“Yeah, I know all this.” Ada—and the numerous foster families they’d lived with after Dad’s death—had implied the same thing. They’d all shown her and Tom a different way of life, but old habits and insecurities lingered. Tom, with Emma’s help, had shed most of his hang-ups, but Helen still had some shedding of her own to do—as was evident when she’d thought breaking into Jaxon’s flat would be a good idea. “But if you think I’m more like Dad than I like to admit, I’m not.”
“Then promise me you’ll tell the police if Jaxon gets in touch.”
A sharp cough-cry came from the sling as baby Lucy chose that moment to wake up. Grateful for the distraction, Helen cooed at her tiny niece and took her for a cuddle while Tom wrangled with the sling.
“Where are Emma and Harry?” With so much on her mind, Helen hadn’t thought to ask earlier when she’d seen Tom had come without them.
“They went inside to use the toilet.”
“Oh, no! That’s all I need. Sebastian’s sleeping on the sofa!”
Tom chuckled. “Not for much longer.”
Seb’s head was stapled to the lumpy pillow, his neck and shoulders too. He stretched, his legs stiff and aching as if he’d been folding them all night. Shifting, his fingers touched hard and rough instead of soft and smooth.
Not his bed.
Not his hotel room.
He pushed himself up. The pressure relieved and the pain eased from his head. He rubbed his eyes, opened them and—
Okay.
There was a child. Staring at him.
A blond, curly-haired, blue-eyed child.
Blond, curly and blue-eyed like …Helen.
Very, very slowly, Seb sat up. “Hey, buddy. Where’s your mommy?”
Because when I get hold of her, I’m gonna sue her sorry ass!
How could she not tell him she had a child? Was this kid part of thecommitments and stuffshe’d mentioned yesterday?
“Mummy having wee-wee,” the kid said.
“That’s … nice.”
“And Looshe in garden.”
“Who’sLooshe?”
“My sister.”
Whoa!Seb jerked up. “You gotta sister too, huh?”
The boy nodded.
Two children?Helen hadtwochildren! No wonder she’d said commitments, plural. Seb shot off the sofa, realizing too late he wore only boxers. What the hell happened to his clothes?Damn. He must’ve undressed in his sleep. Scanning the area around him, he located his pants in a heap on the floor.
“What about your daddy?” Seb pushed his legs into last night’s black trousers, betting his ass this kid would speak more truth than hismommyever would. “Is your daddy still around, buddy?”
“Yes, I’m here.” Seb’s gaze darted to the open doorway as a sturdy-looking guy walked through. “Harry, there’s a big bowl of strawberries in the kitchen for you.”
The little kid dashed out.
Seb fastened his pants, but—dammit—where the hell was his shirt?
