His Secret Baby

by Black, Natasha L.

I nodded. “It was good, for the most part. Some rough patches, but overall it was nice. Are you working right now?”

  He snickered. “Only promoting the hell out of this movie. I swear, they’ve got me on double time, especially with my social media feeds, but the fans are hyped for this movie. Have you gotten on social media yet?”

  “No.”

  “Well, you really should. It’s an untapped potential you have for your audience; they’d love to connect with you.”

  And I’d love to plunge this fork into your eye socket.

  I didn’t like how any of this was playing out. I didn’t like the threats, or how Liam thought he could twist this situation to suit his needs. I told him I’d think about this shit, and then he pulled this? Dragging Gael into this insanity?

  You dragged him first.

  Gael agreed to deal with the press, yes, but he didn’t agree to dealing with Liam. What Liam wanted to do was an invasion. An ambush. And until I could figure out how to strike back, I needed to play this man’s game. Keep him placated until I knew how to cut his knees out from underneath him. Because going after Gael meant war.

  And I was about to bring the heat.

  “So, here’s what I’m thinking. Since we’re kind of alone in the back of this restaurant, we could—”

  “What?” I asked.

  Liam paused. “Have you been listening to a word I’ve been saying?”

  I blinked. “Sure. We’ll go with that.”

  “Syn.”

  “Don’t give me that tone of voice. I’m here, aren’t I? I’m holding up my end of the bargain, which means you aren’t to ambush Gael on set tomorrow. Because if you do? Arrested for harassment is what you’ll be. Got it?”

  He grinned. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you? Like you fell for me?”

  I felt my lungs go empty. “What?”

  “You have feelings for him already.”

  I licked my lips. “Yo—you knew that I—I-I-I—”

  “Oh, come on, Syn. It was easy to spot. About four months in, right? For me, at least. That’s when it developed. This guy must have something really special about him to rope you in so quickly.”

  I felt myself floating and sinking at the same time.

  “Anyway, enough about that. I’m thinking about us playing the whole ‘on again off again’ angle. You know, keep the media guessing. Keep them speculating while we keep ‘getting caught’ in situations together. You know, coffee in a hidden corner. Us, in this restaurant right now. Possibly sneaking off set while talking lowly to one another.”

  I glowered. “You won’t bring this shit near my set.”

  He chuckled. “You really are something, you know that? It’s cute. Anyway, that’ll be the best way to milk this for all it has. And before you ask, I’ve already talked with Anna about this. She’s completely on board for playing the innocent victim in all this.”

  “Well, I haven’t talked with Gael about this, so…”

  He shrugged. “So, what? I know he’s getting something out of this. You’re too generous of a person to not give him something. So, make sure he gets it and move on. That’s how arrangements work.”

  I felt sick from my toes to my nose. “I don’t know if this is—”

  “Syn, look. Come on. It’s easy enough. Give him a payout to shut him up, find him a new set to work on, and then he can tell his side of the story when it’s time. Use the press to garner him some more money and catapult his own career. It’s a win-win-win-win situation. Everyone gets something they want out of this.”

  “Gael isn’t in the business like we are. Press doesn’t work for stuntmen the way it works for us.”

  “Why the hell are you so worried about a nobody stuntman anyway? We’re the real stars, Syn. We’re the ones you should be worried about. He’ll be fine. He seems like he can take care of himself.”

  Anger boiled in my blood. It percolated through the marrow of my bones and forced me out of my chair. I stood up, my eyes wide and my fists clenched at my sides. And as Liam grinned up at me, he folded his arms over his chest.

  “You were always cute when you were angry,” he said.

  “I’ve had enough of your bullshit,” I hissed.

  “I wonder what Gael’s going to be wearing to work tomorrow and if it would go well with… oh, I don’t know. Red.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Are you threatening my husband’s wellbeing?”

  “What are you going to do? Report me?”

  I pointed at him. “Liam Rainey. You are a self-obsessed, narcissistic, selfish little asshole!”

  “I really wouldn’t do this if I were you, Syn.”

  I walked around the table and got in his face.

  “I’ll never agree to seeing you again. I’ll never enter into another agreement with you ever again. You got outplayed. You got outsmarted. Deal with it. You’re only as good to the world as the drama you can kick up, because let’s face it. The movie that’s hired you to work is B-rated, at best. You weren’t hired to be my co-lead on the television show because you were good, but because you were handsome. You aren’t talented. You can’t act worth a shit. You’re just another pretty face. One Gael will take care of for good if you come around that set tomorrow.”

  He leaned toward me. “You really shouldn’t make a scene.”

  I got even closer. “Then leave us the fuck alone.”

  His nostrils flared. His eyes ignited with anger. And as I slowly stood up, I swiped my hands over the front of my dress.

  “If you show up on set tomorrow, not only will I let Gael have his way with you, I’ll make sure you’re in handcuffs before the day is over. Choose what you want with your life wisely. Because I have just as much ammunition on you regarding our arrangement as you do on me.”

  He shot up. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Talk to the press and watch me,” I hissed. “Because you’re not the only one who can follow through on a threat around here.”

  I knew I was making a scene. I knew people were recording it, taking pictures, but I didn’t much care. I stormed out of the restaurant, my hands clenched into fists. I was angry with myself for even considering his offer, for even entertaining the idea that something like that would’ve been beneficial for both of us.

  I slipped into my car just as the paparazzi arrived at the restaurant. And while they were peering through the windows to try and find me and Liam, I pulled away from the curb, avoiding them altogether.

  I sped home, wanting nothing more than to crawl into Gael’s bed and snuggle up to him. But when I got home, he was nowhere to be found. His bike wasn’t there. His helmet wasn’t in the coat closet. And he wasn’t in his bedroom.

  “Gael?” I called out.

  I walked around the house, trying to find him. I walked out back to see if maybe he had parked back there. His clothes were still on the floor in the living room, so he hadn’t completely left. But it was eight at night. We had to work in the morning.

  Where in the world did he go?

  After calling his phone four separate times, I relegated myself to sleeping alone. I dragged myself upstairs and fell into my bed, not bothering to undress. I slept like a rock and woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. When my alarm woke me up, I smelled coffee permeating my room from downstairs, which pulled me out of bed.

  But I didn’t even get out of my bedroom before my cell phone rang.

  “What?” I asked, not bothering to see who it was.

  “Seriously? That kind of attitude when this shit is splashed all over the front pages?” Madison asked.

  I sighed. “What is it now?”

  “Your fun little spat with Liam last night. I thought dinner was supposed to go smoothly? Every damn entertainment site has this picture of you practically going nuclear on him. The blogs are playing snippets of videos people posted on their social media accounts with you bitching him out. Some even with subtitles!”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Can this wait un
til after I’ve had some damn coffee?”

  “Oh, no. No, no, no. You stay on this damn phone and talk to me. The last time I talked to you, which was before this stupid-ass dinner, you told me things would be fine. What the hell happened?”

  I heard tires screeching in the distance. And I knew exactly what that meant. I dragged my ass downstairs and peered out the window, watching as white vans set up just beyond the fencing of my property. I saw people climbing out of the side doors, setting up shop right near my gate.

  You’re in for a long day, woman.

  “Hello? Earth to Syn!” Madison exclaimed.

  “What about the entertainment news stations?” I asked.

  “Why don’t you turn them on yourself?”

  I sighed as I walked into the living room, and I was smacked in the face with the smell of him. The smell of me. The smell of us, really. My gut warmed and my heart skipped a beat as the scent woke me up. Better than caffeine, better than wine, and better than an energy drink. I felt more alive and more alert than ever before as our residual scent wrapped itself around me, cradling me as I turned on the television.

  To see my face and Liam’s splashed against the fucking entertainment news station.

  “Reports say a fight broke out, with Syn talking about some sort of an ‘arrangement.’ No reports on what that arrangement could have been—or who it could be with—but we have a feeling that things are about to get more interesting in Miss Sycamore’s world.”

  “Just grand,” I murmured.

  “Yeah, ‘grand’ is one word for it,” Madison said.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  The hissed voice caused me to whip around, and I saw Gael standing there. He looked positively horrendous, too, his hair a mangled mess. His eyes were sullen and dark, his cheekbones almost looked gaunt, and his shoulders were slumped. I ran my eyes over his crooked body. He wasn’t in pajamas, either.

  “Are you going to say something?” Madison asked.

  “Talk soon,” I said.

  “Wait. Wait a second. Don’t you hang up on—!”

  I cut the call and tossed my phone to the couch before taking a step toward Gael.

  “Where in the world were you last night?” I asked.

  He nodded toward the television. “I’d ask you the same thing, but I think I know.”

  “Gael, this isn’t what it looks like.”

  “Really? Because it looks like my wife is having dinner with her ex without informing her husband about it.”

  I paused. “I just—we were—it isn’t what you—”

  His face grew wicked. “What kind of game are you really playing here, Syn?”

  I felt myself grow defensive. “I’m just trying to work the media. You know, self-promotion. Like I told you I’d be doing.”

  “So, you don’t think I should have a say so in whether or not you embarrass the hell out of me in front of the entire fucking world?”

  “This isn’t embarrassing, Gael.”

  “You think my wife having dinner with her ex-boyfriend isn’t embarrassing, Syn?”

  “We aren’t actually married!”

  “The world doesn’t know that, Synclair!”

  I blinked at the sound of my full name being used.

  “So, you didn’t tell me about dinner with your ex. You didn’t tell me about whatever little plan the two of you are concocting. You don’t want me defending you whenever he comes around. You sure as hell don’t want anything to do with me unless you need a good fuck. So, you just want me as your little toy? As someone to yank around whenever you get horny?”

  “That’s not what this is about, and you know it,” I hissed.

  “Oh, is this the part where you tell me it’s so much more? Even though I signed a prenup? Even though you pumped me full of more alcohol after already finding me half-drunk in the first damn place after stalking me off set so I’d sign a prenup, be stupid enough to marry you, and then be some toy you could embarrass whenever you wanted in order to play some revenge game with your ex? Huh? Did I get that right, Syn?”

  The vitriol in his voice shocked me, but his words sliced to my core. Tears blurred my vision as he whipped around, storming out of the room. I wanted to defend myself, but I couldn’t find the words. And clearly, he was in no mood to listen.

  So, I let him go.

  But I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision by watching him walk away.

  23

  Gael

  I’d had enough. My head hurt, my body hurt, and my stomach felt like it was swimming with fish. It had been a very long time since I’d been actually hungover, and this shit felt horrendous. How the hell had I done this all the time in my youth? How in the world did I go on some sort of a bender until two in the morning before taking a cold shower at eight and feeling fine? I wanted to climb back into bed, but I had work calling for me. Two more days of work, then I could coop myself up for the damn holidays in a house that wasn’t mine with a woman who wasn’t mine while we trolloped around in a marriage that wasn’t real.

  “Fucking hell,” I grumbled.

  But more than any of that? My heart hurt. Coming to the realization that I was nothing but a pawn in Syn and Liam’s little game made me feel like shit. I would’ve never agreed to this had I known the entire plan. Madison was right—Syn should’ve been up-front with me from the beginning. Now, I got to look like the punk twice. Once with Elizabeth, and again with Syn.

  “The fuck is wrong with me?” I whispered.

  “Gael!”

  Syn’s voice echoed down the small hallway as my hand fell to my doorknob.

  “Gael, wait,” she said.

  I sighed. “What do you want?”

  She paused for much longer than I was expecting, so I turned around. I saw her with her lips parted, as if she were about to say something. But then she drew in a short breath.

  “You can’t blame me for that prenup. Did you really think I’d go into something like this without protection for myself?” she asked.

  I blinked. “Fine, you want to do this now? We’ll do it now. No, Syn. I didn’t expect that. What I expected, though, was to know about all the parts in play before any of this took place. And you conveniently left out a great deal of it.”

  “What else didn’t I tell you about? Huh? Tell me. Because I’m pretty sure I didn’t trick you into signing a prenup. I was up-front about what it was when I handed it to you.”

  “Yeah! When we were half drunk and about to walk down the aisle!”

  “Why the hell does that piss you off so much?”

  I clenched my fists. “Because had you talked to me first about it, you would’ve known I wouldn’t have taken a dime from you. I’m not that kind of man!”

  “Gael, it’s not about—”

  “And since we’re on this track, you could’ve thought this plan through a little better. You could’ve known what you wanted and told me exactly what part I needed to play before fucking with my head.”

  “Gael, just take a breath.”

  “I mean, pushing me out of your dressing room like that? When I was trying to defend you like a good man should? You made me look like an idiot!”

  “Stop yelling.”

  I pointed at her. “No, you’ve given enough orders. Now, it’s my turn. I thought you were better than this two-dimensional persona you project for the world. The one you try so hard to cultivate in the media. I defended you. I told everyone around me you were nothing like that.”

  She blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “This isn’t just about you anymore, Syn. It’s about me, and my feelings, and what this does to me and my heart. Not to mention my career. Now, I realize you’re nothing but the shallow and self-absorbed human being you project yourself to be. You’re more like Liam than anything else, and I want no part of our marriage any longer.”

  She glared at me. “Now, wait a second. You can’t do that. You entered into an agreement—”

  “I don’t give a
shit about our agreement.”

  “But what about your job? Your green card?”

  “Fuck it,” I spat.

  “Wait, what do you mean ‘fuck it’? What the hell is going on right now?”

  I shook my head. “Of course you’d be clueless about it.”

  “So, would you like to give me a clue, then?”

  “Yeah. Sure. Your clue’s on the kitchen counter. And while you’re unwrapping it, I have to get to work.”

  I charged back into my bedroom and ripped my leather jacket off the wall. I picked up my helmet, slipped into my boots, and took the side entrance out of the house. I thought it was odd, at first, that the downstairs bedroom had its own exit and entrance right into the yard. But now? I was thankful for it.

  Yes, I purchased Syn a Christmas gift. I saw it in a store window a few days ago and decided to get it for her. I figured it would be a nice peacemaking gift, one that would help us move past our troubles and our issues before I suggested a fresh start. As friends. Or, possibly, as something more than that.

  No point in it now.

  I shoved my helmet onto my head and jogged for my bike. I wanted the wind whipping around me as I rode into work. I cranked up the engine, and it rumbled between my legs, a familiar feeling I knew I’d always be able to count on. But the second I rode through the front gates of Syn’s property, the press bombarded me.

  Surrounding me so much I couldn’t get out.

  “Is it true? Are the rumors real?”

  “Are you and Syn over? Is your marriage a sham?”

  “Is Syn back with Liam?”

  “Did you know they were out to dinner?”

  “How are you feeling right now? Betrayed? Guilty? Angry?”

  “Are you worried about losing her?”

  “Will the two of you work this out?”

  I revved my engine as a warning as my mind sank down deep into my stunt training. And when the crowd didn’t part, I used my training to get away from them. I spun my tires until rubber smoke kicked up, causing them to choke, blocking the lenses and flashes of the cameras. When they started stepping away, I revved my engine one last time, one more warning before I sped off between the small hole that had opened up for me.