But before I could say anything, there was a soft knock on the half-open front door. I looked up to see a man standing in the doorway. He was a young, skinny guy with a black T-shirt and dirty jeans.
“Hey, I’m from Lyft. A,” – he looked down at the phone in his hand – “Reese Starr called for a car,” he said before looking up. I felt the dread in my belly when his eyes went wide as he recognized me.
“Oh, hey, are you… holy fuck, you are!” the guy exclaimed. “I totally would have voted for you, dude… if I’d been old enough to back then.” His eyes went to Reese. “Are you… you are! You’re his kid. Reese Shaw!”
I felt Reese tense next to me and I quickly climbed to my feet.
“Wait, can I have a picture?” the guy asked. He didn’t wait for a response as he pointed his phone at me, then Reese.
“Hey!” I heard Nash shout.
The driver froze at the sight of Nash, then quickly tucked his phone in his pocket and put up his hands. “Sorry, dude, I’m just here to—”
“Out!” Nash snapped. He grabbed the guy by the shirt and propelled him backward.
“Dude, does the president’s kid still want a ride?” the young guy had the balls to ask.
I didn’t hear what Nash said to the guy, but I knew it couldn’t have been good because the kid went really quiet.
Gage and Grady appeared from the kitchen as Nash popped his head back into the house. “Does Reese want this guy to wait?” he asked.
I stiffened because I’d almost forgotten that Reese was planning to leave. What if he still did? What if this moment of peace we’d managed to find was only temporary?
I looked at Reese. I knew he’d heard Nash’s question. He refused to look at me and I felt my belly drop out.
God, I was going to lose him.
But to my surprise, Reese shook his head. I waited to see if he’d say anything, in case I’d misunderstood the gesture, but he remained quiet… and seated.
“Send him away,” I said to Nash.
I ignored the commotion outside as Nash got rid of the guy. I had no doubt he was threatening the kid within an inch of his life about not saying anything, but I knew it wouldn’t matter. Legally, Nash couldn’t confiscate the kid’s phone, and even if he did, the guy would just have to tell one person and it would all be over.
I sank back down on the loveseat.
“You okay?” Gage asked as he came and crouched in front of me. He didn’t touch me, though, a fact that left me feeling both bereft and relieved at the same time. I wasn’t sure Reese wanted to see proof that a man he considered a friend was also one of the men I was in an intimate relationship with.
I nodded.
“How about you?” he asked Reese.
“Yeah,” Reese said.
Nash slammed the door behind him. “That shit’s going to be on social media before he reaches the end of the driveway,” he murmured.
“We should go,” I said to Nash. I looked at Gage and said, “Nash and I will go to a hotel and you can tell the reporters which one we’re at, okay? Or I can have someone leak the information…”
“No,” Gage said adamantly. “You’re staying. Both of you.”
“Gage—”
“He’s right, Dad,” Reese said. “I don’t need you to protect me. I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”
“Okay,” I said, though I really wanted to tell him that my only goal in life was to protect him.
“We’ll leave you to it,” Gage said as he stood up. But I grabbed his wrist.
“Wait,” I murmured as my belly began to roll. “I was about to tell Reese how Ronan and I met, and I’d like you to stay for that.” I looked at Nash and said, “You too.”
Both men nodded. “Grady already knows the story because he was there. He’ll need to fill in some of the parts I don’t remember.”
Nash and Gage looked at me with a mix of surprise and concern, but didn’t comment on my statement. Instead, they went to the couch and sat down. I willed myself to stay calm, but it was a next-to-impossible task.
It was only made easier when my son reached out and put his hand on the one I was tapping nervously against my knee.
“No more secrets, Dad,” he said.
I nodded. “No more secrets.”
Chapter 31
Gage
As happy as I was to see Everett and his son in such close proximity to one another, and that Reese was even reaching out to his father, I was nervous about what Everett had to say to us. I wouldn’t have thought he would have been keeping any more secrets from us, but clearly, he was. I knew it wouldn’t change anything about how Nash and I felt about him, though. Just like when I’d told him the truth about what had happened to my mother and the revenge I’d taken against her killer.