him or what I saw in him. I take in a deep breath, knowing I have two options: lie or tell the truth.

A waitress comes over and hands Leo the drink he must’ve just ordered from the bar. His eyes are on her ass as she walks away without even getting so much as a thank you from him.

“So, you two are a thing now?” he asks.

“Yup,” Parks responds dryly, clearly not wanting Leo here any longer than necessary. But all at once, it hits me. We ran into him for a reason. I need to tell him about Chloe. As much as it has always scared me, something is pushing me forward.

“Can you sit?” Parks is still stone cold as I gesture for Leo to sit in the empty seat across for me.

“Sure.” He pulls the chair out and then falters. “Shit, I didn’t see you had a kid, too.” He blurts out, obviously just noticing her as he takes in a huge gulp of his stiff drink. It’s so strong I can smell it.

“We do. Her name is Chloe.” I look at her as I speak. The perfection of her plump lips and tiny nose are some of my favorite traits about her. She’s so much like me, but I can see part of Leo in her, too. And I think it’s that resemblance that’s pushing me forward, “I found out I was pregnant after you and I broke up.” Speaking the truth feels right, but I still brace myself, knowing he is a loose cannon.

“So, you we were cheating on me with him?” Leo asks, and I shake my head, wishing he’d just put two and two together. I mean, if he’d look at her for more than half a second, he’d see the resemblance.

He takes another guzzle of alcohol, the apparent need for it is clear, and then glances at Chloe when I don’t respond. She is so magnificent in the Hawaiian onesie that Parks and I got for her on our vacation. God, what I’d do to be there instead of here is unreal . . . but I can’t.

“She’s yours,” I whisper, and Parks’ hold is so tight around me that my arm burns.

“Fuck that, that baby is not mine.” Leo’s voice is an echo in the restaurant, and I’m thankful that it isn’t a quiet place we are in.

“Yes, she is biologically yours.”

He shakes his head, disgust filling his eyes. You’d think I just told him he’s dying. But that look is one I know far too well. “No, I don’t give a shit what you say—that baby is not mine. I don’t want a fuckin’ kid.” His reaction takes me by surprise. He doesn’t even consider what we are saying. After all the times I imagined how this would play out, I never thought he would just disown her.

“This is the only shot you’ll fucking get, bro” Parks snarls. His voice is more serious than I’ve ever heard him before.

“Good, then we’re all on the same page here.”

“Think about this, please?” I give him one last shot even though he doesn’t deserve it. Something inside me needs to extend this one last offer in order to be okay with things and move forward.

“Have a nice fuckin’ life,” Leo says and gets up, leaving the restaurant without so much as a backward glance. I should’ve expected him to act just like this. He’s a callous person, always has been. He never really cared about me, and it was no one’s fault but my own for staying with him as long as I did. The only good thing that ever came out of being with him was Chloe.

“Are you okay?” Parks asks me.

“Yeah. Surprisingly, I am.” Parks is Chloe’s father. He always has been and always will be. And there is not a thing that could change that. Even if Leo had wanted to be involved, nothing with Parks would have changed, and I love that. God, I love him and our life . . . immensely.

“Did you want to order?” the waitress asks us, and we both shake our heads. Parks pulls out a twenty for the drinks we ordered and hands it to her before she turns back to another waiting table.

“I wasn’t excited about this restaurant anyway,” he tells me, lifting Chloe’s car seat and taking my hand with his other one. I smirk and feel free of the weight that had been pressing on my shoulders.

Fate took me by surprise today, but I’m grateful in the end for how things played out. The last of the summer air hits us, causing Chloe to wiggle and wake up. I pull the shade down on her seat and ask Parks, “You want to head home?”

“No, let’s still go for our walk.” That actually sounds perfect, so I let him lead me across the street to his truck, where we grab the stroller, and of course his camera. Between the two of us, I think we’ve about captured every moment we could of Chloe’s two months in this world.

“Are you sure you’re okay with everything?”

“I am,” I say, giving his hand a small squeeze. “I didn’t expect Leo to jump with joy. Granted, I didn’t think he would entirely disown her, but his reaction really wasn’t a surprise. And I’m happy that he doesn’t want to be involved, aren’t you?”

“Hey, I didn’t have to kick his teeth in, and he’s out of our hair for good, so I couldn’t be happier.”

“Very true.” I giggle as we begin our trek around the lake, lifting the shade on Chloe’s seat, so I can get a better look at her. “God, she’s so beautiful.”

“Just like her mommy.” His words really do cause my heart to thud.

Chloe’s curious eyes take the world in around her, and every once in a while, the sun catches her eyes and makes her fuss. We stop at a nearby bench so we can sit. Parks removes her from the seat and rests her tenderly against his chest. She is so small in his arms, and the instant she is cuddled in close to him, she settles. He has that magic touch.

“You want a bottle?”

He shakes his head, patting her back softly as I adoringly stare at the two of them. “Nah, she just wanted her daddy.”

“She’s a daddy’s girl,” I tell him. It’s the truth.

Sitting here with the two of them in this moment is so surreal, but it’s my reality. No matter how dreamlike it seems, it’s mine. Parks is perfect in every way. My dream come true, and our daughter is the most beautiful baby in the world. Our life is perfection. When I look back on it all—it all makes sense. This is where I’m meant to be—living out my one final chance at happiness.