Page 116 of Rum & Coke

And that was probably going to be me.

A week later,there still wasn’t any news about Tessa.

I was starting to hate the line “I’m working on it” with a passion. Joss and Paul should have been back from Italy already, and I needed answers. And because I’d taken the summer off from teaching, hadn’t volunteered at the Special Olympics, and had taken a break from S&R, I’d spent most of my time thinking about Tessa and hoping she was okay.

Every day I texted Melony, and every day was the same.

Me:Heard anything?

Melony:Nope, you?

Me:No.

Apparently, Melony tried to talk to Sebastian, but Melony was told—just like I was—that Tessa was at his house on her own. He also went so far as to tell her that Tessa didn’t want to see anyone from the club and to just forget about her because Tessa had a new life now and was no longer dancing. He might have thought we’d believe that shit, but we knew it wasn’t true. His days were numbered. I just hated that it was taking fucking forever. Also, Melony had said that everything in Tessa’s apartment had been taken out and it was getting rented to someone else.

I fucking hated this situation.

I was watching a Dodgers game and was about to pour myself a drink when my cell rang. It was Paul, and I instantly sat up, swiping the call button. “Hey!”

“Gabe is a father!” he boomed.

My body sagged at the news. Not because I wasn’t happy for Gabe, but because I wanted an update on Tessa. “That’s awesome,” I replied.

“Come to the hospital. Meet my nephew.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. Everyone’s coming. Well, besides Seth and Cat. They’re back in Florida.”

I hadn’t seen Seth since the night of the wedding. Paul had alluded to shit going down during their mission, and Cat had been involved. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about them, but how could I care about anything except getting Tessa back?

“Yeah, I’m on my way. Text me the details.”

I arrived at the hospital, and when I finally found the room number where Paul told me they were, everyone was there: Paul, Joss, Brad, Nick, Leah, Nina, Mark, and his wife, Tracy. It was an S&R reunion and shit.

“Vinny!” Paul boomed when he saw me walk in through the door.

“If you wake Liam, I will hurt you,” Autumn warned from the hospital bed. Gabe, who was standing beside her, gave Paul an evil glare.

“How are all of you in one room?” I asked.

“Not like we don’t like tight spaces.” Nick winked as he turned his head toward me.

“But we should all step into the hall and let you meet the newest member of the S&R family,” Brad stated as he slapped me on the shoulder and walked to the door.

Everyone followed Brad’s lead, and one by one, we exchanged hellos as they passed. The only people left in the room were me, Autumn, Gabe, and their little guy. “Congrats, you two.”

“You look like shit,” Gabe advised.

“Gabe!” Autumn scolded. “Language.”

“Liam isn’t even a day old. He has no clue what I’m saying,” Gabe countered.

I moved closer and ran my finger along the little guy’s cheek as Autumn held him. “He’s bald like you,” I teased, and looked up at Gabe.

“Runs in the family.” He smiled.

“Do you want to hold him?” Autumn asked.