“How was your day?” he asked her as they drove onto the freeway.

“Good,” she said, glancing out the window. “Busy.”

“So what came up that they needed you to come in for last minute?”

“A call,” she said simply. “It happens often actually.”

He turned to look at her, his brow up. “Does it?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, reaching for his hand and realizing just how tense he really was as he turned his eyes back to the road. “Especially when it’s a big project we’re finishing up and it’s down to the wire.”

He squeezed her hand ever so slightly. “What else did you do today besides work and the game?”

“Oh, I told Clair,” she said, suddenly remembering, “about us.”

He turned to her again; this time his expression eased a little. “You did?”

“Yeah, since I had to drive myself to the game today, she and I drove home alone. I just went for it.”

“What did she say?”

Addison smiled big. “You know her. She said she already knew. And she told me about asking you about it today and said you pretty much blew it.”

For the first time since he’d picked her up, he smirked. “Yeah,” he actually chuckled with a nod. “I’ll admit it. I pretty much choked under pressure. She called my response lame. So I’m glad you told her. I don’t have to feel like I’m the one that slipped.”

“I had a feeling she already knew. She’d asked me before, and I just waved off the stuff she’d been reading about online as all made up.”

They spoke a little more about Clair and her reaction. Addison had to laugh when he told her exactly what his response had been. As soon as they arrived at his place, he put in an order for Chinese. Addison felt bad that it was actually a relief that she didn’t have to check and double-check the ingredients to make sure nothing contained the stuff that would make Clair sick. Her daughter was not a burden. Having to be extra careful for the sake of Clair’s well-being was absolutely worth it.

As soon as he was off the phone putting in the order, he turned to her from where he was leaning against his kitchen counter and held out his hand to her. Within seconds, he’d pulled her against him and kissed her softly, touching her hair. When their eyes met again, she saw how tense he still was, despite his being so affectionate with her. “What else did you do today, Addison?”

Swallowing hard, she tried not to panic. He couldn’t know. Only the way he was scrutinizing her—searching her eyes with more than just curiosity—alarmed her. Had someone seen her? Had Fred told anyone and somehow it’d gotten back to AJ?

Deciding she was being paranoid, she stuck with her story. “That’s pretty much it unless you count me helping Clair get ready for Harrison’s recital. She looked so cute—”

“Who’s Fred?”

Her stomach bottomed out as she watched his jaw clench, but he never took his eyes off her. “Fred?”

It was her last-ditch effort to avoid having too deep a conversation about this with him. She had a minuscule chance of doing so if she could find out how much he knew.

“Yeah, the guy you were on the phone with this morning.” His intense dark eyes went darker and hardened with every word. “The guy you agreed to meet today; then you called and lied to me, saying you had to go into work?”

“It wasn’t a lie,” she said, lifting her chin. “I did go in for a couple of hours, but yes, I also met with Fred.”

“Who is he and when were you planning on telling me about it?” He tilted his head as that familiar spark in his eyes flicked. “Or were you?”

Addison pulled away from his hold, and he let her go but held her hand. “He’s Clair’s dad,” she said as his eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t planning on telling you or anyone—”

“You told me you didn’t talk to him anymore, Addison. I accepted that you won’t share his identity with me because it didn’t matter if you had no contact with him. But if you’re gonna be meeting him—secretly no less—that changes everything.”

“It shouldn’t.”

“Oh it does,” he said, raising his voice and dropping her hand. “What did you meet with him for?”

Addison let her head fall back. As much as she hated seeing him getting upset, she was determined to share only what he needed to know.

“He started calling me again last year,” she began, speaking faster when she saw the brows jump in reaction to that. “I hadn’t heard from him in years before that. He said he was contemplating leaving his wife. That he’d always known deep inside he’d never stop loving me.”

AJ’s eyes widened. “He’s in love with you?”

She nodded. “It’s what he claims anyway. I seriously doubt the man knows what love is.”

“Were you ever in love with him? Wait,” he said, his eyes narrowing in on hers. “So he started calling you last year? Have you been meeting with him—?”

“No.” She shook her head adamantly, reaching for his hand again and lacing her fingers through his. “I’ve never been in love with anyone but you. I thought maybe I was back then, but now that I know what true love feels like, I can say that with all certainty I never was. I have zero feelings for him other than frustration that I have to deal with him now. And this is the first time I’ve agreed to meet him. All the times he called last year I told him the same thing, to stay with his wife. Things would never work between him and me, and I didn’t want to disrupt Clair’s life. I was fine with Clair never knowing who he was or ever meeting him. But he kept calling and I started getting nervous.” She closed her eyes before going on. “I’ll admit now that when I first took the position in Chicago he was a small part of the incentive. I was young and delusional, but mostly full of hope. The undying hope that he’d come around and want us to be a happy little family still lingered. It wasn’t even about my not being able to get over him or anything; I was hopeful for Clair that she might someday have a relationship with her father. With me being so close to mine, I hated that she never would have that kind of bond with hers.”

“He lives in Chicago?”

“Not in Chicago, but about an hour and a half north of Chicago in Winnetka. He brought out the big guns during one of the final conversations I had with him while I was still out there. He started threatening that he had rights too. As Clair’s dad, he could go to court and make things ugly for me. I panicked. I’d already been looking into the possibility of transferring to California, so I did so as quickly and as quietly as I could before he could do something like try and stop me from moving her out of state. I figured since she was born in California and my family is here they couldn’t force me to move back to Illinois just because he’s there. He’s never wanted anything to do with her. I thought, worst-case scenario, if he were really gonna claim he wants to be a part of her life—which I know he doesn’t—and push came to shove, then he could move here.”

“Did he?” AJ asked, the intensity morphing into alarm.

“Not yet. I don’t think he ever will. But he did leave his wife just recently. I think it was why he wanted to meet with me today. To see my reaction. When I first met him, he was in the minors here in San Diego, but he always talked about wanting to get back to his hometown. He hated it here.” She took a deep breath, knowing, as much as she hated to have to tell AJ this next part, he needed to know. “Thing is, AJ, he’s a selfish asshole. The only times I ever heard from him or that he bothered to contact me since Clair was born were if he either needed something from me—like reassurance that I’d continue keeping his identity a secret because he’d chosen not to tell his fiancée about his love child—or when he heard of me seeing someone. It was never about her, and I’m still certain it isn’t. Even when we talk now, he hardly asks about her. He’s more interested in my private life. Last year I started to see someone. Only then did he suddenly realize he missed me. When I moved out here, I guess he figured I cut things off with the guy, which I did, and he left well enough alone. But ever since the stories have gotten out about you and me, he’s started up again.”