ncounter had flipped her neatly ordered world upside down. Every time she closed her eyes she pictured Liam inside her cafe looking at Noah, scrutinising him with a growing i

's grin, Ava's laugh. But as the years rolled on, Liam had started to show up in ways she could not dismiss. It had happened so gradually that she had not rec

or to look for commonalities. The truth was well buried enough, hidden by time and distance and silence. Now for the first time

r thoughts kept going back to yesterday's meeting, to every look, every word, every feeling she had tried to bury for five years. She threw back

case nearly as fast as they were put in. The regular rhythm of the place helped Ava's anxiety calm, and kept her focused on heating milk, taking or

igid and her eyes darted to the door so swiftly it almost ach

f-reproach. Ava chastised herself in silence for her reaction; she relaxed her s

er to. He was one of the busiest men in the country, a man with a schedule booked weeks in advance and a man whose time was worth

r stomach. It was not the passing look or polite interest. It had been the probing, calculating stare of a man trying to work

It was Ethan Reyes. Liam's best friend. Ava's stomach plummeted the moment she recognised him. Oh no. No. No, n

ry immediately a

but it was a stiff and unnatural

ffable, intelligent, and far too watchful. The easy grin and laid back attitude fooled most people, but

, "Long

een fiv

d slowly. "

ched in Ava's stomach. This wasn't a coincidence. This wasn't about coffee. He'd come be

he had been intentionally harsh, unpleasant and arrogant. But he was polite, sensible, and far more understanding than

tempting to sound professional as a storm of

of

hing

more deadly than it had any right

She hadn't expected honesty from this

unds like Liam sai

ined and a pain in the ass when they wanted anything. Neither knew how to walk away from a goal once

h's customary table, where the small child was colouring a rocket ship, blissfully ignorant that the adults surrounding him were

good seconds, long enough to confirm what she'd already assumed. There w

churn. The same reaction he'd had yester

on

blinke

t do

realisation hung heavy between them, impossible to ignore, and Ava wished she could take the talk

It was the sigh of a guy who has suddenly discovered himself standing in the cent

ot really. But not without kicking off a cascade of events that would change everything she had spent years protecting. The quiet between them was thick an

place. His face went white. Shock swept across his face, followed by bewilderment and something that was dangerously

God," Ava squeezed her eyes shut, worry and fear coiling inside her. Her chest was filled

f the page he knew he had no idea what he'd just read. His eyes kept straying from the statistics and the legal jargon, pulle

the café. His mind kept replaying the interaction every time he tried to concentrate on work, picking apart

. Or maybe it ma

d to the little child whose face he couldn't get out of his head. He attempted to co

d knock at the

sit across from Liam's desk. As soon as he came in Liam's face lifted hopefully,

ow best to impart whatever information he had unearthed. The silence that followed stretched between

cerity on his friend's face that made him uneasy. Liam frowned as a kn

ng moment, his expression op

ed in his chest. There was something about his friend's expression that immediately put him on edge, the feeling only increasing as the sil

don't

sitant kind in all the years they'd known each other. He was forthright, direct and seldom had to labour to express what was on his mi

t last. "Ethan." It was a

aybe even sympathy. A chill settled in Liam's stomach. Ethan wasn't dodging the conversation because he wante

in knots. "What's

pause deepened the discomfort already churning

n's face already had unease crawling under his skin. Liam had a

nce, making the air between them heavy until it was stifling. Both men were silent f

ograph of yours

. Nope. That could not be. His mind rejected it outright, for if it were true, if Noah was really his son, then he'd lost five years he'd never get back. Five years of birthdays and bed times. Five yea

ad across Liam's face, like if a wound w

red, the words barel

count for five lost years, nothing to explain a fact that had just blown apart everything Liam believe

at are y

ng to go

e not

ed his ja

ou're mad

ly irritation and something far deeper boiling underneath. He raked a hand through his hai

ard he could hardly tell one from the next. His thoughts were a jumble of astonishment and amazement but underlying the chaos wa

back at him with the unmistakable blue eyes of a tiny kid named Noah. Something shifted under Liam, and what he thought he knew, he felt it move beneath him, and the rea