by Lauren Wood
“Sir, I know you’re about to go back there and meet your baby, but I have to tell you something before you go back there and get shocked.”
Now I was thinking along the lines that something was wrong with my son or daughter. He just say baby. Was it malformed or something? I would love it anyways. I’m sure I would.
“What’s wrong with the baby?”
“Nothing is wrong with it, Sir. It’s just not yours. It’s clearly not yours.”
I didn’t know what to say. It felt like he was just joking around with me and I wasn’t finding it funny at all. What did he mean?
“You lost me. How would you possibly know that the baby isn’t mine?”
“It obviously comes from African descent Sir. You’re not and your wife is blonde haired, blue eyed. I just thought you would like to know before you go in there. I’ve seen ugly scenes before and I’m trying to stop it. If there is an explanation, then I’m sorry for bringing it up. If you already knew…”
I stopped him. “No, I didn’t know. I just married her because she was carrying my baby.”
All her demands to have it done before the baby came was now starting to make sense. She’d known that it wasn’t mine the whole time and Nadia must have known by who the father was, that it was going to be obvious. I felt used in so many ways, but the regret was coming from something else that I’d given up making all this happen. The girl that I’d waited years for had wanted to get back together, make the magic we had before, and I’d turned her down. I don’t know what else to say about that. I’d fucked up.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re going to pass out.”
I just shook my head. “No, not going to pass out. Just, damn, I wish I would have known. Thanks for telling me doc. This changes everything.”
Before he could say anything else, I turned right around and left. I didn’t want to see Nadia and hear her excuses. I wasn’t stupid. I’d seen this all coming, or I should have, and I know how it was going to end. I should have taken steps, right now, to minimize damage, but in a way, I think I deserved it.
Going back to the house, I grabbed what mattered and some clothes before leaving. I wasn’t going back to the house until she was gone, and I was going to have to get a lawyer for that. Nadia hadn’t been stupid. She’d set herself up here in America and I was the idiot that had made it all happen.
Leaving wasn’t near as bad as I thought it was going to be. I wasn’t too worried about much of anything. I knew where I stood now, and I was going to try and fix a mistake that I’d made a few months ago. The only hope I had was that it wasn’t too late.
It was surprisingly easy to leave my hometown. It hadn’t been that for a long time and I stopped by mom’s to tell her that I was going to go. I’d called her a couple of hours ago to tell her that Nadia was in labor. I didn’t want to tell her the truth about her new grandkid, but it seemed easier to rip the bandage off quickly, that’s what I would have wanted.
“I thought you were going to be at the hospital with your wife? That’s where you should be right now son. We’ve talked about this. All in, remember?”
“It’s not my kid.”
I said it as plainly as I could, but it still needed some details. When I told her, she sighed and said she was sorry.
“I’m not.”
“So, what are you doing?”
“Going to the city to find Anna.”
That got a smile on her face and I knew then that I was doing the right thing. It felt right, so it had to be right.
“Good for you son. You’re going to have to take care of this at home though. You can’t stay married.”
“For now, I just want Anna back.”
Evelyn didn’t say much more. She just hugged me and told me to hurry up. I still think she liked her better than me. It would be different with Anna. I just knew it. I was kicking myself the whole drive. I’d really messed up, I just hoped that it could be fixed. I missed Anna and now I didn’t have to pretend anymore. I was all in on getting her back.
Anna
I was working when I got a call from my assistant that there was someone here to see me. I didn’t know who it could have been, but then I heard the name and it stopped me in my tracks. It was a name that I didn’t think I was going to hear again.
I pushed the little button on the intercom on my desk. “Did you say Matt?”
“Yeah. Do you want to see him, or should I have him make an appointment for another date?”
There was no way that I wouldn’t want to see him, but I had no idea why he was here. I had thought about him a lot, but at the same time, I’d been trying even harder to forget him. It was a work in progress at this point that I was failing at miserably if there was a score to keep.
“No, um, send him in. I just didn’t see anything on the calendar.”
“If your busy…”
“I’m not that busy Ashlea.”
Ashlea pressed the buzzer and the doors to the hallway where unlocked. The building had security issues because of the changing area and I waited for him to come through. I was standing by the door and I couldn’t help the smile that came over me. Damn, it was good to see him.
“Hey Matt. What brings you here?”
He didn’t say much and stopped in front of me. His hands came out and pulled me in for a kiss. It wasn’t just a peck either. Matt’s tongue slipped in between my lips because I had no defenses up. I was shocked by his actions and it took me a minute to pull myself together.
I finally pushed away because there were several people now in the hallway and I know that they were gawking. I pulled him into the office and shut the door. Disengaging from him was hard and I asked him again what he was doing here. I had to say something to get over the shock of his kiss that was burning my lips as we spoke.
“I wanted to say hi. That used to be the way we did it Anna. I miss the old days.”
“You’re married with a kid now Matt, remember?” I know that I sure the hell haven’t forgotten.
“Divorced soon and not mine.”
That was a lot of information to take on in one second. “What?”
“Yeah. So, can we get back to what we were doing?”
I tried not to let him get near me, but he pushed passed the hand that I had up to ward him off and Matt kissed me again. He felt so damn good against me and his urgency was driving up the need that I had myself. It was becoming hard to think and again I had to push him back, with more force this time.
“This is my job.”
“You told your assistant that you’re not that busy.”
I sighed and took him in. He looked good and I still couldn’t believe he was standing here. His hair was a little longer and he had a raw need in his dark eyes that was bothersome to me.
Now what?
“Matt seriously, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here for you, Anna. Can you take a break or something? Isn’t it about lunchtime?”
“It’s an hour away.”
I was still trying to get over the kiss. My fingers were on my lips and they felt strange to the touch. I wanted to say something to him, but it was becoming clear that I was better off not saying a word. I was at work and this wasn’t the time or the place for the conversation that we needed to have. It was certainly not the time and place for what he wanted to do.
“I’ll wait.”
“You can’t wait Matt. I have work to do.”
“I see. You are all fancy now with the good job. Glad you got that degree. I told you it would come in handy.”
I smirked, and my face got a little red. I was proud of what I had done since I’d been back.
“It’s nothing. I just got a lucky break.”
“See look. I’m going to sit here on this couch and not say a word. You go on and do your work.”
He was looking at me and I could feel his attention on me. I tried to look at the screen in front of me, but his burning gaze was making it hard to do anything else. Al
l my attention was on the man that was in front of me, instead of the work that I desperately needed to get done. Nothing else was able to get through with Matt here and I was about to give up when I heard Ashlea on the intercom.
“Braxton is here.”
“Who?”
I’d completely forgotten about a lunch date that I had finally agreed to with a man I worked with. I noticed the change in Matt’s expression and it gave me an idea for a little bit of revenge.
“Your date.”
Ashlea was being cheeky and it played into the moment. Matt was now certainly paying attention.
I took my finger off the button and looked at Matt. “Sorry, I totally forgot about it. You kissed me and then my mind went blank. You know how I am. I’ve canceled several times and it wouldn’t be right to do it again to him.”
“Then I’m coming with. Problem solved.”
It was not at all the solution that I was going for. I didn’t want to go out with both. That didn’t even sound fun. It would be a pissing match the whole time. I’d been called on my bluff and now I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Um, tell him I will be out in a minute Ashlea. Thank you.”
The intercom beeped, and I looked at Matt.
“You can’t come with. This was supposed to be a date with him. You’re the one that showed up unannounced. This was planned for over a week.”
“Who the hell plans a date a week in advance? I want to see you now. I don’t have a week to wait.”
It was sweet how he said it, but who was he to just come in and wreck everything? This date and guy most likely wasn’t the one, but I didn’t know that. I didn’t want to give into Matt. I’d tried before, and it hadn’t worked out. He’d said no because he was married.
“Fine Matt. You want to come? Fine.”
He grinned at me and my stomach did a flop. That wasn’t a good reaction. Certainly not what I thought it would be. Instead of bowing out like any normal person would, instead he got up and waited for me to do the same. I grabbed my purse and I couldn’t believe that we were going to do this. I could see now that Braxton wasn’t going to be sticking around for very long. This was going to get messy and I should have stopped it, but it had always been hard to say no to Matt. That hadn’t changed.
Braxton was shocked when I came out of my office with another man. “Hey Braxton, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No problem. I know you’re busy.”
I gave Matt a look, showing him that at least some guys got it, but he wasn’t worried about Braxton. Braxton was nice, wore glasses and was the type that would ask permission for a kiss. I wondered then if my lipstick was out of place because of the kiss that Matt had just taken. He’d never asked, always taking liberties. It didn’t bother me, but the difference between the two men was stark, beyond the fact that Matt was a lot bigger than Braxton.
I introduced the two of them, Matt as a friend and Braxton as well. Both men wanted to be more, Matt had been so much more, and I could already feel the temperature and the tension around me rising. It was hard to ignore.
“So, are you okay with this Braxton? Matt came into town just a few minutes ago and I didn’t have time to call you. We can reschedule if you like.”
Braxton agreed, his goofy grin making me smile back at him. He was such a nice guy, hard not to like and so different than Matt. That’s most likely why I’d finally said yes, because of those massive differences. Matt could be cocky and loud, rude, all these things. He could also be great. This was going to be interesting to say the least.
Since I was supposed to be going out with Braxton, he’d already picked a restaurant, so we all followed behind him. I was driving my own car, Matt as well, no one wanting to be the one left out. It was strange as we met back up in the front. Braxton was a little late and I warned Matt to be nice.
“I’m always nice.”
“No, you’re not. But you aren’t going to be your usual self when you get jealous.”
“I’m not jealous Anna. That guy doesn’t have a chance.”
I reminded him that Jesse was a lot like Braxton. That was something I should have held in because he shot me a look that made me look away. I didn’t want him to be mad at me. I was just joking.
Braxton showed up and we both pretended that it was all fine. I didn’t want him to know my past with Matt. It was something I was trying to forget now.
Matt
It could have been worse. She could have been pregnant with another man’s child. She’d walked into worse, so I was going to entertain this for a little while. This was a first date by the look of it and I was going to make sure that it was a last one too.
Braxton kept giving me this weird look. He wanted me to leave, but I wasn’t going anywhere. He had no idea what he’d walked into and the only thing keeping me back at this moment was the fact that Anna had told me to be good. I would, but I was going to show her what we were missing. We were missing a lot with this guy around. I wanted to get my hands back on her and nothing was going to stop that. I would wait a while if I had to, but not too long.
We got seated at a booth and instead of sitting next to one of us, she asked me to go sit next to Braxton. She had the barest hint of a grin on his face and she knew that it was driving me crazy. It was also clear that Anna didn’t care. She was rubbing it in and making me more uncomfortable. After shutting her down when she’d done the same, I knew I deserved it. But I wasn’t going anywhere either, so she was just going to have to deal with me.
“So where do you two know each other from?”
Anna cast me a warning look and I tried to look as innocent as a church boy. I knew that this was going to lead to the same question back to us, but I also was curious where in the world she’d found this guy at.
“We worked together on a couple of projects in the last couple of months, very late at night and she finally agreed to go out with me on something that wasn’t professional.”
I didn’t like his answer and, I wanted to punch the guy in the face. The last thing that I wanted to hear was how they were alone in an office together at night. I didn’t like the idea of that at all and I waited for the question to be directed back to me, but Anna changed the subject and I was the one giving out dirty looks. Braxton was oblivious to it all.
When the waiter came, I ordered for me and Anna. She was not happy, but I wasn’t making eye contact. She could have corrected me, but Anna didn’t want any attention put on that. Instead she just looked at the menu for her dinner options. I planned to order that for her as well. I knew what she liked, and I wanted Braxton to know as well. Anna was mine. I’d claimed her a long time ago and enough was enough. I could only keep up with this charade for so long
“So, what is good here Braxton?”
“The lamb. I come here especially for that a couple of times a month.”
I couldn’t believe this guy or Anna for entertaining him. I had to wonder if Jesse was really like this guy. Was this like the one she’d almost married? It had to be that Anna had changed because there was no way that I could see the two of them together. It just didn’t make sense and I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
“The lamb? I don’t think Anna eats babies.”
Anna just looked at me like she wanted to kill me, and I couldn’t help myself. This guy was a piece of work and it should be me and Anna here. Braxton was just in the way. There was no way that she was really considering this guy for much of anything.
“Do you not eat lamb, Anna?”
She shook her head that she didn’t. I know that she’d never liked the idea of it, once convincing me to stop eating it as well. She told me some of the practices and had a video ready if I still wouldn’t agree. Anna was cunning that way.
“No, I never have cared for the taste of it.”
“Well look Anna, they have foie gras.”
She wrinkled up her nose.
“It’s very good as well, though I’ve had better downtown.”
&nb
sp; Anna was not looking so well, and she put the menu down.
“I think that is a bit too rich for me. I’m sure it is good though.”
The table got quiet and I set the menu down. “They have prawns Anna.”
It was her favorite and she said something noncommittal. If there was something going on between the two of them, I was going to make sure that it wasn’t for long. I knew everything about her. Braxton couldn’t compete.
The waiter came, and she ordered the shrimp, but didn’t look at me. I ordered the same and Braxton was stuck getting the lamb and the tortured duck. He told Anna that he was going to share with her and I could tell that she wasn’t happy about that revelation. I wondered if she was going to play along with it just to spite me. That would take a lot of will power from her side.
“So where do you know each other from?”
The question was finally asked, but Anna got to it before I could.
“We knew each other in college. A long time ago.”
There was a lot more to the story and I wanted to tell it, but it was clear as crystal that Anna wanted me to keep my mouth shut.
“Like I said, it was a really long time ago. He just came into to town to visit and catch up.”
My brow went up and I had to laugh inside. Why was she so determined to make it like I was no more than a passing friend? I was far more than that and I wanted Braxton to know it. She could play her games all she wanted to, but I was going to make sure that the truth came out. It would be one less thing that I would have to worry about later. I knew that there was going to be something more to this date if I didn’t step in. Braxton should know.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it like that. I came to get her back because last time we saw each other, I was getting married and my fiancée was pregnant.”
“Get her back?”
Now Braxton was paying attention and I loved the look I was getting from Anna. She hadn’t wanted him to know, but it was only fair that the poor guy realized that he wasn’t going to be getting very far with her. She was already spoken for and there was no way that I was going to let someone come in and change that.