by Jenna Gunn
“I don’t. My parents are gone. They were older when they had me because they finished their careers as trapeze artists before they had me.”
Cass studies me for a few seconds.
“You know you can stay here, right?”
“Of course I know we can stay here, but it’s not ideal for you either. Having a toddler and a friend sleep on your couch is fine for a day or two, but I know Nick is coming home from his deployment this week. You need time alone together. And my job search isn’t exactly turning out to be easy, so who knows how long it will take me to find a place. It just makes sense on so many levels. Bishop has two guest rooms. And it will give him a chance to get to know Bruno.”
“I’m worried about you being there.”
“It’s not going to be easy…but we have to work some things out. I hope we can come to some kind of peace for Bruno’s sake. I want him to have shared custody so they can be as close as possible.”
Her eyes harden with concern, “That could tie you to Lynn’s Cove.”
I nod, “I know, but Bishop is his father. He has rights. Knowing his family, I just can’t picture him being a stand-off kind of father.”
“How can you trust him to be decent in this parenting thing?”
I push back from the table and take the plate to the sink. “He’s honorable. That’s why.”
“Honorable men don’t cheat.”
“I still can’t believe it happened. Of course, I knew Bishop was the object of many women’s desire. But he made a point to brush them off. Swore I was the only one who was his perfect mate. So it doesn’t fit in my mind.”
Cass stands up, her hand touches my shoulder, “Mia, you said the evidence is undeniable.”
“It is.”
“Well then, I think you need to admit it. He’s a cheater. He’s not the man you thought he was.”
I wrap my arms around my body. “Cheating is wrong, but… I don’t know what to say. I know we’ve both grown up a lot since, I think anyway. What he did was awful, but human. It destroyed my heart, but I never forgot he was human.”
Have I forgiven him? No.
Will I forgive him? I can’t honestly say I will, but I guess I’m somehow hoping he sees my mistakes in not telling him about Bruno as equally human.
“I’ve certainly made my mistakes,” I add. “We are going to talk this evening as I move our things to his place. Would it be possible for you to watch Bruno for a couple of hours? It would be best if we didn’t have to talk in front of him.”
She smiles fondly at my little one. “Of course. We can watch a movie.”
“Thanks, Cass. I really appreciate it. That gives us a chance to deal with the ugly truth of things.”
As I clean up from snack time, a deep dread settles over me like a cloud that’s loaded with lightning, hail, and a flood of emotions.
I’m filled with worry, exactly like I knew I would be.
Chapter Five
I can’t work. Not in the state I’m in. I climb the stairs to Bryce’s office. He’s on the phone, so I wait outside. When he hangs up, I rap on the door. “I need to talk to you.”
My older brother’s expression turns worried. He knows I don’t say those words lightly. “Come on in. Close the door.”
I drop into the chair across from his desk. But I can’t figure out what to say.
“I’m getting concerned now.” He narrows his eyes on me. “First you say you need to talk. Then you don’t talk. Something heavy is going on.”
Where to start?
“When I said I was stuck in the elevator, I neglected to mention it was with Mia.”
Bryce’s mouth gapes. “Mia… as in THE Mia?”
“Mia, my Ex-wife.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.” I sit for a few seconds, rolling around optional words in my brain. I’m still in disbelief of what just happened so talking about it is feels crazy.
Bryce is waiting, watching, but I can see a million ideas turning like cogs in his head.
“She moved back, and she has a child.”
“What the hell?” Bryce leans back in his chair. “Dude, I’m sorry.”
“My child.”
Bryce’s face goes furious, the vessels in his forehead stand out like tree roots. “Your child?!?”
“Yeah. That’s about how I feel.”
“You’re telling me she had your baby…what two years ago and didn’t tell you?”
I nod. “Something about like that. The kid’s about that age.”
“That’s jacked. I’m sorry. What’s going to happen?”
“I’m moving them into my house until we sort things out.”
He whistles, “Wow. Okay. This just got real as fuck.”
“Yes, it did. I haven’t told anyone else. I’d appreciate it if you keep it on the DL until I’ve had a chance to tell them personally.”
“Well, you better get to it fast because living in your house is going to get real obvious with everyone else in shouting distance at Pelican Point.”
“I know. I guess I need to go do that now.”
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, brother. If there is anything you want me to do, let me know.”
“I think introducing Mia to Raven and your baby would be a good thing. I’m guessing Mia’s going to need some friends.”
“Of course.”
I heft myself out of my chair. One down. Three brothers and one father to go.
My hometown rolls by the windows of my truck, a blur of surreal colors and sounds as we drive to Pelican Point.
A few hours ago, I never would have believed that Mia would be in the same space as me again.
She was gone. Off the grid, hiding from me, out in the world, living her life, thinking that I did something so heinous that she would never speak to me again.
I knew the truth in my heart, that I didn’t do anything wrong, but she never even gave me the chance to prove my innocence to her before she disappeared.
She threw everything away and at the same time destroyed anything good left inside of me.
But seeing her…
Fuck me. I never knew the ferocity of all the emotions that were bottled up inside of me.
I want her with more intensity than ever before.
Yet in the very same breath, I can’t stand her for what she did to me… to us. And now—
A child.
My world has been flipped not just upside down, but inside out.
The silence surrounding Mia is heavy as a wool coat. Her eyes have been fixed on the windshield since she climbed inside and closed the door.
Fourteen times—yes, I counted—fourteen times already, in seven minutes I’ve wanted to reach for her.
Instead, I grip the wheel with bone crushing force. Praying the thing doesn’t snap off in my hands.
Some self-preserving thing inside of me wants me to be so mad that I banish her from my sight.
But…I can’t.
Not yet. Not until I know and understand what is happening here.
I finally get something to move past my clamped lips. “Bruno—it’s a good name.”
“I like it.” She says softly. “It took a long time to pick it. I knew it should start with a B, just like Bishop. And it’s Italian, well, you know why, because you’re half and I’m whole, so not like I could name him some Irish name.”
It didn’t escape me that he had a B name.
“Does he have a middle name?”
Her eyes float to me shyly. “He does. It’s Marcus…”
My throat seizes up because my heart has taken up residence there—sideways.
Thank god I have an excuse to look away, to look left, as I turn into Pelican Point, the Archer Family compound.
She gave our child my middle name.
Jesus. Does it get any more real than this?
Bruno Marcus.
Just thinking about the name sends something wild and possessive racing through my brain.
I don’t have the balls to ask
what the baby’s last name is… or hers for that matter. I can only imagine she changed her name and did everything that she could to bury our marriage six feet under.
When I pull into my parking spot, I count the cars. Brandon, Christian, and Dad must be out. I have yet to tell them about Mia and Bruno. I told Bryce and Tyson. Jeez, it’s like I need a checklist. Having a giant ass family sure does make things complicated.
But it’s a top priority to get this out on the table so we don’t have a shocking run-in that might result in a rather ugly moment.
The Archers are strong of tongue and might.
And we protect our kind. So Mia could easily become the target of some harsh, unleashed feelings, however warranted or unwarranted they are.
“Let’s get this stuff inside.” I start jerking bags from the back of the truck. I’m still in disbelief that Mia somehow packed her life in three large suitcases, a backpack, and a baby bag.
She never was into having a lot. Even when she lived with me all those years, she never collected stuff. “Are these all of your things? As in all your earthly possessions?”
She sighs. “They are. I guess living on the road all my life is convenient for one thing at least.”
I juggle the bags around and roll all three large bags up the walk at one time toward my “house.”
House is a loose term. I’m in the lower level three-bedroom apartment in the main house in the Archer complex. Above me is the rest of the original family home, and my father’s living space.
When I push open the door for us, I have the stupid urge to say welcome home.
WTF?
I stuff that urge and mumble, “Not much has changed.” Because it hasn’t. Sure the photos of us don’t adorn the mantle, and her favorite soft fleece throw doesn’t hang over the back of the sofa any more… but the bones of the place are still the same, even though nearly three years of heartache lie within these walls since she’s last stepped foot here.
The house didn’t change, but I sure the fuck did. A softer, more loving man lived here once upon a time. One whose sun shone in his wife’s eyes and set in the bedroom with them tucked in for long nights of pillow talk and hours of lovemaking.
Mia drops her backpack onto the floor. Right where she always left it when she lived here.
“Second bedroom has a corner office in it now. Third one is still set up for guests.” I roll the bags toward the third bedroom, in the back of the place.
Mia follows me. “Having a toddler in your house will be really disruptive. Are you sure?”
“I told you this isn’t up for discussion.” I shove the suitcases into the large closet.
“Thank you for having us. It will be much better for Bruno to have some stability and space.”
When I turn, Mia is standing just inside the door. Her lithe form back lit by the natural light from the living room. Her hair is tumbled, her shirt just hanging a bit off one shoulder. She looks like a delicious, messy, taboo treat.
I’m frozen for a moment, just seeing her. How many nights have I dreamed of having her here again?
My trance is broken by her moving toward the bed. She slides a hip onto the edge of the mattress. “Let’s just get this over.”
I blink.
For some stupid reason, my brain immediately wants to know if she’s talking about sex. I frown. “Get what over?”
She narrows her eyes. “Talking about the forty thousand pound gorilla in the room.”
“The affair you think I had, or the fact that you had our child and didn’t tell me?”
She pinches at her eyebrow, takes a deep breath. “Point taken. Both. All. Everything in between. We need to air this. It’s killing me and it’s not healthy for us to have this between us as we figure out how to share custody of Bruno.”
Anger surges through me. My voice bursts out tight and hard. “Share custody?”
“I know you are going to want to be a part of his life. As you should. And I don’t think we can be good at sharing custody if we can’t get along on some level.”
I’m dumbstruck.
I’m not sure what I expected, but two weeks on, or weekend here and there, is not the fuck what I had in mind—not that I know what I have in mind. Because I don’t.
I huff and squeeze the back of my neck to keep my head from exploding. “I’m all ears. Where do we start?”
She drops her head into her hands, obviously feeling the building pressure in the atmosphere. “Damn it, how did we end up like this?”
I lean back against the wall and slide down to the floor, right by the door. “Fuck if I know. But I know what started this whole nightmare is something that I did not do.”
Tears bead on her lashes, her eyes float to something invisible in the middle distance. Pain lances across her face for a split second and she flinches.
Jesus, we’re both so broken and scarred.
My voice chokes. I stop and clear my throat. “Will you listen to me, Mia?”
She falls back against the pillows, almost like she’s surrendering to the pain. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Mia, I didn’t have an affair.”
I watch her quick intake of breath. “Bishop. The photos—the receipts—the video. The proof is hard to deny.”
“You never sent me the copies. I only know what you said.”
Her arm floats up, and she points to the closet. “They’re in the green suitcase.”
“You kept them all this time?”
She sighs. “I had to keep them to keep my anger alive.”
“Will you show them to me?” Not knowing what the alleged proof was ate me up for a fucking year. But she refused. Then vanished. And chasing her across the world to see them seemed fucking pointless. Whatever she saw was enough reason for her to divorce me as fast as humanly possible.
And if she thought so little of me to do that…well, maybe I just needed to let the fuck go.
She rolls off the bed and unzips the front pocket on one of the suitcases. A yellow envelope slips out when she tugs.
Suddenly my gut feels like it’s full of razor blades.
I have no idea what I’m about to see.
Mia kneels down in front of me. Twists open the twine on the envelope, and pulls out three photos, a stack of receipts, and a thumb drive. Her hands shake as she spreads them on the floor before me.
“Goddamn.” I breathe as I flip through the photos.
The photos are professional quality, taken with a telephoto lens with about 200 magnification. In low light. In a bar.
I know exactly when they were taken—remember the exact moment when a complete stranger looped her arm in mine and rammed her tongue down my throat before I could blink a fucking eye.
“You believe that I did this? Someone set me up.”
Her eyes drift to the photos. She takes the images in slowly.
“Mia, do you really think that a professional photographer would be on hand to shoot a photo like this if this weren’t a setup?”
“I don’t know…”
“Look at these photos. Really look at these.” I turn the images around for her to see. “Look at my expression. Do you see that? That is not the look of a man who is enthralled?”
“But that happened.” She says quietly.
“That woman approached me and in a split second she blindsided me, then she was gone. Just like that. I told the guys I was with and they didn’t even believe me because they didn’t see it.”
A loaded silence settles between us.
I sigh rubbing my hands over my face. “The night those photos were taken, I was in Encinitas at Spindrift with Tyson and a friend watching a band. Tyson was talking to some girls, and the next thing you know, this woman,” I point the one of the pictures, “She comes up and before I could react she had her tongue in my mouth.”
I pick up the receipts. “Crown Plaza, San Diego?” I toss it down. “I’ve never been there.” I scan the second one. “ Hilton, Garden Inn, Oceanside.” H
ave no clue where that is.” And the last, “Marriott in La Jolla. Never seen the place.”
I rise off the floor. Less than a minute later, I set my laptop down between us. A few seconds later, I have my credit card records on the screen. I spin the laptop around facing her. “These are my credit card charges from three years ago. I had two cards. Look. Here, none of these.” I flip to the other bank’s website. “And nothing here either. Neither of my card numbers matches the cards on these receipts.”
Her eyes tick over the numbers on the screen.
“Mia, I never cheated on you. I would NEVER do that. Do you hear me?”
She swallows. “I want to believe what you are saying is true.” Her fingers tremble as she picks up the thumb drive.
I pull it from her hand and without hesitation slide it into the USB on the laptop.
The video begins to play. A woman is giving a man head. His hands are fisted in her hair. It’s a shaky video with bad lighting. The man looks up at the camera and… I’ll be damned. It looks a hell of a lot like me.
“It’s a fake.” I growl. “Someone with video editing experience put my face in there. I mean, for fuck’s sake, Mia, I don’t even have a tattoo like that.”
We’re frozen, watching the video loop. Shit. It’s a crappy video, but there is no wonder why she ran from me. Any woman who was wrought with emotion would believe all of this.
Mia takes in a shuddering breath. “Bishop…”
I reach for her hand, feel the slender warmth of it in my own. On a broken whisper I say, “I didn’t break my vows to you.”
She pulls back and stands up.
“Those tore my heart out—they were delivered five days before I found out I was pregnant. Can you imagine what that felt like?”
My insides twist so hard it nearly makes me vomit. God. That had to hurt like getting your heart burned by a blowtorch. “I can’t imagine. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. But it doesn’t make them real.”
She moves across the room, pulls out a suitcase, hefts it onto the bed. Her motions are jerky as she starts pulling out Bruno’s little clothes. I rise from the floor and move to her. I put my hand on hers to stop her nervous folding of the little t-shirts.
“Mia, I fucking loved you with all of my heart. Every moment you were gone, I was thinking about you. All I wanted to do was make you happy. I wanted us to have a family together. Do you really think I would have ruined all of that?”