In the elevator ride to the parking garage I had a few seconds of quiet. A moment to catch my breath after Evie had stolen it. I leaned into the wood paneling.

She had surprised me. Shocked me. What she did back there wasn’t going to get her pregnant. I hadn’t touched her. She did it for entirely different reasons. Reasons I wasn’t prepared for. Damn it. We were crossing and blurring lines, and I didn’t think I wanted to stop it. I enjoyed it too much. I fucking loved getting messy with Evie.

The doors retracted and I walked to my car. I wanted to drive to the office today and let Evie have the private car. Her reaction to the credit card reaffirmed my initial instincts about her. She wasn’t in this for the money. But after the blow job, I realized she was in this for more than the baby. Something else had started to drive her.

The car purred to life and I spun out of the garage.

After today, she wasn’t going to be my little secret any more. The rest of the world would know who Evie Rossi was, or Evie Hartwell. It would come as a shock to everyone. Evie’s family wasn’t handling it well. I wondered how the rest of Newton Hills would take the news. They would either embrace us as the high school sweethearts we should have always been, or they’d label us as the town villains. It was a toss-up in that small town.

I checked my watch as I parked at the office. Even with my Evie distraction, I was on time. I grinned, quickly jogging up the stairs.

I pulled open the glass doors to the office complex and strolled inside, ready to make amends with Sasha and bring her into the fold. I needed her support on this.

The conference room door was ajar. I pushed the it open.

I’d know that balding silhouette anywhere.

“Byron?”

He twirled in the seat. Sasha was next to him.

“Good morning. Your associate and I were waiting for you to arrive.”

“She’s my partner,” I corrected him.

“Yes, of course.” He smiled at Sasha.

“What brings you to New York? And so early?” I asked.

“Your mother has hired me.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Can she do that? I thought you represented my father’s estate.”

“I represent your parents. I have always worked for your family.”

“Convenient for her.” I rocked back on my heels. “What can I do for you, Byron?”

“I hear congratulations are in order for you and the new Mrs. Hartwell.”

“Thank you.” I wasn’t going to take the bait. I wouldn’t play his game. He wanted a reaction from me, or possibly he was trying to get something from Sasha. I still didn’t know how he knew about the marriage.

“Maybe you’d like to attend the press conference this afternoon, Byron. You can be my guest.”

“Press conference?” It was the first time Sasha had spoken.

I looked at her. It was one of the things we needed to discuss, but not under these circumstances. “Yes, I thought since we kept the wedding private, it’s time to share the good news with the world.” I smiled. “We could all use some good news, don’t you think?”

“I’d like to be there,” Byron stated.

“I’ll give you the address. It’s in the lobby of my building.”

“Looking forward to it.” He reached for his fedora on the table.

Sasha took a step to the side for him to pass. Her heels looked even higher this morning.

“Byron,” I called as he ambled to the reception area.

He turned. “Yes?”

“You never did say why you stopped by. You’re a long way from Newton Hills.”

He reached in his worn leather briefcase. It looked like it might have been a gift he received when he first graduated law school. I would put money on it that the case was fifty years old.

“For you.” He handed me a manila envelope. “Your mother has officially contested the will.”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t need the money.” I gritted my teeth.

“I’m not going to debate the merits of my client’s wishes. We’ll see you in arbitration. I’d like to think this will never make it to court.”

“None of that will happen. I’m married. I’m in position to inherit the Hartwell Global fortune. And I will.”

“Is there an heir I don’t know about?” he asked. “Did you and your wife pick up a baby while you were in Ashville?”

I could hear Sasha’s gasp behind me.

“There will be a baby. And that will be the day I have everything. There’s nothing you can do about it, Byron. You knew my father’s wishes. You wrote the damn thing.”

He placed the hat on his head. “I look forward to meeting your wife.”

The elevator closed and he was gone.

“A baby?” Sasha raged.

I turned. “You don’t know the whole story.”

She stormed into the conference room. I closed the door behind us. It was bad enough the receptionist may have overheard some of my family’s dirty laundry.

Her pale eyes flared. “You are going to have a baby with someone you just married?” She put her fingertips to her forehead as if she had a sudden headache. “Tell me this is a nightmare. Tell me there is some other way you’re getting the money.”

“It’s the only way.” I looked at her.

“A baby? You’re going to have a baby with someone?”

“I don’t know why you’re struggling with this.” I looked through the window. A few employees had gathered in front of the reception area. “It was the last despicable thing my father did. I imagine he thought he could tie me down. Make me embrace a conventional lifestyle. The mansion on the hill with a white picket fence, complete with a smiling wife who bakes cookies in heels and an apron while our baby watches from a high chair. Sounds like he tried to deliver a fantasy, but I know better. It was his last attempt to control me. To force me into a life I never wanted.” I huffed. “And he punished my mother in the process. He got us both, at least until Evie.”

She pressed her palms into the glass of the conference table. “We have been partners for years. I can’t believe you would keep this from me. That you’d make a decision like this without me.”

I exhaled. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t go to the will reading with a plan. I didn’t know what was in the damn thing until he read it out loud. There was no strategy. I left the attorney’s office defeated. I thought I had lost it all. But I saw Evie again and it all fell into place. She was the answer to my prayers.” I had to stop myself from confessing how much she had saved me. How being with her in a short time had already changed everything.

It shook me when I saw tears in Sasha’s eyes. “It could have fallen into place for us.”

“Sasha.”

She put a hand up. “No. No. You don’t get to talk to me right now. You’re a dick, Jeremy. A completely selfish dick.”

“Wait. Have you been… have you thought all this time… ” She was a business shark. I respected the hell out of her. I wasn’t going to pretend she wasn’t incredible in bed when we were together, but mother material? No. I’d never put that label on her. There was a side to Sasha that was dark and cold.

“You should have considered what I could have offered to this deal.” Her eyes pierced me. “You should have realized what kind of force we could have been together.”

Fuck.

“I didn’t not consider you. I didn’t consider anyone. I didn’t want to get married. You know me. You know that about me. It’s exactly why my dad put it in the will.”

“But her? Someone without an ounce of business background? What can she possibly do for you? She has nothing to add to the portfolio. No connections. No money. What value is she?”

Something primal broke free in my chest. Evie was mine. She was my wife. I valued her, and nothing else mattered once I realized that.

“She’s going to give me a baby, Sasha. I married her because I wanted to marry her.”

I slammed my fist on the table.

Sasha stepped back. My admission had surprised both of us.

I hung my head. “I need your support. I need to know you’re going to be on my side. This marriage has to be a success to inherit the money. We need Evie if we’re going to buy the team. And you know I need you too, Sasha. I always have. It’s not going to work without you.”

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

“The press conference is at four.” I looked at her, but she couldn’t meet my eyes. “I need your answer by then.”

I walked out of the room.