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“Addison, I truly am sorry I didn’t tell you. But, please, believe me when I say I really didn’t remember.” He reaches out for my hand, and I don’t stop him this time. “As soon as he said Presley was related to Travis, it all came back to me.”
“How sure are you he’s the father, though?”
“Travis doesn’t have any living relatives, except you and your brother.”
“You didn’t know about me at the time…there could be more of us out there.” I shake my head at the absurd thought. I can’t believe I have a brother, let alone think I could have more.
“It’s definitely a possibility.” He lifts one shoulder in a shrug.
“But either way, Presley is my niece,” I say slowly. Aiden nods. How the hell did Jessie pull this stunt off? I can’t imagine she randomly found the one person in this entire world who is related to me. Was this her plan all along?
“How did she know?”
“Let’s go inside and I’ll explain.” I nod and he holds the hotel key to the reader and it clicks open. The cool air from the room feels good on my heated body.
“Are you okay?” Max asks as soon as we walk inside. Define okay?
“I can’t believe I have a brother,” I say. “Does he know Travis is his father?” I glance at Aiden.
“Yes. He was put up for adoption when he was born.”
“Where does his live?”
Aiden groans a little. “Here.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Here, as in New York City?”
“Yes.”
I slap my hand down on the kitchen table. I have a brother who has been living in the same city as me and I never knew about him. My mind can’t process this all at once. I rub my temples. My head freaking hurts.
“His name is Brooks Handley.” My head jerks up.
The name sounds familiar. I know I’ve heard it before. I twist my lips, thinking. Where though? I’m leaning against the kitchen table, my finger tapping against it as I search my mind. And then it clicks.
I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. “I’ve met him.”
Aiden’s brows crease. “There was a murder suicide in his apartment building. I remember him coming out of his apartment, asking us questions about what happened. He wasn’t too happy when I told him we couldn’t give him any details. In fact, he got in my face demanding answers.” I think back to how much of an asshole he was. Huh. I was face to face with my brother and I had no idea. “How does Jessie know Brooks?”
Aiden looks at Ryan to explain. “The night I saw Jessie, I didn’t watch her actually leave. I just assumed she was on her way out. When I saw the shape Aiden was in, I was more concerned with him. He was a blubbering mess. It was hard to understand everything he was saying, it was so jumbled. He told me Travis was your father. He also told me about his father. And then he told me you had a brother. He mentioned his name in the conversation because I remember it, I just don’t know at what point in the conversation we were at. Like I said, talking to an inebriated Aiden was a little difficult.” He takes a deep breath and then continues. “I’m thinking Jessie may have never left and heard everything.”
Panic rushes through me, and I turn to Aiden. She knows Travis is my dad. Shit. Shit. Shit. That’s all I need is for her to have that power to tell everyone. I look around the kitchen and head for the fridge. I need a drink. “Max, you have to have something to drink in here somewhere, right?” I go searching frantically for anything to help drown the panic rising inside of me. Aiden grabs my arms, stopping me. He pulls my back into his chest and leans his head down.
“It’ll be okay, Addison.”
“No, it won’t. Jessie is a conniving bitch who will obviously stop at nothing to get between us. She’ll use this information,” I say, turning in his arms. My voice is panicked. “I can’t have the world know I’m Travis’s daughter. I’ve already lived through one revenge; I don’t want to find out what the next one will be. And now I have Lexi to worry about.”
“We don’t know how much she knows. She might not have any idea who Travis is. Especially if I just said his first name.”
“Well, she sure as hell had no trouble finding Brooks and getting him to get her pregnant. I’m pretty sure she can put two and two together.” I lean my head into his chest.
“Let’s just take this one step at a time.” Aiden’s hand runs down my long hair.
I look up to him. “Okay, what’s the first step?”
“Finding out if Brooks knows Jessie.”
I inhale sharply and stare up into his eyes. I’m going to meet my brother. I know we’ve already met, but then he was just a nosey asshole bystander. This time he’s my brother and he might have a child. I can’t imagine this meeting will be any better than our last. I blow out my cheeks and nod.
