by Goode, Ella
“Yes, me, too. And you know things are getting bad when the old bat calls me for help.”
“I hope you made her pay for it.”
“She’s sending a check to Ronnie’s college fund tomorrow.”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
The whistle on the teakettle blows, interrupting our fun little exchange, but, unfortunately, it’s only a slight cease fire before my sister has her tea made and she’s volleying more charges in my direction. “We think you should sign up for a matchmaker since you won’t date.”
“No.”
“Jonas.”
“Melody.”
She blows out an exasperated sigh. “This is ridiculous. I don’t mean to minimize your loss, baby brother. I thought Darby was perfect for you and I’m glad you chose her over all the socialites Gran paraded, but Darby is gone. It’s been three years. You’ve spent millions trying to recover her body. I hate saying this to you because I know it hurts, but you are too good of a man to be alone for the rest of your life. You love children. You and Darby talked about having a family big enough to field a softball team, which at the time I told you was crazy, and now because you’ve lost her, you’re going to live a life of isolation? That’s terrible. She would not want that for you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Jonas, if the roles were reversed and Darby lived and not you, are you saying you would want her to be single and childless?”
I think about it for a moment because if I were dead and Darby was on this earth pregnant it would mean another man had been inside of her and—
“Are you hesitating?” my sister screeches.
“Of course I’d want Darby to be happy.” Maybe Darby could adopt. If I was dead and she wanted kids, adoption would be the way to go. Maybe I should adopt. I roll the glass between my palms and consider this new idea. “I’m happy,” I finally say.
“Oh my God. You are not happy. You are barely functioning. All you do is work and carry out Gran’s horrible orders to make the company bigger and better. If anything, Willits is your child. You’re a dad to a corporation!”
“I’m going to adopt,” I announce, having decided on my new course of action. “You’re right. I want to be a dad, but since I’m not going to marry anyone, adoption is the route. I’ll start looking into it tomorrow.”
Melody slams down her cup of tea and stomps over to her purse. She pulls out a small cream-colored envelope and slaps it against my chest. “Fine, but first, you’re going to the Wards’ house party.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I told them that you would in exchange for one of their ponies for Ronnie.”
“You whored me out for a pony?” I stare at the invitation like it’s a snake.
“Yeah and what about it?”
Chapter 4
Darby
I pick the glass up, inspecting it in the light for spots. I smile when I don’t see a drop on it and go to the next. The new industrial dishwasher is amazing. I’m doing one last check on things before I head back to our place for the night.
I was happy that I didn't have to work the event tonight. Jax usually gets me out of most of them. The event planners normally bring a staff with them to do the bulk of the work anyway.
I’m lucky in that aspect because it means I don’t need to stay to attend the events. In saying that, I still prefer to check some of the details and make sure the night gets started off well before I head out. I always want to make sure the events are as perfect as they can be. The Wards have done so much for me that this is the least I can do to give back.
“Do you want more, Jackers?”
I look over my shoulder at Gia, who is putting more mashed potatoes onto Jax’s plate. He kicks his feet, taking a giant mouthful. I swear he’s going to be a giant at the rate he’s growing. My mind wanders to what his dad might look like.
I turn back to the glasses when I feel my eyes start to fill with tears. It saddens me that Jax will never know who his dad is. While I’ve accepted it for myself, I still feel sad that he won’t have the opportunity.
“What are you doing tonight?” Gia asks, sitting down in a chair next to Jax. Her hand goes to her belly, rubbing the small bump.
“You know me. A wild night out.”
She snorts a laugh. “Lies. I can never get you to go out. Ooh. Do you have some show you’re going to binge watch after you put Jax to bed? Maybe I’ll join you.”
“Shouldn't you be out there?” I put the glass down, checking another. I know Gia hates the events as much as I do, but she is a Ward. I’m sure her brother expects her to at least show her face.
“Nah. I’m using this baby to get out of it.” She rubs her stomach.
“It’s a little early for that excuse.” I laugh. My eyes linger on her belly. I miss being pregnant. Except I don’t want to go back to not having Jax. I really enjoyed being pregnant.
Gia thinks I’m crazy when I tell her that. I also didn't throw up or get all bloated. It was easy sailing for me. Even the birth of Jax wasn’t too bad. The only thing that sucked was being alone.
“Well, I’m only having this one, so I’m milking it.”
“Or do you not want to go because your husband isn't going?”
“If he gets out of it, I should too!”
I fight a laugh. “He’s working,” I remind her.
“I know. He wouldn't let me go with him. He thinks the barn gets too hot.” She rolls her eyes. It is early spring. I think she’d be okay, but Evan is not messing around when it comes to Gia being pregnant. In his defense, she does throw up often.
I’m sure watching a horse give birth might trigger that. Plus, you never know how long the labor could go. As the head veterinarian here, Evan would stay with the horse until she gave birth. There is no way Gia would last that long. Barns aren’t exactly the most comfortable places to stay for hours on end.
“More please.” Jax points to his empty plate. Gia grabs the bowl, giving him another giant spoonful of the mashed potatoes before taking a bite herself.
“Are these good to go?” one of the girls from the event planner’s staff asks as she enters the back kitchen area, looking at the stacks of glasses.
“Yes, they’re done. Who gives a shit if they have spots?” Gia answers for me. “The booze is free. No one cares about what it’s served in as long as they get it.”
“Your brother cares,” I remind her. “Tonight is a big deal.” At least I think it is. It looks like a wedding is about to go down with the amount of flowers and liquor I saw coming in the front door.
“It is. Jonas Willits is here!” another girl that’s prepping things rushes to say. I turn around, giving everyone my back. My face flushes. What is he doing here?
“Really? He never comes to this crap,” Gia chimes in. “He’s a hermit.”
“He was in Hong Kong last week.” What is wrong with me? Why did I say that? “I saw it in a gossip magazine,” I rush to say. I turn to see Gia staring at me. There’s a little glimmer of mischief in her eyes that I ignore.
“I’d go to Hong Kong with him anytime,” one of the girls says, wiggling her eyebrows.
“You’re employees here and you will not hit on our guests,” I remind them both. They might be working for the party planner, but they will follow the house rules. I’m guessing that’s a house rule. If it wasn’t before, it is now.
I take a deep breath, getting myself together. I don’t know why I felt a pang of jealousy when the workers started talking about him. I need to get a grip. Just because I read about him at the checkout counter doesn’t mean he belongs to me.
Yet, I can’t help but feel a bit curious. Maybe I could just go take a quick peek at him. It’s not as though he knows who I am. I can look, look some more, and then be on my merry way. I’ll get to extinguish my curiosity once and for all.
“You heard her,” Gia chimes in. Each one of the girls grabs a rack of glasses before leaving as fast as they came. “
You got a thing for Jonas Willits?” Gia asks. I look to Jax, thinking we shouldn't talk about crushes in front of him, but he’s in mashed potatoes heaven and isn't going to help me out of this one.
“He’s handsome.” I shrug, playing it cool.
“You wanna go look don’t you?” Gia hops up from the chair. “I can introduce you,” she adds quickly.
“I thought you weren't going to the party.” I remind her. “And I have Jax.” Ha! I can use him as my excuse.
“I’ll watch Jax while you go take a peek. I don’t believe he’s here. He’s never come before.” She walks over, grabbing a napkin and wetting it. “I’m going to clean Jax up and meet you in your room.”
“I’m not going out there.” I point to where the party is already in full swing.
“I’m going to have food brought over for us. What were you planning on binge watching?”
“Are you planning to stay the night?”
“I need baby practice and my husband is gone.” I laugh. Jax isn't a baby but I can’t blame her for wanting to hang out with him. “I’m going to get him ready for a bath. See you in a little.” She winks at me. “Take your time.” She leaves me standing there alone. I am not going to go stalk Jonas Willits.
I bite my lip. I could take a small look. Just check on everything. See if Mr. Ward needs anything else before I head off for the night. I grab one of the trays used for serving drinks. My feet are already moving me toward the sound of the soft music before I can change my mind. I’ll blend in with the staff. No one will ever know what I am doing. What could a small peek really hurt?
Chapter 5
Jonas
I’ve only been at the Ward estate for thirty minutes and I’m already bored. Nothing against the Wards. As rich people go, they’re fine. We used to be close when I was in my early twenties but that was back in college. I don’t think they’ve engaged in eating babies or burning down the poor yet. They seem very devoted to their horses and a person who is good with animals can’t be all bad. Their daughter married one of the help, a vet if I recall, which was decent of them. They didn’t auction her off to the highest bidder as Gran tried to do with Melody.
Her brother doesn’t seem as lucky. His mother has been hauling young socialites over to his corner by the massive hearth all night.
“—we’ve been making solid connections in the east and have at least one big Chinese bank interested in our project. If the Willits were to back us, we could close this deal within the week,” says the man at my elbow.
I nod as if I’m interested but really I just want to climb back onto my jet and return to Chicago. “Send the prospectus over.” Ninety-nine percent of the time, these guys are all talk. Sadly, their spiel works on some investors.
“Ah, sure, but I’ve got some emails here I can show you.”
“We’re at a party, Hackley. We should be talking about the party decorations and not a tech deal in Asia. Send the prospectus to my office. My analysts will look at it and see whether it’s something that we’re interested in.”
“But you need to look at it,” Hackley insists.
I arch an eyebrow. “I don’t need to do anything.”
I hand him my almost empty champagne flute and leave him fuming as I make my way to rescue Luca. I wedge my way past the moms and daughters who have flocked to him. “I’m sorry to interrupt but Ward and I have some serious business we need to discuss. I’ll need him for just ten minutes.”
“More like thirty. I haven’t seen you in years.” He grips my shoulder and flashes a fake smile to the women. “It could be an hour.”
“Maybe even two,” I add.
The two of us escape, barely, to a service hallway between the kitchen and the great room. Luca slumps against the wall. “I owe you one,” he says. “I heard you’ve been in Hong Kong.”
“There’s a lot of money to be made there. You should look into it.”
“We’re actually thinking of trying to add a couple of Akhal Teke to our stables and there’s a man in Singapore who has a lead for me.”
“Great. While you’re working on that, you can set a pony aside for me.”
“I already have that covered. Your sister called me earlier. It’s a pretty girl. White with mottled black spots on the rump and fore—”
“My sister called?” I interrupt.
“Yeah.”
“Well, this is bullshit. Melody said I had to come here and make nice with you.”
Luca bursts out laughing. “Thank God I’m not the only stallion at market.”
“Fuck you.” I grab my phone to give Melody a piece of my mind. “I can’t believe she set me up.”
Luca laughs even harder.
I’m murdering you when I get home. Hope your will’s in place.
You’re so overdramatic. I should’ve given you more wedgies when you were a kid.
You’ve never given me a wedgie.
Seems like a good time to start.
You and what army?
I shove my phone back into my suit pocket. “I had to dress up for this shit.” I flap the lapel of my coat. “You better be giving me the best pony in your stable. It better shit gold at night.”
“It’s worth a couple of bricks of gold,” Luca promises me. His moment of hilarity has passed. He sighs and squeezes the back of his neck. “I wish I could just find someone and be done with it. Have three kids and get my mom off my back.”
“It’s our sisters that are the problem. This is the new world. They should have pulled up their boots and taken a seat at the head of the corporate world, but instead they wanted to be mothers.”
Luca nods, warming to this idea. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s our sisters’ fault.”
“You should tell them.”
He draws back in horror, all six foot two inches of him. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m not telling my sister anything. You tell yours.”
Melody is five foot two inches and around one forty. I outweigh her by sixty pounds and could lift and throw her with one arm, but she’s still my older sister and I’m scared as fuck of her. “No way. She’d ban me from ever seeing Ronnie again and obviously since I’m here, I’d do anything for that brat.”
“Yeah, same. Gia has one on the way and if I don’t get to hold that kid, I might as well just fling myself off the top of the house.” He bends over and rubs his hands against his knees. “Still, I’m not ready to go out there and face the enemy. Gia’s probably in the kitchen. Let’s go hide there for a while.” He straightens. “In fact, I think I’m supposed to introduce you to someone.”
“Forget it.” I start walking back to the party.
“No. She’s decent. Single mom. Very pretty.”
“If she’s so great why aren’t you with her?” I parry.
“I tried, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with me,” he admits. “At the very least, you can say hi to Gia. She’ll be mad if you don’t stop by.”
I’m not afraid of Gia, but I go anyway because Luca’s pathetic and I don’t want to see him grovel anymore. We walk down the hallway, our dress shoes clicking against the marble tile. A couple of wait staff come by carrying large trays. They duck their heads in a manner that would please Gran. Me being back here with the staff wouldn’t make her happy. I should take a selfie just to piss her off. Before I can do it, though, we’re at the service entry door.
Luca pushes it in and loudly announces his arrival. “It is I, your lord and master, Luca Ward. Please come and serve me.”
A towel hits him in the face. “Go away,” his sister, Gia, shouts.
I pluck the towel and wave it in the air. “Truce. Truce. I come bearing gifts. I—” My eyes fall on the woman next to Gia. Rich brown hair, small nose with a ski-jump tip, bright hazel eyes and lashes that are long enough to brush her cheeks when she flutters them. It’s a face I see in my dreams every night. It’s the face that haunts me during the day. It’s one I thought I’d never see again. “Darby?” I croak.
&n
bsp; “You know her?” Luca says.
I tried. He’d told me.
“You son-of-a-bitch.” I punch him in the nose. He staggers back. Gia screams. Darby scuttles backward, but I grab her before she can escape. She’s never leaving my side again, not even if I have to lock her in the attic of Gran’s mansion.
Chapter 6
Darby
I stare up at Jonas in shock. I’d gone to try and steal a peek of him earlier but didn't see him anywhere. Now, I’ve run right into him. His fingers on me tighten as he pulls me into his body. I have no idea what the hell is going on. I look up into his deep blue eyes, unable to think of anything to say. Those eyes always hold me in a trance when I see pictures of him.
“Jonas! What the hell are you doing?” Gia shouts at him. Her voice breaks me out of the trance I was in. I search my mind for something to say, but it’s a blur. I can’t stop staring at Jonas.
“Mommy?” I turn my head to look down at Jax, who is holding his sucker. Gia had put him into his pajamas for me earlier when I tried to sneak a peek of Jonas. When I’d gotten back to my room, Gia and Jax where heading back to the main kitchen to get a sucker for him. He’d somehow convinced Gia that he needed one. I bet it was that sweet smile of his that got her.
“Darby.” Jonas says my name again.
“Let go.” I try and pull from his unbreakable hold, wondering how the hell he even knows my name.
“No.”
“Fuck, man. I’m going to have a black eye. My mother is going to be pissed.” Mr. Ward doesn't sound too torn up about it. Probably because his mom will stop slinging women at him until it heals.
“Mouth.” Gia smacks Luca on the arm.
“Can everyone stop hitting me?” Luca rubs his arm like it actually hurt. Gia rolls her eyes.
“Let me go,” I tell Jonas again. “My son,” I hiss as I motion toward Jax with my free arm. This seems to break him from whatever is going on with him. He jerks back, his eyes and hand falling away from me. I turn, scooping Jax up into my arms.