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Jesse put the car in Park, then got out and opened the rear passenger seat She unbuckled Gabe from his car seat and helped him out of the car He stood next to her and stared at the four-story building

“We’re staying here?” he asked, his voice loith awe “Really?”

The extended-stay hotel was modest at best—a local place Jesse didn’t have the money for one of those fancy national chains But the room came with a kitchen and the online reviews had said it was clean, which is whatthey were staying, she would look into renting a furnished apartment in the University District It was summer, which meant empty rooms while the students were away and cheap rent

But to Gabe, who’d never been in a hotel in his life, their te and new

“Really,” she said, taking his hand “Want et a room on the top floor?”

His eyes widened “Can we?” he breathed

It would mean more stairs for her, but she would feel safer up top “That’s what I asked for”

“Cool!”

His new favorite word He’d picked it up at day care It was about the four-hundredth tiet on her nerves Then she reminded herself that “cool” was a whole lot better than some other words he could have learned

Thirtythe bounce in the two double beds as Gabe tried to decide which one he wanted She unpacked the single suitcase she’d carried up the three flights of stairs She really had to think about starting to work out again Her heart was still racing from the climb

“We’re going out for dinner,” she said “How about spaghetti?”

Gabe flung hihs and squeezing as hard as he could She stroked his soft brown hair

“Thank you, Mommy,” he whispered

Because eating his favorite food in a restaurant was a rare treat

Jesse wondered if she should feel guilty for not cooking her first night in Seattle, then decided she would beat herself up later Right now she was tired It had been a five-hour drive froht the previous evening, wanting to earn every last tip she could Money was going to be tight while she was in Seattle

“You’re welcome” She dropped to her knees so she was at eye level with him “I think you’ll really like this place It’s called the Old Spaghetti Factory” A perfect, kid-friendly restaurant No one would care if Gabe lass of wine and pretend that everything was all right

“Do I meet my daddy tomorrow?”

Jesse’s heart raced again and this ti the stairs “Probably not tomorrow, but soon”

Gabe bit his lower lip “I love my daddy”

“I know you do”

Or at least the idea of having a father Her son was the reason she’d decided to face all the ghosts in her past and co questions about his father a year ago Why didn’t he have a daddy? Where was his daddy? Why didn’t his daddy want to be with him?

Jesse had debated lying, sio, when she’d left Seattle, she’d vowed to live her life differently No row up, to make a life she was proud of, to raise a son on her own, to be honest, no matter what

WhichGabe the truth That Matt didn’t know about hie that

She didn’t allow herself to think aboutSo for now, there was only her son s at her and the love she felt for him The rest would take care of itself At least she hoped it would

Because it wasn’t just Matt she had to face There was Claire, the older sister she’d never really known, and Nicole, the older sister who probably still hated her guts Talk about a ho

But she would deal with that tohetti, then a rousing evening of cartoons and quality time with the best part of her life

“Are you ready?” she asked as she grabbed her purse, then held out her arms to pick up Gabe

He ju—as if she would never hurt him, never let him down Because she never would—no ht

JESSE CHECKED THE address on the piece of paper, then glanced at the portable nav system Bill had let her borrow They matched

“So driveway that led to a house on the lake in the very chichi part of Kirkland

There was a security gate for the property, but it was open She was grateful she didn’t have to explain her presence to whatever staff ine Matt with staff They would get on his nerves At least they would have five years ago No doubt he’d changed The man she re estate with a bronze sculpture on the lawn

She raised her eyebrows at the confounding piece of modern art, then drove past it She parked near the wide double doors, behind a BMW convertible As she climbed out, she tried not to think about how shabby her ten-year-old Subaru looked in comparison Still, her car was dependable and the all-wheel drivein the Spokane snow

She patted the dashboard in a silent apology for noticing how pretty the BMW looked glearabbed her purse and cli up the stairs to the front door of the huge house, she checked to make sure her most recent pictures of Gabe were in the front pocket of her purse She had a feeling that seeing Matt was going to make her nervous She didn’t want to have to search for the photos

The front door seeuess it was oths would have trouble breaking into this house She sed against the sudden tightness in her body, re no matter what, then pressed the bell

Somewhere deep in the house, a chi it could take a while for soth of the house She counted to ten, then twenty Was she supposed to ring the bell again? It was nine-thirty on a SaturdayShe’d hoped Matt would be hoyirl friend She doubted he was at the grocery store because he was—

The front door opened Jesse braced herself to see Matt again, only to find herself staring at a tall, slender redhead wearing a very short, sexy nightie and apparently nothing else

The woman was in her early twenties and beyond beautiful Her eyes were large, dark green and framed with incredible lashes Her skin was the color of crea and her wide mouth formed a perfect pout

“Ma—att,” she whined, drawing his na for you to keep telling me we’re not exclusive I accept that I don’t like it, but I accept it But to have one of the”

Jesse hadn’t thought the h If she had, she would have realized that a wo the door was entirely possible It had been five years—of course Matt would have moved on Probably several times

“I’ she’d takenAll she’d done was shower, slap on ht hair air-dry She’d beenGabe ready