“Hi,” he tells my father. “I’m Wade. I’m here to pick up Ella.”

“Steve O’Halloran.”

As the two of them shake hands, I can tell Steve is impressed by Wade’s clean-cut appearance and classic good looks. They chat about the playoffs for a couple of minutes, and then Wade and I leave the suite while Steve gives me a not-so-discreet thumbs up.

The moment we get into the elevator, I roll my eyes. “He’s trying to be such a dad,” I say with a sigh.

Wade snickers. “He is a dad.”

As we ride down to the lobby, I make sure to put at least three feet between me and Wade. For some stupid reason I’m paranoid that Steve might have access to the elevator cameras, so I don’t want to do or say anything that might be construed as strange.

But once we’re in the safety of Wade’s Mercedes, the first thing I do is throw my arms around him. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

“No prob,” he answers. His grin falters slightly. “Did you talk to Val?”

I nod. “She said to call her after you drop me off later.”

His expression fills with hope. “Yeah?”

“Yep.” I reach over and pat his arm. “Don’t blow this, Carlisle. Val is good people.”

“I know.” He groans in frustration. “I mean, before you started hanging out with her, I always saw her as Jordan’s poor cousin, you know?”

My jaw falls open. “Oh my God. That’s a terrible thing to say!”

“But it’s true.” He puts the car into gear and drives away from the curb. “She wasn’t on my radar until you moved to town and hooked up with Reed. And then suddenly she’s having lunch with us, and…” He shrugs. “She’s really cool. And hot.”

“Do you seriously like her or is this just a game for you?”

“I like her,” he assures me. “For reals.”

“Good. Then I repeat, don’t blow this.”

The rest of the drive passes by quickly. I’m a bundle of excited nerves by the time Wade pulls into the Royals’ driveway. I fly out of the Mercedes before it even comes to a stop, which causes Wade to burst out laughing.

“Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chick look this eager to get laid,” he says as he joins me on the steps of the Royal castle.

“I’m eager to see my boyfriend,” I answer primly. “It has nothing to do with getting laid.”

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that.”

The front door swings open the moment we reach it, and suddenly I’m in Reed’s arms and his face is buried in my neck.

I jerk away, nervously glancing around the empty parlor. “Is Callum home?”

“He called to say he’s working late tonight,” Reed answers, tugging me back toward him.

Our mouths collide and the kiss we share is hot enough to spike the temperature in the parlor. Behind us, Wade moans unhappily.

“Guys! Stop it! I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but get a room.”

I release a burst of laughter against Reed’s lips and then turn toward Wade. “I thought you were all about PDA,” I tease.

He pouts. “Since neither of you let me play, it’s no fun.”

With his arm still around my waist, Reed reaches his free hand out to slap Wade’s palm. “Thanks for making this happen.”

“No problem. I’ll be back in a couple hours. That enough time?”

No, but it’ll have to do. “It’s perfect,” I tell him. “Now go call Val.”

With a cheery salute, Wade speeds out the door. Reed locks it before swinging me up in his arms.

“Where’re we going?” I ask, looping my own arms around his neck.

He climbs the stairs two at a time. “Figured we’d watch a movie with Easton.”

“Seriously?” My heart falls. I thought for sure we were getting together for happy times.

“Um, no,” he replies with a laugh. “I was kidding.”

When we reach the landing, he doesn’t stop at my bedroom but hauls ass all the way to his. Inside, he drops me to the floor. I wait for him to reach for me, to pull off my shirt, to take his shirt off, but nothing happens.

I look around awkwardly. “Is something wrong?”

“I wanted to talk to you about the case. And, ah, other things,” he admits. He clasps his hand around the back of his neck and gives me an unhappy look.

“No fun times?” I say in a small, disappointed voice. It’s not that I need to have sex with him, but when I’m in his arms, none of the bad things in our lives exist. It’s only us.

“Not yet.” He tries to summon up a smile, but it fades fast. I guess he knows that fake grins aren’t going to cut it with me. “Sit down?”

There aren’t too many options in Reed’s room. It’s sparse—a boat-sized bed, a dresser, and a small loveseat positioned in front of his big screen. I plant my butt on the bed, wishing I could burrow under the covers until all this blows over.

“The paternity test on Brooke’s baby came back,” he begins.

My heart stops. Oh no. The bleak look in his eyes tells me this isn’t going to be good news, and suddenly I feel sick. There’s no way the baby could have been Reed’s—

“It was Dad’s kid,” he finishes.

Both relief and shock slam into me. “What? Seriously?”

Reed nods. “I guess the vasectomy failed.”

“Is that even possible?”

“In a few cases, yeah.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Anyway, Dad took it pretty hard. I mean, he didn’t want to be with Brooke, but he would’ve been there for their kid. I think he’s grieving for the baby now that he knows it was his.”

My hand flies to cover my heart. That poor man. “I feel so bad for him.”

“Me, too. The sad thing is, it doesn’t matter who the dad is, because Brooke was still threatening me about it, and I’m still the only person with motive. And the only one they have on camera entering the penthouse that night.”

I bite my lip. “When did the paternity test results come back?”

“Yesterday.”

I scowl at him. “And you didn’t tell me until now?”

“I was waiting on Dad. He hasn’t even told East and the twins yet. I told you, he’s kind of down about it. But I had to tell you. I promised I wouldn’t keep secrets anymore, remember?”