A night of tossing and turning and stressing and thinking had left him exhausted. He’d skipped his classes today, unable to focus. The rest of the day wasn’t going to get better. He’d asked Tori to meet him at the coffee shop, the same place he’d first approached her eight months ago. Eight months. It’d been a whirlwind. His senior year had sped by with top grades and a gorgeous, smart girl on his arm. He’d been accepted to the Stanford School of Medicine, and Tori planned to follow in a few years. They knew the path was going to be hard and lean, but they were excited to do it together.

But a wrench had just shattered their plans, and he had to tell Tori today.

Just tell her. Tell her and be done with it. You have no choice.

Some people would say he had a choice. He didn’t have to do what he was about to do. But Seth knew if he ever wanted to look himself in the eye, he had to make the right choice. His life wasn’t the only one at stake. There was an innocent involved and he had an obligation.

He would be a better man than his father. His sperm donor.

That was the type of man Seth would never be. His father had walked out on him when he was two, leaving Seth’s mother with no means of support. Seth’s biological father was the perfect model of the deadbeat dad. No courts hunted down child support. If they had, it would have been impossible to squeeze money out of a man with none. Growing up, Seth had lied to his friends, saying his father had died when he was an infant. His father never turned up to prove him wrong. He’d spent a few sleepless nights, worrying he’d be caught in the lie, but it never happened. His mother didn’t remarry. She’d been crushed by her husband’s deception. Her life became a stereotype of depression and alcohol, and she decided she couldn’t handle a teenager.

Seth went to live with his mother’s brother, whom he’d never met. Dave was single. He’d grudgingly taken the boy, angry at Seth’s father for abandoning and mentally destroying his sister.

“Your mother was always a little soft,” he’d told Seth when they met. “I knew nothing good was going to come out of her shacking up with that asshole father of yours. But now here you are. Let’s see if we can make a man out of you.”

For a man with no children, Dave knew how to parent. Tough love, hard work, and responsibility were daily constants in Seth’s new life. Coming from a childhood with no guidelines, Seth flourished under Dave’s rules. They had their fights, of course, but Seth had always ached for attention from an adult, and Dave filled that need. Seth’s previous life had been spent tiptoeing around his mother, avoiding tripping her triggers for depression or anger.

Seth thrived. And grew to recognize the type of person his father had been. Dave was his father’s opposite. Dave was involved. Dave gave a shit about Seth’s life. Dave taught him to focus his excess energy into swimming, running, and hunting. Now, Seth no longer bounced off the walls at home and school; he could concentrate. And it turned out he was smart. Smart enough to breeze through high school and collect great grades. Smart enough to be accepted to Stanford and smart enough to appreciate what Dave had done in his life.

Yesterday a new path had opened up before him. His chance to make the difference in the life of a child who needed him. Like Dave had done for him. But the decision was going to hurt Victoria.

Seth stopped in front of the shop, staring at the door. She was inside, waiting for him to turn her life upside down. But Victoria was strong, he repeated in his head for the millionth time. Victoria wasn’t his mother. Victoria had the tools to continue and create a success with her life.

He sucked in a shuddering breath and opened the door. Warm coffee-scented air breezed over his face and he scanned the shop, his heart thudding in his chest.

There she was.

Beautiful. Elegant. His gaze rested on her face as she studied the text on her table. Just like she’d been doing the first time he’d built up the courage to approach her. Indecision washed over him. Was he making a mistake?

As if she’d felt him watching, Tori glanced up. A warm smile filled her face and her eyes danced at the sight of him. Seth felt ill.

It’s a mistake. I can’t do it.

He’d called Dave in the middle of the night, wrestling with his decision. Dave had sympathized and slowly walked him through what he already knew. He’d never be able to live with himself or be a complete person for Tori if he followed in his father’s footsteps. He wouldn’t abandon his responsibilities. He gave Tori a weak smile and brushed the rain off his shoulders, moving toward her table.

How was she going to handle this?

Seth took her breath away. Victoria stared at the figure who’d just stepped through the door. He wore the slow half smile that always made her heart flip over. His gaze met hers and his smile grew wider. Then faltered.

She ran a nervous hand over her hair, her own smile weakening.

He brushed the rain off his jacket and moved across the room toward her, working his way between tables in the small shop. She watched him come, admiring the way he pulled the attention of every female in the room. He didn’t do anything on purpose; he was just one of those types of guys. He was athletic and casual. Perhaps the fact that he didn’t care about how he looked to other women was what drew their eyes. Victoria immediately discarded the thought. No, she’d simply hooked a hottie. A smart, caring hottie. His looks really didn’t matter that much to her. What impressed her was inside, his strength of character, his kindness to everyone around him.