I read and reread those letters probably a dozen times over the past two days until I had every line and every word of every letter memorized. I had no doubt that Sabrina had been doing the exact same thing with hers.

I’d finally gone home after my mother’s unexpected and life-changing visit, needing some time alone so I could process the emotional upheaval of the past several days and figure out what the hell I was going to do to get my life back on track.

Putting the last letter down, I picked up my glass of wine and took a healthy glug right as my cell phone started ringing.

Holding my breath, I turned it over, nervous and filled with a riot of different emotions at the thought that it could be Camden again. He’d called and texted so many times over the past week that my voice mail was full. I hadn’t listened to or read a single message, knowing they’d break me if I did.

My shoulders sagged at the sight of Sabrina’s name on the screen. I wasn’t sure what I felt more: relief that it wasn’t him, or gut-wrenching sadness and disappointment for the very same reason. I was a goddamn mess.

“Hey,” I answered, my voice scratchy from a weeklong crying jag that wouldn’t seem to end.

When Sabrina spoke, her voice sounded the same as mine, and I knew she’d been struggling just as hard as I had been. “Hey, little sis. How you doin’?”

I laughed humorlessly into my wineglass before slugging back the rest. “Definitely been better. You?”

“I’m… God, I don’t even know how I am. Bryan’s been taking care of everything. I’m kind of a disaster.”

My heart ached for my sister, and I wished I could reach through the phone and hug her. “I’m sorry, honey,” I replied on a whisper.

“Yeah, me too,” she said just as softly. “Bryan thinks we should go see him, you know, find out what he has to say. But I just don’t know.”

It was the same dilemma I’d been struggling with since Mom dropped that bombshell.

“What do you think we should do?” Sabrina asked. And I knew what she was doing. It was the first time in my life that my protective sister was asking me to take the lead, to make the big decisions. It felt like an unbearably heavy burden and a privilege all at the same time, and I finally understood how she must have felt all these years, taking care of me. I suddenly had a new appreciation for everything she’d ever done for me, and no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to repay her for being such an amazing sister.

“I think we should do it,” I replied, the words tumbling past my lips before I had time to give them a moment of consideration.

“You do?” she asked, bewilderment dripping through the line. “I gotta say, that was not what I thought your answer would be.”

I took a few seconds to really give it some thought. “What do we have to lose, babe? I mean, could we really be any worse off than we are now? There are just too many unanswered questions. We need to go directly to the source.”

“I guess.” She still sounded skeptical, but I couldn’t blame her.

I felt a bit lighter knowing we were doing this together, but there was still that voice of caution in the back of my head warning me not to get my hopes up.

Because every time I did, I was left in heartbroken disappointment.

* * *

I’d been a bundle of uncomfortable nerves all day long. When I first reached out to Oliver Maxwell’s people to set up a time and place to meet, I hadn’t expected the message to even reach him, but after giving my name, I’d been put on hold for all of a second before my father’s voice came through the line.

There was an excitement in his words that threw me for a loop, and it took me a while to find my bearings. When he’d suggested the three of us meet for dinner somewhere, I quickly squashed that idea. I wasn’t holding out hope for this visit to go well, and I didn’t want word getting out that Sabrina and I were connected to Oliver Maxwell in any way. A restaurant was too public.

He’d agreed to us meeting somewhere private, and we settled on coming for lunch at his hotel, but as Sabrina and I made our way across the lobby and toward the bank of elevators, arm in arm, I felt like I was about to be sick.

“Calm down,” my sister breathed in my ear as we climbed into one of the waiting cars. “This is gonna be fine. It’s me and you, remember?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, making sure to take slow, steady breaths as the elevator ascended.

All too soon, we arrived at his floor and climbed off, slowly making our way to the door of his hotel room. Our knock was answered a moment later, and for the second time in my life, I was standing in front of my dad… and I couldn’t think of a goddamn thing to say.

He didn’t seem to have the same problem. “My god,” he murmured, his eyes—the very same color as mine—scanning every inch of Sabrina and me. “What amazingly beautiful women you’ve grown into. Sutton, darlin’, you were breathtaking at the charity gala. I wanted so badly to tell you then, but I’m just glad I’m fortunate enough to say it now.” He paused, continuing to study our faces closely. “You both look so much like your mother. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. No surprise you two take my breath away.”

A quick glance to my side showed that Sabrina was barely hanging on by a thread.

“Um,” I began, “could we maybe come in?”

His eyes grew wide with embarrassment. “Yes! Yes, of course. I’m sorry. I’m just a little out of sorts.”

Sabrina and I moved woodenly into the opulent suite. It seemed my sister had gone mute, so it looked like the job of starting the conversation was going to fall on me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the faintest idea what to say.

Oliver led us into the sitting area and waved to us to take a seat anywhere. We chose the couch, needing to be close in order to feed off the other’s strength.

“I’m so glad you two agreed to this. I’ve been dying for this moment for years.”

It was the perfect opener, and I took the opportunity to jump at it. “Then why’d you leave?” I blurted, unable to hold the question back. “If you’ve missed us as much as your letters say, and you’ve been wanting this for so long, why’d you ever leave in the first place?”

He jerked back in surprise as he asked quietly, “Your mother finally gave you my letters?”

“She did,” I replied. “And I’ve read them a million times now, but I still don’t get it. Please, help me understand why you did what you did.”

Shit. My eyes began to sting with the threat of tears, and I had to blink rapidly to keep them at bay. I didn’t want him to see me so vulnerable.

Taking a seat across from us, Oliver rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. “There’s no excuse for what I did to you,” he responded in a low, pained voice. “I wish I had a good reason. Then maybe I’d know you girls would be able to forgive me eventually. But that’s not the case. I was young and selfish. For as long as I could remember, all I’d ever wanted to be was a movie star. When I finally had my shot, I worried that having a family would make me lose sight of that dream. I made a decision—the wrong one. I picked my career over my family, and there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t regretted it.”

“Then why’d you hook up with Mom in the first place?” Sabrina asked, finally finding her voice. And it was a pissed off one. “Why have two kids with her if you worried we’d hold you back?” She snapped, her face going red with anger and betrayal.

Oliver’s eyes grew incredibly sad as he gave a minuscule shrug. “Because she was the love of my life,” he responded, and with those words, I felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. “To this day, it’s always been your mother for me. When we met, the chemistry was… indescribable. She was all I could think about. She consumed every aspect of my life, and I was happy about it. In all my years, I haven’t felt for another woman even an ounce of what I felt for Sylvia. And that infatuation scared the hell out of me.

“When you two came along, something changed. For a while, it had been just us. We lived and breathed for each other. But once you were born, Sabrina, she lived for you. Same for Sutton when she was born. You two girls became your mother’s world to the point that there were days I thought there wasn’t room for me anymore.”

“So what you’re saying is that you blame us?” My throat went so dry I struggled to get the words out.

“No!” he cried. “God, no. I never blamed you. I loved you with all my heart. Please believe that. There is no reasonable explanation for why I did what I did. All I can tell you is how I felt.”

Silence enveloped us for several beats before I realized what was happening. He was waiting for me to grant him permission, letting me decide whether or not I wanted to hear what else he had to say. It wasn’t until I gave him a tiny nod that he continued.

“When the chance to audition for Criminal Element came up, I knew it was the only real shot I’d ever have. A chance like that only comes once in a lifetime, so I jumped at it. When the studio called to offer me the role a few days later, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I convinced myself that as long as Sylvia had you girls, she didn’t need me. I saw how much she loved and doted on you, and I told myself that me leaving was for the best, that I wouldn’t be in the way, and my fame wouldn’t create a constant cloud over your happy lives.”

“That first year was the absolute worst year of my life. I stopped caring about my career to the point that I was almost kicked off the show. I finally reached the point that I couldn’t take it any longer. I drove back to the tiny apartment we’d been living in, but you were all gone. Someone else was living there.”

His eyes grew red with unshed tears as he continued. “It felt like a lifetime passed before I was able to track you down. I showed up on your doorstep, begging Sylvia to take me back, but it was too late. I could see it in her eyes. I’d broken her. She was barely a shell of the woman I’d left behind, the one I’d loved with every single piece of me. She kicked me out that day.”

My heart ached for my mother, and understanding as to why she’d turned the way she had set in. From listening to Oliver talk, it sounded like what he and my mom had was the stuff of fairytales. I wasn’t sure it was possible to ever come back completely whole from losing that kind of love. I knew, because I felt the same about Camden, and I feared I wouldn’t ever be able to put all the pieces of myself back together again. I was still mad as hell at her for keeping secrets for so long, but I felt a sense of comfort in at least knowing why.

“I don’t—” I had to clear the lump of emotion from my throat in order to speak. “I don’t know what you expect us to do with this knowledge.”

“I expect nothing, Sutton. I don’t have the right. But there’s something I want you girls to know. Whatever became of your mother after I left, it was all on me. Please don’t blame her for keeping me away. I was a selfish prick who put my own wants and needs over those of my family. She had every right not to trust me. She only wanted to protect you from it ever happening again.

“We aren’t perfect. We’ve both made many mistakes. But there’s one thing we’ll have in common until we draw our very last breath.”

“What’s that?” Sabrina asked in a soft voice full of tears.

“How very much we love the two of you.”

Yep. I was definitely going to cry, no doubt about it. Turning my head to the side, I sniffled and batted away the tear that slipped free and ran down my cheek.

“I don’t… I’m not sure what to say. I think… I think I might need some time.”

Oliver tried for a smile, but there was no hiding that it was forced as disappointment bloomed behind his eyes. “I completely understand,” he responded in a husky voice. “I don’t want to pressure either of you, but I’ll be staying in Seattle for an indeterminant amount of time. If you decide it’s something you can do, I’d love nothing more than to see you again.”

I gave him a nod while standing from the couch and pulling Sabrina up with me. “We’ll let you know. For now, I think I’ve had all the revelations I can handle for one day.”

He stood as well, a small, sad smile on his face. “Yes, of course.” He walked us to the door and pulled it open, but before I could step through, his voice stopped me.

“Sutton, darlin’, there’s one last thing I’d like to say before you go.”

Stopping at the threshold, I turned to face the man who’d helped give me life, but whom I barely knew.

“Camden loves you very much.” My body locked tight, and he must have noticed, because when he spoke again, it was at a fast clip. “He isn’t like me, Sutton. He’s a good man who made a mistake, but he positively treasures you. I’m pretty sure, had it not been for that manager of his, I’d be breathing through a tube at this very moment.”

“You….” I gave my head a shake in an attempt to clear it as my heart flipped in my chest. “You saw him? After the gala?”

Oliver nodded. “I did.”

“And he threatened you?”

“I believe his exact words were that he’d cut off my dick and shove it down my throat. I had some uncomfortable confessions I needed to make with him as well, but that’s a conversation for another day.”

I could agree with him on that one; I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle. I already planned on spending the rest of the day in a bubble bath with a bottle of wine as my only company.

“Promise me you’ll take one thing into consideration before you write him off for good. My mistake was leaving. His mistake was keeping a secret to avoid losing you.”

We said our goodbyes, and with that bomb having been dropped, Sabrina and I headed back to the elevator.

We were halfway down when my sister finally spoke. “You know, I think he might’ve had a point.”

I spun around to face her, my forehead wrinkled in confusion. “About what?”

She gave me a pitying smile before replying, “About Camden.”

My stomach twisted painfully. “Don’t you dare take his side. After what he did—”

“I’m on your side,” she interrupted. “I’m always on your side, Sutton. But think about how miserable you’ve been without him.”

“I’ve been miserable because he broke my heart!” I objected, but my heart was screaming something different. Yes, the pain of his betrayal hurt something fierce, but the only thing that was stronger than that ache was the agony of missing him every single minute of every day.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to upset you more than you already were, but, honey, that man slept in his car, parked a block from our house, every single night you were under our roof.”

My eyes went wide with shock. “He did?”

“Yes. And if that’s not a sign of love, I don’t know what is. And Oliver had a point back there. Do I think Camden was right to keep something like that from you? Absolutely not. But people do crazy shit when they’re afraid they’re about to lose the person they love.”

Another tear broke free and trickled down my cheek. “He doesn’t love me, Brina. If he did, he’d have said it back.”

My sister’s eyes grew stern as she shook her head. “Actions always speak louder than words, honey. Look back on all the time you’ve spent with Camden and ask yourself one question: What do his actions say? I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that.”

I was pretty sure I did too.