“Mommy!”

I pull him into a hug. “Hey, big guy! Did you have fun at the zoo this morning?”

“I did!” he says excitedly. “I got to see hippos, lions, and a bunch of monkeys that were dancing all funny!”

I laugh. “Dancing monkeys?”

Rainey joins us. “Yeah, they were dancing. You know how monkeys like to dance a lot?”

Humping monkeys. Got it. “Ah, dancing. Yeah, that’s really cool, bud. What else did you see?”

“I saw—”

“Devyn, we need to have a big talk,” a deep voice interrupts.

I look away from my son who’s still talking up a storm. My jaw drops when I see his furious father standing right behind Lorraine. “Aw, crap.”

DEVYN

RAINEY GRABS NATHAN’S HAND. “Hey, buddy, can I ask you a favor?”

Nathan looks up to her. “Whatcha want, Aunt Wainey?”

“Do you think it’d be okay if we went for ice cream and then I can drive you home afterwards? I’m really craving some mint chocolate chip and I think Mommy and her friend here need to have some grownup talk.”

Nathan tugs on my capris. “Momma, can I? Can I? I want some ice cweam!”

I ruffle his hair. “Sure, buddy. That would be fine.” I mouth thank you to Rainey.

She nods as she leads Nate out the door.

Riley waits for them to round the corner before saying, “Let’s go back to my place. I don’t think a public venue is the right place to have this conversation.”

“Do you live nearby?”

He tilts his head towards Jackson’s condo building. “Right across the street.”

My eyes bulge. “Across the street? Like, right across the street? The red brick building?”

Riley laughs sardonically. “Yep. I believe you’re familiar with it.”

I gulp. “Yeah, I am.”

He jerks his head. “Follow me.”

My eyes wander throughout the lobby looking for any sign of Jackson. I’m not trying to hide the fact that I’m going to Riley’s…I’ll tell him. I just don’t want to run into him right now because it would exacerbate the already tense situation. I relax marginally when we step inside the elevator and he presses the button for the third floor, two levels down from Jackson’s unit.

There’s no way he hasn’t put the pieces of Nathan’s paternity together. Nate is Riley’s little mini me. It would only take a matter of seconds for him to see that, I’m sure. He doesn’t say a word as we ride the elevator to his floor and walk down the hallway. I have no idea what he’s thinking. He’s obviously angry but is that because he feels cheated out of knowing his son? Or because he has a son and doesn’t want to be shackled down? Will he want to be a part of Nate’s life?

Riley digs into his pocket and produces a set of keys. He unlocks the door and pushes it open, stepping aside to let me in. The layout of his condo is pretty similar to Jackson’s. There’s a small kitchen with a large island to the left and a living/dining room combo immediately off the entryway. The space is tidy for the most part with the exception of several empty liquor bottles on the counter. Geez, that’s a lot of alcohol. Has Riley become a heavy drinker? I raise an eyebrow as I wonder but say nothing.

RILEY

DEVYN IS EYEING THE empty bottles of liquor in my kitchen. What gives her the right to judge me for having a rough night when she’s been hiding my son from me? For almost five years! What possible reason could she have for doing something so fucking selfish?

I still haven’t said a word at this point and I can tell that it’s making her nervous. Good.

She nods towards the couch. “Do you mind if I take a seat for this?”

I cross my arms. “By all means, make yourself comfortable.”

She winces. Probably from the tone in my voice that says I want her to be anything but comfortable right now. Remaining completely silent, I continue staring her down.

She slinks down into the cushions and sighs. “Please say something.”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear what I’m thinking right now,” I scoff. “It’s probably better if you start.”

“Ugh, I really should’ve grabbed a coffee first,” she groans.

I storm over to her and shove my cup from the coffee house into her hand. I’m towering over her right now and I’m irritated at how badly I want to take her into my arms. I angrily step back and sit on a barstool across the room.

“Talk, Devyn.”

RILEY

SHE TAKES A SIP of my coffee. “You still drink mochas, huh?”

I scrub my hand over my stubbled jaw. “I wasn’t talking about the fucking coffee, Devyn. Help me understand why in the hell you thought it would be a good idea to hide the fact that we have a child together.”

She takes a deep breath. “I called you as soon as I found out. You were too busy plying some girl with drinks to answer.”

I think about that for a minute. Oh hell, she must be talking about the time that annoying girl answered my phone in Boston. “Jesus, Devyn. One phone call? You didn’t think something like this was important enough to try again?”

She juts her chin out and glares at me. Fucking glares! “Not one phone call, Riley. Twelve! Eleven phone calls and countless text messages after our night in the hotel. And another attempt almost two years later but you had changed your phone number. It was pretty clear you had no interest in speaking with me.”

I run my hand over my head. “That’s what this is about? I was a stupid kid! You should have tried harder.”

She stands up and flings her arms out, spraying coffee all over the hardwood floors. “That’s my point, Riley! I was having a kid! I didn’t have the luxury of indulging a grown man who couldn’t pull his head out of his ass and see what was right in front of him! I didn’t have time to try harder! I had seven months to figure out a new plan in life. It wasn’t just me anymore. I had another human being that I was going to be responsible for. I needed to focus on that, not trying to make you talk to me.”

“You still should have told me,” I grumble.

She sits back down and hangs her head in her hands. “Yeah, maybe I should have. But I was scared. And heartbroken. And hormonal. That’s not exactly a good recipe for rational thought.”

One word sticks out. “Heartbroken?”

She lifts her head and rolls her eyes. “Oh please, Rye. Are you really going to make me say it?”

I walk towards her and sit on the edge of the coffee table. She shivers when our knees touch. “Say what?”

She stares at her hands. “That night…it meant something to me. I know that wasn’t part of the deal, but I know you felt it too. For whatever reason, you obviously weren’t willing to acknowledge it and that hurt. After everything we’d been through…we knew each other better than anyone, yet you chose to run. It hurt.”

Every bit of anger I had inside of me melts. I lift her chin with my finger. “I was a coward.”

She laughs mirthlessly. “You think?”

Tears are forming in her eyes and it’s killing me. I lean in closer. “Devyn, I—”

Her phone rings, startling us both. She pulls it out of her purse and I can see that the asshole from last night is calling.

She scoots away from me and slides her finger across the screen to answer. “Hi.” She turns her head away as she listens to whatever the fuck he’s saying. She lowers her voice. “No, there’s been a slight change in plans.”

I tune out their conversation as I feel my face getting red. I know I have no right to be jealous but that doesn’t stop me from feeling it. I can’t stop thinking about the smug look on his face when he took her in his arm and walked away. He said he was taking her home which implies familiarity. I don’t like it. Not one bit.