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“Maybe.” I shrugged. “But I don’t know what else to do. I need more time to think. To make a plan that works for all three of us.”
Jason didn’t appear convinced by my reasoning. “I really think it’d be better if you got this all figured out right away. Just clear the air and move forward….”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore!” I exclaimed. “This is my decision, Jason, and I’ll deal with whatever consequences come my way, okay?”
Jason gazed at me for several moments with a hopeless expression, but then, he sighed and nodded.
“All right,” he murmured. “You’re right. It’s totally your call.”
“You have to promise you won’t tell Henry about Ryan,” I insisted. “I don’t want him getting worked up and confused over this until I know how to explain it to him.”
Again, he appeared reluctant, but he said, “All right, I promise I won’t say anything to Henry about Ryan. But what are you going to do about Ryan, anyway? Chances are that he’s going to try and talk to you again, or maybe even attempt to meet Henry. How are you planning on stopping that from happening?”
“Don’t worry,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ll take care of Ryan. He won’t be a problem. I promise.”
Chapter seven
Ryan
“Thingsseemquieter,sir.No one has seen or heard from Bill since you left the city.”
I let out a sigh of relief, glad for some good news for once. I was sitting in my study, talking on the phone with my head of security, Marcus, back in New York.
“Thank God. Maybe that means I was right in thinking he’d back off if I was gone. If he’s got no target to go after, he has no motivation to continue his harassment.”
“It appears that way, sir,” Marcus replied. “We’ll, of course, keep an eye out, and if we receive any hint that he’s active again, I’ll contact you immediately.”
“Thank you, Marcus. Yeah, keep me posted.”
Hanging up the call, I sank back into my chair and turned my gaze up to the ceiling.
If Bill was no longer a problem, that was one less thing for me to have to think about and stress over.
Reaching up, I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting back a headache that threatened to overtake me.
Suddenly, the house’s doorbell rang, shattering the quiet that had settled around me. Startled, I frowned and checked my watch for the time. It was the middle of the afternoon. I didn’t know who could possibly want to see me, unless it was Jason coming back to finish our fight.
Reluctantly, I pushed to my feet and made my way out of the study and to the front of the house. When I opened the door, I froze.
Sam stood at the threshold, glaring up at me with her arms crossed.
“Hey,” I murmured. “What…?”
Before I could finish speaking, though, she barged into my house, pushing past me without so much as a hello.
“We need to talk,” she snapped, spinning around to face me again.
I should’ve expected this reaction after my confrontation with Jason. Of course he’d go and confront Sam about it all. I had no idea what she might have told him, but I was hoping her being in my house meant I might finally get some answers from her.
“I agree,” I told her. “Let’s go sit in the living room and…”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not staying long.”
“Okay,” I slowly said, confused.
She released a short, frustrated breath before continuing, “I’m neither confirming or denying that Henry is yours, all right? That’s just not a conversation I want to have with you right now. However, I don’t want you to say anything to Henry about any of this until after the wedding. I don’t want you confusing him, and I don’t want you causing any drama for Jason and Mandy.”
Frustration welled up within me. She was acting like I was somehow the bad guy because I wanted to know more about the kid who I was certain was my son.
