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“She’s okay. A little unsettled. She’s exhausted. I put her to bed as soon as we got here.”
I picture Monica curled up in a bed that’s not her own after the day she’s had. All because of me. Great father I am.
“I want to see her. I’ll spend the week up there with you guys and we’ll come up with a new plan.”
“James.” I turn toward Adelaide’s voice behind me. “You can’t be away next week. We have the interview withPeoplemagazine. They’re doing the exclusive on our wedding, remember?”
Fuck no. I did not remember because no part of me wants any part of that. Adelaide is playing it off as a charitable act, since the money they’re paying us will be given in full to charity, but it’s really about the attention and the press it will get us.
“Hang on a second,” I say into the phone then hit the mute button on my screen. “You’re going to have to reschedule it. This is more important.”
From the expression on her face, you’d think I'd slapped her. “I can’t reschedule it. There’s no time. The wedding is in a couple of weeks and they're not going to say, 'Oh, when you have a free day.'”
“Then you’re going to have to do it by yourself. I’m sorry, but I need to be with Monica.”
She huffs and stomps down the hall.
I blow out a breath. I hit the unmute button on the phone and bring it back to my ear. “Sorry about that.”
“Everything okay?” There’s a sad lilt to Lilah’s voice.
“Yeah, fine. Let me wrap up a few things here and figure out how to get up there without the paps tracking me. I’ll see you guys in a couple of days. Call me if you need anything in the meantime.”
“All right.” She stays on, and so do I. “Jimmy?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for your help today. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” It’s hard to hear her, she’s so quiet.
“We’re in this together,” I say, meaning every word. She got Monica out safely and I arranged to keep them safe. We’ve always worked well as a team.
I hang up with a heaviness weighing on my shoulders. What a shit day. I wish I could have been there to hold Monica. To whisper reassurances that her strong daddy won’t let anything bad happen to her.
I’m about to go find Adelaide and try to make her see that this is something I need to do when Keane’s name flashes on my phone screen. I just know my day is about to go from bad to worse.
Chapter Sixty-six
JIMMY
Istep out onto the deck. Inhaling the fresh air after finding out that Lilah and Monica are safe relaxes me, as usual. “What were you able to find out?”
Keane sighs heavily. “I still don’t know for sure. I’ve spent the day backtracking to figure out who was the first to know, and it looks like it was Kevin down atHW Life.”
“Okay. what’s the problem?” I look at the ocean, leaning on the railing.
“The problem is that he won’t tell me who it is unless you agree that your first interview discussing how you knew you were the father is with him. He wants an exclusive, and he’ll only tell me what he knows if you agree.”
I step to the edge of the deck and soak in the orange and gold rays that paint the sky. All I can think of is Lilah might be staring at the same sunset. We’re miles away from one another, but somehow it feels closer now that we're on the same side of the country.
How badly does knowing who leaked the info matter now that it’s out?
I could not agree to his terms and just move on. After all, will it make any difference in the end whether or not I know?
Fuck. Ineedto know. The select few who knew about Monica are people I trust with everything. They’re my team, and if one of them is spilling my business, I can’t allow them to be part of my future. I’ll have to discuss fatherhood at some point. Kevin might as well be the first.
“James, you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry. Just working it out in my head.” I face away from the ocean and lean back against the glass railing, staring into the house. “Tell him I agree. But that it needs to be on my timeline. It could be a year from now, but yeah, he'll get the first interview I give that involves a discussion about being a father.”
