“Is Jace staying over with Joss tonight?” he asked.
“No. I have to pick him up.”
He nodded. “How has his week been?”
“Good. I had a meeting with his principal at the beginning of the week. Jace has not had any more problems. In fact, he told me the teachers had noticed a change in Jace. They said he’s been much happier and interacting in class and with the other students.”
“As opposed to?”
“Being withdrawn and going out of his way to be alone.”
He winced. “That is good, but damn, I hate that he had to live like that.”
“Me too. I’m just glad he seems to be coming through it. I want him to be happy. I hate to say this, but you were right. That little boost of confidence seems to have done him a lot of good.”
“I remember being that age. It was tough. It was even tougher for me because I wasn’t this big, athletic kid. I didn’t really hit my stride until high school. By then, everyone already saw me as an easy target. It took some effort to shake that old reputation. It’s why I got in a few fights. I was too busy trying to prove I wasn’t the wimp they thought I was.”
“I hope Jace doesn’t have to do that,” I said. “I don’t think my heart could handle it.”
There was a long pause. I felt the tension ratcheting tighter around me. It was like a vise squeezing me until I could barely breathe. I silently prayed this was the moment. Everything had been going so well. I swallowed the lump in my throat and moved away from him. It was my brain trying to put distance between me and the questions he had.
“Saige, there’s been something on my mind,” he started.
“Oh?” I squeaked.
“How did Jace’s father die?”
I opened my mouth and then snapped it closed. I didn’t know what to say. I had always said an accident before when someone asked, but this was Nash. He was asking me because he was suspicious. I couldn’t lie directly to his face. The words just wouldn’t come.
“He, uh, why?” I countered.
His gaze narrowed. “Why? Because I need to know something. Don’t lie to me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said.
“Is Jace my son?”
My ears were ringing. The four little words were bouncing around inside my skull as my brain tried to figure out how to process the question. It would be easy to lie, but it would be wrong.
“Does it matter?” I asked. I sounded like a politician. I was answering every question with a question of my own in an attempt to deflect and stall.
“Yes, it matters. Is he my son?”
“Look, what we have is good and I don’t want that to change,” I started. My lips were sticking to my teeth because my mouth was suddenly as dry as the Sahara.
“Answer the fucking question,” he growled.
“I’m not looking for anything. I don’t need or want anything from you.”
“Is he my son?!”
“Yes,” I whispered. I could feel my heart being squeezed in my chest. I saw the hurt and anger on his face and knew I had forever tarnished this thing we had between us. It was over.
“What in the fuck?” he hissed. He ran both hands through his hair and then down his face. “You had my baby?”
“I did.”
“Why in the hell would you hide this from me?” he asked.
“You told me you didn’t want to have a family. I didn’t want to burden you with it. I don’t expect anything from you. This changes nothing.”
“The hell it doesn’t! It changes everything. He’s my son?” He looked anguished as he said the word.
I slowly nodded. “He is.”
“You’ve known all this time and you’ve never told me.”
“You walked out of my life,” I reminded him.
“I’ve been back in your life for two fucking months! You let me be around him and you never told me. Why? Why would you do something so fucking shitty?!”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” I snapped. “It wasn’t like I impregnated myself.”
“You could have told me!”
“When? When you were walking down the aisle to marry your wife? When you were flying around the country to build your empire? When you were buying my firm and firing my people left and right? Tell me, Nash, when would have been the best time?”
He shook his head. “Don’t put this on me. You had every opportunity. You could have fucking sued me. It isn’t like I’m that hard to find.”
“I wasn’t going to sue you. You made your opinions very clear.”
“You should have told me!”
He spun around and walked toward the door before turning back. He looked crazed. I never anticipated him having such a strong reaction. I expected some anger and maybe even surprise, but I didn’t think it would be this powerful.
“Nash, this changes nothing,” I told him. “Jace is fine. He’s taken care of. I don’t need anything from you. I don’t need you to make any changes. This is just as it always has been.”
He looked incredulous. “What makes you think you get to decide that?”
“Because I’m his mother! I’m the one who stayed up with him when he had ear infections. I’m the one who comforts him and takes care of him. I’ve done it all. I don’t need someone coming in at the finish line and playing daddy. Just keep living your life. You know you don’t want a kid. You’ve made that clear on more than one occasion. This information changes nothing about my life, Jace’s life, or your life. This is nothing for you to worry about.”
“I beg to differ.”
I held up a finger. “Nash, I’m warning you not to fuck with my child. He is mine.”
He stared at me for several seconds. “This isn’t over,” he growled and walked out of my office.
My shoulders sagged. “Holy shit,” I murmured. That was not what I was expecting. I was shaken to the core.
Chapter 69
Nash
I stared at the water sloshing against the edge of my pool. I was lost in a daze. My entire world had been turned upside down last night.
I still couldn’t believe it happened. It was crazy. Absolutely crazy. This kind of shit didn’t happen in real life. I would think it was restricted to movies. It was happening to me. I had a son. An eight-year-old son on his way to being a teenager. Eight years gone.
The doorbell rang. I knew it was Davin. He’d been trying to reach me all morning. I was avoiding him. I was trying to hide from the world. I wanted to process my thoughts without anyone yapping in my ear. He rang it again. I made no move to get out of my chair.
A moment later, my security alarm was going off. “Dammit,” I muttered.
“Hey!” I heard Davin shout.
I reached for my phone, pulled up the app for the security system, and quickly entered my passcode to shut the thing off. He stepped onto the patio. “What the hell?” he snapped. “I’ve called and I know you heard me ringing the bell.”
“I told you I wanted to be alone.”
“You didn’t sound good last night,” he said and sat down in the chair beside mine.