Don’t take anything Page said to heart,” Colt quietly says from the bedroom doorway.

I’m sitting cross-legged on the thick carpet, nested in my hotel robe while I rock Sebastian in my arms. I’m still unsettled by the scene with J.Page, still feeling about two inches tall because of how she belittled me, and from the furious look on Colt’s face, he’s with me all the way.

“She laid into you because she’s angry at me,” he says. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“I didn’t know she was that much of a…” I look down at Sebastian, who’s resting contentedly as if the shit didn’t just go down outside this room. “You know what I want to say.”

Raging bitch.

“I know.” Colt sits down on a velvet chair, running his fingers through his loose hair in agitation. “I had no idea she would barge in like that.” He gives me a long look. “She’s never done something like this before with me.”

“Do you think she heard Sebastian crying in here?” I ask. “Is she going to let your little secret out to the world?”

“Just let her.”

“Colt, you came here to avoid scandals, not create more of them.”

He leans forward in the chair. “You and Sebastian aren’t a scandal. You’re my life.”

His words are full of blazing conviction, and so are his eyes. I hold Sebastian closer in the face of Colt’s clear anger at his costar. This is a man who would go to war for us, and I only hope he doesn’t destroy every good thing he’s built for himself because of an insanely jealous actress who took him under her pretty wing.

“I’ll take care of Page’s prima donna attitude and petty jealousy,” he says. “In the meantime, you just need to remember that you’re the only woman for me, Serena. Never doubt that.”

I nod, pressing my lips together with emotion. Then I shake my head and let it all out. “It’s just not easy to think that way, Colt. J.Page is stunning on and off the screen. Next to her, I feel like…”

As the heat in his eyes intensifies, I stop, because how can I argue that J.Page made me feel like a troll when Colt is sitting there right now looking at me as if there’s no comparison between her and me? That I’m the obvious winner?

Love for him sweeps through me, and I’m carried away by it. “I know it’s been hard, waiting for me to talk to my family and reveal to everyone that you’re Bash’s father.” I swallow. “But I’m going to talk to my parents tonight. I’m going to tell them everything.”

Colt doesn’t break eye contact with me, and it burns. “What about telling Jack?”

“My brother will have to come later. I want my parents to know the truth first, because they aren’t the ones who’re likely to fly off the handle.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Colt’s hard body seems to melt a little as he glances at Sebastian, then at me. “I want to talk to them with you, Serena. I want to be at your side while you’re facing them.”

“Colt, the moment they see you, they’ll put up their defenses. This is going to take some finesse, so let me give them a try first. Okay?”

He knots up, then relaxes and laughs quietly. “Did you more or less just tell me that I lack subtly?”

I shrug, and we both laugh softly during this release of tension. I just wish laughing made me feel better about what I finally have to do tonight: go home and have one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had with my parents.

* * *

When I arrive home from my glorious weekend away, it’s without Sebastian. I talked with Margot and she told me I could drop off my son with her for a couple hours while I have The Talk with my parents, just in case the scene gets ugly. I don’t think it will—Mom and Dad are fair, rational people—but this is an ultra touchy subject with my family, and I don’t want Sebastian around to hear any raised voices or adults crying.

Dad is in the garage, changing the oil in his RAV4, and he wanders onto the driveway, wiping his hands on a rag. “The travelers return! Mom is in the garden, plucking tomatoes for a dinner salad. She’s been having Bash withdrawals.” He cranes his neck to look into my backseat.

My stomach turns. “Bash is at Margot’s for a short time. I need to talk to you and Mom about something.”

He pauses, then frowns. “This sounds like a bad something, Serena.”

“No. Not at all.” I fortify myself with a breath. “It’ll actually be a good talk.”

From my point of view.

Dad’s frown mostly disappears at that—sort of—and he helps me bring in the luggage. Once inside the house, he calls for my mom, and she appears on the patio, tugging off her gardening gloves and whisking off her floppy hat. When she sees that Sebastian isn’t with me, Dad explains that Margot is babysitting. Meanwhile, I quickly duck into the bathroom to splash water on my face and stare at myself in the mirror.

You can do this, I think, even though the inside of my stomach is quivering and so are my hands. But my eyes are greener than usual because I’m still glowing from my weekend with Colt and Sebastian, and that gives me the strength to do what I have to do.

My parents and I take seats at the dining room table, and they look as worried as hell. I rush to reassure them.

“Don’t worry. I just want to talk with you about the future.” To put it mildly. “Is Jack coming by?”

“He’s got a date this evening,” Mom says.

Dad can’t help joking to cut the tension. “Poor girl, whoever she is.”

Nobody really laughs, though.

I’ve rehearsed what I’m going to say in the back of my mind a thousand times on the drive from Portland. But now that I’m actually facing my parents, it seems that I can’t find the right words.

“Serena,” Mom says. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Dad frowns. “Outside, you told me this was about something good.”

“And it is.” Do this. “Colt is back in town.”

At first, they only stare at me as if they’re still waiting for the wonderful part. Then Dad leans back in his chair and looks at Mom, who has lifted her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes.

“He’s changed,” I say. “And—”

“Does he know about Sebastian?” Dad asks.

I nod, and as my mom lowers her head, my father’s face goes as red as Jack’s does when he gets angry.

I forge ahead. “Colt has met Sebastian already, and they adore each other—”

“Is that where you were this weekend?” Dad asks. “With Colt?”

“Yes. We knew we needed to sort things out, so we got out of town and had a good talk.” Here we really go. “He wants to meet with you now and show you that he’s going to be a good father to Bash.”

Mom stands up. “This is the same guy who was recently in the tabloids for getting in fights? This is the father you want for Sebastian?”

“Colt is genuinely trying,” I whisper. “And he’s going to overcome everything in his past. He just needs a chance.”

Mom isn’t finished. “Well, he’s done such a fantastic job of overcoming all his issues before now, so let’s just call him up so he can come on over and join the family. Good God, Serena, do you remember what a mess he was? Why did you tell him about Bash? How did this happen?”

Dad looks up at her, and his flushed face has cooled. “Julia, we need to hear her out.” He lets out a long breath, then says, “We knew this day might come.”

Mom stares at him for a moment before sinking back into her chair. I don’t think Dad is on Colt’s side as much as he only wants to give me the opportunity to tell them why I’ve gone off the deep end, and as that fact seeps into my mom, she sits back with her arms crossed.

I tell them about how Colt found me in that Portland bar, how he wants more than anything to turn over a new leaf in life, how I want all of my family to hear him out as soon as they find it within their hearts to do so. Finally, I let them know that I don’t want my brother to know about any of this until they’ve come around themselves.

In the end, it’s Dad who pulls through for me—at least a little. He turns to Mom. “Bash is Colt’s son, Julia. He could get real ugly about this if he wanted to, but he wants to talk to us. We need to hear what he has to say.”

Is there a part of Dad that’s remembering how close Colt used to be to them before his wild, rebellious side drove him and my parents apart?

Mom’s mouth barely moves as she speaks. “Maybe you should see Colt before I do, Jason.”

“And maybe you and I should talk about this tonight.” Dad turns to me. “Could we do that, Serena? Take the night to talk this over with each other?”

I nod, but I think Dad knows that letting Colt into Sebastian’s life really isn’t their choice to make. I rise from my seat, but before I go to Margot’s to pick up my son, I say one last thing.

“I want us to stay a family. I love you guys so much, but I love him too.” I bite my lip, then add, “I always have and always will.”

Then I walk through the front door, hoping my parents don’t break my heart.

* * *

After I pick up Sebastian and return home, I close the door to my room while Mom and Dad hang out in the family room with Sebastian before his bedtime. I call Colt to tell him the positive news: he’s been invited to dinner tomorrow night at the Warner household with just my parents and me.

I can almost hear him smiling through the phone as I tell him my plan: I’m going to pick him up at his hotel so he won’t have to walk into this house alone. I’m going to be right there by his side, because I want to show my parents that we’re already together and that’s how it’s going to stay.

Colt doesn’t say much after that, but I can tell he’s grateful, even if he’s already on guard.

Mom and Dad don’t talk any more about it that night. They go to bed early, then are out the door for work with only a pair of nervous smiles. Instead of hanging out at the house, I go with Sebastian to Colt’s hotel suite where I work on a paper for my final Master’s class while Colt plays with our son, then goes to the gym to let off some steam.

When he returns, he takes a shower while I put Sebastian down for a nap. I’m just closing the second bedroom’s door when I see Colt emerging from the first bedroom, a towel around his waist and his hair still wet. My body pings at the sight of all those muscles and the gray-blue eyes drilling into me with lust.

I smile at him and he smiles at me, and for a beautiful second, I think that everything might be all right tonight. My parents will remember why they loved Colt all those years ago. He’ll show them how much he wants to change and that he already loves Sebastian.

Then his phone rings from the glass coffee table, and he goes to pick it up. He looks at the screen, and his gaze goes dark.

“That wasn’t J.Page’s ringtone,” I say as I walk over to him and plop down on a lush sofa.

“It’s my agent. I’ve got to take this.” He puts the call on speakerphone.

Nothing will ever be hidden between us again, I think. Not even Hollywood.

“Murray,” he says when he answers.

“Goddammit, Colt!” The man is screaming, and Colt calmly lowers the phone’s volume. “Guess who the fuck I’ve been trying to talk down for the past twenty-four hours?”

Colt folds his thick arms in front of his chest and stares straight ahead. “Let me guess—Jennifer Page?”

“Of course it’s J.Page! She said you’re a real bastard and a disrespectful fuck and all those other words that I don’t want to hear my top-earning client using about another client who is not bringing in a fraction of the money she does. I don’t fucking know what you did to her and how long it’ll take for her to calm down—if she ever does—but here’s a word of advice, Brooks. Don’t. Upset. Jennifer. Page. Ever.”

Colt is restraining himself, the veins in his arms tight. He isn’t saying a word to defend himself, and I stand up from the sofa, perfectly willing to tell this Murray guy that J.Page is a huge bitch and she busted into Colt’s suite uninvited to find me there. That’s why she’s pissed at him.

Colt sends me a warning look as Murray rails on. “You’d better fix this with her or find new representation, Brooks, because J.Page is a bigger star than you’ll ever be, and if you continue to piss her off, it could easily end your career.” He chuffs. “Christ, I thought I told you to fucking stay out of trouble, and here you are, yet again.”

Then the line disconnects.

Colt only keeps holding the phone, clearly troubled and confused. I see that lost look in his eyes, and I walk over to take the phone from him and rest my hand on his arm.

“This will blow over,” I say.

“I don’t think so.” His voice is emotionless. “Like Murray said, you don’t piss off J.Page. Ever since her first big movie, she’s gotten whatever she wants. You don’t think I’m the only costar she’s ‘taken under her wing,’ do you? I just might be the first to brush her off, and she doesn’t like that.”

I let my hand fall away from his arm. Just what does he mean by taken under her wing?

He senses my discomfort. “Like I said, there’s nothing going on with her and me. I saw right through her from the start, but she was actually a good mentor…for a while. Then she started getting territorial about me, and it’s only recently that things have gotten strange.” He glances at me with those troubled eyes. “I think when she saw you here, she realized why I never gave in to her charms.”

“Right. I’m sure she’s jealous of me.”

Colt strokes my hair, looking into my eyes, and I see the truth. J.Page was jealous.

But that can’t be right, so I banish the ridiculous thought. “So what are you going to do now?”

“I’m sure as hell not going to bend to her will, that’s what.”

“She’s trying to bully you.”

“Trying is the operative word.”

Even though his voice is strong, I’m not sure he’s convinced that she’ll back off. I stroke my finger over his cheek. “Don’t worry.” I smile up at him. “If she comes around again, I’ll just kick her spoiled ass back to Hollywood. You can depend on me.”

That makes him laugh, and he leans down to press a soft kiss on my lips. But I can still sense the turbulence in him, especially when the alarm on my phone goes off across the room, reminding me that it’s time to get ready for a very important dinner with my parents.

Reminding me that J.Page isn’t the only thing trying to stand between Colt and me.