by Tina Saxon
Lexi is the only daughter I planned on having anytime soon. I requested information on adoption and planned on showing Addison the night I proposed, but that blew up in my face. I haven’t changed my mind about Lexi; I would be honored to be her father. Like the wedding, any talk of adoption will have to wait. This sucks. Two innocent children are stuck in the middle of this out-of-control situation.
How the hell did my life get to this point?
I look around the gym when I get there, debating over what I should do first. Run. As fast as I fucking can. Getting situated on the treadmill, I crank up the speed and my feet hammer down with each step. If only I could run faster than my thoughts.
***
“I’m here for Jessie Carver,” I tell the front desk receptionist. She motions for me to go on back. After getting home from the gym and showering, I received a text from Macie saying what room Jessie was in. I swipe my sweaty hands down my jeans as I walk down the hallway. I can do this. We don’t know if she’s mine, and we won’t know for a couple days. I steady my breathing before rounding the corner into Jessie’s room.
“Aiden!” Jessie squeals. “You’re here.” A voice that I once enjoyed sends chills of disgust down my spine. Even though she could be the mom of my daughter, I will never forgive her for what she has done. I will play nice for the sake of Presley, but if she thinks we’re going to play house, she’s crazier than I thought.
“I’m here for Presley, Jessie. Let’s get that straight,” I remind her. She rolls her eyes and huffs.
“Did you bring your fiancée?” she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Because I don’t want her anywhere near our baby.” I swallow the words, wanting to jump out of my mouth. I suck in a deep breath, letting it out slowly through my nose.
“Jessie…” I pause to get a better handle on my emotions, “…if Presley is mine, Addison will be a part of her life.”
“You think so, Aiden?” Jessie sits up straighter in her bed. “You know, maybe I don’t want my baby to have a paternity test. Maybe you don’t deserve to be her father if you’re going to have a dangerous person around my little girl. I mean, she tried to kill me.” Her voice raises a couple octaves.
“She did not, Jessie. And if you want to play this game, I’ll get a court order to have the DNA test. No matter what, we will find out the truth, so stop fucking with me,” I spit out.
“Okay,” Macie says, intervening. “Aiden, why don’t you go wait in the waiting room?”
I glance at her and then back to Jessie. “You know where to find me,” I mumble and then stalk out of the room. I stomp down the white halls of the hospital, mumbling incoherently. People walk past and look at me like I’m crazy.
No, I’m not crazy, I’m fucking pissed.
If she thinks Addison won’t be a part of my daughter’s life, she’s insane. And now she doesn’t want a DNA test? That shit isn’t surprising. I walk into the waiting room and spot Ryan and Max sitting down at a table in the corner, talking. I’m glad to see them. Maybe they can talk me off this ledge.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” I shrink down in one of the empty chairs; the guys stop talking and stare at me. “What?”
“You look like shit,” Max says.
A bitter laugh comes out. “I’ve had better days.”
“Did you go see Jessie?” Ryan asks.
My jaws clench. “Yes,” I hiss. They both tilt their head. “Can you believe this shit? She told me Addison couldn’t be anywhere near her child and maybe she doesn’t want a DNA test done.”
Max stares at me for a moment and nods his head slightly. “Do you want to know what I think?”
“I know what you’re thinking. The same thing I am. She’s supposedly two weeks late and now she doesn’t want a DNA test. Well, fuck that. She’s torn my world inside out for the last couple months. I’m going to get a DNA test done even if I don’t think this baby is mine just for confirmation.”
“You want me to call Jaxon?” Ryan says, sitting forward with his elbows on the table with his phone in hand. It comes in handy having a best friend as an attorney.
“Probably a good idea.”
“If you go that route, you know it can take weeks,” Max chimes in.
“I don’t think I have a choice.”
“You always have a choice. It just might not be Jessie’s choice.” I catch the undertones to Max’s voice. Max has people who can run the DNA test, we would just have to secretly get Presley’s DNA.
“Do it. I’m not waiting weeks to get an answer. She brought this on herself.”
A few hours later, Macie appears and tells us Jessie’s almost ready to start pushing. She talks about things I have no clue about. Like effacement and dilation. I don’t even want to know. She looks expectantly at me, waiting to see if I want to be a part of that. My eyes shift away.
That would be a no. She’s not taking that experience away from me with a child who isn’t mine. The more minutes that tick by this morning, the more convinced I become that Presley isn’t mine anyway.
She shakes her head in disappointment. She thinks it’s mine. I hate that Jessie has used her best friend. It’s going to crush Macie when she finds out.
“I guess I’ll keep you updated,” she says and spins around and stomps off.
“She just can’t see Jessie lying to you about the baby,” Ryan says apologetically.
“What do you think?” I ask, staring at him right in the eyes.
“At first, I didn’t know. I saw her leave your house, Aiden. I know she was there. But the fact she’s two weeks late, supposedly, and now trying to delay a DNA test, I have my suspicions, too.”
I nod and scrub my hand over my face. “Have either of you thought about if Presley isn’t mine…what could be the reason she did all this, other than to cause a lot of problems between Addison and me? She had to know I would run a DNA test.”
“Hmm…” Max says, sitting back in his chair, arms crossed. “I’ve tried, but I’m coming up blank. She’s gone through a lot of trouble to make you think Presley is yours and to have it blow up that fast seems too easy.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Not much we can do about it other than wait it out,” Ryan states matter-of-factly. I’m not sure how much more waiting it out I can take.
“Can we talk about something else?”
“I hear Jaxon is going to Florida next month for a couple weeks.” Amusement fills Ryan’s face.
“You’re an asshole.” I chuckle. As much as I hate Jaxon and my sister together, there are bigger problems in my life right now. “I guess if my sister is going to fall in love with someone, at least it’s with someone I trust.”
“Wow,” Ryan says, surprised. “I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth.” I shrug. Katie’s an adult now, and I can’t stop her from loving someone, even if it’s one of my best friends. He’s fully aware if he hurts her, he’ll have to deal with all of us.
We bullshit the rest of the morning while we wait. The guys try to keep the conversation light, but no matter what, they can’t lighten the load straining my body. My knee bounces up and down in anticipation. I’ve looked at my phone a million times, even though it sits on the table, laying right side up. Even if I weren’t paying attention to it, I still wouldn’t miss a call or a text because it’s right in front of my face.
I sigh, looking at it again. I wish Addison would call me. Should I call her? I’ve already brought so much shit to her door with Jessie, I don’t know. She’s been amazing being there for me these last couple weeks. Especially after I got my head out of my ass.
“Just call her,” Max says in his no-nonsense voice. I glare at him. It’s not that simple, is it? He lifts his brow as if to tell me, yes, it is that simple. I growl, snatching my phone off the table as I push up out of the chair. I hear laughter behind me as I walk out of the sliding doors. Bastards.
“Hi,” Addison answers quickly. I close my eyes and lean against the building, sa
voring her sweet southern accent.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say, soberly.
“How’s it going?”
I sigh. “It’s supposedly going.”
“You’re not in there with her?” She sounds surprised. My shoulders drop. Fuck. Is that what she’s been thinking all morning?
“No, Addison. The only person I’m going to experience that with is you.” Silence fills the phone line for a few moments. Why isn’t she saying anything? “Sweetheart?”
She clears her throat. “Sorry.” I can hear the emotion in her voice. “I just…I just had this picture in my head…”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve called you earlier,” I say quickly. “I just had to calm down a bit. Max and Ryan are here with me.”
“Why were you upset?”
I groan in frustration. “Jessie’s threatening not to do a DNA test.”
She lets out an audible gasp. “I knew it! I knew once the time came she would start with excuses. She is so predictable. You know why she’s doing it, right?” she asks, her voice escalated with each word.
“Yes.” I sigh heavily.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m taking care of it. We’ll know by tomorrow.”
“Got it,” she says in understanding. “I love you, Aiden, no matter what.”
“I love you, too, Addison. I’ll call you with an update later.”
I touch the end button and my hands fall slack at my sides. A lady who looks like she’s about to pop and her significant other are walking up to the front doors. The man looks like he’s about to cry, and the woman is taking in quick breaths, releasing a long one at the end.
“Grow some balls, Jason. I’m the one in labor. Stop crying,” she screams, hitting him in the arm. I bite my lip, holding in the chuckle trying to escape. I can imagine Addison saying something like that. God, I can’t wait for her to have my children.
I watch the doors shut behind them only to open again. Max is standing there with his hands in his pockets.
“She had the baby,” he says.
This is it. Even though I’m almost positive she’s not mine, I can’t be one hundred percent sure. I might be a dad at this very second, and I’m about to look into the eyes of a child who might be mine. I push off the wall with my foot, sticking my phone into my back pocket and walk back inside.
“How are they?” I ask as we walk toward the nursery.
“Both are doing well. They’re cleaning Presley up right now,” Ryan says, pointing at a huge piece of glass in front of us. We walk up and watch nurses tend to the babies. Some are sleeping and some not so much. One of the not so much ones is Presley. She is pissed off and beet red. I would be, too, baby girl, if they were smearing greasy crap in my eyes. They weigh her in front of us and boy does she have a set of lungs. It’s not until they clean her up and wrap her in some white blanket that she settles down. She’s wrapped so tight, I’m surprised she can breathe.
“Don’t you think that’s a little too tight,” I ask the guys, not taking my eyes off her.
“Fuck if I know,” Max answers. “It doesn’t look comfortable.”
“I’d hate not to be able to stretch my arms. It looks like they Saran Wrapped her. It doesn’t look right,” Ryan comments.
We all stand there and gaze at the baby. And then she opens her eyes and looks right at me. Blue eyes stare up at me. She blinks a couple times. She has little dark blond hairs on top of her head. She’s beautiful. She reminds me of…
“Is it weird I’m thinking she looks like Addison? God, that’s messed up.” Holy shit, this baby thing is messing with my head.
“No, she kind of does. But all babies are born with blue eyes. Not sure where she got the light hair, though,” Ryan answers, looking over at me and then back to her. Jessie’s natural hair color is dark brown, just like mine. “She doesn’t look anything like you.”
My eyebrows furrow, looking at Ryan. “She looks like a raisin right now. I don’t think you’d be able to tell who a kid looks like when they’re first born.” One thing is for sure, we’re all mesmerized by her.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Macie coos from behind us. Ryan turns to her and pulls her to his front so she can see.
“She is,” Ryan replies, resting his head on top of hers. “Hopefully we’ll have one soon.”
I whip my head in their direction. “Are you guys trying?”
Macie sighs. “We’ve been trying,” she says, defeated. “For what feels like forever.”
I slap Ryan on the back. “It’ll happen. You guys will be great parents.” How I wish we were staring at their baby right now.
“Thanks,” he says quietly.
“Do you want to go hold her?” Macie says, clearing her throat and glancing up at me. She tries to hide wiping away a tear by rubbing her whole face.
“Macie,” I say, looking away.
“Aiden, you don’t know. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you find out you are.”
I turn my attention back to Presley. She’s wide awake and so small. I’m afraid I’ll break her. At least with Lexi, I can play around with her, throw her in the air. I don’t ever feel I’m going to hurt her. I’ve never held a baby before.
“I will. Just give me some time.” She lays her hand on my back, so I reach around and pull her into my side. We stand there for a few more moments in silence before she speaks.
“I’ll go check on Jess. She should be cleaned up by now. They moved her to room 410.”
“Thanks, Mace.” I kiss the top of her head before she turns out of my arms and walks away.
“How are we going to do this?” Max asks. He’s back to business.
“I’ll go into Jessie’s room and hold Presley. I’ll need a swab on hand, so I can do it when she’s not looking.” My voice is hushed. Both guys nod in understanding. I look back at Presley and wonder. Who’s your daddy, little girl? Holy shit! I look up to the ceiling and grimace in disgust. I’m not sure if I’m madder that I thought that just now or because I have used that line on a grown woman. Never again.
Max’s hand slaps my back. “Let’s go get some lunch, then we’ll come back.”
After lunch, our plan goes off without a hitch. Max distracted Jessie for a few minutes by showing her pictures he took of Presley when she was in the nursery. I was caught off guard, too busy staring into the eyes of Presley. She’s beautiful. Her head fits into my entire hand. When my brain finally caught up to what he was doing, I took the swab without anyone noticing.
Now, we wait.
Chapter five
Don’t get mad, I tell myself over and over. But this sucks. A few minutes ago, Aiden’s phone dinged with a text. He’s in the shower so I just glanced at it to make sure it wasn’t important. The picture caught my attention so I opened it. This is what you get for being nosey!
It was from Jessie. A picture of Aiden holding Presley, and she captioned it with “she misses her daddy.” Spear through my heart. I hate that woman, but I can’t look away from the picture. My eyes start to mist. Looking at this huge man, my man, holding a beautiful, tiny baby that isn’t mine is heart wrenching. And the worst part, she looks like a child we would’ve had together. I’m staring at the picture when Aiden walks in, towel around his waist.
“What’s wrong?” Aiden asks.
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Jessie texted you a picture,” I say, holding out his phone for him to take. When he reaches to take it from my hand, his hand extends to my wrist and he pulls me to him. He takes the phone with the other hand and throws it on the bed without looking at it. I guess he doesn’t need to look at it since he was there.
My arms wrap around his taut chest. Water still drips down his muscular back. I dig my fingers into his back as he draws me so close there isn’t an ounce of space between us.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of this,” he says, letting out a soft sigh.
A flood of emotions bubble up inside of me
. My eyes fill with tears I can’t control. He holds me tighter. “Before she was here, I felt like I could handle it. It wasn’t real yet.” My throat clogs with emotion. “But now…seeing her in your arms…I’m so jealous, and I don’t know how to stop feeling this way,” I say, anger taking hold. “And to top it off, she doesn’t look like either of you! She looks like me! How ironic is that?” I feel his chest shake, and I pull away to see his face. “Why are you laughing? It’s not funny.”
“I thought the same thing.” One corner of Aiden’s mouth twitches. “I don’t expect you to be okay with this.” His expression turns serious. He pushes my hair behind one ear, cupping my neck as his thumb caresses my cheek. “Did I look at Presley in amazement and wonder? Yes. But the whole time I was thinking I can’t wait to have this with you. She’s not mine. I know deep down, she’s not.”
Aiden’s hands glide down my body, and he lifts me up. I wrap my legs around him, loosening his towel and it falls to the ground. He backs us up and lays me on the bed. My mind takes a pivot as heat rushes down to my core, feeling his arousal between us.
“You mean everything to me and nothing will get in the way of us,” he says, slowly unbuttoning my shirt. His lips follow his hands, and he places tender kisses on my bare skin as my shirt is opened. He keeps going down to my pants, undoing them and pulling them off, kissing his way back up. A text dings on his phone, but he ignores it. Then it rings. I look down at him, and he flashes a salacious smile. “Nothing. Will. Get. In. The. Way,” he says, stopping and kissing me between each word. Goose bumps spread across my body.
He drags his fingers up my thighs, and I shiver from his touch. He kneels on the bed, positioning himself between my legs. He leans over, taking my breast in his mouth, lapping it with his tongue and sucking. I arch my back and moan. I can feel his heavy cock at my entrance. I wrap my legs around his waist and move my hips against him.
He leaves a trail of kisses up my chest, moving to my neck. I lift my chin, giving him easier access. His intoxicating touch always leaves me craving more. He nips my earlobe and groans. My fingers score his back as I try to position my hips so he can slide inside of me.