She sits back down. “This is a nightmare,” she says, rubbing her hands over her face. “What about Ethan?”

“What about him?” I ask. “I love him like he is my own, regardless of anything.” My voice goes low, and she reaches over to grab my hand.

“I know that,” she says, “but don’t you think this will confuse him?”

“I don’t think so,” Jacob finally says. “It’s not like he’s a stranger. It’s Beau.”

“This is crazy,” she says. Her phone rings, and I look up to Jacob who looks at me as we share a look.

“Who is it?” I ask, and she grabs the phone.

“It’s Chase,” she says, and my stomach burns. “He probably heard about the accident,” she says as she answers the phone. She gets up and walks out of the room to go talk to him.

“Nice,” Jacob says when he hears her voice coming from the other room.

I rub my hands over my face. “It’s like the words were coming out, and there was no way I could stop them,” I say, looking over my shoulder to make sure she can’t hear me.

“You’re right, though,” Jacob says. “This smells like your father.”

“I know,” I admit. “But would he actually hurt Ethan?” Jacob just looks at me. “It’s his flesh and blood.”

Jacob leans in a bit. “Listen, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your father is the shadiest fucking person I know.” I watch him. “He’s done shit being mayor that is unethical and morally wrong. I was just waiting for him to cross a line, but he’s smart.”

“It could be Liam,” I say. “He is dumb as fuck, but now that I found out and the secret is out of the bag …”

“I caught him,” Jacob says. “After she left your office during the party, I caught him trying to manhandle her.”

“That fucking …” I start to say, and Savannah walks back into the room. “What did Chase want?” I ask her.

“He heard about my house and about the accident, and he wanted to make sure I was okay and to offer me a place to stay.”

I scoff. “Yeah, right.” She looks at me and folds her arms over her chest. “You wouldn’t stay there with Ethan, and you know it.”

“I wouldn’t stay there because I don’t want to stay there,” she says. “And I don’t want to play games with his feelings.”

“Well, now that you’re engaged,” Jacob says, “that shouldn’t be a problem.”

She’s about to say something when the front door opens, and we all hear Ethan yell, “Mom!”

“In here!” Jacob shouts, and Ethan comes into the room with a bouquet in his hands.

“What is that?” Savannah asks as he walks over to her.