“You okay?” Xander’s voice sounded as he walked into the room, and Bella’s tail began to wag as she greeted him, rubbing her body against his legs the same way she’d done to Sasha.

He glanced at the photo in her hand. “What are you doing?”

She ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I… ummm… I was just looking around.” She tipped her head to the side. “Is that, I mean, is the baby yours?”

He stared at her in shock. “No,” he said at last. “Aurora is my half sister. We found out about her this past year. The baby is hers.”

Oh, God. A sister. She felt so stupid. And relieved.

He plucked the frame out of her hand and set it back on the shelf.

She finally let herself look at him and wished she hadn’t. He’d been sexy as hell in his running gear, but now, shirtless in a pair of track pants, his body muscled and tanned, his hair damp from the shower, heat slammed into her hard.

Along with desire, memories of their time together came flooding back. The good times, not the bad ones at the end. Waking up late to see him working on his laptop, the sun streaming in from the apartment window. His big hand gripping her neck, those delicious lips on hers, and his naked body covering her, blanketing her in heat.

“Can I get you something to drink?” His gruff voice interrupted her thoughts.

She shook her head. “No, thanks.”

“Then what can I do for you, Sasha? Seriously. What do you want?”

So many things but none that made any sense, she thought. “I would love it if you could give me insight into Amanda. I read the book–”

“You did?” Surprise etched his features.

She nodded. “I read what you wrote while we were together, so yeah. I continued to read your books… after.”

After she’d lost the man she loved because she’d been unable to handle him and her career. She’d pretty much proved she couldn’t have it all. Not a career on an upward trajectory, a man who hated the spotlight and who preferred a solitary, quiet life, and professionals around her, not to mention her own mother, pushing her in a direction that hadn’t included Xander.

She forced herself to clear those thoughts, aware her cheeks were hot as she admitted she’d kept him in her life in her own way.

“Anyway, I read the book but it’s in Steele’s point of view, which means I don’t really get to know the new woman in his life. I know how she acts, that she’s strong, can handle a man who’s often in danger, but I don’t have a handle on how she feels.”

“I can understand that,” he said, the words reluctantly drawn from him. “So how can I help?”