“Then I guess we’re getting rid of the condoms.”
“Yeah?” He sits upright, looking a little dazed. “You mean that?”
I nod, smiling. “I do. I want to have another baby with you, Dillon. I’m ready.”
He puts my mug down and lifts me up, swinging me around.
I’m laughing when Charlotte sticks her head in the room. “Sorry for interrupting. I did knock, but—”
“My wife was squealing so loud we didn’t hear you,” Dillon continues for her.
I swat his chest. “Put me down.”
Charlotte smiles, and her delight at my joy is obvious. She was the first to warmly congratulate us when we returned home. She adores Dillon, and he has her wrapped around his little finger.
We posted a selfie on our wedding day, confirming our marriage, wanting to break the news first. Dillien supporters went crazy, and there were the usual haters, but we ignored them.
One of the greatest gifts Dillon has given me is the ability to look at the media intrusion in a completely different light. I don’t let it stress me out the way I used to, and I sure as fuck don’t let it stop me from living my life.
“You have a visitor at the gate. She’s not on the approved list.”
I look at Dillon. “Were you expecting someone?”
He shakes his head.
“What is her name?”
“Lori Roberts.” Charlotte wets her lips. “She said she’s Saffron Roberts’ older sister.”
Bile churns in my gut. “What does she want?”
“She said she needs to speak to you urgently. She said Reeve told her to come to you if he wasn’t around.”
Dillon and I exchange looks.
“She gave the security guard this to give to you.” Charlotte holds out an envelope with my name scrawled on the front.
My pulse picks up, and my heart beats crazy fast. “That’s Reeve’s handwriting.” I take the envelope with trembling hands.
Dillon winds his arm around my back. “Open it.”
I remove the single folded page as nausea swims up my throat. My inclination is to say to hell with this. Reeve is dead, and I want nothing to do with the Roberts family, but I’m stronger than I used to be, and I don’t shy away from things as much anymore. So, I open the letter and read my dead husband’s words. Dillon reads over my shoulder.
My darling Vivien,
If you are reading this letter, it’s because something has happened to me and Lori needs your help. I know you’re confused. She will explain, and then she has a second letter for you. Lori is nothing like Saffron, and you need to hear what she has to say.
Please do this for me. You’re the only one I can count on.
All my love,
Reeve.
“Oh God.” I wobble a little as my knees buckle, but Dillon is there to keep me upright.
“You don’t have to do this,” he says.
“I do.” I look up at him. “I have a really bad feeling about this, but ignoring it won’t make it go away. I’ll just drive myself demented trying to figure out what’s going on.” I turn to Charlotte. “Please tell the guard to let her through and send Leon to the gate to collect her.”
She nods and leaves.
“What do you think this could be?” Dillon asks, steering me back to the couch.
“I’d rather not guess.”
Dillon holds me as we wait for Lori to arrive and explain what the hell is going on. I rest my head against his chest, closing my eyes and breathing deeply, reminding myself I am strong. I’m glad Easton is at school so we can talk to her without disruption.
We move to our formal living room, and she arrives a few minutes later just as Charlotte brings in a tray with refreshments.
Dillon and I stand as Lori enters the room. She is not at all what I was expecting, and she looks nothing like Saffron with her short blonde hair, almond-shaped blue eyes, and pale skin. She is dressed in a navy pants suit with a cream blouse and flat pumps. The only thing they have in common is their short stature, but Lori is a lot thinner than Saffron, and she doesn’t have her curves.
“We’re half-sisters,” she says, and I blush, feeling rude. “We had the same mom but different dads.”
Remembering my manners, I step toward her, extending my hand. “Forgive me. I’m Vivien, and this is my husband, Dillon.”
She shakes both our hands, and her palm is a little clammy. “Thank you for seeing me. I know you must be confused.”
“Please take a seat,” Dillon says, gesturing to the couch opposite us.
“Can I get you something to eat or drink?” I ask.
“Some water would be good. Thank you.”
Dillon hands her a bottle of water and a glass from the tray.
“I don’t want to take up too much of your time, and there is no easy way to launch this conversation, so I’m just going to be blunt.”
“Okay. Reeve said in his letter to trust you, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt.”
She removes a photo from her purse with shaking hands. I take a closer look at her, noticing the bruising shadows under her eyes, her cracked lips, and little beads of sweat forming on the pale skin of her brow. At this proximity, I can see her suit hangs off her frame, indicating she’s lost weight. It’s clear the woman is not well, and I wonder if that is part of the reason why she’s here.
“I need to speak to you about my son. My husband and I adopted him as a baby.” She hands the photo to me. “This is Bodhi.”
My vision swims in and out as I stare at the photo in a mix of confusion, horror, and fear.
“He looks like Easton,” Dillon says the same time I say, “He looks like Reeve.”
“What is going on?” Dillon asks, tightening his hold around my shoulders, jumping into protective mode.
“Bodhi is Reeve’s biological son. His and Saffron’s.”
49
VIVIEN
We stare at her in complete shock, and it’s a miracle I don’t puke.
“What. The. Fuck?” Dillon says after a few silent beats, and I’m glad he has found his voice because I am still in a state of utter shock and unable to form any coherent thoughts, let alone words.
“Reeve discovered Saffron was pregnant a few months before you were due to return from Ireland,” she begins explaining, looking at me.
I grip Dillon’s arm as my body begins to shake.
“Saffron set the whole thing up.”
That shakes me out of my daze. “Are you saying she got pregnant on purpose?”
She nods.
“How exactly?”
Lori takes a drink of her water. “Saffron has always been troubled, but things escalated after her father was killed in a botched robbery and our mother killed herself six months later. I had just turned eighteen, and Saffron was only fourteen. I dropped out of college and applied for guardianship because I couldn’t let her be put in foster care. I switched to the local community college, and I tried to take care of her, but she went completely off the rails. Hanging out with a rough crowd, having sex with guys much older than her, drinking and doing drugs.”