Ivy, call me. I want to tell you about my daughter.
She's an angel. We need to talk. I'm sorry.
I read the messages again and again not caring that the rain pelting Central Park at this moment is soaking my clothing from top to bottom. I can't move from my spot on the bench. I can't bring myself to dart my eyes from the screen of Mark's smartphone. Mark has a daughter. Mark was a father. Mark is gone.
The loud ring of my own phone jars me and I fumble in my purse trying to find it. I glance at the incoming number. It's Garrett. He's calling to talk to me about Mark's estate. I know he is. I also know that Jax still wants the company back even though he hasn’t brought it up to me directly in days. I know that he's planning his future around it. He has no idea. He has no idea that I can't take anything from Mark anymore. I can't. It all belongs to his little girl.
I pull Nathan's number up on my screen and push the call button.
"I need to see you," I say breathlessly into the phone. "Now."
***
"You live here?" I try not to sound as shocked as I am. Who knew Nathan lived in such a gorgeous apartment on Central Park West?
"I do." He laughs as I walk into the space. "Do you want a towel?"
"You're hilarious." I throw him a wicked grin. "It's just rain."
"Remind me to get you an umbrella for your birthday." The words are filled with jest and I smile at how comfortable we are with each other. He's becoming more and more like my big brother every day.
"So this is where you entertain the ladies?" I search the room for any sign of a female presence and I find nothing. Nathan's apartment screams very loud and clear that a man lives there.
"One lady." He smiles.
"She's lucky," I murmur. She must be. Being with him surely can't be as complicated as being in love with Jax. Reading the sent messages on Mark's phone has only complicated things more.
"I'm lucky," he replies. "You didn’t come over for a tour of my apartment so spit it out. What's up?"
"I finally looked at Mark's phone." It's been two days since Nathan and I sorted through Mark's things and I'd taken his phone and shoved it into my purse. The past two days with Jax had been nothing short of heaven. Long nights making love, cuddling while we watched television and not a mention of Mark at all had made me feel that we were finally getting back on track.
"Was there some deep and dark secret there?" He grins widely as he motions at a bar. "Do you want something to drink?"
"Water." I take a deep breath to steady my emotions. Once I tell Nathan what I saw on the phone everything will change. It will impact my relationship with Jax forever.
He reaches down to a compact fridge and removes a chilled bottle of water that he pours into a tall glass. I take it from him with a trembling hand, downing half the glass in one large gulp. I hadn't realized how parched I was until this moment.
"What was on the phone, Ivy?"
The question lingers there, between us. He's an attorney. He's not a regular friend. He has obligations. He'll do something with the information I give him.
"I should talk to Jax first," I say the words out loud even though I mean to keep them quiet. I've volleyed the idea back and forth about who to tell first.
"You can go in the other room to call him." He motions down the hallway. "It's up to you."
I'm grateful that he's not pushing. That he's not insisting I confess j
ust yet. I need a moment to breathe.
"Ivy." I look up and he's staring directly at me. His brilliant blue eyes searching are my face. "I'm only saying this because I adore you like a little sister. You look like hell. Whatever this is, it's eating you up inside. Tell me. Tell Jax. Hell, tell the doorman. Just get it out."
"Mark has a daughter." The words spill out in a jumble of tears. "There's a little girl. He has a daughter."
Nate reaches to level his balance on the edge of the bar. I see his knuckles turn white. "This changes everything."
Chapter 16
"It would help her a lot if you came to visit her more." Brighton's tone is soft and nurturing but the words strike me as anything but.