"Okay, spill," Sarah demands but she's cut off by the bedroom door opening.
"Mia, you were extremely rude," Mom says as she walks into Lacey's room, she looks at the computer screen and gasps. "Sarah."
Sarah gives Mom a smile and a little wave, "Hey, Mrs. Brady. Congratulations, I hope you and Mr. Brady are very happy together." She says ignoring Mom's shocked expression.
"Mom, knock much?" I know she's pissed that I was rude, but this is Lacey's room and she shouldn't walk in without knocking.
She coughs, unable to take her eyes off Sarah and Allie. "I apologize Lacey, but Mia, how dare you?"
"What happened?" Sarah inquires looking between us all.
Mom's standing with her arms crossed, and now she begins to tap her foot. "Mia met her stepbrother and his friend." She begins, "She decided that she'd be rude by telling us that Hudson wasn't her brother and walking away without saying hello. Mia, that was a really immature thing to do."
"His friend is Jagger," Lacey informs Sarah, and her face immediately hardens.
"Am I missing something?" Mom asks as she looks between all three of us. "Someone better start talking."
I sigh and walk toward the open door, "Let me shut and lock the door. We don't need anyone else barging in on us."
"Okay Mrs. Brady, you're not going to like what we have to say, and I apologize for that." Sarah begins.
"What did you do?" Mom asks as she sits on the bed.
I glance at the computer screen and see Sarah glancing down at Allie. Great, it's up to me to tell her. "Do you remember the night before we left?"
Mom's eyes narrow, "You stayed at Sarah's, didn't you?"
"No, we rented out a motel, and we went to a nightclub," I tell her, but I feel bad for deceiving her. She truly believed that I was at Sarah's that night.
"I met a man and we hit it off, I went home with him." Sarah shrugs, she sounds as though it doesn't faze her when we all know that's not the case. "Silly huh, a one night stand results in this beautiful baby." Her voice goes soft when she talks about Allie; her eyes are so full of love as she looks at her daughter. "I'm sorry that we lied to you Mrs. Brady, but we wanted to celebrate finishing school. We had such a blast."
Mom's silent for what feels like ages, "Do you know what could have happened to you? I can't believe how irresponsible you both were. Sarah, have you been in contact with the baby's father?"
I watch as Sarah's spine straightens. "Mrs. Brady, how long have you known me? Do you really think I'd keep my child from her father?"
Mom stares at her, "I didn't think you'd put yourself in danger by going to a club. Underage I may add."
Sarah doesn't back down. "Look Mrs. Brady, both Mia and I regret lying to you. We don't regret going out. We had fun, something we needed after a shit year with school. To answer your question, I went to see him the next day before I left for New York, he had gotten back with his ex. I called him when I found out I was pregnant, he didn't answer, so I left a message asking for him to call me back. He didn't. He got his girlfriend to call me instead."
Mom's eyes fill with tears, "Oh, Sarah."
Sarah's not finished yet. "She told me that he didn't want our baby and to never contact him or them again. I didn't, not until today when I sent him an email letting him know that if he ever changed his mind about Allie that she'd love to meet him. He hasn't responded."
Mom's eyes flash with anger. "Who is he?"
"Jagger." I whisper, and she gasps, "That's why I was rude. I couldn't stand there and be nice Mom. He hurt Sarah, and he's hurting Allie by not being there. I'm sorry."
She waves her hand, "I understand why now." She stands, "Sarah, you ever need anything, please let me know, I don't care what it is, if I can help, I will."
Sarah smiles, "Thank you Mrs. Brady. Please don't say anything to anyone. I've not told my mom yet. I'm not sure I want Allie around her. I don’t trust her. She’s not changed, she’ll never change. You know that Mrs. Brady."
"I won't say a word. Thank you for letting me know. Girls, come downstairs when you're ready." She says as she places a kiss on my cheek. I walk with her to the door and unlock it so that she can leave. "I understand why you did it. I'm just upset that you felt the need to lie to me. Why wouldn't you tell me? It's not like you to keep secrets from me, Mia."
I can't help the irony of her words, "We've both kept secrets haven't we Mom? I mean, you didn't tell me you were engaged, nor did you tell me you were married until a few days after it happened. Don't be a hypocrite..." Mom's eyes flash with hurt at my words, and I instantly feel bad, "What Sarah and I did is what every young person does. We went out and had fun, we were wrong to lie to you, but it's done now."
She gingerly reaches out and touches my cheek. "You've been hurt so much, and I never wanted to add any more to you."
It makes sense now. I couldn't understand why she never told me about her and Harrison. "You thought I'd be hurt that you were moving on?"
She nods as tears spring to her eyes, "Mia, you were a daddy's girl, you had been from the moment you were born, as soon as he held you he told me that the world had finally made sense. I completely understood how he felt. We both loved you deeply; I still do. But you and your dad were always closer than you and I ever were, and when he died you pulled away. I could never reach you." Her voice is barely a whisper as a lone tear falls down her face. "You were hurting, and I couldn't help you. I had no idea how I could stop your pain."
"I miss him, Mom. I thought you were trying to wipe away every remnant of him and the life you shared with him." God, this isn't the time to be having this discussion, not now, not at her party.
She pulls me into her arms, "Mia, your father was a big part of my life. I loved him with every fiber of my being. I still love him, had he not died we would have grown old together and lived a very happy life. I'm so sorry that you thought I was doing that.”
My arms tighten around her, and I squeeze her tightly, "I love you, Mom. I'm sorry for being rude."
She pulls away from me, her hands going to my face. "Don't be sorry, I completely understand why you did it, but Mia, Jagger is Hudson's best friend which means he's going to be around a lot while they're here. You're going to have to be civil. For the sake of Sarah and Allie, you have to be. He's made his decision, one that none of us agree with. But his none the less"
I groan, "I know, I'm going to have to try and bite my tongue."
She laughs, "I know you will baby, Sarah and Allie don't need the stress. I'd better get back downstairs. Say goodbye to them and come down when you're ready."
"I will do Mom, thanks for listening."
Her face softens, "Always."
When she starts to go down the stairs, I turn and close the door, "Sorry, we couldn't help but overhear." Lacey tells me as I turn to face them.
I shake my head, "You didn't even try, did you?" They both smile, "No, okay ladies, I have got to go, I need to change Allie, and get some dinner for the both of us."
"Okay, call if you need us," I tell her, even though I know she won't, she never will. She's determined to do this all by herself.
"I will. Try not to let Jagger get to you. He's actually a really sweet guy, and you'd like him if you got to know him."
Lacey's mouth drops open in surprise, whereas I'm not even surprised, she's always said Jagger was a good guy, he just doesn't want a baby. "Go, and feed that gorgeous goddaughter of mine."
Lacey pushes my shoulder, "No, she's mine."
Sarah just shakes her head. It's something we always argue about. Sarah is undecided if she's going to baptize Allie, it doesn't matter I'm still her auntie. "Have fun at the party girls and if it gets that boring, why not go back to Oakland for a bit?"
"Not a bad idea," I tell her, actually contemplating going back home, maybe to look at the old house, it's not sold yet so I could spend a night or two there. I actually like that idea. I could feel a bit closer to Dad, go and visit his grave.
Allie's
face gets bright red, and she makes a weird, but telling sound that we've all heard before. I laugh, "We'll let you go and deal with that."
Sarah groans, "I'm going to need a gas mask, how can a small child's poop smell so bad? Okay, call me soon."
I blow her a kiss, "Will do. Bye, love you both."
"Bye ladies, love you." She calls out and ends the call.
Lacey huffs out a breath, "God, we should move to New York. I feel so helpless, she's slaying this whole mother thing though. I want to help her as much as I can, even though she won't let us help her."
"I know, but Sarah wouldn't let us. She wants us to do what we've dreamed of. So we do whatever we can do. I'm going to talk to Mom and see if there's anything we can do to help, even though she won't accept anything, Mom can be persuasive so she'll help us." It feels good having her know, I can talk to her about it now, and the frustrations I'm feeling about her struggling.
"Sounds good. Now, are you ready to go back down there?"
I shrug, "I guess so." I don't really have much of a choice.
"What are you going to do about Hudson?"
"Ugh, can we deal with one thing at a time?" I ask, not wanting to think about him or what effect he has on my body.
She smirks, "Sure, although I doubt he's going to leave it alone."
I roll my eyes, "I doubt he even remembers me." I link my arm through hers, "Let's rejoin the party. I need a drink."
She laughs, "Or two? Can we hide out in the garden?"
"Definitely," I tell her as we leave her room, "What about you and Barney?"
"What about us?" She's avoiding, and I want to know why, but as soon as we begin to descend the stairs both Hudson and Jagger are at the bottom along with some other man that I don't know.
I pull my arm from Lacey's and straighten my spine, "I'm sorry for my rudeness." I say looking directly at Hudson. I watch as his lips twitch, "I'm not usually that rude."
"It's true. She's usually sweet." Lacey chimes in.
"Oh, I know." Hudson replies and Lacey laughs, he knows who I am. Fuck.
"Mia." Jagger says, and I look to him, "Do you think that we'll be able to talk?"
I shrug, "Sure," I say as I come to stand beside him and Hudson. I wonder what he wants to talk about, if he even mentions Sarah or Allie, I'm going to walk away.
"Outside?" Hudson barks and I jump. "Sorry." He whispers as he looks down at me, his hand grazing my back.
Goosebumps break out on my skin, and I'm transported back to twenty months ago. The magnetic feeling I had is back, I'm drawn to him, and I shouldn't be, I need to get my head together, Hudson Brady is someone I can't be attracted to.
"Uh, yeah, give me a minute, I just want to get a drink," I tell them while grabbing a hold of Lacey's hand and pulling her with me into the ballroom. "Shit Lace, what am I meant to do?"
"Oh, Mia, you still like him, don't you?" She puts her arm around my shoulder as we make our way through the ballroom and towards the kitchen.
"Like?" I scoff, "It's so much more than that. That night we spent together, it's all I ever think about. It's pathetic I know, but Lace, he's all I have ever wanted." Now, I can't have him.
"Damn, Mia," Lacey exclaims, "You never said you loved him."
I come to a stop as we walk through the kitchen doors. Turning to face her. I raise my hands, "Whoa, who mentioned anything about love?"
She has this annoying look on her face, the one that tells me she knows more than I do. I roll my eyes and pull my phone out of the pocket I have hidden in my dress. I quickly send Sarah a text.
Jagger wants to speak to me, what if he wants to talk about you and Allie? Do I talk to him, or do I ignore him?
She doesn't take long to message me back.
You can speak to him, I have nothing to hide. Maybe you can get him to understand that he's hurting his daughter with his decision. Let me know how it goes, try not to kill him. Love you Mia, thank you for being here for me. I don't know what I'd have done without you.
God, she's trying to make me cry! Taking a deep breath, I put my cell back into my pocket and spy the bottles of champagne and a few glasses. Shrugging, I pick the glasses up, Lacey grabs the bottle, and we make our way out into the back yard, it's freaking huge. I spot Hudson and Jagger in mid discussion, so I make my way over to the patio set Mom has out here. Taking a seat I place the glasses on the table.
"Hey, relax okay, if things get heated, just walk away. You owe neither of them anything." Lacey says as she reaches out and touches my hand.
"I know, I just want him to realize what he's actually missing out on not being around Allie. He's hurt Sarah so much by just being an asshole. I don't want to make things worse for them, I know how mad I am at him and I'm trying my hardest to be calm and talk to him like a normal person, but all I keep seeing is Allie in my head. I hate it, Lace. I hate him." My voice cracks and a tear slowly falls down my face as I peer over at him and Hudson, they're still talking, Jagger has a smile on his face. "My best friend is struggling, and he's here having the fucking time of his life. It makes me sick."
She squeezes my hand, "Deep breath, Mia. You've got this. You're a fucking amazing friend, you'd go to hell and back for us, and that's why we love you. Your loyalty is outstanding."
I shrug, I'd do what they'd do for me. It's what you do for those who you love.
"Thank you Mia," Jagger says softly as he and Hudson come and sit down beside us, of course Hudson takes the seat beside me.
"Hudson, Jagger, this is Lacey, Lacey, meet Hudson and Jagger." I introduce them, and Lacey doesn't shake either of their hands. Instead, she just gives them a soft wave. "You wanted to talk?" I get straight to the point.
He nods, "Yes, I received an email today, and it knocked me for six..." He begins, his hands flat against the table.
I scoff, "Why, because you thought she'd have gotten rid of it?"
His eyes widen before quickly darkening. His nostrils flare, and his hands ball up into a fist. "No, God, no. What the fuck? Mia, this email is the first I ever knew about having a daughter."
I gasp, what? There's no way. I glance at Lacey. She looks as shocked as I feel.
"Mia, please, tell me what the fuck is going on," Jagger begs me.
"From the beginning, please. " Hudson asks, his hand reaching over and touching my leg, I should push it away, but I don't. Instead, I hold onto it as if it's my lifeline. He entwines our fingers together, and a sense of calm settles over me. Shit, I am so screwed.
"Okay, where do I start?" I don't know how much he knows.
"You both left without a word." Hudson's deep voice sends shivers down my back, "Why?"
"It wasn't planned. Sarah and I went out that night. We wanted to let off steam. We were both leaving Oakland, and neither of us could wait. The further away we got the better." I tell them honestly, and Hudson's hand tightens around mine. "We went out and we wanted to have fun. We did, and you and Jagger, you weren't expected." I tell him, needing him to understand that it wasn't a plan we had come up with. It just happened.
"Jagger, you were with Carina that night. Sarah thought you two had gotten back together, but at the end of the night when you had asked her to go home with you, she did because she trusted you." I shake my head, "That was her very first mistake."
I watch as he flinches, I don't mean it to hurt him, I'm just telling him the truth.
"My cell ringing woke me up," I tell Hudson, my eyes looking into his, "I had to go, I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful. I thought it would be better to just leave without saying goodbye." More so for me because that one night meant so much more for me than I had ever anticipated.
Looking back at Jagger I see he's waiting patiently for me to continue, "So Sarah and I met up and we headed back to Oakland, we went to our homes and packed up our cars before meeting one last time, she told me she was going back to find you, to talk to you. Tell you where she was headed, and you could hit her up if you were in the area."
I shake my head, "That was Sarah's second mistake. She arrived outside your house only to see you and Carina making out, so she drove and she continued until she got the hell out of Cali."
I can't believe I'm telling him this. He should know this. What if he doesn’t? It would change everything.
Nine
Hudson
"Fuck." Jagger's words are guttural, he fucked up, and he knows it. What the fuck was he doing making out with that bitch mere hours after being with Sarah?
"Sarah found out she was pregnant when she was about eight or nine weeks. She contemplated whether or not she was going to keep it." Mia's voice is soft and willowy, and her hand is gripped tight in mine, I thought she'd ignore it when I reached over and touched her thigh, she shocked me by taking my hand into hers, she's held on tightly ever since. The woman is making my head spin, I want her and I shouldn't but fuck, she's mine, and I'm not going to stop until she's in my bed. Permanently. She was mine before our parents got married. I don’t care if we’re family now.
"What?" Jagger shouts and both Mia and Lacey jump.
Before I'm able to reprimand him, Mia stands up, her hand pulling away from mine and she leans over the table. Her finger pointing in his face. "Don't you dare. Don't even think about making it about that. She had no one, Jagger. Sarah lives alone, she's in a new fucking city and has no friends, the man who got her pregnant didn't give a fuck about her and not even six hours after her leaving his bed he's making out with someone else. Don't you dare sit there and get mad that she contemplated an abortion."
He nods, his eyes so full of pain. I've never seen him look so defeated. He’s kicking himself for letting her get away.
"She decided that she couldn't do it, that she'd be a single mom and fuck she's amazing. I'm in awe of her. Allie has the best mom in the world." Tears fall from her eyes as she sits back down. "Sarah loves her more than anything. You can’t blame her for thinking through all her options."
Forbidden Lust (The Kingpin Book 1) Page 8