Chapter 30
DON’T OVERTHINK IT
DEREK
The den was nothing but an enormous room with a bar, couches and chairs.
“I’m just saying,” James started, adjusting his glasses. “There’s not a moment I don’t think about her safety. Where she is, if she’s okay, if she needs anything.”
“Same,” Aiden agreed, swirling his whiskey. “Ivy thinks I’m overprotective, but she doesn’t understand that the thought of something happening to her physically hurts.”
“Emma’s got security,” Cillian said, his voice gravelly. “But I still check the cameras every hour when I’m not with her. It’s a force of habit, and I can’t help it.”
Sean laughed. “Chelsea caught me tracking her phone last week and told me I was being creepy. I said I was just being thorough.”
“Summer has a GPS tracker in her bag and her car,” Damon confessed. “She doesn’t know about it.”
“Anna has two of us watching her,” Kyle said with a small smile. “Sometimes three if you count the baby monitor Caleb insists we keep by our bed even though the nursery is right next door.”
“She’s carrying our baby,” Caleb said without even looking embarrassed. “I’m not taking any chances.”
“Katie thinks I’m obsessed when I follow her on her runs even if I’m dead tired,” Dylan said with a small pout and shrugged. “She’s not wrong. I am. Completely.”
I sat there listening, nursing my own drink, and couldn’t help but relate to every single word because that’s exactly how I felt about Paige. Every moment she was out of my sight, I wanted to make sure I knew exactly where she was and that she was safe.
It should have felt excessive, but I couldn’t stop and wouldn’t stop. Not when it came to her and Lily.
“What about you, Derek?” James asked, and all eyes turned to me. “You’ve been quiet.”
I opened my mouth to respond when the door burst open.
Paige stood there, face pale and her eyes wide with worry. I was on my feet before crossing the distance between us.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, cupping her shoulders.
“Hallway,” she said, glancing at the other men.
I guided her out, my pulse racing. In the hallway, away from curious ears, she turned to me.
“Charlotte called and told me that Jack showed up at the penthouse.”
What the fuck?
“When?”
“Just now. She said she didn’t let him in, but he’s been out there for twenty minutes, demanding to see Lily.”
My jaw clenched so hard I had to calm down. Jack was at my penthouse. Near my mother. Near Lily.
“Hey,” I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me. “Mom won’t let him in. She won’t put Lily at risk. We will handle this, okay?”
“But what if he—”
“We will handle it,” I repeated, more firmly this time. “I promise. Let’s go.”
We said our goodbyes in hurry, and the women immediately surrounded Paige with concerned questions, while the men offered help if I needed it. I appreciated it, but this was something I had to handle myself.
In the car, I reached across the console and laced my fingers through Paige’s cold hand which was trembling.
“He can’t do anything,” I said quietly, keeping my voice calm even though I felt uneasy knowing he was a door away from harming my mom and Lily. “He has no legal right to be there. If he tries anything, we call the police.”
She nodded, but I could see the fear in her eyes.
Because Jack wasn’t my friend anymore. He hadn’t been for a long time. The man who drugged women and took non-consensual videos wasn’t someone I knew.
I didn’t know what he might do, and that made him dangerous.
But I knew my mother. She wouldn’t open that door and wouldn’t let him anywhere near Lily without my explicit permission.
We didn’t speak, just held hands, both lost in our own thoughts about what we would find when we got there. Thankfully, the security was good at the penthouse, but if something happened… I was moving out with them to a gated society.
The elevator ride up was silent and I kept Paige close with my arm around her waist. I felt the tension radiating from her body.
The doors opened, and there he was.
Jack leaned against the wall outside my penthouse door, phone in hand and looking almost bored. Like he had just been casually waiting for us instead of showing up uninvited at one in the morning.
He glanced up as we approached, shoving his phone in the pocket.
“Took you long enough,” he said.
I felt Paige tense beside me, and I kept my hand firm on her back.
“What are you doing here, Jack?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I wanted to see my daughter.”
Bullshit.
“At one in the morning?”
Jack rolled his eyes as if I was being unreasonable. “I was tired, okay? Give me a break,” he said, his jaw clenching. “Work’s been hell, and I just wanted to check on her.”
His gaze slid between us and took in how close we stood, how my hand rested possessively on Paige’s waist.
He scoffed. “I should ask you where you two were at one in the morning, leaving a one-year-old toddler alone.”
I forced myself to stay calm because he was baiting us and looking for a reaction, but I wouldn’t give him one.
I realized that he wasn’t here to harm anyone. This was a power play. A reminder that he could show up whenever he wanted, that Lily was still legally his daughter.
I unlocked the penthouse door and pushed it open. “Come in.”
Paige shot me a surprised look, but I squeezed her waist gently. Trust me. I wouldn’t have let him in if I knew he wanted to hurt us.
My mother was on the couch, and she stood immediately when she saw Jack follow us in, a frown furrowing her brow.
“It’s none of your business where we were, Jack,” Paige said, her voice steady. “Charlotte was here. Lily was never alone.”
“Sure,” Jack said, looking around the penthouse like he owned it. “Because leaving your one-year-old with your boyfriend’s mother is totally appropriate parenting.”
“Fiancé, now,” Paige corrected him, the diamond ring glimmering on her left hand. “Although it’s more appropriate than bringing your mistress around her.”
The tension in the room increased.
Jack’s face flushed, but he said, “I want to see Lily.”
“She’s asleep,” my mother said firmly. “You can’t see her now.”
“I’m her father,” Jack’s voice rose. “I should be allowed to see my own daughter whenever I want!”
“When was the last time you actually stepped up as her father?” Paige asked. “When you had Olivia over? Or maybe one of the dozen other times you prioritized everything except your family?”
Jack didn’t answer.
Of course, he couldn’t.
“You should leave,” I whispered.
“Let me just see if she’s okay.”
“She’s okay. More than okay, in fact.”
“I want to see for myself,” he said, his hands clenching into fists. “She’s my daughter, Peterson. You can’t keep me from her.”
“I’m not keeping you from her. I’m asking you to respect that it’s one in the morning and she’s sleeping.”
“Two minutes,” Jack said. “Just let me check on her for two minutes, and I’ll leave.”
I opened my mouth to refuse, but Paige’s hand on my arm stopped me.
“Fine,” she said. “Two minutes. But we’re coming with you.”
I wanted to argue, wanted to throw Jack out and tell him to come back with a court order.
We followed Jack to the nursery. He pushed open the door, and I watched him take in the room. The custom crib, the changing table was stocked with supplies, the rocking chair by the window and the mobile spinning slowly overhead, casting soft shadows.
Lily was asleep in the center of the crib, covered in her blue crochet blanket, her favorite elephant plushy tucked under her arm.
“Hey, Lily,” Jack whispered.
She didn’t even stir and just kept breathing peacefully. She was completely content, and seeing her deep asleep made me want to protect everything that was dear to her.
Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked around the nursery again. I saw some flicker of emotion flash across his face.
My hand tightened on Paige’s, and Jack’s eyes caught the movement and his face shifted to something darker before he turned and left the room.
We followed him back to the living room, where he grabbed his coat without a word and headed for the door.
“Jack,” I said, and he paused. “Don’t come back here without calling first.”
He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes narrowed and considering some sort of retort. But he left, the door closing with a soft click behind him.
Silence filled the penthouse until my mother spoke.
“Well. That was awkward.”
“It was,” I said, exhaling sharply. “I’m glad you called us, Mom.”
“Now I feel terrible for calling you away from your friends.” She yawned. “But I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed.”
She headed to the guest room, leaving Paige and me alone in the living room.
I lifted Paige’s hand to my lips, kissing her palm gently. “Don’t overthink it.”
“But he was acting weird,” she said, her brow furrowed. “Very weird.”
He was. I knew it. The whole thing felt off. The timing, the casual demeanor, the way he looked around the nursery like he was cataloging everything.
And he knew I wasn’t home. He must have noticed one of my cars missing from the parking garage which meant this wasn’t spontaneous.
This is calculated. Shit.
“It’s okay,” I said, pulling her into my arms. “I’ll figure it out.”