by KB Winters
“The office next door will be fine.”
“Anything else?”
The opportunity had just presented itself and my stomach clenched. “You have a child,” I blurted out with all the smoothness of a teenage boy.
“I do,” she answered quietly, no hint of shock at all.
I couldn’t believe her! She’d left me for no apparent reason and went and hooked up with someone else. “It didn’t take you long to move on from me, did it?”
Finally, a reaction. A small reaction but it still felt like a victory. She sucked in a breath before answering. “I’ve only been with one man, Roc, no matter what you may think of me.”
I didn’t believe that for one second. “Sure, Abby.” I couldn’t get away from her soon enough. I thought her disappearance had just been a case of stung pride but finding out that she had a child had impacted me more than I thought it would. And it wasn’t until I stepped inside the private elevator that her final words sank in. I’ve only been with one man.
Shit. That man was me. I pulled out my phone. “Noah, I need to see that report.”
Five
Abby
So he knew. I didn’t know how Roc found out about Lily but now that he knew, I had no idea what to expect. If I were a betting woman, I’d say he’d drop in soon to see for himself what he didn’t yet believe. His reaction was exactly the reason I hadn’t told him when I first learned I was pregnant. He wouldn’t have believed me and if he had, I didn’t want to risk him trying to steal my baby for his new bride.
Regardless of his current relationship status, I needed to find a way to let Lily know that the father she’d always been so curious about was here on the island. She would be over the moon, at least if Roc decided he wanted to be an active father. If not, well, I would make sure she never felt deprived of his absence.
I hated thinking about him on my day off, so I stepped back from the sticky counter thanks to Lily’s love of peanut butter and jelly and her desire for independence, and literally shook away all thoughts of Roc Mahoney. I had four hours to get the house and my thoughts in order while Aunt Mel and Lily enjoyed the day at a kid’s festival. I should be there with them but the house needed a good scrub and I needed to update my resume. Today.
Roc’s return had upended my life the same way meeting him had years ago. He had a way about him that had drawn me in, silly young girl that I was, and turned my head. I found him irresistible, and when he’d lavished attention onto me, I was powerless to say no. “Stupid idiot.” Not that I regretted Lily, she was the best part of my life. But I would have liked a husband or at least a long-term relationship first.
The sound of the bell startled me and pulled me from thoughts I had no business thinking. If I hadn’t been so distracted I would have looked before opening the door. “Roc, what are you doing here?”
“We need to talk,” he answered gruffly, pushing forward, but I held the doorknob tight to prevent him from entering.
“What do we need to talk about?” I hadn’t seen him since the day he asked about our daughter. Other than a few calls and emails our interactions had been limited, and I was pretty sure it was by design.
“You said I was the only man you’d been with.”
“I did and you said, yeah right. We’ve discussed this.” I did my best to keep my emotions shuttered from him. An expert at reading people, he’d use any weakness to his advantage and exploit it.
“Dammit, Abby, open the door so we can talk!”
As calmly as I could, despite my racing heart I gave him a polite smile. “The door is open as far as I’m willing at the moment. Now what did you want to talk about?”
“The baby you’re saying is mine, is it true?”
“Does it matter what I say? Your mind is clearly made up.” He looked at me and saw the woman who’d tried to trap him, so I knew nothing I said would matter to him.
“I’m asking so yes it fucking matters.”
“Fine, Roc, yes she’s yours. But you don’t need to worry about either of us because we’re not asking you for anything. Anything,” I emphasized just to make sure he got it.
“Are you sure?”
“Goodbye, Roc,” I pushed the door shut but the move was pointless since he took his chance and moved in.
“I don’t think so, Abby. You can’t just say that shit to me and shut the door. Who the hell do you think you are?”
I huffed out a bitter laugh. “Actually, I can. This is my house and I didn’t invite you in, so get out and don’t come back until you learn some fucking manners.”
He rushed at me but I refused to back down to Roc and stood my ground. He moved fast and grateful, like a big game cat stalking his prey. Me. Without stopping he backed me against the wall, hands flat on the wall bracketing me in. “You’re telling me you had my child four years ago and—”
“Three years, actually,” I tossed in just to break up his rhythm.
Jaws clenched in a show of impatience, his blue eyes skewered me with a single look. “You had my child three years ago and you didn’t bother to tell me? If I believe you.”
“Which you don’t,” I added helpfully. “So it doesn’t fucking matter.”
“It matters and if I believe you, I’ve missed out on three years of my child’s life.”
He sounded so anguished I almost believed him. If I’d been the Abby he remembered I would have believed him, but she was gone. Long gone. “And if you really gave a damn you would have found out so don’t come to my house trying to lay a guilt trip on me.”
“You’re the one who left, Abby. Not me.”
“Well, I had my reasons.” The fact that he still thought I should have stayed just pissed me off and I shoved at his chest. His wide muscle-covered chest was hot and hard under my hand but I ignored how good it felt.
“Care to share?” Holding my hands against his chest so I couldn’t move, Roc gave me the smile that used to melt me from the inside out. Now it just served as a reminder of how stupid I’d been over him. How gone.
“No thanks. Look, Roc, you have questions and I get that but you are entirely too angry and emotional, and I refuse to talk to you when you’re like this.” My efforts to put distance between us were fruitless and it only made him more insistent. His forehead touched mine, my breath mixed with his in a heated moment and I felt it. Still there between us.
Dammit.
“Emotional? Of course I’m emotional, I’ve just found out about a child I knew nothing about.” His voice came out raw and gritty, low.
“That you don’t believe is yours. When you do, then we can talk about it.” This time when I pushed at him, his hands fisted in my hair and he took my mouth in a blistering kiss that shook my body until it vibrated with need. For him. I felt weak and dumb for leaning into that kiss, for hanging on to him like he was my only tether in a storm. But damn he tasted good, just like I remembered. Then I remembered who the man was bringing me this pleasure.
The one who’d brought me pain. I pushed him back and this time he let me.
“I want to see her.”
His demand was spoken softly but still a demand. “I assume you’ll want a paternity test?” Because what else would a billionaire playboy with trust issues want?
“Of course.”
“Set up the test. Two appointments back to back. When you’re happy with the results then you can meet her.”
He wasn’t happy with that answer but it was all I had to offer him. “Fine.” He pushed me up against the wall and laid another punishing kiss on me that quickly broke my resolve, before stepping back. “But this isn’t over, Abby. Not at all.”
I knew that because family meant everything to him and the Mahoney men. They only had each other and looked out for one another fiercely. His brothers, Ethan and Jax, seemed laid back on the outside but they all had warrior hearts and a willingness to do battle to protect the family. And the family name. I’d never met them but I knew it to be true.
In the comi
ng days and weeks, I would face a rich and powerful enemy with larger forces than my own. But I’d be ready to fight.
And I would not give in so easily to the passion between us.
Six
Roc
If Abby thought she could keep my daughter from me she had another think coming. While I appreciated her desire to shield the child from…hell I don’t know what she thought she was protecting her from, I wasn’t about to wait weeks for a DNA test when she was right here.
That’s exactly why I’d left the office early, hoping to catch Abby at home with her. Off guard. I didn’t play fair and it was past time Abby remembered that fact.
Pulling up in front of the adorable little yellow bungalow, I stepped from the car and paused to let the sun warm my suddenly chilled body. Why should I be nervous to meet a three-year-old? I’ve wined and dined, and even bedded heads of state, royalty, CEOs and pretty much every person in between. I could handle a child.
At least I hoped so.
When the door opened, it wasn’t Abby or even a little girl, instead it was a woman I’d seen in photographs and heard so much about. “Aunt Melanie,” I greeted her with a smile she didn’t return.
“Roc Mahoney,” she responded with nothing but disdain in her voice.
“You know who I am?” It felt good to know Abby hadn’t forgotten me as thoroughly as I thought.
Melanie crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. “Of course I know the name of the man who turned my niece into the other woman and then left her brokenhearted and pregnant.” Shaking her head, she mumbled something that sounded like, “That’s not something I’m likely to forget.”
I had no idea how to respond to her words since most of them made no damn sense. “The other woman?”
“Like you don’t know,” she supplied un-helpfully with another shake of her head. “Your fiancée showed up at that last party and introduced herself. But I guess you were so happy to see the twat to even notice Abby had left.” Her gaze lanced through me, slicing me open more than anything could have. “She was in love with you, thought you loved her, too. But really she was nothing more than your dirty little secret.”
Apparently, she could say something that would hurt even more. Abby was in love with me? “I haven’t had a fiancée since I was in my twenties, well before I met Abby.”
“Yet you never once tried to find her or contact her using your considerable resources. I’d say it’s good you stayed away then.”
“Don’t pull any punches, Aunt Mel.” I tried for a wry grin but it probably looked more like a grimace than anything.
“When it comes to Abby, no.”
I knew that. “Abby always spoke so highly of you.”
“You too. Even when she came back heartbroken and sad, she had nice things to say about you.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed, “so nice she decided I didn’t need to know about my child.”
Mel glared at me. “She didn’t want to cause any problems between you and your wife.”
Damn the hits kept coming. “I didn’t know.”
“Didn’t care, more like.”
I stumbled back at her bitter words but I deserved them, I knew that now. “Where’s is she now?”
“Not here.” And judging by her stance she wasn’t about to tell me more.
“And the child?”
“Not here either,” she told me and stepped back, slamming the door in my face.
In a daze, I walked back to the street, passing my car altogether as I processed all the information Melanie had shot at me—obviously believing I already knew them. Abby had seen Eve that night, before I had her kicked out of the party and banned from my property. Obviously, I hadn’t kicked her out before she could do any damage. Like costing me the first three years of my daughter’s life. Like watching Abby grow round with my child.
If I ever came across Eve again I would strip her of everything she held dear and make her regret fucking with me or Abby.
But I knew I couldn’t place all the blame on Eve. I should have realized her sudden appearance and Abby’s disappearance were related. I should have gone after Abby when she left. Instead, I’d acted like a petulant child whose favorite toy had been taken away. Dammit!
Before I realized how far I’d walked, I was on the beach, the sounds of waves and laughter washing over me. People were here to have a good time, to enjoy the day with their loved ones. I came to clear my head, but I should probably wade into the sea to wash away my sins. Apparently, I’d committed a fuck load of them against Abby.
She’d probably never forgive me.
Removing my shoes and socks, I let my toes sink into the sand, so hot it was almost unbearable. But I ignored it and continued towards the water.
“Mama, look!”
I turned and spotted Abby looking like a dream come true in a modest blue bathing suit that should have seemed matronly and unattractive. Yet it didn’t. It looked sexy as hell from what I could see. Then my eyes were drawn to the little curly headed blonde sprite in a blue and white bikini with little ruffles on the top and bottom.
“Come here,” she told the little girl and held her in the air so her hands pressed into the sand. “There, now you’ve got your own walk of fame.”
The sweet sound of her giggle drew me in and before I knew it I stood beside them, casting a shadow over the handprints.
Abby grabbed her daughter and held her close before looking up to address what she obviously perceived as a threat. “Oh you. What do you want?”
“Hi, mister!”
I dropped down to face the little girl and found myself struck by piercing blue eyes so similar to my own. Noah called them the Mahoney blues since he and my father had them along with me and my two brothers. “Hey, little girl, what’s your name?”
She looked to Abby for reassurance before turning back to him with a curious smile. “Lily, what’s yours?”
“I’m Roc,” I held out my hand and she shook it with a giggle. “Nice to meet you, Lily. That’s a pretty name.” I wondered what it was short for.
“Thank you.” She eyed me with more than idle curiosity, and I felt unease slide over me.
I turned to Abby who wore a dark look and flashed a smile, which she didn’t return. “Do you mind if I sit?”
The look she shot me said she did mind very much but before she could say anything, Lily said, “Sit!” She said a bunch of other words but I didn’t quite catch them. “Roc, sit,” she insisted when my gaze lingered on Abby a little too long.
I couldn’t help but smile at the exuberant little girl, so full of life and laughter, sunshine and innocence. “Okay, okay I’m sitting. Happy?”
“Yeah!” She handed me a bucket and a shovel which I took to mean we would build a sand castle together.
Like a real father and daughter. That’s when I knew I didn’t need a damn DNA test to tell me this little girl was a Mahoney.
I knew.
***
Abby
“I want you to tell Lily who I am.”
“Mr. Mahoney, come on in and have a seat, or you know, let the entire hotel know my personal business.” Ever since he crashed our girl’s day at the beach I knew it was just a matter of time before he started making demands.
He stood and closed the door before returning to the seat across from me. “I want her to know.”
“And what you want is most important, right?” I knew I would regret the moment he reentered my life, but I had hope he wouldn’t try to take over everything. Wrong.
“I’m sure she’s mine and I want her to know me. And the rest of my family. To know that I want her.”
I understood that, I really did. “The test has already been done so let’s just wait for the results.”
He frowned and leaned forward, elbows planted on my desk and his intense blue stare boring into me. “Are you worried I’m not the father?”
“Sure, Roc, let’s go with that.” The truth was that I didn’t want him
or any of the other Mahoney boys coming after me. They were a mistrustful bunch and something like this would definitely bring them all out, making accusations and assuming I’m after the Mahoney fortune.
“Why? Help me understand, Abby.”
God, I couldn’t stand it when he said my name like that. Like a plea for a lifeline that might never come. “Things will be simpler once you have definitive proof.”
“I’m certain,” he insisted.
“Really, because you just asked me if I was concerned you’re not her father. The test will stop the insults.”
He looked confused, dark brows furrowed. “I’m not insulting you.”
“I know. It’s just your generally negative view of women.”
Roc sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Abby, she’s my daughter too.”
“And when you have proof of that, we can move forward.”
“Dammit, Abby, why are you being so difficult?”
I didn’t have time for this. There were just a few weeks left before I would be out of a job and I’d only sent out a few resumes. “When the results come in we’ll have dinner at the house and I’ll tell Lily. Deal?”
He didn’t like it, I could see it in the fixed set of his jaw and the unhappy expression he wore. “Fine,” he grumbled and left, letting the door smack against the wall in his wake.
Another encounter and I survived. Who cared that my heart still raced and that my panties were damp.
Not me.
Seven
Roc
“So what does she want?” Noah strolled into my office whistling, dropping down and relaxing.
“Get your feet off my desk, old man.” My mood had been black for days, waiting for the goddamn DNA test results to come in. “She doesn’t want a fucking thing from me, Noah.”
Silver eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Nothing? Then why do you sound so pissy?”
I glared at my uncle who was making it pretty damn easy for me to take my anger out on him. “She won’t tell Lily I’m her father until the DNA results are in.”