“Chance?” As much time as Lilly and I have spent together, I haven’t asked a lot of questions about Chance’s birth or what he was like as a baby. The pain’s still too fresh.

She swallows hard and meets my eyes. “He was a beautiful baby. I mean, I know all mothers think that, but he really was. Calm too. I can’t tell you how many times I…”

“What?”

“Wanted to call you. You probably don’t believe me. It sounds self-serving, I know. But you were always in my thoughts. That should’ve been a clue, right?”

Guilt slams into my gut harder than a tire iron. Lilly dealt with so much fucked up stuff. Alone. Had my kid. Shouldered all this guilt.

And what was I doing?

Pouting like a little boy because she left. Fucking anyone and anything in sight to erase her from my memory.

It’s an ugly truth I’m not proud of. Something I don’t ever want to tell her.

I knew where she was. I’d tracked her ass down because the curiosity killed me. But my pride wouldn’t allow me to go to her and beg for answers.

Now, I wish I had.

If I’d known she was pregnant, the circumstances wouldn’t have mattered. Besides all I have to do is look at Chance or be in his presence to know he’s mine.

“Alex was there when he was born?”

“He was. Ted encouraged me to at least share the news with Alex and he flew out almost as soon as I told him I was pregnant and stayed with me for a while.”

“Does he know? Did you tell him about this?” I touch her arms.

“No. God, no.”

Thank fuck, because if Alex knew she’d been driven to try and take her life once before and still allowed his parents to treat her so shitty, I’d probably have to kill him too.

“Why not?”

“I was afraid he’d do something stupid.” She twists her fingers in her hair. “Or ask me why I was working late, alone with—”

“That’s bullshit. Is that the kind of asshole he is?”

Her eyes snap to mine at the venom in my voice, but men who say stupid shit like that piss me off. She opens and closes her mouth and finally shakes her head.

“You’ve met my parents. You see what they think of me. I told you how they tried to marry me off to someone twice my age. I’ll always be the one at fault in their eyes. Alex is supportive but—”

“Go on. Tell me about Chance.”

“As he got older, he looked so much like you. But I still wasn’t sure…then I was scared because I didn’t know how I’d explain what I’d done…”