Page 70 of Throne of Sin

“Why do you keep looking at me strangely?” Oakleigh asks innocently.

“I’m not trying to. I just can’t believe how much you look like your mother. Has anyone ever said you look like your dad?”

Her lips twist and she glances at me strangely. “Most kids like me don’t have dads.”

“Like you?”

She sighs, like she can’t believe she has to explain something to a person like me. “I’ve only ever lived with my mom, and there have been times where we lived in the back seat of her car. We’re always moving. I never had time for a dad.”

I want to desperately ask who she thinks her dad is, but I’m too scared of how she might react. If she starts crying on me, I’ll have no idea what to do and I don’t want to screw this up.

I want to believe Demi but I can’t until I have physical proof. She has spent the last ten years having Jameson believe Oakleigh was his. What if she’s not mine or Jameson’s?

We pull up to my home and Oakleigh’s face is smushed up against the glass.

“You live here?” she asks excitedly.

“I do. The doctor is already waiting. He’s going to take some blood and listen to your chest and back for that cough you have.”

She opens the door, looking around, but each step is cautious. “Is Mom meeting us here? Why was she crying? Am I a bad daughter because I didn’t wait for her?” She breaks my heart with her questions.

“Your mother’s priority is you, Oakleigh, she wanted you to get checked out. Demi has always told me what a good person you are and how sweet and kind you are. You will never be a bad daughter.”

I open the front door and my doctor has set up a mini exam room in the front living area. I wanted the space to be open to make sure Oakleigh wouldn’t be frightened.

My phone buzzes and it’s a text message from Max.Demi is at the house.I’ll stay outside on watch.

“Hi, Oakleigh,” my doctor greets. Everything takes about a half hour, but man, Oakleigh can talk. She never stopped unless she had a coughing fit, and as soon as we asked about her condition, I don’t think she took a breath.

“Do I get a candy now that I’m done? It’s what I normally get.” My doctor looks at me as if to sayI don’t keep candy.

“I think I have some ice cream in the freezer you can have.” That satisfies her question.

We both walk him to the door and I open it to find Sienna standing there. The doctor slips between the door and her, seeing himself out. Her presence takes me a second to recover from just standing there, shocked.

“Oakleigh, why don’t you go to the kitchen to see if you can find that ice cream?”

She looks at Sienna then me. “If you want me to leave you two alone, all you have to do is ask.”

I open my mouth to respond but she taps my arm and walks away.

I look back at the one person I considered my best friend. “Didn’t think I’d see you again.” I cross my arms, not moving from my spot.

“Don’t look at me like I just ran over your puppy.”

I narrow my eyes. “Why are you here? Max told me you showed up at Throne of Sin because he told you to. I’m sure he would like to know you’re here bothering me.”

“Stop being a drama queen. You’re still my best friend.” She twists her toes in semicircles, a sign she has to ask for something she doesn’t want to. “But I need to find Max. Do you know where he is?”

I shake my head at how my day has turned out. “I’ll drive you there.”

For the first time in my life, I wish I wasn’t the nice guy, but it goes against my DNA to be anything else.

Leaning into the house, I call, “Oakleigh, change of plans. We’ll get ice cream along the way and then go see your mom!”

She comes skipping toward me a second later.

“Should I ask?” Sienna whispers, looking at me then her.

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