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“My mother wasn’t subtle on the best of days.” Nova sniffed before she laughed softly. “And I know there’s a part of her that would have reveled in the drama of all this.”
“We have no lack of that around here,” Bowie muttered.
Nikolas didn’t think the man had fully thawed, but it was also clear he respected Marlowe’s judgment, the CEO’s acceptance of Nova going a long way.
“Nikolas has shared as much.” Nova met his gaze before taking a deep breath. “I understand that Ace has been missing for the past few weeks.”
Marlowe and Bowie exchanged a glance of their own before Marlowe took a deep breath. “Nova. What do you know?”
“I know your father is in the hospital, still in a coma. And I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that news.”
“It was really tough for a while. The doctors weren’t sure if he would survive. Stubborn man that he is, he’s done that but can’t seem to get to that next major milestone of coming out of the coma.”
Baby Reed fussed slightly and Bowie stood. He pressed a quick kiss to Marlowe’s forehead before heading off to walk the baby to sleep.
“If you need to go with him—” Nova gestured toward Bowie’s retreating back “—we can talk later.”
“No. He’s good. And I like for Bowie and Reed to have their time, too. Reed’s bonding with his father just like he is with me.” A sweet look came over her face, one Nikolas had never seen before on the very successful, very driven CEO of Colton Oil.
Satisfied Bowie and Reed would be good on their own, Marlowe returned her attention to the conversation. “The doctors are still hopeful my father’s going to make a full recovery. What no one can figure out is where my brother plays into all this.”
“Do you think he had anything to do with Payne’s shooting?” Nova asked.
Nikolas waited for Marlowe’s answer to the question, well aware he was currently looking for information that suggested otherwi
se.
That Ace Colton had, in fact, shot his father.
He’d believed himself well able to handle the case for Selina Barnes Colton and help Nova, but was he deluding himself? He believed that he could maintain his objectivity, yet sitting there, staring at the two women who were related to his case, Nikolas was forced to wonder.
Of course, he was worried he’d lost his objectivity on behalf of Selina’s case, but what if he was wrong about Nova? He didn’t know her, either, and now here he was, barely twenty-four hours after meeting her, convinced she was Ace’s daughter.
Marlowe seemed sure of it, too, even as he began to question himself.
Nova hadn’t told him about her background and why she was on the run. There didn’t appear to be any evidence of the man who’d fathered her child anywhere in her life.
What if this was a setup?
The part of him that respected his fundamental ability to read people and suss out fakes and phoneys believed himself infallible. But what if he was wrong?
The continued gossip around Ace Colton’s parentage had already brought out the phonies. The family had already dealt with a guy named Jace Smith a few months ago. He’d played it cool and fooled the family for a while into thinking he was the switched baby.
Was it possible Nova was more of the same?
The pregnancy was a nice touch, but Ace’s history was a poorly kept secret, no matter how hard the family and the execs at Colton Oil were trying to keep it on lockdown.
Suddenly out of answers, Nikolas stood and made a few quick excuses to take a call outside.
Had he made a mistake? He’d taken Selina’s case, willing to look for any and all information that pointed to Ace Colton’s whereabouts. Then within days, a woman claiming to be Ace’s daughter had showed up.
He’d been so convinced Nova was the vulnerable one that he had never considered he might be the one being played.
As he stepped outside the condo, Nikolas took a few deep breaths.
And couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been tricked by a pair of vulnerable green eyes and a sweet smile.
* * *
