Gray winced. "Is that when I..."

His voice trailed off as though he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

Naomi shot him a pointed look. "You and Lydia didn't have sex that night."

Gray blinked in disbelief. "No fucking way."

"I wouldn't lie about this shit."

"But... the next morning... I woke up in Lydia's bed... and I'm pretty sure that some of my clothes were missing," Gray recalled with a dazed expression. "I-I thought, for sure, that something must have happened between Lydia and I—"

Grimly, Naomi interjected, "Lydia actually slept on the couch that night. You two never touched each other. Except for the kiss at the bar. As for your clothes, I think she removed them."

His expression darkened. "What the fuck! Why would she take my clothes?"

"To make her story sound more, um, convincing. She wanted to make it look like you guys slept together."

I couldn't stop myself from asking, just to be sure, "So... Gray never slept with my sister?"

"That's correct," Naomi confirmed softly.

In an eerily calm voice, Gray relayed, "I don't understand. Why did Lydia go through so much trouble to lie about this shit?"

"Because she was trying to protect the identity of the real father. He's... married. With kids."

"Oh, fuck," I whispered. "Lydia was having an affair? With a married man?"

Refusing to meet my eyes, Naomi nodded again.

"Do you have proof," I prompted, "that he's the father? And not Gray?"

"I do, actually. Lydia had a paternity test done while she was pregnant. Because he wouldn't believe her."

I stifled a gasp. Naomi's answer shouldn't have caught me off guard. But it did. It made me so fucking furious at my sister. The depths of Lydia's deceit kept running deeper and darker as more of the truth came to light.

"I want to see it," requested Gray with an unreadable look on his face.

"I don't have a copy of the test results on me," Naomi responded, "but I can send it to you once I get home."

Gray thanked her in a grudging manner.

"Can you tell us more about Stevie's real father?"

"His name is Andreas Coleman," Naomi revealed, "but I think it's best if you guys leave him alone. The less you know about him, the better."

I frowned. The name "Andreas" sounded vaguely familiar to me. I felt as though Lydia might have mentioned a breakup with him at some point.

Feeling extremely off-balance, I questioned, "Have you spoken to Andreas at all?"

Naomi coughed. "I tried to reach out to him a while back, but he only replied to a few of my emails. When I tried to set up an in-person meeting with him, he refused to speak with me again."

"I assume that means," I observed, "he doesn't want anything to do with Stevie?"

"At this point, I'd say that he's siding with his wife and family. I don't think they'll welcome an illegitimate daughter. Stevie would cause too much of a scandal for them."

It seemed they didn't see her as a living, breathing human being. They only saw her as an inconvenience. A dirty, little secret to be swept under the rug.

Gray's eyes turned cold. "I see."

I couldn't tell what he was thinking at the moment, but my heart was twisting painfully at this horrible turn in Stevie's story. Stevie was my everything. I couldn't imagine anyone refusing to love her. The only thing I knew about her father was his name, but, already, I hated Andreas Coleman. I intended to do everything in my power to protect her from him. The man didn't deserve to be Stevie's father if he wasn't willing to love her and accept her as his own.

Locking my jaw, I inquired, "Hey, Naomi?"

"Yes, Gracie?"

I wanted to understand her motives for coming clean. I still didn't trust the bitch. Anyone who had been friends with my sister probably possessed a few snake-like qualities. "Why did you decide to reach out to us, now, after all this time? Why didn't you come to us sooner?"

"This will probably sound like an excuse, but..."

"What?"

Tears pricked Naomi's eyes. "My grandma passed away a few weeks after Lydia died. It has been a really hard time for me. I haven't really been able to concentrate on anything else."

My heart dropped. Suddenly, I felt like a shitty human being for hating on Naomi. "Oh, shit. I'm so sorry to hear about your grandma."

Gray's eyes softened. "Seems like you've been through some kind of hell as well, Naomi."

Naomi sniffled and shrugged. "I imagine you must think the worst of Lydia. And of me. But Lydia was planning to come clean, I promise. She never intended for her lies to get so out of hand. I whole-heartedly believe your sister would've 'fessed up, eventually, if she was, you know, still alive."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows with Lydia?" I mused bitterly. "She was selfish to the core."

Naomi hung her head. "I'm sorry for everything that Lydia put you through, Gracie. I really am."

In low, shaky tones, I supplied, "It's not your fault."

She glanced up. Our eyes met. Right then, Naomi and I shared a look of understanding. She had lost a friend. I had lost a sister. Both of us had suffered because of Lydia's lies. It made me realize something: I needed to be careful. Careful to not direct my anger and resentment at Naomi. The girl wasn't innocent by far, but I had to give her some credit, at least, she was trying to right my sister's wrongs.

For a second, I closed my eyes, wishing that it might help block out some of my pain. "I wish things had played out differently for all of us."

Naomi's expression crumpled even more. "I know. I agree. I can't imagine what you guys have been through these past few months. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you or Gray or Stevie. It was getting to a point where I was having trouble sleeping at night. This secret felt too big to keep from you guys."

"It took guts for you to reach out to me. For the record, I don't think the worst of you. I'm grateful that you changed your mind about keeping my sister's secret."

"That's big of you to say."

"Thanks for meeting with us," I murmured.

"I wish I could say that it was a pleasure," Naomi remarked with a mirthless laugh, "but I'm relieved that we finally got it over with."

I smiled faintly. "The feeling is mutual. Take care of yourself, Naomi."

"You, too... Gracie." She then turned to Gray and gave him a farewell nod. "Gray."

He merely grunted back in acknowledgment.

We parted ways with Naomi shortly after, left the coffee shop, and climbed back into Gray's truck. I noticed that Gray had grown noticeably tight-lipped and withdrawn during the second half of our meeting with Naomi.

God, what was he thinking?

Was he getting cold feet about Stevie?

Or was he planning to double down as her adopted parent?

Now that we were alone again in his truck, anxiety got the better of me. I couldn't wait another moment to pick his brain. Narrowing my eyes, I turned to him. "We need to talk."

He arched an eyebrow in my direction. "About what?"

"About Stevie."

"What else is there to say?" he muttered brokenly. "Naomi made it pretty fucking clear. I'm not her dad."

"What are you planning to do about it?"

He glanced out of the car window. I could feel Gray shutting down in real-time. I tried not to panic, but, more than anything, I wanted him to look at me again. To talk to me like we were still a team. I hated feeling so disconnected from him.

With my whole fucking heart lodged in my throat, I asked as gently as possible, "Are you going to stay with us or... leave?"