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“It’s Robin,” Charlotte announces from the bed.
“Robin,” I repeat. It’s too hard to keep looking at them, so I look back down at the baby—Robin—instead. My chest is all heart-attack mode again. “Nice. You know, if you’re ever interested in meeting another bird, I have—”
Wait. I scan the hospital room, pointlessly, since Lily didn’t come in here with me. I knew that. It only seemed like she was in here because—
She must have decided to wait outside.
I fucking hate that. I hate that I can’t see her. But there’s no non-awkward way to introduce my siblings and my new nephew Robin to the girl I kidnapped and who I’m pretty sure is still pretending to be my fiancée.
“I met a bird recently,” I finish.
“Tell him Robin’s middle name.” Remy beams at Mason.
“Did you—” My throat gets tight. “Did you name him after Dad?”
“In a way.” Mason rolls his shoulders. He’s trying to be casual, and it looks fake. “His middle name is Jameson. It’s after both of you.”
Every atom in my body freezes. The blood drops out of my face like ice cubes falling out of a shitty plastic tray and landing on the floor in one useless, wasted chunk.
“Oh.” I force a smile onto my face. It feels awful, like my mouth isn’t connected. “Wow, Mase, that’s—”
The worst idea I’ve ever heard. For one thing, I’m an unhinged criminal who kidnaps women and loses his mind to nightmares on a regular basis. I’ve never done anything worth the honor in my entire life.
And for another thing, that’s it. That’s the proof that I’m not needed here anymore. Mason’s son doesn’t just have a place in the family that he’s never fucked up beyond repair. He has myname.
The hellishly awkward moment is interrupted by the door swinging open. Thank fucking God. If it’s Lily, everybody will have questions, and we can redirect the conversation to my asshole behavior towardherand not the horrendous sinking feeling I have.
It’s not Lily.
It’s Gabriel’s girlfriend, Elise, with a bunch of takeout bags in her arms, followed by Lydia, her younger sister, and Nate. All three of them live with Gabriel. It makes sense that they’re here. So much fucking sense, given what Gabriel told me a few nights and a million years ago about the plans he and Mason made to adopt him. Not as Gabriel’s son, because they both think that would be too weird. No, the plan is for Mason to be Nate’s legal guardian, same as he was for me and Gabriel and Remy.
What doesn’t make sense is the puzzled expression Elise is wearing.
“We’re back. Jameson! You made it. I got a veggie burger for you just in case, so don’t worry.” She pauses by a long countertop at the side of the room and drops the bags. “Did you guys see the bird in the hall?”
Charlotte cranes her neck. “There was a bird in the hall?”
Elise’s eyes get huge and shiny. “Thecutestlittle white bird.”
“Flying around?” Gabriel asks.
“No, there was a lady with a cage out there. We asked to see the bird, and she showed us—socute—and then she said she had to go, so I thought—wait.” Elise rushes back out into the hall. “Wait, she left the bird!” She returns with Snowball’s cage in her hand, her eyes bigger than I’ve ever seen. “Jameson, is this your bird?”
“Hang on.” Gabriel steps into view and narrows his eyes at me. “I saw her, and I—damn it, Jameson, I was a total prick. She came here with you, didn’t she?”
“I—”
“Ooh, what’s her name?” Elise stops taking food out of the bags and just stands there with a stack of three burgers in her hands, staring at me.
Lydia and Nate exchange a look, then watch with bright eyes. Charlotte’s staring from the bed. Remy. Gabriel. Mason.
They’reallstaring at me.
Snowball tweets a little tune like he’s introducing himself.
“Nobody.” It comes out too slow, and Elise whips her head toward Charlotte, who gives her averyfucking meaningful look. I guess I have to be louder. “Nobody.”
“Okay, Jameson.” Remy moves around to the side of my chair and leans down to gaze at Robin some more. “We believe you.”
