“Jesus fucking Christ,” Max said. He finished off the scotch I’d poured for him and then added, “I can’t even wrap my head around this shit.”

I felt the same way, which was why I’d called the guys and Scarlett shortly after Samantha left and asked them to come over. Since they’d arrived, we’d been sitting in the living room where they ate the pizza I’d ordered, and I filled them in on everything that had gone down.

Getting it all out seemed to help, and having them here made me calm again.

Exploding like I had earlier would only make this situation worse.

“How did I not know any of this was going on?” Max asked.

He looked at Brett and Scarlett, and she responded with, “I just found out, too. You weren’t the only one.”

“There wasn’t anything to tell,” I replied. “Samantha and I reconnected at the Super Bowl. Once I had a better idea of where things were going, I would have told you.”

“I know you’re looking for advice,” Max said. “But, man, this is a tricky one. I think it’s important you get a paternity test. At least then, you’ll know for sure.”

“I asked her for one, but I already know what it’s going to say. Samantha wouldn’t have told me unless she was positive.”

“What’s your opinion, Scarlett?” Max asked.

She took her heels off and put her bare feet on the ottoman, running her fingers through the ends of her hair. “As a woman, it’s your responsibility to tell the father of your child regardless of your relationship with him.” She glanced at me. “But I can’t pretend to know what she went through or what that would have felt like or how scary that would have been at nineteen.” She sighed. “That’s what I keep going back to—that she was only nineteen. You’re a baby at that age, and you don’t know a decision that massive will affect the rest of your life.”

Silence passed between the four of us.

We’d been through so much together—deaths in our families, career-ending decisions, financial turmoil. A kid was one we hadn’t dealt with yet. I had known it would come one day, especially with Brett and James getting hitched. I just hadn’t thought I’d be the first to have one.

A child.

Fuck, it still hasn’t set in.

“I can’t believe she never reached out to tell you,” Max said.

That was the part of the story I’d left out.

“But she did,” I told them. “She texted several times. She left me voice mails. She even sent a few emails.”

“And you never got back to her?” Max asked.

I shrugged. “No.”

“That’s fucked up of you,” Scarlett said.

I nodded. “I know.”

Brett walked to the bar, refilled his glass, and came back. He didn’t sit. He stood in front of the large sectional and stared at me. “Samantha came to my condo today to drop off some sketches. She had Lucy with her.”

My feet dropped off the cushion in front of me and fell to the floor, my body sitting up straight. “You met her?”

I didn’t even know what she looked like.

What she sounded like.

I hated that he had seen her before me.

“The second I saw her, I knew. Of course, it helped that I was expecting a toddler, and she was far from that,” Brett said, looking like he was going to turn a little soft on me. “Jack, she’s beautiful. She’s got these huge blue eyes that are identical to yours and the same shape of your face. She’s got her mother’s lips but your smile.”

I exhaled. Loudly.

And I tried not to let his description hit me too much.

“Did you say anything to Samantha about this?”

“Hell yeah, I did. Once I called her out, she admitted it and said she was going to tell you tonight. I followed that up with an ultimatum and said if she didn’t tell you by tomorrow morning, I would.”

Any person in this room would have done the same.

“What time did this happen?”

He seemed to think about my question and finally answered, “Around three this afternoon.”

Samantha had texted me about dinner long before that, which told me running into Brett had sent her over the edge. That was the change I’d felt in her when she showed up at my place.

“She’s a cool kid, Jack,” Brett continued. “Smart and sassy, like James would say. She even shook my hand. I was only with her for a few minutes, but I can tell Samantha raised her right.”

I couldn’t believe he was talking about my kid.

That she had my eyes.

That she lived in Miami.

“Fuck, this is complicated,” I said.

Brett sat on the end of the couch, his elbows resting on his knees. “I’m going to agree with Scarlett on this one. Samantha was young; she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. It sounds like she even lied to her family about who the father was. When you blew her off, she could have gone to her brother to track you down, outing you in the process. Instead, she chose to keep what you two had done a secret, and she had a baby entirely on her own. That took some balls, Jack.”

“Yeah, it did,” Max said.

I pushed myself forward on the couch and gripped the sides of the cushion with both hands. “She didn’t have to do it on her own. I would have been there for her, had she told me.”

“Jack, we know that about you, but not everyone responds the way you do,” Scarlett said. “Samantha obviously didn’t feel the same way. I think you might need to cut her a little slack because, to me, it sounds like she tried to tell you.”

This was coming from a woman and my best friend and someone who always had my back.

As pissed as I was at Samantha, I needed to hear this.

And I needed to consider how she felt.

“You were pretty rough on her, brother,” Brett said. “I could tell she was panicky at my place, so I know it couldn’t have been easy for her to come here and confess.”

“Look, she fucked up; we all know that,” Max said. “But you fucked up, too. You can’t just point your finger at her.”

I had been rough on her.

I’d thrown a goddamn bottle at the wall.

I’d kicked her out of my house.

I’d told her I would get a lawyer if she didn’t let me see Lucy.

“You know, if we’re being technical, this whole thing is your fault,” Brett said.

Max and Scarlett looked at me, waiting for me to react.

But I didn’t. I let Brett finish his thought.

“What fucking idiot sticks his cock inside a chick when he doesn’t know if she’s on birth control?” He took a drink. “You know better than that. We all do.”

I did know better, even at that age.

Fuck, especially at that age.

I just hadn’t thought those few pumps would do anything.

Man, was I wrong.

“You need to think about everything that happened tonight,” Scarlett said, hugging her arms around her stomach. “Break it all down—the things you said to her, what you want, how you see this moving forward. Then, you need to address it with her. Just don’t make any irrational decisions when you’ve been drinking.”

“In other words, don’t fucking call her tonight,” Max said. “And don’t throw any more glass.”

“I won’t.” I shook my head. “But I was so fucking angry, and I’m still so fucking angry. I lost seven years of her life.”

Max pulled his tie, loosening the knot from his neck. “I get it, but she’s not just some random chick or a baby mama you want nothing to do with. You wanted to be with her before you found out she’d carried your child. Now that you know, that’s got to change things a little.”

I didn’t know what it did.

My mind wasn’t ready to go there yet.

Scarlett’s hand landed on my arm, and she said, “Do me a favor; don’t come into the office tomorrow. With Brett and Max flying out, that gives me a whole day without the three of you, so I’ll actually be able to get some work done.”

Brett laughed. “She’s tired of us harassing her about the celebrity alert.”

“That’s true,” Scarlett admitted. “Although I would have said this anyway.” She made sure she had my full attention. “You found out some life-altering news today. You need to get your head straight. So, go do whatever you need to do, but don’t come in.”

“In all the years we’ve worked together, I don’t think you’ve ever given anyone the day off,” Max said. He looked at me. “Take that shit and fucking run, man.”

“I’m a hard-ass. This is why you love me.” She poked the same arm she’d been holding. “I mean it. Take some time; you need it.”

“All right.” I checked the time on my phone, and it was close to midnight.

The guys were flying out before eight tomorrow morning, and they were going to be on the road for close to a week. They needed some sleep.

“Get your asses out of here. I’ve kept you long enough,” I said. I stood, leaving my scotch on the end table, knowing I’d had more than enough, and I walked Scarlett and the guys to the elevator. “Thanks for coming. You know that shit means a lot to me.” I slapped hands with Max and Brett, man-hugging each of them, and then I kissed Scarlett on the cheek. “I’ll be in touch with you guys tomorrow,” I told them.

When they were all in the elevator, Brett pointed at me. “Think about what we said. It’ll be worth it in the end.”