Ebony smiled gratefully at the other woman. “You’re so great, Romy. All of you Sasse women, I adore you all.”
“You’re our family, Ebs,” Romy said with a shrug, “it’s what we do. We look out for each other.”
Ebony was still thinking about what Romy said two days later as she and Atlas drove to the mansion to celebrate Christmas with everybody. Ebony was a little nervous – Juno and Obe had called to stay they wouldn’t be able to make it to Seattle after all, and so Ebony felt one of her anchors was missing. Romy will be there, it’s okay, she told herself. They were the first to arrive, and Fino immediately bore Ebony off to see his presents. She was sitting on the floor with him, playing a game when she heard a girl’s voice called him. “Fino?”
“Bella!” Fino got up and scooted out of the room, re-emerging a few moments later with a young woman, a little younger than Ebony, long red hair and a shy smile. “Ebony, this is Bella.”
Ebony clambered to her feet and shook the girl’s hand. Bella smiled at her. “Atlas has sung your praises,” she said, her voice soft, “especially about your singing.”
Ebony laughed. “He’s biased. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“You too.” They both heard a more strident voice outside, followed by a mellower male chuckling, a low melodic sound, and two other people entered the room. The man, in his sixties, had a warm smile and big soulful brown eyes behind spectacles. His brown beard and hair were speckled with white. He introduced himself to Ebony. “Stanley Duggan, my dear, and this is my wife, Vida.”
Vida Duggan was exactly how Atlas had described her – a faded beauty queen type, with dark ruby hair and sharp silver eyes which darted around the room and up and down Ebony, appraising her.
“Hello, dear,” she said, “We’ve heard a lot about you. Perhaps you’ll be able to help Bella with her singing.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Mom.”
Ebony smiled at Bella. “I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”
“See, Bella? Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Hello, Fino, dear.”
Fino gave Vida a cheesy, insincere smile which nearly made Ebony burst into giggles. Instead, she suppressed a smile, catching Stanley’s eye. He too looked amused, and Ebony felt they had shared a private joke. Stanley clearly had the measure of his wife and knew what she was like. It made Ebony warm to him, though she didn’t understand why such a kind man would have married such an obvious harpy.
Atlas returned with a tray of drinks for them all, followed by a slightly-irritated-looking Mateo, and a tall, dark-haired man with a stony face, clearly The Angel of Death.
Swallowing a burst of laughter at the nickname, Ebony heard him saying something about Harvard to Mateo, and Mateo, his green eyes flashing, sighed in annoyance. “He’s seven, Cormac. I think we have plenty of time to think about college.”
“I’m just saying, it’s never too young to start preparing him for the rigors of the university experience.”
“I don’t even know if he’ll want to go to college, Cormac. Fino will find his own path.”
Cormac opened his mouth to say more, but Atlas interrupted, probably hoping to head off a full-blown argument. “Cormac, this is my Ebony. Ebony, Cormac Duggan.”
Hearing herself referred to as his sent a bolt of delighted heat through her. It had never occurred to her to want to be claimed, but it turned out she loved it.
“Pleased to meet you.” Ebony stepped forward with her hand outstretched. Cormac Duggan looked at her but made no attempt to take her hand, and after a beat, Ebony dropped her own, flushing red and glancing at Atlas, confused.
Cormac shook himself. “I’m sorry, yes, hello. You’re the singer?” He offered his hand now and took hers, holding it for a beat too long. Ebony drew her hand away, gently, not wanting to slight him.
“I’m a singer, yes.”
“More than just a singer, Cormac.” It was Atlas’ turn to sound irritated now. “A once-in-a-lifetime singer. Stanley…I have your next superstar here…if you can fight off Quartet, that is. Ebony, Roman Ford called me yesterday, wondering why you haven’t called him.” Atlas grinned. “I took the blame, said I’d been hogging your attention and time, rather selfishly.”
“Dear one,” Stanley put his hand on Ebony’s arm, “if Quartet offers you a contract, take it without hesitation. If not, then I’d be happy to help. Otherwise, the truth is, I’m retiring. I’ve done my time, and now I just want to enjoy my life.”
Vida looked at her husband sharply. “What about Bella’s career?”
Mateo mumbled, “God, not this again,” under his breath and hooked his arm around Bella’s shoulders. “Bells, what do you say we go check on the food? And by the way, everyone…Merry Christmas.”
The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant as they all remembered why they were all there. As more guests arrived, Romy, Blue, and their kids included, the house filled with laughter and chatter, and when they all sat down to a magnificent dinner, Ebony felt more relaxed. Atlas was sitting next to her, Blue on her other side.
Atlas leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I think Cormac has a little crush on you. It’s quite funny.”
Ebony glanced over at the man and flushed when she saw him staring at her. She honestly didn’t find it amusing. There was something about him that was weirdly unnerving. Next to him, his fiancé, Lydia Van Pelt, was chatting to Vida, and Ebony heard them trying to one-up each other talking about designer clothes that had been gifted to them. Mateo, on Vida’s left, caught Ebony’s glance and rolled his eyes. She grinned at him.
“So, where do you hail from, Ebony?” Cormac’s booming voice cut across all of the conversation at the table, making everyone else fall silent. Ebony blushed a deep scarlet.
“From here, actually,” she said, “I’m a Seattle girl, but I’ve been living in New Orleans for a few years. My brother is a dance teacher down there.”
“So, you came back for Atlas?”
Ebony shot a look at her lover who had gone very still. “I came back to perform at the fundraiser for Haven,” she said slowly, then firmly, “I stayed for Atlas.”
Atlas touched her cheek. “I’m very glad you did, baby.”
“Fortuitous.” Cormac said with a smirk, his meaning clear. Ebony, instead of feeling hurt, fixed him with a glare.
Oh, I do not like you, Ebony thought, and gave him the same insincere smile as he gave her. Mateo winked at her and mouthed ‘Ignore him.’ Atlas squeezed her hand, and she saw Romy shoot daggers at Cormac. I am amongst friends, she thought, her body relaxing. She looked at Atlas. “Darling…later, I need to talk to you about something. Something important that I should have told you before.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Atlas looked curious but not worried. “Are you okay?”
Ebony smiled, suddenly at peace. “Totally and completely.”
After lunch, Molly arrived, having had lunch with her own family, and Ebony could immediately see the love between her and Mateo. She and Ebony got along immediately, chatting easily as the twins took them all on a walk through the snowy grounds as evening began to fall, and thousands of white twinkle lights suddenly turned on, making the walk even more magical.
Mateo and Molly strolled ahead, arm-in-arm, but Atlas stopped Ebony and kissed her, tender and loving. “Thank you for spending Christmas with me, my darling.”
“Thank you for inviting me.” She stroked his dark curls, gazing up at him. Had it really only been a few days?
“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
Ebony drew in a deep breath. “Atlas…a week or so before I came to Seattle, I had a one-night stand. It was…a mistake, but it happened. A few days ago, I discovered…” God, could she really say the words? Her stomach clenched painfully. “I’m pregnant.”
There it was, out in the open. Atlas stopped. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Look, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do. But I didn’t want us to go any further without you knowing. It wouldn’t be fair.�
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Atlas’s expression was unreadable, and Ebony studied him, her heart pounding. “I’ve just ruined this, haven’t I?”
Atlas shook his head. “No, no, no, I’m just a little…taken aback.” He gave a short laugh. “Okay, well…” He trailed off, obviously deep in thought and Ebony waited. He was still holding her hand; a good sign, she thought, hopefully.
Atlas took a deep breath in. “Well, let’s be logical about this. Have you told the father?”
“No.” Ebony shook her head. “Atlas, I honestly…I’m ashamed to say, I have no idea who he is. When I met him…it was in a specialist club, shall we say?”
For a moment Atlas looked confused, then “Ah.”
Fear touched her then, and an edge of desperation. “Atlas, I swear, I’m not a whore.”
Atlas looked astonished. “Ebs, I never in a million years would think that, and you should never think of yourself like that. You think I’ve never been to a sex club before?”
Relief washed over her powerfully. “There’s no chance you were in one in New Orleans two weeks ago, is there?” Ebony tried to joke, but Atlas grinned.
“No, but right now, I wish I had been, truly.” He put his arms around her. “So, first thing is we figure out whether you want to keep the child. Then we go from there. Ebony, I want to see where we go from here, whether we can make it work. If you want the baby, I’ll be there for you.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.” Ebony shook her head. “It’s too much. We’ve only known each other a week.”
His gaze, locked on hers, never faltered. “I know,” his voice was soft, “and already, I’m lost, Ebony. I’m lost.”
Her eyes filled with tears at the love in his voice. “I feel the same way,” she whispered, and then his lips were crushing against hers, kissing as her hot tears dropped down her cheeks.
Atlas placed a hand on her belly so protectively that she teared up again. “Let’s see where this goes,” he said. “Let’s see if we can do this.”
Ebony closed her eyes, her mind whirling. Was he really offering to be the father of her child? Even if it wasn’t his own? She felt discombobulated by the conversation as if it had run away from her and nothing had really gotten resolved, at least not responsibly.
For now, though, she would take his kiss, his promise, and enjoy the rest of Christmas.
In bed that night they made love, quietly as the rest of the house slept. Ebony smiled up at him as Atlas moved in measured thrusts inside her, and knew she was falling in love with him. How could she not? He was everything, he was perfect. Wasn’t he?
I don’t know, she thought, but for right now, he is perfect for me. Can we be happy? She played out different scenarios in her mind and still didn’t find an answer. As he slept in her arms, though, she knew she would try, and there was something else.
She didn’t know when exactly she’d made the decision, but she knew it was the right one, regardless of anything.
She was keeping the baby.
Chapter Ten
In the morning she awoke to raised voices and shouting from downstairs. The bed beside her was empty, and she grabbed her robe and went downstairs.
“You fucker,” one of the twins was shouting. “You have no sense of family, of loyalty.”
“Mateo,” Cormac’s booming voice echoed around the house, “Who do you think you are to lecture me on my sex life? You, of all people. You and Atlas, neither of you are angels when it comes to women. I mean, all of a sudden, you’re both coupled up and faithful? Come on.”
“Says the man who is engaged for position and money and nothing else. Does Lydia know that’s why you proposed?”
“Why don’t you ask her? You seemed to have a pretty good idea of what she wants.”
“It was six years ago, and we parted on good terms.” Mateo was almost growling. “I just don’t want to see her hurt.”
“Or maybe there’s unfinished business between you.”
“I’m in love with Molly.” Mateo sounded dangerous now and Ebony shivered at the ice in his voice.
“Oh yeah, the teacher. You and your brother have really aimed at the heights with your women. A teacher and a whore singer.”
“You fuck!” Ebony heard furniture crashing and realized Mateo had gone for Cormac. “You don’t get to call Ebony a whore, and you don’t disparage Molly, you asshole!”
Feeling like she needed to do something before someone got hurt, she hurried into the breakfast room to find the two men struggling with each other on the floor. “Stop!”
Both men froze, and Ebony heard footsteps behind her. “What the fuck is going on?”
Atlas stepped around Ebony, touching her cheek, then hauled his brother off Cormac, who got up smirking.
Mateo was still enraged. “Get that bastard out of my sight, Atlas, before I lose it completely. Please.”
Cormac held up his hands. “I’ll go, don’t worry. Another minute in this house playing this family charade would make me sick.”
As he left the room, he stopped in front of Ebony, who recoiled, as he ran his eyes up and down her body in such a way as to make her feel naked, and violated. Cormac smirked at her obvious discomfort and left the room.
Mateo ran a hand through his dark curls. “I’m sorry, Ebony, Atlas. I’m sorry I lost it.”
“He was trying to goad you all day yesterday,” Atlas said, his hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“And I let him get to me. Fuck.” Mateo looked at Ebony. “Are you okay, sweetheart? Don’t let what he said affect you. We all know it’s untrue.”
Ebony smiled at him. “Thanks for defending me, Mateo.”
“Anytime, gorgeous.” Mateo looked at his brother. “Cormac is poison. He’ll ruin Lydia’s life if we let him.”
“It’s not our battle, Mateo. Lydia is quite aware of what Cormac is like.”
Atlas and Ebony drove back to his apartment in the city that night. “Sadly, I will have work tomorrow. What will you do?”
“Juno and Obe are traveling up so I’ll probably hook up with them.” Ebony told him, stroking a dark curl behind his ear.
“In time for the New Year’s parties.”
“Indeed.”
“Cormac’s not invited.”
“Good.”
Atlas looked over at her. “He’s a treat, huh?”
“Oh, yeah,” Ebony said dryly, “a real chocolate-covered treat. Gross.”
Atlas laughed. “He’s considered quite the catch.”
Ebony stuck her tongue out. “Ugh. Where? The mental asylum? The Home for Arrogant Douchebags?”
“You have his measure.” His smile faded. “Though I do wish Mateo wouldn’t engage him. Cormac has a way of getting to my brother, so much so, that Mateo loses his shit. Cormac hates that Mateo slept with Lydia first, even though it was six years ago. I think he’s marrying her not just for her money, but to spite Mateo. And now he’s annoyed that Mateo doesn’t care if Cormac sleeps with Lydia because he’s in love with Molly.”
“The Love Lives of the Rich and the Famous,” Ebony sighed dramatically as Atlas laughed.
“Seriously, though, Cormac hates Mateo, and sometimes, just sometimes, it scares me.”
Ebony shook her head. “Cormac is a typical coward if you ask me. All bluster. How he’s related to Stanley is beyond me.”
“Right? You liked Stanley, huh?”
“Adored him, and Bella too. Vida…yeah could live without her.”
Atlas smiled over at her. “I adore you, Miss Verlaine.”
“Right back at ya, stud.” She squeezed his cock through his pants. “Oh, someone’s packing.”
They joked and laughed all the way back to his apartment, but once inside, they were stripping each other before they even reached the bedroom.
As they made love, Ebony noticed he was even more careful with her, and realized it was because of the baby. It made her heart warm to him…what kind of man would take so much care over a child that wasn’t his?
“I’m so crazy about you,” she told him, “so, so crazy.”
Atlas grinned. “I meant what I said, Ebony, it’s you and me now, right?
She nodded. “Me and you, whatever happens.”
And they made love long into the night.
Across town, another couple was making love, kissing and talking. Blue stroked his hands down his wife’s body. “Are you looking forward to tomorrow, baby?”
The next day was when their domino surgery was scheduled and Romy and Blue, ever the surgeons, were excited. “I have someone to cover me at Haven for twenty-four hours, so I’m all yours.”
She’d read over the patient details again and again until she knew everything by heart. Blue smiled at her now. “I have to say, I cannot wait to be back in an operating theatre with you.”
Romy smiled up at him, stroking his face. “Me too…I miss that.”
“We make an incredible team. I sometimes consider quitting Rainier Hope and coming to work at Haven, just so I can work with you all the time.”
“Ha, don’t you dare,” Romy laughed, “You are the best Chief of Surgery that Seattle has ever seen.”
“Don’t tell Beau that, but thanks.”
Romy sighed, gasping as she came and Blue buried his face in her neck before shuddering to his own climax. “God, Romy…I’ll never get tired of doing this.”
“I love you, Blue.”
“I love you too, baby.”
In yet another part of town, a man, alone, was not feeling loved. Carson Franks sat in his penthouse apartment, gazing at the video of his own wedding to Kiersten, all those years ago, before she had made him punish her for disobeying him, for trying to leave him. He still remembered the moment he’d thrust that knife into her, her shock, her pain, her pleading, and he reveled in it.
He was only sorry that he’d only gotten to kill her once. The feeling of power he’d felt as her life slipped away in front of him…He had thought she was already dead when he dumped her body in the gutter where she belonged, as far as he was concerned, but he should have made sure.
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