“You know that they are alright. I mean we’d have heard something by now if they weren’t.”
“My dream…it was so real. Miles was calling out for help and he was covered in blood.”
“Eden, you have to calm down. All this stress is not good for the baby.”
“What if this isn’t Miles’ baby and something really did happen to him. I’ll have nothing…”
“Shhh…Miles is going to walk through that door soon. I promise.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“Then we will get through it together.”
“Alex, what if he does come back and then he finds out that I’m carrying Ryan’s baby and he leaves me? I will be all alone.”
“First of all, he knows the baby may not be his but he loves you anyway. He isn’t going anywhere. Second, I heard that you got a marriage proposal out of my brother.” Alex laughed hoping to lighten the mood.
Eden actually chuckled. “I couldn’t believe it. He was so serious, so unlike him.”
“I think this has changed my brother.”
“I think Faith has changed him.”
“I hope not because I can’t choose sides and no matter how much Ryan has changed…well I just can’t see him ever being able to pardon the pun…stay faithful.”
Eden laughed and then Alex did too.
“So I guess it was a good thing that I turned down his marriage proposal.”
Alex continued to laugh and so did Eden. A good laugh was exactly what she needed to take her mind off Miles even if it was just for a few minutes.
Ryan sat waiting outside Faith’s house. He knocked a few times but when she didn’t answer he decided that she didn’t want to talk to him. He couldn’t blame her. He knew it was a dick move to screw her on his sister’s porch.
Faith finally opened the door.
“Get your ass inside.”
Ryan stood up and marched himself inside.
“Faith…”
“Ryan, I only let you in because my neighbors kept calling to tell me that there was a man sitting on my doorstep.”
“I’m sorry.”
Sorry wasn’t what Faith wanted to hear. Although, she didn’t think that Ryan would ever settle down, she stupidly held onto that shred of hope that maybe she was wrong.
“I am too. Now get out.”
“Faith.”
“Get out of my house…get out of my life…go!”
Ryan stood there for a minute. Then he walked over to Faith who had her back to him so that he couldn’t see the tears that had escaped from her eyes. He leaned close to her and spoke quietly.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
Faith refused to turn around. She just stood there until she heard the door close and then she burst into tears.
Alex decided she had better backtrack and stop by and see how Faith was doing. This time she was the one who showed up with her hands full of goodies.
“Alex, what are you doing here?”
Alex looked at Faith and she could instantly tell that she had been crying.
“I came by to finish our sleepover since you ditched me this morning.”
“I had to get home and feed the fish.”
“FAITH MARIE!”
“I just needed to get home.”
“And would that be because you didn’t have any panties!”
Faith’s eyes opened wide. She was embarrassed to even look up at Alex.
“That dick brother of yours…he told you?”
“Not exactly but I did see your panties hanging out of his pants pocket this morning.”
“I only wanted to talk to him because he looked so lost and then before I had a moment to think, he ripped off my panties and was impaling me with his huge…”
“STOP! TMI!”
“Realistically, I guess it wouldn’t have mattered if I had time to think about it because I want him…I always want him and Alex…Alex, I’m in love with him.”
Faith sat down and for the second time that day burst into tears.
Alex’s heart broke for her best friend. She knew that when it came to Ryan and women, things never ended well. She sat down next to Faith and handed her the box of tissues.
“My brother is a dick.”
Alex heard a notification from her phone and bolted to her purse in hopes that it was Miguel but it wasn’t.
Faith could see the look of disappointment on Alex’s face.
“Is everything alright?”
“It’s stupid but every time I get a notification I pray that it’s Miguel.”
Now Faith felt like a terrible friend. Here Alex is suffering with not knowing if Miguel is dead or alive and she is whining over Ryan.
“I’m so sorry. Here I am being a complete loser as usual and you are consoling me when it is me who should be cheering you up.”
“He’s ok. I know he is. I mean he promised to come back to me. He wouldn’t break his promise, right?”
Faith wiped the tears from Alex’s face.
“No he wouldn’t. In fact, why don’t we go wedding dress shopping or even better cake tasting. Call Eden and see if she wants to come.”
“Cake tasting, yeah that should make us feel better.”
“I’m going to change. You call Eden.”
IT HAD BEEN ANOTHER long week and still no word from Miles and Miguel. Eden received a phone call from her doctor to let her know that the test results were in about the baby’s paternity. Eden didn’t want to go alone and she also didn’t know how she would deal with the news so she asked Alex to meet her at the doctor’s office.
As she sat waiting she prayed that the little one inside her was Miles’ baby. She had always dreamed of having his children one day.
“Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in traffic.”
Eden looked up and smiled.
“It’s ok. As you can see I am still waiting.”
“You know that no matter what, it’s going to be alright.”
“I know.”
“Miss Cruz, the doctor will see you now.”
“Looks like this is the moment of truth.”
Eden got up and Alex followed her down the hall to the doctor’s office.
“You can have a seat and the doctor will be right in.”
Before Eden or Alex had a minute to speak the doctor walked in and sat down at her desk.
“So how are you feeling today, Eden?”
“I’m a nervous wreck.”
“Well that is not good for the baby. You need to stay calm and relax.”
“Alex has been telling me the same thing.”
Alex smiled. “Told you so.”
The doctor smiled at Alex. “Sounds like your friend, Alex, is a smart woman.”
“Alex is my brother’s fiancée and Ryan’s sister.”
“Oh so you are this baby’s aunt.”
“Yes and I am so excited.”
“Eden, are you ready to find out who the father is now?”
Eden reached over and squeezed Alex’s hand.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
Ryan knocked on Zac’s door.
“Come in.”
Ryan opened the door and was shocked to see Faith sitting there at Zac’s conference table eating pizza.
“I, uh, I’m sorry to interrupt but I needed to go over the Callahan case with you. I can come back later.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why don’t you come and sit down and have some pizza with Faith and I?”
Ryan knew that the moment Faith’s smile disappeared off her face that he was the reason.
“I just ate. Give me a shout when you’ve finished your lunch and I will come back.”
“Ok, if that’s what you want. We should be finished in about an hour.”
“See you around, Faith.”
Ryan walked out before Faith even had a chance to respond.
Zac looked at Ryan dashing down the hall and then at Faith who had just taken a rather large sip of her wine. “Faith, what
’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing.”
“It looks like a pretty serious nothing to me.”
“Well you know his sister is my best friend and we’ve know each other for years now. Let’s just say that sometimes Ryan can be a dick and right now is one of those times.”
“Do you have feelings for him?”
“No.”
“Good because I really like you Faith.”
“I like…”
Before Faith could finish her sentence Zac had his tongue down her throat. When Zac pulled away he smiled at Faith. “I hope that you enjoyed that as much as I did.”
She did enjoy it but nobody could ever compare to Ryan. Maybe it was time to try to move on since it was apparent that Ryan wasn’t ever going to change.
“I did. In fact, I think we should do it again.”
Zac stood up and reached his hand down to Faith and she stood up. Zac ran his fingers through her hair and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Faith leaned closer to his lips and then Zac kissed her long and hard.
Faith pulled her lips away and began kissing Zac’s neck while she rubbed his cock. Zac suddenly took a step back. Faith felt as if she did something wrong.
“I’m, I’m sorry. I…”
“It’s not you Faith, it’s me.”
“You?”
“I can’t…”
All Faith needed to hear was the word can’t and she immediately thought of Ryan and his excuses and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Sure, I understand.”
Faith grabbed her purse and was half way to the door before Zac grabbed her arm.
“No, I don’t think you do understand.”
“You changed your mind. I got it.”
“No, Faith, I didn’t. I just don’t want to have a relationship based solely on sex and I also don’t think that having sex in my place of business is appropriate. You deserve better than that.”
Faith wondered what he would think of her if he knew that she let Ryan screw her in public.
“Oh.”
“How about I take you out on a date and then we go from there?”
“I’d like that.”
“But first we need to finish our lunch and then I need to sign off on the rest of those papers you have for me.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Zac walked Faith back to the table and they sat down to finish their pizza.
Eden sat there staring at the doctor. Almost as if she needed her to repeat what she had just said.
“Eden, are you alright?”
Eden nodded and then a single tear rolled down her cheek. Alex rubbed her back.
“Can you repeat what you just said. I want to make sure I understood you properly.”
The doctor looked at Alex and then she handed the folder with the test results to Eden.
“It’s all there in black and white.”
“I just can’t believe it’s true.”
“Eden, they ran the test twice. He’s the father of your baby.”
“I need to tell Ryan. Will you come with me?”
“Of course I will.”
“Eden, before you go would you like to know the sex of the baby?”
“Yes, but at my next visit when the baby’s father is with me. I want us to be together when we find out.”
“Ok, I will see you in a few weeks.”
Ryan knew that when Eden called and said that she wanted to come by and talk to him that the doctor must have called with the test results. He decided that it would be better if he met her at her house instead of her coming into the office. Besides it gave him an excuse to leave and not have to worry about running into Faith again.
Eden paced while she waited for Ryan to arrive. She really wanted Alex to be there in case Ryan didn’t take the news well. But when the maid called and said that she locked herself out and asked Alex to come home, she didn’t want to ask Alex to have to come back again.
Ryan raised his hand to knock on the door as Eden pulled the door open.
“Hey.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Ryan walked inside and followed Eden into the living room where she sat down.
Ryan sat down on the couch opposite her and exhaled.
“I guess you heard from the doctor?”
“I did. I called you after I saw her.”
“So, uh, is it my baby?”
“No, Miles is the father.”
Ryan’s heart sunk. As much as he wasn’t sure that he wanted to have a baby, the news upset him.
“Ok then, I guess I’m off the hook.”
Ryan stood up and walked towards the door. Eden thought he might be a bit disappointed but she didn’t expect him to look devastated. She jumped up and ran over to him.
“Ryan.”
Ryan stopped but he didn’t turn around.
“Yeah.”
Eden walked around him and stood in front of him.
“I don’t know what to say to you. I feel awful…”
“Don’t. I’m very happy for you and Miles.”
Eden lifted her hand up to Ryan’s cheek.
“I know that what we had was just two friends having sex…but Ryan, I care about you and I always will.”
Ryan hugged Eden.
“I care about you too.”
“Maybe you can be an honorary uncle?”
“I’d like that.”
Eden stepped back. “I think I might love you…just a little.” Eden winked.
Ryan smiled and then he hugged Eden again. “I must love you since I asked you to marry me.”
“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?”
“Miles, you’re…”
Before Eden got to finish her sentence Miles grabbed Ryan and punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor. Eden went from wanting to hug Miles to wanting to hit him.
“Aren’t you going to take care of your boyfriend?”
Eden stood there looking at Miles like he was a stranger. The tears began to run down her cheeks and her hands started to shake…the stress she had been enduring turned to anger and she started yelling at Miles.
“I’ve waited for weeks for you to come home to me. I’ve had to deal with sleepless nights because of nightmares, I’ve prayed endlessly and I’ve forced myself to eat for the sake of our baby. You overhear one thing and without asking you react like a fucking idiot.” Eden ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Miles didn’t know what to do or say at that point.
Ryan stood up. His lip was split and he had blood running down his chin.
“For the record, Eden is totally and completely in love with YOU. She has been worried sick that you weren’t going to make it home. I was drunk and I stupidly said that if the baby was mine and you left her that I’d marry her. Now, I’m going to leave before I knock you the fuck out for being a dick. You had better go and take care of your fiancée.”
Ryan walked around Miles and out the door.
Alex pulled into the driveway and the front door was wide open. She thought about driving back to Eden’s but then figured she should go inside and see what was going on with the maid.
Alex walked inside and the door slammed behind her. When she turned around Miguel was standing there holding a dozen long stemmed red roses. Alex felt as if she was dreaming.
“Alex, my sweet, Alex.”
Miguel dropped the roses onto the floor and scooped Alex up into his arms and squeezed her tight.
“I missed you so much. I was so afraid that I would…”
Miguel silenced Alex with a kiss. He pulled away when he felt her tears on his cheeks.
“I promised you that I’d come back to you.”
“Did you all make it back?”
“We did but Simmons is in bad shape.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry.”
Miguel put Alex down and picked up the flowers and handed them to her. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her int
o the study.
“He’ll pull through but we’re still not sure if he will regain the use of his left arm.”
“At least he is alive and you brought him home.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Miles actually took a bullet for me.”
“Oh my God. Is he in the hospital?”
“Are you kidding me. I’m sure by now he is home on the couch with my sister snuggled in his arms.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh no, what?”
“Eden found out today who the baby’s father is and…”
“Please tell me that it’s Miles’ baby?”
“Yes, it’s Miles’ baby. But Ryan was going over there and Eden was going to tell him.”
“Yeah, I hope he was gone by the time Miles arrived. Those pain killers that the doctor gave him made him cranky as hell. It was a long plane ride home.”
“Why don’t we go and snuggle. I’ve missed being in your arms.”
Miguel kissed Alex on her forehead and then pulled her onto his lap and kissed her.
“I really missed you, Alex.”
“Not as much as I missed you.”
Miguel held Alex in his arms. He never wanted to let her go.
“Eden, I’m so sorry. Baby, please open the door.” Miles paced back and forth. “Eden, I love you. I missed you so much and when I saw you with Ryan I flipped out. I am a fucking idiot.”
Eden wanted to open the door and rush into Miles’ arms but she was just feeling so hurt. She knew that she was going to have to open the door sooner or later because this tiny baby growing inside of her was demanding food.
“Baby, please open the door. I was going to wait to tell you but I’m not doing so well. I, I uh, took a bullet…”
Eden pulled the door open.
“You were shot?”
Eden looked at Miles and he looked pale and was dripping in sweat.
“I’m fine. The bullet didn’t cause much damage. I just need to pop a pain pill and lay down.”
“Dear God. Go get in bed. I’ll get you some water.”
Miles hugged Eden and he grimaced in pain but he didn’t let her go. He missed her so much.
“I’ve waited weeks to have you in my arms.”
Secrets & Lies (Undercover Love Series Book 2) Page 7