I texted Carla and Piers with the news about Ruiz, and my phone has been pinging ever since. Carla’s already projecting what it will take to make Georgia our base for the foreseeable future. In addition to celebrating, Piers wants to discuss new findings about the author of the biography. I tell him to get me a number so I can confront this person myself. Even if the charm does raise the possibility of my father’s infidelity, I don’t want a sensationalized book and the inevitable media circus that will come with it—the reexamination of all the good my father did through the lens of one mistake. If I can protect my mother and my family’s legacy from that scandal, I will.

We pull into Ezra’s driveway, and I’m on the phone with Carla when he lets us into the house.

“My clothes are still in the master,” he whispers.

I nod, half-listening to Carla, and follow him up the stairs.

“Yeah, I need that info,” I tell her, sitting down on the bed and glancing around the room again. The photos of him, Aiko and Noah prick the smallest drop of jealous blood in my heart. He has a past. He has a family. I already love Noah and can see how being his father helped shape Ezra into the man he is today. Aiko? I hope she and I can be friends and things can be amicable in the transition ahead.

I’m momentarily distracted by Ezra’s chest, abs, and ass as he changes clothes. His muscles contract and flex with the simple movements. He’s so big now. I never would have forecast that Ezra would be as physically imposing as his father, but he is. And he’s oblivious to how horny it makes me—not that it takes much where he’s concerned.

“Did you hear me, Kimba?” Carla asks.

“Huh?” I sit on the edge of Ezra’s bed, devouring every inch of sleek, naked skin before he covers it up. “What was that, Carla?”

“I said when will you come back to the city?”

“Soon.” I know I’ll have to at least once before we set up shop here, but I’m reluctant to leave Atlanta.

For years I only came home for rare visits and holidays, but this trip has reminded me of all the things I love about the city and given me new things to embrace. I’m glad to make Georgia my base for a while. For the first time in years, I want to be close to home.