time and you didn’t tell me? Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Yes, of course. I wasn’t planning on keeping it from you.”
“Well, isn’t that what you’re doing? You obviously didn’t tell me when you found out who you are.”
“Ryan, it’s only been a day.”
Her impassive tone only infuriated him more. “Only a day? A day is like a lifetime to me. I assumed you lost the baby!” He drew in a deep breath, tried to calm his raging temper. It didn’t work. “Son of a bitch, he’s my son? Do you have any idea how much I wanted that baby? My God, I didn’t just lose you. I lost him, too. And now you’re telling me it’s only been one goddamn day?”
He paced away, then back again, not trusting himself. Why couldn’t he control his emotions when he was around her? Why was everything getting worse instead of better? He had a son. A son. He should be happy. Thrilled. Instead, all he felt was pain, confusion, and a mountain of misery.
“Don’t do this,” she said. “I’m telling you now.”
“You didn’t tell me. I found out on my own, accidentally!”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When? When it was convenient for you? Did you even think what I’d need? How I’d feel? No, because you can’t remember anything about me. Convenient, isn’t it? To have such a candid excuse for not caring about anyone else’s feelings.”
“Kate?”
They both glanced toward the screen. A middle-aged man with thinning hair stood on the other side of the door. “Is everything okay out here?”
“Who the hell are you?” Ryan asked.
“I’m a friend of Kate’s. Who are you?”
“I’m her goddamn husband. Can’t you feel the love?”
Annie closed her eyes.
The man pushed the screen open, squared his shoulders.
Annie jogged up the steps and pushed him back into the house. “Tom, now’s a really bad time.”
“I came by to make sure you were okay. You skipped out on a meeting today.”
She herded him inside. “I’m fine. I’ll explain it later. Right now, I need to take care of this.”
From the yard, Ryan heard the man say, “Do you want me to stay? That guy looks pissed. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Annie’s voice—shit, Kate’s voice…his Annie would never do this to him—echoed from inside, but Ryan blocked it out. Closing his eyes, he rested his hands on his hips, breathed deep, and tried to find control. In his business dealings, he was all about control, but with her…with her, he’d never had control. She’d wrapped him around her finger from the first moment they’d met, and he’d been under her spell ever since. She’d brought out the deepest emotions in him, from the most intense passion to the most excruciating pain. And that pain was lingering from one freshly inflicted wound to the next, dragging out his anger in ways he didn’t want but needed to contain.
He had to stop letting his emotions lead him. She didn’t remember him. She didn’t care about him. He had to think about Julia and…his son. He had to start thinking of this as a business transaction.
He slipped on his sunglasses, crossed the grass, and dropped into the sand, perching his forearms on his knees as he stared out at the roaring waves and waited.
Long minutes later, he heard the screen door open and sensed more than heard her move up behind him.
“Is he gone?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Who was he?”
“My boss. This is, technically, his house. We’re renting it from him.”
That explained how she was able to afford a place way out here.
“What’s my son’s name?” He knew his tone was harsh, but he didn’t care.
“Reed—” she blew out a breath “—Jacob Alexander.”
“You gave our son his name.” His jaw clenched.
“Ryan, I didn’t name him. I was in a coma when he was born.”
He closed his eyes and was forced himself to remain silent as he tried like hell to lock his emotions deep inside. It just didn’t fucking work. “I want visitation. If you won’t agree to it, I’ll take it to the courts. My lawyers will get it.”
“I’ll agree. I don’t want to keep him from you.”
“Good. You tell him. Tonight. If you don’t, I’ll do it. I’m not going to pretend like he’s not mine. We both know he is. I’ve waited too damn long already.”
“I’ll do it. Ryan—”
“And I want his name changed. I want him to have my name. Our name, dammit.” He glared at her over his shoulder. Knew it wasn’t her fault. Knew none of this