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“Winter… Winter, fuck,” I whispered, moving faster, losing control. When the tingle began at the base of my spine, I let it go, giving in, feeling the rush overtake me. “I can’t hold it…”

And I couldn’t, filling her mouth, coating her throat. She took every drop expertly, moaning softly as I emptied myself into her. “Fuck, yes.” I finally sighed, slumping against the wall, drained and a little dizzy as the world came back into focus.

She raised her head, letting me slide free, and then stood with a triumphant grin. “I figure that was the least you deserved after letting me sleep here all day.” There was something wicked in her soft laughter as she turned toward the shower spray and continued washing. “How did everything go down there today?”

“Fine. There was a little concern for you, but I told everyone you were still too wiped out to work. But I expect you down there tomorrow,” I warned, slapping her ass playfully, making her laugh. “You seem pretty energetic now.”

“I’m starving,” she confessed, rinsing conditioner from her hair. “I barely got a slice of toast in my mouth before leaving the house this morning. That’s actually what got me out of bed.”

“I’ll order room service,” I suggested. Anything, so long as there was an excuse to keep her here a little longer. She was an addiction, and I had been without her for four days while Liam recovered.

Granted, I’d been busy as hell, but still. We had some catching up to do.

We had a hell of a lot of catching up to do.

That was what weighed on my mind while I grabbed a towel and slung it around my waist, then went out to the bedroom to call the kitchen and order a Cobb salad at her request and a grilled chicken sandwich for me. “It’ll be up in a few minutes,” I told her when she emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy robe, rubbing a towel over her hair.

“I can’t believe I slept that long.” She sat on the bed, bending over to wrap the towel around her head like a turban. Its stark whiteness, along with the white robe, made her eyes stand out bluer than ever. I could have drowned in them.

“You must’ve needed it.” I pulled on a pair of sweatpants, reflecting on how normal this all seemed—just the two of us having a conversation post-shower, waiting for our food. I had been thinking about this moment for days.

What I would say to her when we were together again. And only one thing kept coming up at the top of the list. “I’m sorry. Even though I didn’t have anything to do with her shit, I’m still sorry. How did she even find out?”

“Right to the point,” she murmured as she worked her way back on the bed, stopped against the padded headboard, and folded her legs under her. “She was having me followed. She must’ve seen us together. We weren’t exactly discreet, were we? Either that or she heard about you screwing around with one of the dancers in the cast.”

“She always had eyes and ears around,” I agreed. “Stage managers, directors, whoever.”

“Anyway, she decided to watch my every move, and her little spy followed me to the gynecologist when I went in to confirm I was pregnant. Either she paid someone a lot of money to inform her of my private information, or she guessed. The next thing I knew, she was calling me in for a one-on-one meeting.”

“That was all it took?” I asked. “She never knew you. She didn’t know the first thing about you.”

A sad smile touched her lips. “Not true. She knew everything about me.”

That wasn’t exactly what I meant, but there wasn’t a chance to explain before a knock at the suite door told me our food had arrived. I took the cart from the kid who brought it up and wheeled it into the bedroom, unloading it on the bed before sitting with her.

I could now ask, “What do you mean she knew everything?” I took a bite of my sandwich since the aroma had awakened my appetite in a big way. “How? She didn’t know you. You hadn’t met before then, had you?”

“You’re surprised she would jump to conclusions?” With a bitter laugh, she explained, “The woman did her research, believe me. She knew about Mom, Mom’s medical history. She knew we were underwater with the bills.” Her fork stabbed her salad harder than necessary. I understood the feeling too well. “And there was a very big part of me that saw her offer as the answer to my prayers. It would mean leaving Mom, but I could at least make sure she had everything she needed in a way I couldn’t while I was here.”

The lying, vicious snake. The vile bitch. I hadn’t given her half of what she deserved earlier. Calling the IRS was starting to look like a better idea all the time.

“I never even told Mom you were the father,” she admitted. “And she didn’t meet Liam face-to-face until we got back here. She’s afraid of flying, not to mention what would happen if she had a sudden flare-up while traveling. I was too afraid to come back until I got that call saying Bennett Entertainment wanted to purchase the rights to the show.”

Sliding a brief, embarrassed look my way, she said, “I thought maybe Diana changed her mind. Maybe she actually had a heart and wanted to meet her grandchild.”

I could see it all, like a movie playing out in my mind. The way Mom would have loomed over Winter, making her feel small and helpless, whispering all sorts of promises. It must have been tempting, even seductive—the idea of being able to take care of her mom while making a fresh start somewhere else.

“Honestly, I didn’t really want to go,” she confessed, pushing her salad around thoughtfully. “But I figured it was a sacrifice I had to make. She set me up well enough that I could afford to move to France. Once Liam came, I knew I couldn’t handle the hectic schedule with a baby, and I couldn’t tour with him, so a lot of different opportunities got ruled out. That was when I got the idea to create a show of my own.”

Like it was no big deal. Like anybody could’ve pulled it off. “Do you know how brave you are?” I asked.

She chuckled, blushing, lowering her gaze. “I’m not.”

“But you are. You are so brave.” Reaching out, I took her chin and lifted her head until we were eye to eye. I’d never seen anything so beautiful, even though I’d looked at her face hundreds of times. I now saw her through new eyes. “You moved to a new country. You had a baby by yourself. You knew you couldn’t continue the career you worked your whole life for, so you carved out a path for yourself. If that’s not bravery, I don’t know what is.”

“I guess I never really thought about it that way. I was only doing what I had to do. But there were so many nights…” She pressed her lips together in a tight line and closed her eyes, giving her head a slight shake.

“Please. Tell me. I want to know.”