“It was always a possibility that Eli wasn’t ours,” I say finally. “Richard told us that years ago. Said it was a one-night stand from college. Could be this is the guy they meant. We all took the explanation at face value. I did, anyway.”
Dean snorts, pushing off the counter. “Yeah, because we were idiots. We didn’t want to rock the boat. Easier to believe what we were told than deal with what it might really mean.”
He’s not wrong.
I’d buried that suspicion for years, shoved it so far down so I could almost pretend it wasn’t there.
But seeing her again, seeing Eli and those same hazel eyes and that stubborn tilt to his jaw brought everything roaring back to life.
And now with this ex in the picture, the whole equation’s shifted again.
I blow out a slow breath. “Seeing her again…reignited the same suspicion I had years ago. But this ex angle?” I shake my head, jaw tightening. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Dean studies me for a long moment, his eyes narrowing like he’s trying to read between the lines.
Then he huffs out a dry laugh, smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “So you’re saying you think it’s true.”
I meet his gaze evenly. “It’s possible.”
“No, genius, Iknowit’s possible. I’m asking ifyouactually think it’s true.”
I glance back toward the couch again.
Noelle’s shifted in her sleep, her hand twitching where it rests near her face.
Her long curls spill across the pillow like ink, the faint lines of exhaustion etched deep even in rest.
The sight of her kills whatever diplomacy I was clinging to.
“No,” I say finally, the word coming out rough. “I don’t.”
Dean’s eyebrows lift, but I keep going.
“I don’t believe that piece of shit has any claim to that kid. Richard never mentioned custody issues before this. I think that guy saw a way to twist the knife when Noelle broke up with him and is trying to get back at her any way he can. That’s what guys like him do.” My jaw clenches. “Regardless, Idothink she’s hiding something about Eli. And I think whatever it is scares her more than Jared claiming he’s Eli’s dad ever could.”
Dean exhales slowly. “You think she’s scared ofus?”
I hesitate. “Not scared, just…unsure. Like she doesn’t know what’ll happen if she admits it to us. I mean, can you blame her? Richard alone will castrate us.”
He looks over at her too, both of us caught for a moment in the sight of her asleep on that couch, small and stubborn and still somehow holding herself together even in rest.
“No, I don’t.” Dean says quietly. “Whatever happens after this, we’ll be there. She might not like it at first, but we aren’t going anywhere. Period.”
For once, I don’t argue.
12
NOELLE
I stir awake slowly, the world coming back in soft fragments.
My body aches in that deep, bone-heavy way that comes from emotional exhaustion more than anything physical.
Beside me, Eli’s curled close, his small frame bundled in blankets, one hand tucked beneath his chin.
His chestnut curls are a wild halo across the pillow, his lips parted just slightly as he breathes. I lie there watching him for a long moment, my chest tightening with something that feels too big to contain.
Love so fierce it borders on pain.
