adore having music in my
life. And without you pushing me to be the best I could be, I’d never have met Isaac. I have an amazing life, and it’
s all thanks to you.”
“You’re far too forgiving.”
Jesse shrugged. “Maybe. But I don’t want to hold a grudge against you. I want you in my life and in Jasper’s and
Colby’s lives.”
The moment Jesse said Jasper’s name, the little boy woke up and began to cry. It was a quiet, mournful sound at
first, but it quickly increased in volume until Jesse scooped him out of the pram and rocked him in his arms.
“Perfect timing,” Isaac said as he screwed the top on the second bottle.
“You’d better take Jasper,” Jesse said, nodding towards the shop windows.
A small crowd of fans had formed, all staring through the windows. One or two had cameras out, but Jesse’s
bodyguard was doing a good job of blocking them.
Jesse gave Jasper to Isaac before going outside with his bodyguard to sign yet more autographs.
“All you just said… Was it true?” Isaac handed me a bottle.
I checked the temperature of the milk on the inside of my arm and then touched the teat to the corner of Colby’s
mouth. He let go of my finger and sucked the teat into his mouth, guzzling the milk. I sat him more upright,
mindful of the fact that he’d suffered from colic for a short while.
“Yes.”
“I’m glad. I think if you really have let go of the past, you’re going to be a lot happier. And if you’re happier, Jesse
will be too. He worries about you.”
“There’s no need.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Isaac lifted his chin.
“I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but can we try getting along better from now on?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you can forgive the way Jesse and I got together.” He grinned at me.
We both knew that was less of a sin than my behaviour during the first twenty-three years of Jesse’s life.
“I can forgive you. Can you forgive me for making Jesse so unhappy?”
Isaac nodded slowly. “Although it’s not really my place. Honestly, if you hadn’t been the kind of dad you were,
Jesse and I would never have met. So, in a weird kind of way, I should be thanking you.”
“Don’t.”
Isaac chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
When Colby finished his bottle, Isaac handed me a muslin. I put it over my shoulder and held Colby against my
chest, gently patting and rubbing his back until he let out a huge burp that made the other customers in the shop
stop and stare before letting out a collective ‘aww’ when they saw the belch had come from a baby. Jasper was
still working on drinking his bottle.
“You’re good at that,” Isaac said.
“I had a bit of practice.” I looked out the window at Jesse, who was still with his fans.
“Are you thinking about having another baby?”
I blinked and gaped at Isaac. “I wasn’t, not really.”
“Honestly?”
“I…” I couldn’t exactly deny it. “It’s silly. I’m too old.” I wasn’t going to claim to be single, although it wouldn’t have
been lying to say that I didn’t have an alpha in my life. I carried on rubbing Colby’s back. “Part of me wants a
second shot at being a dad,” I admitted. “So I can do it right this time.” I cleared my throat. “But that’s not a good
reason to have another child.”
“Is that the only reason?” Isaac asked.
“What other reason could there be?”
Isaac shrugged and began to wind Jasper, who had rejected his bottle with roughly an ounce left in it. “I don’t
know, but if you think of anything, let us know.”
My gut flipped over. They both suspected something. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Jesse would have told
Isaac about his suspicions.
“If something—or someone—is making you happy, you can tell us,” Isaac added.
That was good to know, but it still wasn’t the right time, and it definitely wasn’t the right place. My plan to tell
them after the twins’ adoption party hadn’t changed.
4
Charlie
Even if I hadn’t before, I’d officially achieved divo status by bringing my electronic keyboard on tour with me. It
was set up in my hotel suite in Copenhagen.
We’d spent all of Sunday driving south to Helsingborg and had stayed the night there before getting the car ferry
across to Denmark and then on to Copenhagen. It was Monday, and other than a photoshoot and interview with a
teen magazine the next morning, I was free until the concert on Wednesday evening. ‘Free’ being
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