“Hey,” I breathed.
“Hey, guys,” she said back, looking at each of us in turn. I scanned her face, seeing the dark circles under her eyes clearly, though I may have just been looking for signs that she wasn’t well. She paused, then asked, “I…what are you doing here?”
“Checking in,” Gavin said beside me, using his talent for sounding casual to lessen the tension the tiniest fraction.
“We haven’t heard from you in a while,” I explained. “And…I don’t know. I just had a feeling something’s up. Can we talk?”
“All of us,” Luca added quietly. Something passed between the two of them, in the hard look Luca gave her, so uncharacteristic of his usual vibe—both in general and toward Allie.
Allie’s expression was more tired than I’d ever seen her. She bit her lip, then gave a strained nod. “Give me a minute,” she said before ducking back into her apartment, leaving the three of us standing in the hallway.
She wasn’t gone long, but it felt like forever. We stood there in the hallway, quiet as statues. Gavin leaned against the wall, arms crossed, brows furrowed like he was calculating the worst-case scenario. Luca hovered nearby, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his light hoodie, radiating tension. I couldn’t even bring myself to pace, couldn’t get my body to do anything but wait.
Then the door opened with a soft creak, and Allie stepped back out, closing the door behind her.
She wasn’t inviting us in. Just her, in the hallway with us, holding something small in her hands. My eyes went to it instantly. A little velvet box. That box. The one I’d bought forJordyn, then given to Allie in a high-stakes blur in Vegas five years ago. I felt it in my chest first, a punch of memory and regret that stole the breath from my lungs.
She held it out to me. “Cade.”
I took it slowly, like it might shatter. When I opened it, the ring blinked up at me like it knew everything I didn’t. She hadn’t even touched it since Vegas, apparently, because it looked pristine.
I swallowed hard. “You didn’t have to give this back. You can keep it.”
Allie’s voice was soft, but firm. “What? No. It isn’t mine.”
“It could be,” I said, and she basically ignored the dumb, romantic suggestion.
“You wanted to use the money for your shop, and…I want you to have that. Take it, please.”
I stared at her, stunned into silence. My fingers closed around the box, but I didn’t pocket it. I couldn’t move past the look in her eyes—like she was already mourning something.
“You’ve been acting weird,” I said finally. “Since you guys got the annulment. We haven’t heard from you.”
“I know.”
“Then why?” I asked, a little desperation slipping into my tone.
She hesitated. I saw her glance toward Luca, and something passed between them that I couldn’t quite catch. A flash of understanding. A shared weight.
Whatever this was, it wasn’t just hers to carry.
Allie looked back at me. Her eyes were shining, but dry. That made it worse, somehow.
“I got the results,” she said. “From the paternity test.”
My heart didn’t start pounding—it stopped. Completely. My body locked up. The air between us thickened.
I braced for anything. Everything.
Her gaze locked with mine. “It’s you, Cade. You’re Daphne’s father.”
Time bent.
Her words fell like bricks into the silence, and all I could do was stare at her. Like if I didn’t blink, maybe the moment wouldn’t be real yet.
But it was real. It landed. It cracked something open inside me that I hadn’t even realized was sealed shut.
I was a father.
