Her heart squeezed, and she felt short of air. All she could manage were shallow breaths.
“I have.”
She blinked. “What?”
He looked at her steadily. “I have sorted things out.”
“Oh?”
He nodded. “I should have told you right away about the rumors.” He paused. “I’m sorry.”
She waved an arm dismissively, suddenly emotional and looking anywhere but at him. “Oh...”
He reached into the pocket of his jeans. “The results of the paternity test came back.”
She looked down at the papers in his hand uncomprehendingly, her brain frozen.
“The child isn’t mine.”
Her gaze flew up to his.
“Lauren isn’t even the mother.”
Beyond the roaring in her ears, she barely made out Jordan’s explanation.
“Thanks to Marv, the press should be posting corrected news stories as we speak.” He smiled ruefully. “The gossip sites love a story with unexpected twists and turns.”
“How can Lauren not even be the mother?” she asked, dumbfounded.
“Her twin sister is.”
“How did they think they’d get away with this?”
Jordan’s expression darkened. “That was my question. They had to know they’d eventually be found out, but maybe not before they received a fat payment or two to print a juicy story.”
Feeling a tremor, she dropped her notepad on the table. “For the record, it do
esn’t matter. I already made up my mind that whether you were a father already or not was beside the point.”
“Sera, I love you.”
What? She’d pitched a revelation at him, and he’d hit it right back. And then, because it was all too much and she couldn’t think of what else to say, she blurted, “Why should I believe you?”
Jordan stood up and moved closer. “Because you love me, too.”
He said it so casually, she almost didn’t process the words.
She blinked against a well of emotion and lifted her chin. “Does it matter? You’re still...who you are, and I’m who I am.”
“And who am I?” he queried, his voice low. “I’m a changed man—”
She opened her mouth.
“—especially since my casual remarks here to Marc Bellitti.” He looked contrite.
They both knew which remarks he was referring to.
“At the time, it still seemed safer to play the game, or try to, rather than acknowledge the truth.”