Ashley’s gaze lingered with Dare’s, then she drew back and turned to Adam. “I was just telling Dare that we need to talk.”

*   *   *

Dare didn’t know what was going on, but the look in Ashley’s eyes turned his blood cold. Whatever she wanted to talk about would be game changing. He could feel it in his bones.

She walked to Adam and Adam drew her close and kissed her. Dare could tell that she wasn’t freezing up with Adam like she had with him. Fuck, so whatever was troubling her was definitely about him.

He followed the two of them into the living room. “Did you mean it about those drinks?” he asked as she sat on the couch beside Adam.

Her gaze caught on the open bottle of wine on the coffee table and she poured herself a glass. Dare and Adam already had full glasses.

“This will be fine.” She sipped hers, then set the glass on the table.

Dare sat on the chair across from them.

“Just before I came here, Helen dropped by my apartment to talk.”

Dare frowned. He didn’t know what trouble Helen had tried to stir up, but clearly it had had a profound effect on Ash.

“Well, she’s afraid to tell you this, but … she needs help.”

“She’s needed help for a long time.” He shook his head in confusion. “Why would she go to you about it?”

“To be honest, she came to me to ask me to break up with you.”

“You’re not going to listen to her, are you? You know she’ll do anything to get attention from me. She’s insecure and sees you as a threat to her relationship with me.”

“I know. And I was ready to assume anything she said was a lie, but…” She locked her gaze with his. “Dare, she’s pregnant.”

The announcement took him totally by surprise.

“How do you know she’s telling the truth?” Dare asked.

“I could feel her fear. She doesn’t think she can do this on her own and she’s afraid you won’t be there for her. Especially when she tells you that … you’re the father.”

Shock spiked through Dare, striking him speechless.

“What the fuck?” Adam’s glance bolted to Dare.

“Ash, you’ve got to know she’s lying. You can’t believe I’d do that.”

“I know. Not on purpose, but … You remember that time I left in the middle of the night? She said she heard me go and slipped into your room a little while later, after you’d fallen asleep. She said that you thought it was me coming back in and…”

Horror shot through him as he remembered waking up with a feminine body snuggled against him.

“Oh, fuck. But … how…” He raked his hand through his hair. “When I woke up…” He snarled. “God damn it.”