“It’s a total shitshow outside and even more news vans are arriving,” he explains as he slides onto the seat beside my sister, slinging his arm around her shoulders.
“Reeve’s a big deal in Hollywood. What did you expect?” Ro says, arching a brow.
“Can’t they ever show some respect?” Jamie shakes his head.
“We’ve lived here long enough to know they respect fuck all.” I lean my head back against the wall, exhaling heavily. “When the fuck is someone coming to talk to us?” I snap, rubbing a tense spot between my brows.
“I’ll see if I can find anything out.” Ash stands. She drags her lower lip between her teeth as she contemplates me.
“Spit it out,” I say, knowing she’s got something on her mind.
“I regret it,” she softly says. “I regret rejecting her when she reached out to me. I shouldn’t have blocked her number. I let it go on for too long.”
“Don’t tell me. Tell her.”
“I will.” Fierce determination swims in her eyes as she stalks toward me. My sister is still the same pint-sized terror she’s always been. “She’s going to be okay. Vivien is tough as nails, and she’s a fighter.” She wraps her petite frame around me, and my arms automatically encircle her small body. I squeeze my eyes shut to contain the tears I long to spill. “If Reeve is gone, she’s going to need you and me. Easton will too.”
I know she’ll have her parents and Audrey. I’ve seen photos of them online, so I know they are still friends. But Ash isn’t wrong. She will need me, and I’m Easton’s father. I want to be there for my son and his mother. Whether Vivien will let me help is another matter entirely, and I can’t say I’d blame her. I’ve been a prick to her since I reappeared in her life, filling her head with the idea that I don’t care about her anymore. God knows I have tried to forget about her over the years. But she has burrowed her way into my heart and my head, and I’ve never been able to get her out.
I can hardly breathe over the lump wedged in my throat. I’ve scarcely had time to let the news about Easton sink in.
I was elated earlier when I got the results. I assumed if I got confirmation he was mine that I’d be thrilled knowing how much the news would hurt Reeve and harm their marriage. But as I stared at that piece of paper, I didn’t feel any of those things. All I was feeling was overwhelming joy I had made a precious little human with the only woman who has ever owned my heart. His adorable little face swam before my eyes, and my heart was overflowing with instant love and an almost insurmountable need to get to know him.
My son.
A little part of me, and a little part of Viv.
Now, everything has been turned upside down. I have no idea how things will pan out. I don’t know if Vivien has survived or what’s happened to her unborn baby or my…twin.
As Ash slips out of the room with Jamie, I sit down and pray for the first time in years.