Was she starting to lose her mind? That couldn't have just happened.

Earlier today, when she had met Luis's friend Mike—what had come over her? The second Mike's hand had touched hers, she had instantly felt like she'd met him before—that she had known him deeply in some inexplicable way.

Eve fiddled with her pen for the hundredth time and put it back down on her desk.

She was starting to go crazy. That was the only explanation. The only one she could dare to let herself accept.

There was no way she had met Mike before, that he was the . . .

No—she couldn't go there.

She had to put a stop to these thoughts—to this dangerous and reckless wishing.


"I still can't believe what happened with Mike and Eve." Luis kneaded the small of Sheridan's back. "I'm telling you—Eve looked like she felt a connection with Mike the second she met him. And the entire coffee thing—that can't be a coincidence."

"It doesn't sound like it was." Sheridan groaned. "Oh, yes, Luis—right there."

Luis laughed and dug his fingers deeper into her back. "This will all be over soon."

"I know it will." Sheridan moaned and massaged her belly. "Eve is a superwoman for getting through this alone."

"Yes, she is," Luis said. "I just hope we can help her."

"I hope so, too." Sheridan rolled onto her back and smiled softly at Luis. "I have a good feeling that we're going to be able to—especially after what just happened."

"I'm telling you, Sheridan—it was like nothing I've ever seen," Luis said, his voice filled with disbelief. "It's like part of her immediately recognized him as the son she'd lost."

Sheridan raised her brows and smiled. "You're not even doubting it anymore, are you?"

"No, I guess I'm not . . ."

"Well, if even you are a believer, then it has to be true," Sheridan said, her eyes twinkling. "I've never known your gut instinct to be wrong."

Luis leaned in and kissed her. "It definitely wasn't wrong about you."

"Maybe not as a wife." Sheridan laughed softly and smoothed her hand over the top of her belly. "Hopefully, it wasn't wrong about picking me to be the mother of your children, either."

Luis frowned and cupped her cheek. "Sheridan, are you still having doubts about that?"

"A little bit . . ." Sheridan's gaze fell to her belly. "Working with Dr. Williams is definitely helping, but I'm still pretty nervous."

"I think that's only natural," Luis said, intertwining his fingers through hers. "I'm nervous, too, about raising this little one in here."

"You are?" Sheridan's voice filled with surprise.

"Of course I am," Luis admitted. "I think all new parents must be."

"Yes, and when you're Alistair Crane's daughter, part of that anxiety stems from a fear that you won't know how to love your own child . . ."

"I don't think that's even possible," Luis said. "You're one of the most loving, compassionate people I know."

"Even if I have good intentions, my father still emotionally abused me." Her face creasing with pain, Sheridan looked up at Luis. "What if I do the same to our daughter?"

Luis cupped her face in his hands. "You could never do that, Sheridan."

Sheridan searched his eyes with her own. "Most of the time, I think that, but I'm not completely certain about it."

"Sheridan?" His hands falling from her face, Luis propped himself up on one elbow. "Do you realize that this is the first time that I've ever heard you label Alistair's behavior as emotional abuse?"

Sheridan frowned. "Yes, well, for a long time, it was just 'normal' to me."

"It's not normal," Luis said.

Sheridan smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "Yes, I know that now. You know, the first few times I spent time with your family, I felt like I was living in the twilight zone. I have always loved how much you all enjoy being with one another, how you support each other no matter what—but it also felt really strange to me."

"I can imagine that it did," Luis said, "—after growing up in the family you did."

"What if I repeat all the mistakes my father made?" Sheridan knitted her brows. "What if I don't know how to love our daughter the way she deserves to be loved?"

"Sheridan, you could never do that," Luis said. "You are not your father—you've never been anything like him."

"I hope not," Sheridan said. "But given that his behavior has been my normal for so long, I'm going to have to watch myself. In my heart, part of me is still Alistair Crane's daughter."

Luis furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Sheridan curled her fingers back around her belly. "I just mean that maybe it's time for me to start proving to myself that I am my own person in my own right—Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald."


Eve tapped her fingers against her purse as she waited for someone to answer the door. It wasn't too late, was it? Granted, it was nearly 9 p.m., but she really needed some answers.

The light in the living room switched on. Eve's heart pounded.

"Eve?" Luis opened the door. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I'm sorry I'm stopping by so late, but I really need to talk to you about something, Luis." Eve looked up to find Sheridan coming down the stairs.

"I'm sorry, Eve," Sheridan said, her hand perched on her belly as she made her way down the steps. "I'm moving a little slowly these days."

"Believe me, I've been there," Eve smiled, her heartbeat steadying. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but your little girl will be here before you know it."

Sheridan smiled softly as she crossed the room and seated herself on the arm of the couch. "That's what everyone keeps telling me."

"I felt the same way when I was pregnant with my baby boy . . ." Eve's heart and eyes dropped. "I just wish I knew what happened to him."

Eve's eyes flew up to Luis's.

Taking a deep breath in, she focused all of her attention on him. "I know that this might sound crazy—but I need to know more about Mike."

Luis swallowed hard.

Eve's heart skipped a beat. "So you do know something about him that may be pertinent to me . . ."

Luis glanced at Sheridan.

Sheridan nodded softly and rubbed one hand over the top of her belly.

"We didn't want to say anything until we had hard evidence . . ." Luis turned back to Eve ". . . but both Sheridan and I have this crazy feeling that Mike could possibly be your son."

Eve's heart leapt in her chest; tears sprang to her eyes. "Are you really serious about that?"

"Yes, I am." Luis motioned toward the couch. "Please, Eve—sit down."

A light-headed sensation washing over her, Eve traipsed across the room and sat down on the couch—barely blinking as she felt Sheridan scoot in next to her and put one arm up around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier, Eve," Sheridan said, "but we didn't want to get your hopes up until we knew anything for sure. We only just started suspecting something recently, when I found out that, as a newborn, Mike was abandoned on the steps of a foster care agency on Christmas Day."

Eve's body snapped to attention, her eyes flying to Sheridan's. "That's the day I gave birth to my son."

"I know," Sheridan said. "I might not have thought anything of it, but Mike's eyes twitch when he's nervous, just like Julian's do. Between that and the fact that the first agency that placed him has seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet, this entire situation stinks of my father."

"Yeah," Luis agreed, rubbing his chin. "I checked out the agency's name this afternoon. Mike's right—it's like it never existed. And then, of course, there's the coffee thing . . ."

Eve's eyes darted up to Luis. "You mean the fact that Mike takes his coffee like I do?"

"That's exactly what I mean," Luis said. "And I'm sorry, Eve—Sam's coffee is not that bitter."

Eve cracked a smile. "Maybe you've never had good coffee, Luis."

"Maybe," Luis laughed. "But maybe wanting to salt your coffee is a genetic thing. I don't know—you're the doctor here, Eve."

"Your sense of taste is influenced by genetics," Eve said, fresh tears springing to her eyes. "Oh, do you think there's a chance that your hunch could be correct—that Mike could really be the son Julian and I lost all those years ago?"

"I have to tell you, I felt instantly connected to him from the second I met him," Sheridan said. "It was like I had already met him before—like this weird sense of déjà vu."

Eve's tears spilled onto her cheeks. "Well, that would make sense if you are his aunt."

Sheridan smiled and blinked back tears of her own. "I really hope that I am."

"Would it be crazy to share these suspicions with Mike?" Eve wondered. "To see if he'll consent to a DNA test?"

"I'll tell you, Eve—from what I've heard, Hal's pretty close to nabbing Wilkes," Luis said. "Why don't we give him a few more weeks to come up with something? That way, we won't be upending Mike's life without hard facts."

Eve's voice choked with emotion. "Do you really think he's that close?"


Julian's heart leapt in his chest as Muriel led Eve into the living room. "Eve?" he asked, his face brightening. "What are you doing here?"

Tears in her eyes, Eve watched Muriel leave the room and then smiled over at Julian. "Sheridan and Luis think they might have found our son."

Julian nearly dropped his coffee cup. "What . . . what are you talking about, Eve?" he asked, catching the porcelain cup with his hand and balancing it on his saucer. "I didn't even know they were looking."

"They weren't." Eve crossed the room to him and helped him put down his coffee. "This almost sounds like too much of a coincidence to be true, but they met him at a youth center conference."

Julian blinked. "You mean that young man, Mike, we met at the station earlier?"

"Yes, that's exactly whom I mean." Tears slipping down her cheeks, Eve's voice choked with emotion. "Sheridan told me she felt like she already knew him when she met him—just like I felt earlier."

"Well, if Sheridan felt like that, why didn't she tell us?" Julian asked.

"She and Luis wanted to get some hard evidence before they upended anyone's life," Eve said.

Julian's voice filled with hope. "Do they have any evidence now?"

"No, but they know the name of the foster care agency Mike was first placed with," Eve said. "Luis has already researched it, and it never existed, Julian."

Julian rubbed his chin. "Maybe because it never did—maybe it was one of my father's machinations."

"That's exactly what your sister and Luis think," Eve said. "Luis thinks that Hal is close to catching Wilkes—and he's hoping to match Wilkes's story to Mike's."

"And if their stories match, our search could be over . . ." Julian looked at Eve.

"Yes, it could." Her eyes welling with fresh tears, Eve threw her arms around him. "I can't believe I'm saying this—but we might have finally found our son."