attorney, I join Beth and her son in the living room.
“Come sit with me, Ian,” Beth says, patting the sofa cushion beside her.
As soon as I sit, Luke tries to pull himself up onto the sofa. I reach down to give him a hand, and he climbs into my lap.
“He really likes you,” she says. “He’s usually shy around new people, but he’s definitely taken to you.”
Luke stands up on my thighs, facing me, his legs wobbling as he tries to keep his balance. He clutches my shirt tightly as he pats my cheek and says, “Dada.”
“He likes beards,” Beth says. “Shane has one.”
“Dada,” Luke repeats, glancing around as if he’s looking for his father. He climbs down off the sofa, crawls over to a basket of toys, and pulls out the little camera Tyler and I gave him for his birthday. He holds the toy out to me and says something in gibberish.
“So, how many words can he say?” I ask her.
“He says mama and dada and that’s about it.”
I scoot off the sofa and join Luke on the rug. Clutching his toy camera, he crawls into my lap and hands it to me.
I hold the toy up to my eye, squinting as I look through the viewfinder and click the button that makes the pretend flashbulb light up.
“I think you’ve made a friend,” Beth says. “Have you ever thought about having kids?”
I glance up at her. “Not really. It always seemed so unlikely. I never had anyone special in my life before.”
Absently, she smooths her hands over her baby bump. “But you like kids?”
“Sure, I love them.”
Luke lunges forward all of a sudden, sliding off my lap, and crawls toward the toy basket. He pulls out a gray-and-white stuffed kitty that looks very well loved and brings it back to me.
“That’s his kitty—his other favorite toy.” She smiles at me. “You’d make a great dad, Ian.”
I can feel myself blushing. “Tyler would be a great dad.”
She nods. “I can attest to that. He practically helped my mom raise me.”
“Speaking of kids, when’s your new baby due?”
She nods as she glances down at her rounded belly. “Not until the end of September.” She pats her abdomen. “You hear that, pumpkin? You still have some time to go. Don’t be in a hurry.” She smiles at me. “Luke was born prematurely. Shane and I are hoping that won’t be the case with this baby.”
The elevator chimes and, a moment later, Sam and Cooper walk into the penthouse. Cooper is juggling three grocery sacks, and Sam is carrying two cases of beer.
“Hey, Ian,” Cooper says when he spots me on the floor with Luke.
While Cooper puts the groceries away, Sam carries the beer to the bar across the room and stows some of the bottles in the fridge beneath the counter.
Sam and Cooper join us. Sam sits beside Beth and Cooper sits on the sofa opposite theirs.
Luke immediately abandons me and crawls over to Cooper, who scoops him up.
“I see where I stand,” I say, laughing.
“Don’t take it personally,” Beth says. “Luke idolizes Cooper.”
“We all do,” Sam says as he winks at me. Then he pulls Beth’s feet onto his lap and starts massaging them.
Beth groans as she lies back against a pillow. “Oh, thank you.” She looks at me and wiggles her toes. “Sam knows all the right pressure points.”
“Is Tyler here?” Cooper asks, looking toward the kitchen.
Beth nods. “He’s in the office with Shane and Troy. They’re strategizing.”
Cooper looks to me. “Have you heard anything from Turner?”
I shake my head. “Nothing yet, but I’m afraid it’s coming.”
Cooper sets Luke on the rug near his toys and extends his hand to me. When I take it, he hauls me to my feet. “Come on, I’ll buy you a drink. What would you like?”
“Do you know how to make a Cosmo?” I ask as I follow him to the bar.
“Coming right up. Sweet or dry?”
“Sweet, please.” I sit on a bar stool and watch Cooper mix my drink, adding citrus-flavored vodka and cranberry juice to the shaker.
After shaking it, he pours the mix into a martini glass, tops it with a fresh lime wedge, and slides it across the bar to me. “Don’t worry, Ian. Everything will work out okay.”
I take a sip of my drink. “Mm, perfect. Thank you. That’s what Tyler keeps telling me. Just have faith. But that’s easier said than done.”
“You’ve met Tyler, right?” Cooper says, cocking an eyebrow at me. “The man is a force of