I could only shrug at that. She laughed again, shaking her head. “My friends are going to lose their minds when they find out I have a brother closer to their age.” She cringed. “I’ve never mentioned you to anyone, since I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to…” Shaking her head, she smiled and shrugged. “Anyway, they think Riley is adorable, and you should see the way they drool over Da…” She stopped herself from mentioning him again and let out a soft sigh. “Sorry. It’s just…” Her eyes scanned my face. “You and Dad…the resemblance is so…surreal. It’s like you’re his clone or something.”

Anger burned my insides, and I turned away from her again. “I’m not. Trust me.” No, the only thing I was, was a mistake. That was something my parents had never let me forget. Growing up with this face had been a nightmare for me. I was fairly certain there had been several times when Dad had hit me simply because of the way I looked.

“Sorry,” Hailey murmured again, sounding genuinely remorseful. “I guess it’s harder than I thought…not talking about…him. Maybe I shouldn’t talk about me anymore. What about you? Girlfriend? Wife?” She gasped, and I peeked back at her to see her eyes shining with delight. “Oh my God, do I have a niece or nephew somewhere?”

By her expression, it was clear that I would make her day if I said yes. I actually felt my cheeks heating as the thought of Kiera having my child flooded my mind. God…I want that so much. “Um, no…no kids.” A soft smile lifted my lips as Kiera’s hazel eyes absorbed my thoughts. “But I do have a girlfriend back home. She’s…she’s everything to me.”

Hailey let out a wistful sigh, and I refocused my attention on her. She was smiling peacefully at me. “I want someone to look like that when they think about me,” she said. I smirked at her, and she laughed. “She’s a very lucky girl. Tell me all about her.”

Because I really missed Kiera, and I wanted to talk about her, I started gushing. I didn’t stop until one of the crew walked into the room and announced that we were up. “Damn…I almost forgot I was at work,” I said with a laugh. Hailey laughed with me as I stood up. “Will you still be here when I get back?” I asked, hope in my voice.