Tomorrow he’d need to shave. His stubble was nearing the point where it could almost be called a beard. He craned his head from side to side and stretched his neck to get a look at the sides of his jaw and the skin under his chin, but no angle made him feel better about his disheveled state. It was unusual for him to neglect hisappearance.
But then again, it was also unusual for him to feel so poorly abouthimself.
Sterling ran the towel through his hair, then draped it over his shoulders. Water beaded on his skin, and he left it to gather where it would. It wouldn’t be too long before he dried. There was no point in rushing theprocess.
A small, troubled part of his mind whispered that it didn’t matter, anyway. He didn’t have anywhere to go. The club didn’t need him. Clarissa’s new bartender was top-notch, and she’d taken to the bar and the clients just as quickly as Lucian had. The security detail Sterling worked with to keep The Shepherd safe ran smoothly without his interference. Even the kitchen staff—what little of it there was—had all shown up for duty. And Stephanie, always eager to please, didn’t need help at thefrontdesk.
The only reason Sterling had to be downstairs was to meet with the patrons, but right now, the thought of small talk felt hollow. There was only one person Sterling wanted to see, and if he was interested in seeing Sterling, he already would have soughthimout.
A damp body didn’t seem like that big of an issue when Sterling had no drive to leave hispenthouse.
Nude, he exited the bathroom to head for the kitchen. The outward-facing windows were all one-way, painted over with a privacy film on the outside that prevented curious eyes from looking in. Sterling grabbed a glass from the cabinet and was on his way to find his tonic water when the click of a door settling back into place disrupted the soothing classical music he streamed through his surround soundsystem.
No one else lived in the penthouse. Until now, Sterling had beenalone.
Sterling wasn’t afraid as he set the glass down on the counter and turned to look through the glass panels dividing the kitchen from the living room. By the sounds of it, the individual had come in through the club-side entrance, and that meant that they wouldn’t be armed—security would have already shut them down if they were. If it was necessary, Sterling was confident he could manage whoeveritwas.
But as the figure rounded the corner and crossed the living room, Sterling saw that force wasn’t going to beneeded.
Adrian wasn’t here to causetrouble.
Sterling had no idea how Adrian had gotten through the locked club-side doors, but the how didn’t bother him half as much as the why. In silence, Adrian came to the open kitchen door and occupied the space, effectively blocking Sterling from leaving the room. Sterling said nothing. All he did wasobserve.
For a long while, there was silence. Adrian folded his arms loosely across his stomach and lowered his head, then sighed. It looked like he was about tobesick.
“Adrian?” Sterling took a hesitant step forward. His nudity didn’t bother him, but Adrian’s expression did. “What’swrong?”
“We need to talk.” Adrian kept his gaze lowered. The fire in his soul had extinguished, and the storm in his eyes had blown itself out. This wasn’t the young man Sterling had come to know a little more than a month ago—the Adrian who stood before him now was hollow. “Come sit in the living roomwithme.”
There was nothing else offered. Sterling searched Adrian’s face for meaning, but Adrian refused to look him in the eyes in the brief window of time before he turned and led the way to the living room. At a loss, Sterlingfollowed.
“Do you want to get dressed?” Adrian perched on the arm of the couch like he wasn’t planning on sticking around for long. “I can wait. What I have to say isn’t time sensitive. Notreally.”
“No. I’m fine.” Nervous energy prevented Sterling from sitting. He pulled the towel from his shoulders and wrapped it around his waist instead. It didn’t escape him that Adrian had vanished for the past two months, only to return now. Something had to have happened. “Can you tell me what’sgoingon?”
“Yeah. Um. That was the reason I came here… to tell you what’s going on. You need to know. It wouldn’t be right of me to keep it from you.” Adrian tightened his arms, his shoulders working back and forth in high, tensed movements that made Sterling more nervous than ever. “I’m not going to drag this out, so consider yourselfwarned.”
Sterling looked Adrian over, trying to discern what was wrong by the expression on his face. “Adrian? Whatisit?”
Adrian sighed. “…I’m pregnant, and you’re thefather.”
The world spun. For a stunned moment, Sterling stared at Adrian as comprehension began to lessen hisshock.
Pregnant?
The realization of what that meant for him—forthem—hit him in a fraction of a second, but in his head, time had lostmeaning.
He was going to be a father. Theybothwere.
Clarissa’s earlier warning roared back to the forefront of his mind, taking on new meaning that Sterling couldn’t brushaside.
You give a lot of love, Sterling, but if you don’t take any in return, you’re going to depleteyourself.
After the accident, he’d been so focused on Clarissa’s wellbeing that he’d never thought to care for his own. As a child, she’d loved him unconditionally, and her laughter and happiness had been enough to feed those starved parts of himself. But now? Clarissa was grown. The three-year-old who’d cried her eyes out when she found out that mommy wasn’t coming home had turned twenty-seven years old, and Sterling was flirting with forty. She didn’t depend on him like she used to, and his starved heart was hungrier than everbefore.
But a baby? Another life to raise? Another child who’d smile at him with everything they had, becausehewas everythingtheyhad?
He hadn’t realized how much he wanted it until Adrian blurted out hisconfession.
