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The thought of her with someone else makes me flinch.
“I’m telling you because I think you feel the same. And now that you know the full picture, maybe you can do the right thing.”
I shake my head. What the hell is therightthing?
“I have to go,” Michelle says, glancing at her phone. “Thank you for meeting with me. And thank you for the coffee.” She lifts her cup at me in a salute.
“Sure,” I say in a daze.
I sit at the little table for a long time after Michelle leaves, staring at my own coffee cup. The warm liquid is getting cold.
I’m a father. Ava is my daughter. Raven had a baby, and I wasn’t there for her. I think about all the things she’s told me—she started a fashion house; she worked her fingers to the bone to make something of herself. I know now that she did it all for her daughter.Ourdaughter.
And I wasn’t there for her. I didn’t know, and I never allowed her a chance to let me know back then.
I stand, a force driving me out of my seat. I can’t let this slide. Not now that I know Ava is mine. I ache for Raven, but this is bigger than that. I want to know my daughter. And I want Raven to know I’m not that guy—I don’t just turn my back on responsibility and commitment. I’m not the asshole jock I was in college anymore.
I don’t know how I would have reacted if I found out about the baby back then. But I know what I’m going to do now.
I call into the office and book leave. When I go home, I pack in record time. While I pack, I’m on the phone to the airport to book a flight. I need to get over there and talk to her.
I’m in the car on the way to the airport when I think about Natalie. I dial her number.
“You’re going to get a call from a woman named Michelle,” I say. “She took your number a short while ago. She’s going to offer you an interview. It’s with Raven’s fashion house. Go, you’ll get it.”
“What?” Natalie asks, confused. “How…?”
“Raven requested you specifically, sis.”
“Oh, my God,” Natalie says in a breathy voice. “Are you serious? You have to come over. Help me figure out what I’ll say!”
“I can’t. I’m on my way to the airport.”
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“Paris.”
She squeals and the car fills with her excitement.
“I don’t know what’s going to come of it. I just learned that daughter of hers…is mine.”
“Oh, my God, Noah,” Natalie says. “This is way too much information in such a short time.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll explain when I have a chance. Right now, I have a plane to catch.”
We end the call and I accelerate, threading my way through traffic. My stomach is a tight fist of nerves and my throat is thick with anticipation. I grip the wheel so hard my knuckles turn white. I have no idea what to expect. I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what will happen.
All I know is that I have to go. Right now.
I can’t leave her a minute longer.
She’s already been alone in this for far too long.
Chapter 27
Raven
The past month has been good. Work is flowing, and on the other side of the ocean, Michelle moves mountains to get the offices open as soon as possible. It’s going to be a lot of work for the next year or two, but it will be worth it.
