by Addison Fox
She didn’t doubt he had a reason, but it was still hard to stop asking why.
It was only as they stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall to Marlowe’s apartment that Nova made a singular connection.
Her father was on the run. She was on the run. What were the odds of that?
More, she had her reasons and they were damn good ones.
Was she really going to stand here in judgment of her father, especially since she didn’t know what his reasons were?
No. No, she wasn’t.
Nikolas had barely knocked when the door swung open, a radiant blonde standing on the other side of the door, an infant asleep against her shoulder. “Nikolas. It’s so good to see you.”
“Marlowe.” Nikolas leaned in, pressing his cheek to the non-baby side before touching a light hand to the baby’s back.
The man who Nova assumed was Bowie stepped up behind his fiancé. He shook Nikolas’s hand. “Good to see you again, Slater.”
“Robertson.” Nikolas nodded, the last-name thing seemingly terms of respect between the two men, before he turned to the baby. “And this is the little guy, Reed. He does look like he’s feeling better.”
“Night and day,” Marlowe said, her voice low before she glanced toward the door. “Please. Come on in.”
Nova stepped forward, mesmerized by the sight before her. She knew she needed to say something but at the moment she was finding it a challenge to put one foot in front of the other.
Did she blurt out the news?
Did she keep it to herself?
Did she...
“Welcome to our home,” Marlowe said, before handing the baby off to her fiancé.
She stepped forward, coming closer and closer, and even then, Nova found herself unable to move. The other woman considered her. Her gaze wasn’t unkind—far from it—but Nova also understood how the woman had reached the upper echelons of the Colton Oil boardroom.
Marlowe was no one’s fool.
But when she extended her hands, taking both of Nova’s in hers, there was also an unexpected warmth. Nova’s flat-footed anxiety finally receded and she regained the ability to squeeze the fingers that wrapped around hers.
Marlowe stepped back but kept their hands linked, then turned to her fiancé, who had come to stand beside her with their son. “I was curious for the secrecy but now I know.”
“Know what?” Nova asked, around a throat dry and tight with nerves.
“That my brother has a secret he’s never told any of us.”
* * *
Nikolas let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He should have known Marlowe would figure it out. He’d worry what that said about his poker face—or poker voice—later.
But, of course, Marlowe would figure it out.
“Come on in, and have a seat.” Marlowe sniffed and wiped at her nose. “It’s a big day for all of us.”
Emotions were running high but Nikolas didn’t get a sense that Marlowe was upset. She’d also had a lot of years of practice as an executive at Colton Oil, and was well able to hide her emotions when needed.
It was that reality that had Nikolas leaning in as they wended their way to the living room.
“You mad at me?” He kept the question casual as they all took seats around a coffee table. Bowie still held the sleeping Reed, but when she took the seat next to him, Marlowe leaned into her fiancé’s shoulder, her hand resting on the baby’s small back.
“Not at all. But I am curious. About Nova and, to be honest, about how you got involved. You know the rest of the family will be, too.”
Nikolas glanced at Nova. The stiffness that had characterized her posture on the way over had relaxed at Marlowe’s welcome, only to be replaced with a shyness he’d yet to see from her.
God, how overwhelming would something like this be for a person?
Oddly, while he loved digging into secrets and finding answers for his clients, he realized that he’d spent precious little time thinking about what came after. He found the reasons people behaved as they did, but he’d never considered what happened when those reasons came home to roost.
“How do you know I’m related to Ace?” Nova asked.
“The eyes and the nose. You’re definitely his daughter.”
Nova smiled, the faint tilt of her lips obvious, even through the nerves. “It’s that obvious?”
“Very. The question is, how?” Although he’d remained quiet, Bowie chose that moment to speak up. He wasn’t rude, but it was clear from his clipped tone that he carried more wariness and reservations than Marlowe. “You’re an adult.”
“I’m twenty-three.”
“Ace is only forty. That means—” Marlowe broke off, her dropped jaw snapping shut. “Wow.”
“He and my mother had a relationship when they were teenagers. Both were on vacation at a resort and, according to my mother’s version, fell madly in love.”
“Why doesn’t he know about you?”
Nova was careful, but to her credit, she gave the same tale to Marlowe and Bowie as she had the day before in his office. The young lovers, meeting while on a carefree summer holiday. Ace’s commitments back in Arizona after the vacation was over. And the strange unwillingness Allegra had displayed to tell him about his daughter.
“I didn’t know myself until several months ago. My mother—” Nova stopped, the first shot of emotion clearly catching up with her as her eyes filled with tears. “She was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. She shared a lot with me in those last weeks.”
Nikolas reached out and took her hand, holding tight as Nova recounted her last days with her mother.
“I am so sorry to hear that.” Marlowe cried in unison with her niece as she reached over and took Nova’s hand. “And even more sorry you had to go through that alone. That you had such momentous news dropped on you without any warning.”
“My mother wasn’t subtle on the best of days.” Nova sniffed before she laughed softly. “And I know there’s a part of her that would have reveled in the drama of all this.”
“We have no lack of that around here,” Bowie muttered.
Nikolas didn’t think the man had fully thawed, but it was also clear he respected Marlowe’s judgment, the CEO’s acceptance of Nova going a long way.
“Nikolas has shared as much.” Nova met his gaze before taking a deep breath. “I understand that Ace has been missing for the past few weeks.”
Marlowe and Bowie exchanged a glance of their own before Marlowe took a deep breath. “Nova. What do you know?”
“I know your father is in the hospital, still in a coma. And I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that news.”
“It was really tough for a while. The doctors weren’t sure if he would survive. Stubborn man that he is, he’s done that but can’t seem to get to that next major milestone of coming out of the coma.”
Baby Reed fussed slightly and Bowie stood. He pressed a quick kiss to Marlowe’s forehead before heading off to walk the baby to sleep.
“If you need to go with him—” Nova gestured toward Bowie’s retreating back “—we can talk later.”
“No. He’s good. And I like for Bowie and Reed to have their time, too. Reed’s bonding with his father just like he is with me.” A sweet look came over her face, one Nikolas had never seen before on the very successful, very driven CEO of Colton Oil.
Satisfied Bowie and Reed would be good on their own, Marlowe returned her attention to the conversation. “The doctors are still hopeful my father’s going to make a full recovery. What no one can figure out is where my brother plays into all this.”
“Do you think he had anything to do with Payne’s shooting?” Nova asked.
Nikolas waited for Marlowe’s answer to the question, well aware he was currently looking for information that suggested otherwi
se.
That Ace Colton had, in fact, shot his father.
He’d believed himself well able to handle the case for Selina Barnes Colton and help Nova, but was he deluding himself? He believed that he could maintain his objectivity, yet sitting there, staring at the two women who were related to his case, Nikolas was forced to wonder.
Of course, he was worried he’d lost his objectivity on behalf of Selina’s case, but what if he was wrong about Nova? He didn’t know her, either, and now here he was, barely twenty-four hours after meeting her, convinced she was Ace’s daughter.
Marlowe seemed sure of it, too, even as he began to question himself.
Nova hadn’t told him about her background and why she was on the run. There didn’t appear to be any evidence of the man who’d fathered her child anywhere in her life.
What if this was a setup?
The part of him that respected his fundamental ability to read people and suss out fakes and phoneys believed himself infallible. But what if he was wrong?
The continued gossip around Ace Colton’s parentage had already brought out the phonies. The family had already dealt with a guy named Jace Smith a few months ago. He’d played it cool and fooled the family for a while into thinking he was the switched baby.
Was it possible Nova was more of the same?
The pregnancy was a nice touch, but Ace’s history was a poorly kept secret, no matter how hard the family and the execs at Colton Oil were trying to keep it on lockdown.
Suddenly out of answers, Nikolas stood and made a few quick excuses to take a call outside.
Had he made a mistake? He’d taken Selina’s case, willing to look for any and all information that pointed to Ace Colton’s whereabouts. Then within days, a woman claiming to be Ace’s daughter had showed up.
He’d been so convinced Nova was the vulnerable one that he had never considered he might be the one being played.
As he stepped outside the condo, Nikolas took a few deep breaths.
And couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been tricked by a pair of vulnerable green eyes and a sweet smile.
* * *
“I know Nikolas isn’t back from his call yet but we don’t need to intrude on your day.”
“You’re not intruding,” Marlowe said.
Nova still couldn’t believe how well things were going. Or had gone, right up until Nikolas got a really weird, serious look on his face and excused himself. He’d looked upset, yet no matter how she thought back through the conversation, she couldn’t figure out why.
They’d been talking about her mother, Nova explaining to Marlowe how she’d learned the news of her paternity. And then they’d shifted to discuss Payne’s coma and Ace’s disappearance. Marlowe hadn’t been cool, but that initial wariness had softened a bit as they’d talked.
And then somewhere between Allegra’s secretive behavior and the latest on Payne’s slow recovery process, Nikolas had checked out. She’d actually seen it happen. One moment he was there, present in the conversation and clearly supporting her. He’d encouraged her to speak and had even patted her arm when she’d talked of Allegra’s passing.
And then he’d just...vanished.
Was something wrong that he suddenly had to leave and make a phone call? Especially since she wanted to know more about her father.
“Nikolas seems to have taken to you.” Marlowe’s voice was gentle. “He’s a good guy. I’ve known him for a long time and the company uses his services, as well. He’s honest and fair, which can be hard to come by. Especially in the secrets business.”
“Secrets?”
“In my experience, it’s rare anyone hires a PI for readily available information.”
“I suppose not.” Unwilling to come off in any way ungrateful for Nikolas’s help, Nova quickly added, “He’s been incredibly kind to me. My circumstances are a bit—” she hesitated before pressing on “—strained right now. Nikolas understood that without me needing to say anything.” She paused.
“My face may look like your brother’s, and my mother may have had an eccentric story, but I think we’d all be better off if we got a DNA test, just to know for sure. Do you have anything with my dad’s DNA on it, maybe at his condo?”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Marlowe asked.
“It’s important.” Nova nodded. “For you and your siblings. For me, too.”
Her insistence on the DNA test seemed to shift Marlowe’s last bit of reticence. “My siblings are going to want to meet you, too.”
“I’d like that.”
Whatever she’d imagined in her mind, this quick push toward another meeting was almost too easy. Nova was hardly in a position to argue, but she had to question how she could stumble upon a man eager to help her, and a day later was sitting in the living room with her sort-of-aunt, who was ready and willing to do the same.
While she took pride in being a New Yorker—and knew that city dwellers often got a bad rap as being too tough—this was a bit different. She’d come bearing the news of a long-ago pregnancy and her long-lost family members were open to hearing her out?
Wasn’t it all just too good to be true? And hadn’t she learned that lesson with Ferdy?
Conscious of the lull in the conversation, Nova tried to suppress the increasing anxiety and focus on returning the kindness Marlowe had shown.
“How are you finding motherhood?”
“It’s wonderful. Tiring and the most difficult job I’ve ever had, but wonderful.” Marlowe gestured toward Nova’s belly. “When are you due?”
“Two months.”
“If the test comes back positive, Ace is going to be in for two happy surprises. A child and a grandchild.”
Happy surprises.
Goodness, she’d come bearing quite a lot.
Shifting to a more comfortable position, Nova leaned forward as far as she was able. “Marlowe. I am grateful for how kind you’ve been. More than I can tell you. But you don’t know me. My father doesn’t know me. Is he really going to do leaps of joy when he finds out I exist? That I’ve existed for twenty-three years?”
She stopped, searching for the words that wouldn’t make her sound ungrateful for the overt and ready kindness. “I’m just really aware of the fact that I’m dropping a sizable bomb into the middle of Ace Colton’s life.”
Marlowe cocked her head. Her expression wasn’t unkind, but Nova saw the hard resolve that likely made the woman a formidable opponent in the boardroom. “I can’t speak for other families, only my own. We take care of each other, Nova. We always have. It’s how my siblings and I were raised. Family matters, biological or not.”
“Yes, but—”
“But nothing.” Even with the quick cutoff, Marlowe’s eyes remained kind and warm.
Direct. Simple. Easy.
Marlowe continued on. “What I care about more is that, if you are Ace’s daughter, you know you’re not alone any longer.”
“I—” Nova stopped and took a deep breath.
This woman was offering everything she’d hoped for, during every single mile of the drive west. Family. Belonging. Security.
Could she really bring all the stuff with Ferdy to their door?
Marlowe had an infant. The family patriarch was in a coma, still struggling from the attempt on his life. Her father was fighting for his own reputation and freedom.
“I thank you for that. And you’ve given me a lot to think about.”
“I hope so. What are you doing for a place to live?”
The sound of the door opening and closing echoed behind them, Nikolas’s call evidently at an end.
“I’m good. I’m going to find a little place of my own.” She might not be able to afford Mustang Valley but she’d seen enough places on the drive in to town that she knew she’d find something. A job, too.
“
You sure about that?” Nikolas’s voice lashed her like a whip. “Or do you already have one, as well as an accomplice? Just waiting for you to come home with the goods?”
Chapter 9
Home with the goods.
What was that supposed to mean?
Nova heard the words and tried to piece them together with the dark expression that had settled over Nikolas’s face. He’d seemed off when he’d left to take his call, but whatever had ensued in the meantime had seemingly left him upset and out of sorts.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“I heard you but I don’t understand you. What goods are you talking about? And no, I don’t have a place yet but as I told you yesterday, I’m going to find one.”
“Nikolas? What’s this about?” Marlowe asked.
“It just strikes me all of a sudden that Nova’s story is rather convenient.”
“What are you talking about?” Nova’s mind spun with questions. She and Nikolas had spent the past twenty-four hours together and not once had he given any indication that he didn’t believe her. And now she was with her family and suddenly he had doubts?
Wasn’t he the one who had suggested they come here? In fact, hadn’t she specifically asked him for his opinion? She’d wanted that—no, had needed that—before making the final decision to have him reach out to Marlowe.
With a solid streak of self-righteous indignation, Nova dug in. “I don’t know what your problem is, or why you’ve suddenly decided you have a problem with me. But I don’t appreciate your attitude.”
“Well, maybe I don’t appreciate not knowing how you got here or where the father of your baby is.”
Nova sat back on the couch, his words more shocking than if he had reached out and slapped her. She’d had enough of that with Ferdy’s impulsive emotional jabs and she wasn’t interested in going back down that road.
Ever.
“What does that possibly have to do with finding my brother?” Marlowe inserted herself into the discussion once more. Nova was grateful, because at that moment she couldn’t have said anything if she’d tried.