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Lucas lifted his hands. “I’m not saying anything.”

Jace glared at them both. “I’m not going down for this.”

“Man,” Carson muttered, “why did you have to go all infamy on us today, Jace? Now my news will be tainted by your fake problems.”

But there was no avoiding it, not when their mother looked like she was about to have a coronary. Carson called to Olivia in the next room, and then told their mother to get their father for an announcement. Their mom seemed extremely nervous by this turn of events, like perhaps Jace was having Carson break his bad news so his older brother could plead for Jace’s life.

The tension in the room was horrible and didn’t even decrease when Olivia, bright-eyed and cheerful, sat down beside Carson and chimed at the screen, “Surprise, you’re going to be grandparents!”

Silence ensued. Jace’s parents stared at her with narrowed eyes.

His father growled out, “It’s not as much of a surprise as one would suppose.”

His mother put her hand to her chest and made a sad little sobbing noise.

Olivia blinked at them in confusion, her smile faltering. It wasn’t the reaction she had anticipated.

Carson shook his head in frustration, his hands gripping his knees. “See, I knew something like this would happen. Olivia is pregnant. We’re having a baby. Not Marlowe.”

Olivia’s head whipped to him. “Wait, what’s the deal with Marlowe?”

“There’s not a deal,” Jace said. He didn’t get to say more than that because his parents had come out of their shock and began lobbing questions at Carson and Olivia. Which was good. Once his parents had Carson’s real baby to talk about, they completely forgot about his fake one.

Jace’s parents were still happily talking to Carson and Olivia, dinner now the last thing on their minds, when a knock sounded on the door. Since Lucas was almost as excited as his parents about the new addition to the family, Jace went to let Riley inside.

He opened the door, a greeting on his lips.

But it wasn’t Riley.

It was Jennifer.

CHAPTER 24

Jennifer stood on the doorstep, wearing black jeans and a checkered jacket as though she expected the city to be on the brink of snow instead of just a cool summer evening. Her brown hair was swept into a knot at her neck, and a designer purse—probably the one that had cost $2,500—hung from her shoulder. Jace gaped at her for several moments, uncomprehending. What was she doing here? She wouldn’t have come all this way just because he’d ignored her last two phone calls, and yet what other reason could there be?

“Jace!” Her usual confident smile was firmly in place, and she reached out to him like she expected him to pull her into an embrace. He stood still and unmoving until she swept over and wrapped her arms around him.

All he could think about was that someone would see them together and Marlowe would get the wrong idea about what was happening. He put his hands on Jennifer’s arms and held her away, then stepped onto the porch and shut the door so his family wouldn’t see who’d come. “Jennifer, what are you doing here?”

If she was upset by his rebuff, she didn’t show it. “I came to talk to you. I figured it was time.” Her gaze bounced between her rental car and the front porch. “Do you want to stay here or go somewhere else?”

Neither was a good idea. “You should have let me know you were coming.” And he would’ve told her not to bother.

The smallest bit of accusation entered her tone. “Maybe I would’ve let you know if you’d answered your phone.”

Okay, valid point, but coming all the way to Montana was still extreme. “I’ve been busy.” But that wasn’t accurate. “And things have changed.”

“Oh, I know things have changed, and you’ve been busy, Best Boyfriend in the World. I saw the pictures on your social media.”

“Right.” Jace rubbed the back of his neck. At least he didn’t have to break the news to Jennifer. She already knew. “I started dating someone else.” He held up his hands in a that’s how life goes sometimes gesture.

Jennifer clicked her tongue. “I know you’re mad at me for saying we needed to put our relationship on hold so we could evaluate it. You had a revenge fling. I get it. But I also wanted to tell you that I’ve been thinking about us, and,” she let out a reluctant, dramatic breath, “I could do a residency in Washington state if that’s where you want to go.” Her smile returned, smooth and expectant, already certain he would accept this offering.

That’s why she’d come, to win him back.

“You don’t need to do that,” he said. “I’ve got a new girlfriend, and she’s not a revenge fling.”

“Come on.” Jennifer made a derisive sound in the back of her throat. “Honey, whether you knew it or not, she’s a revenge fling. She’s pretty and pointless. You can’t really believe it will last.”