Latimore might be a jerk—he had to have done something more than kiss Sage to earn a slap like that—but dear God, he was a brilliant artist.
Piper dropped her clutch onto the hallway table and jerked when the bag hit the floor. Dammit, she still wasn’t used to the empty space where the blue marble side table had stood for thirty-odd years. Piper stared at the empty space and slowly raised her eyes to the blank space on the wall. Her Mom’s favorite possession, an early Frida Kahlo, was also gone. So was her beloved eighteenth-century rolltop desk and the ballerina bronze. The items had left her apartment a few days before, soon to be sold to make a teeny tiny dent in her father’s debts.
Tears stung Piper’s eyes and she placed her hand beneath her rib cage, fighting the wave of pain. It wasn’t fair. They were her mother’s possessions, the only proof Piper had that her father loved her mother, that he felt enough for her to buy her a very expensive gift occasionally.
But was that love? Piper wrapped her arms around her waist and stared at the empty spaces on the floor and on the wall and in her heart. Was it still an expression of love when it wasn’t freely given? These gifts, like her father’s affection, were on loan to her mom, always able to be pulled back, to be used for something else.
It was typical Mick, Piper thought. He always had a backup plan, a way to cover his ass. Even in death, he came first. Selfish bastard.
While she could live with losing the paintings and a couple of pieces of furniture, she couldn’t handle losing her house. Thanks to Jaeger, she wouldn’t have to. Resolved to get back into the attic and to contact the few relatives left on her mother’s side to see if they knew anything about her great-uncle—without mentioning the stones—and whether they had any family papers, Piper turned and walked into the dark living room.
In the light spilling from the hall, she saw Jaeger lying on her couch, one foot on the floor and his other bent leg resting on the cushions. Her son—their son—was sprawled over Jaeger’s broad chest, his mouth a scant inch from Jaeger’s strong neck. One of Jaeger’s hands covered Ty’s small back. His other arm was firmly under the baby’s little butt.
Piper sat on the table next to the couch and looked at her son and his father. Two peas in a pod, she thought, examining their faces.
She should tell Jaeger, Piper thought. He had a right to know, and if she was a better, braver person, she would share the miracle of her son with this man.
But...there were so many buts.
If she wanted to tell Jaeger about Ty, then she would have to come clean about why she’d felt she needed to keep the secret in the first place. She’d have to tell him about Mick, her illegitimacy, and admit that her mother was her father’s lifelong mistress and Piper was the daughter he never wanted.
If it came out that she was Mick’s daughter, his bad reputation would taint hers and could badly damage her career. Her client’s faith in her would be tested—the apple didn’t fall far from the tree and all that.
If she told Jaeger about Ty, she’d have to trust him on all levels. Trust him to keep her paternity to himself. Trust him to understand why it was so important to her that Ty have an involved father, or no father at all.
Trust him to be that kind of father for Ty.
She really liked Jaeger—hell, she was halfway to falling in love with him! He was funny and smart and generous and hot. Any woman with a pulse would fall a little in love with Jaeger. Maybe he wouldn’t care that she was Mick’s daughter. Maybe he would understand her reasons, and maybe he would even like Ty. But none of those reactions would change the fact that Jaeger didn’t want children.
When Jaeger recovered from the shock of the truth, what sort of dad would he be? Would he ignore Ty for the rest of his life? Would he be a half-there dad, visiting Ty when he felt like it? Would he be the type of parent who bought expensive presents instead of spending time with him?
Ty needed Jaeger to be fully involved, to love him with everything he had. He needed to be the most important person in Jaeger’s life. Ty deserved everything a father could give, and she wouldn’t accept anything less than amazing for her son. She would not allow Ty to spend his life questioning his father’s love, second-guessing himself, wondering why his dad chose his career and his freedom above his son.