“This is different.” Although he was arguing with her, his tone indicated that he understood what she was feeling. “Malcolm isn’t my brother so I’m not about to give him the benefit of the doubt. And I’m well aware that he’s dangerous. No one has to convince me of that.”

“He followed you from Mary’s. He knows where the condo is.”

“It’s in your name.”

“He could connect us.”

“How?”

There wasn’t anyone who knew her who also knew Malcolm, but she didn’t like taking chances. Not with Sebastian’s life. I’m coming for you…Those words were so ominous, so…purposeful. “He could be watching my condo. Maybe he’s already seen us come home. Even if he hasn’t, why couldn’t he knock on a neighbor’s door and ask a few questions? What if he stumbles on Bob walking his dog, for instance? Bob knows your name, knows you’ve been staying at my place.”

Sebastian let his breath go in a long sigh, but didn’t speak. Was she getting through to him? Unable to tell, she reached for his arm. “What do you say?”

“I can’t leave you there alone, just in case he has associated the two of us.” Lines appeared on his forehead. “But if he hasn’t made the connection, I don’t want to draw him to your place, either. I’m not sure what to do.”

“Will you let me decide?”

“No. You’d put me on the first plane back east.”

She said nothing.

“That’s not the answer, Jane. This thing between Malcolm and me-it has to end sometime.”

“It’s the way it might end that bothers me.” She’d lost enough. She couldn’t stand losing the one man who made her feel hopeful again. There were moments when she thought about having another baby, and those moments made her think that maybe it wasn’t too late to start over, to offer Kate more than she’d had, to build a better life, one less traumatized by the past.

“You trust David, don’t you?” he said.

She scowled. He was changing tactics on her. “Of course I trust David. He’s an excellent detective. But that’s beside the point.”

“Jane, if Malcolm really wants to kill me, running away won’t solve the problem.” He pulled into a drugstore.

“What are we doing?” she asked as he parked. “Why are we stopping here?”

“We need to buy something.”

“Gum? Film? Shaving cream?”

He opened his door and got out. “A pregnancy test.”

Jane’s hand froze on the latch. She wasn’t ready to discover whether or not they had other big decisions to make. It felt as if she still had the option of sending Sebastian away, of going on with her life as though this week had never occurred. But if she took a pregnancy test and that pregnancy test was positive…what would they do? How would they handle it? “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“You can wait here if you’d like.”

“Sebastian-”

“I’ll be right back.”

She remained in the car, trying to imagine how she’d feel if she turned out to be pregnant. That was easy. She’d be scared. She was in her mid-forties. There were significant risks. And she’d never expected to have another child. But what if the test was negative?

Part of her would be disappointed; she couldn’t deny that.

He held a small brown paper bag when he returned. He tossed it between them as he got in, and Jane eyed it as if it contained a snake. “Sebastian-”

“If you’re not pregnant, we’ll start using birth control,” he said. “If you are, there’ll be no need.”

“You won’t accept my advice and head back to New York no matter what it says. Why should I take it?” she countered.

“So I’ll know whether to stop at my motel and get those condoms before I drive you home. It’ll save you from having to deal with that Shield.” Starting the car, he backed out of the parking space. “If we’re going to deliver on our promise to take Kate ice-skating, we don’t have much time.”

He was worried about following through on a promise to her daughter? That was something she hadn’t experienced in years-a pleasant something. “We just…we won’t do it again,” she said. “If we stay away from each other, we won’t need birth control. And we won’t need to know whether or not I’m pregnant. Not right away.”

He gave her a look that told her he wasn’t about to let her out of this. “I don’t think staying away from each other is very realistic, do you?”

She rubbed her face. “Probably not,” she sighed.

He drove across the street to the gas station. “There’s the bathroom,” he said and handed her the bag.

Butterflies swirled in Sebastian’s stomach for the first time since he could remember. Was it really possible that in nine months he’d become a father again? So much had changed. He’d lost Emily and Colton and Constance and all the momentum he’d achieved with his work. He no longer had the money he once did. He couldn’t believe he was even thinking about having another child, let alone pacing outside a gas-station restroom in California while the woman he’d been sleeping with took a pregnancy test.

“Jane?” he called when he couldn’t wait anymore.

She didn’t answer, so he tapped on the door. “Hey! What does it say?”

Again, no answer. Did that mean what he thought it might? Or was it just that she hadn’t finished or couldn’t hear him? “Jane?” he called again.

Finally, the little sign that read Occupied disappeared as she turned the lock. But she didn’t come out. She opened the door a few inches and peered through the crack.

“What’d it say?”

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. “It’s negative.”

“You’re sure?”

She passed him the test strip. He didn’t know what gray meant, but he didn’t question it. He stared at it for a second; then he reached around to put it on the sink. “That’s good, right?”

“I guess so. But despite everything, in a way, I’m disappointed.”

He understood because in a way he was, too. Even with the risks involved. Regardless of what anyone watching from the gas pumps might think if they saw him, Sebastian stepped into the woman’s restroom and closed the door so he could draw her into his arms and kiss her gently. “It’s okay.”

“I know. It’s just…this isn’t only about whether or not we’re having a baby.”

He tilted up her chin. “Then what’s it about?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes.” Her voice dropped. “I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Laughing at the hopelessness in her words, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m sorry that upsets you.”

“You live in New York!”

“You’re the one who keeps trying to send me back!”

“I still want you to go, if it’ll keep you safe.”

Feelings he hadn’t experienced since before Colton’s death began to simmer inside Sebastian, chasing all the negative events into the background. He was suddenly stronger, more like himself, so much happier. “I’m not going back. I’m staying here, with you.”

“But it’s important that you go-at least until the police capture Malcolm.”

“Trust me to take care of myself,” he said. “Trust me to take care of you and Kate.”

“It’s him I don’t trust,” she argued.

“We’ll come out of this. We’ll be fine.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “How would you have reacted if there was a baby?” she asked. “Would it have scared you away?”

What kind of fickle asshole did she think he was? “Not at all. I’m forty-five, Jane, not twenty-five. I know what a baby means. I said I’d be happy, and that hasn’t changed. I would’ve been okay with it, as long as you were.”

“And how does the fact that there is no baby change the situation?” Her head came up. She was expecting him to tell her why he wasn’t ready for a permanent relationship. He could tell. But that wasn’t what he had to say.

Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her again. “It doesn’t. I still want you.”

“You’re serious,” she said, searching his face.

“Completely.”

She smiled. Then she hugged him tighter and it was her turn to kiss him. She didn’t ask any more questions. Apparently she was willing to let it go at that, and he was glad. He had no idea what he’d do about his job in New York, if he’d relocate or she would, if she’d mind that he’d spent all his money chasing Malcolm and would need time to rebuild. It was too soon to discuss any of the practical issues of how they’d be together. But they knew they wanted to be together. And for now, that was enough.