Heartless (An Enemies To Lovers Novel Book 1)

by Michelle Horst

  He stares darkly at me. Suddenly he moves, and he throws the glass against the wall. The shattering sound echoes through the room along with my thundering heart.

  I forgot how cruel Carter can be. He stalks up and down, every moment he makes is filled with rage.

  Fear slithers down my spine as I slowly get up. When he doesn’t make a move for me, I run for the door. I yank it open, but Carter is right behind me. His arms darts past me and he slams the door shut. I press up against the wood closing my eyes. Why did I think I would actually be able to have a normal conversation with him?

  Keeping his hand against the door, he presses his chest against my back. I can feel every hard muscle and I flatten my body against the door. I feel his hot breath on my neck and it sends shivers racing through my body.

  Even after all these years, my body has a mind of its own when it comes to Carter Hayes.

  “I’m not going to hurt you. Let’s both just calm down, okay,” he whispers.

  I nod quickly. He moves back and I turn around so I can at least see him.

  “I’m sorry I threw the glass. I’m just so fucking upset right now.” He looks at me and I nod again. “Don’t look at me like that, Della. I’ve never hit a woman and I won’t start now. I just want clarity on what the hell happened four years ago.”

  “Okay,” I say but I don’t move away from the door. He has done nothing to earn my trust.

  “You said that you tried to contact me?” He genuinely looks confused. Could it be that he didn’t know anything about the letters?

  “Yes, the letters that Charlotte responded to. I really tried to get in touch with you. I wanted you in Daniele’s life. She needs a father. I’d never be that cruel to my own daughter to keep her from her dad.”

  “I can’t wrap my mind around Charlotte being involved. She’s just my PA. Why the hell would she keep news of my own child from me?”

  I shake my head. That’s something I can’t answer for him. He sits down on the couch and I decide to cautiously approach him. When he seems calm, I sit down next to him.

  My eyes wander over his strong features. He was attractive in college, but now that he’s become a man and a powerful CEO, he’s disturbingly handsome.

  “She’s three?” he asks. When he makes eye contact a piece of my heart breaks for him. Tears are shimmering in his eyes. I’ve never seen Carter so vulnerable.

  “Yes. She’s healthy, Carter. I really did my best. She never went without food and I always made sure she was warm. I promise.”

  He grinds his teeth and the action makes me sit back.

  He reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze, then he breaks down right before my eyes. I place my other hand over his, not knowing what I can do to make this easier for him. I can’t imagine how he must feel.

  He covers his eyes with his other hand and cries. I can’t keep my own tears back as I scoot closer to him. I pull him into my arms and hold him. I would also be heartbroken if I found out that I missed the first three years of my daughter’s life.

  Tears roll down my cheeks as all the heartache of the past few years overwhelms me.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he whispers when he’s regained some control over his emotions. “I want to see her, Della. I want to hold my little girl.”

  “You will. It’s late and she’s sleeping. If you come over tomorrow morning before the diner opens, you can spend some time with her.”

  “I have to contact my attorney.”

  His words shock me. I didn’t expect to hear them. I thought we would work things out between ourselves. I was stupid.

  I get up and wring my hands nervously. “I can’t fight you for her, Carter. You know that. I’m all she’s known the past three years. Don’t do that to our little girl. I’m her mother. Please, don’t take her from me.” I gasp for air as a sob rips through me. I’ll die. I’ll just cease to exist.

  When he just stares at me, I start to ramble. “She’s only three, Carter. Her biggest achievement is when she sleeps through the night without wetting the bed.”

  He stands up and takes hold of my shoulders. “I’m not going to take her from you, Della. I’m not a fucking monster and I’m not the enemy. I need my attorney so he can get a DNA test done. He needs to get behind what role Charlotte plays in all of this. I need to make sure Daniele is taken care of, should something happen to me. I’m just going to do for her what my dad did for me. It’s all things I have to think of right now.”

  I focus on one thing only. “You’re not taking her from me?”

  “No. We’ll share custody. She needs both of us.”

  I start to laugh and throw my arms around his neck. I give him a tight hug but soon my laughter turns into a sobbing mess. His arms fold around me and he holds me tightly to him as I cry my heart out against his chest.

  “Thank you,” I manage to whisper.

  He pulls back and frames my face with his strong hands. “Thank you,” he says with tears shimmering in his eyes. “You gave me a child, Della.” He presses a kiss to my forehead.

  It’s been one hell of a night and I know it’s far from over. But for now, I feel a sense of relief knowing that my child is still safe with me.

  ***

  CARTER

  As soon as I close the door behind Della I phone Rhett.

  The second he answers the phone, I growl, “I need you to come to my room.”

  “Yes boss,” he growls back. He only calls me boss when I piss him off.

  Since Dad passed away, the guys have been looking at me to fill his shoes. Dad took them all in during our high school years. We didn’t give him much of a choice. He once told me that I have a strong group of friends, something he wished he had growing up. That’s why he treated them like his own. It was just another way he ensured my future.

  The guys all joined me in the company. We’re looking at going worldwide in the next year. If I can secure a deal with the largest publishing house in Europe then Indie Ink Publishing will be unbeatable. That was Dad’s dream and I’m going to make sure it happens.

  While I’m waiting for Rhett, I phone George, my attorney. I quickly bring him up to speed with what I need before I let the man turn in for the night. Logan is training under George so he can take over from the old man when he retires.

  Rhett comes in just as I phone Logan.

  “It’s midnight and I’m on vacation,” Logan growls as he answers the phone.

  “I just spoke to George so he’ll handle things. Della told me that Daniele is mine. I told George to get a DNA test done. If she’s really mine then we need to set something in place to protect her.”

  “Fuck,” Logan groans. “I’ll start on it first thing in the morning.”

  “Thanks.” I throw the phone on the couch and start to stalk up and down again. I’ve never felt so restless in my life.

  “What happened?” Rhett asks. He picks up my phone and drops it on the table before he stretches out on the couch.

  “Daniele is mine. That little girl from the diner is mine.”

  Rhett sits back up, but he doesn’t look surprised. “I saw that one coming the second I saw her in Della’s arms.”

  “Of course. I keep forgetting you’re all-fucking-knowing,” I growl at him.

  “Don’t be pissed off at me. It’s your cock that got her pregnant.”

  I take a deep breath so I don’t lose my shit with my best friend.

  “She said she wrote to me, that Charlotte threatened her to stay away,” I grind the words out.

  “Well, think about it. Did you tell Charlotte about Della?”

  “Of course not. It had nothing to do with my fucking PA!”

  “Calm your tits, man. I know this is all a shock to you, but you need to stay calm or you’re going to fuck this all up. The point I’m trying to make is that Charlotte had no way of knowing that Della was the real thing. The woman has to deal with all your fan mail. I’m sure there are a lot of women out there claiming that you’re t
he father of their kid. This kind of thing happens when you have money.”

  I wipe tiredly over my face. “You’re right.”

  I once got a call from a guy that threatened to kill his family if I didn’t give him ten thousand dollars. That was the only time I answered Charlotte’s phone. Things got so busy I forgot about it. How many calls like that does she get?

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Right now you need to get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll figure it all out. One thing you have to keep in mind is that you can’t make any decisions about that kid without thinking of Della. You fucked up four years ago. Don’t fuck up again.”

  I glare at him as he leaves but I know he’s right.

  I’m heading for a shit storm of epic proportions.

  One thing is certain, if that DNA test proves that Daniele is mine, there is no way I’m leaving this town without her.

  CHAPTER 12

  DELLA

  “I wanna wear the pink ones,” Danny says for the hundredth time.

  I didn’t sleep much last night and I’m trying to be patient with her. “You wore it yesterday, Danny. It’s dirty. Wear your purple socks.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest, her bottom lip starts to tremble and she looks absolutely heartbroken. “I want my pink ones,” she whispers as the first fat tear rolls down her cheek.

  Just then there’s a knock at the door. “Jamie will you let Carter in, please,” I ask as I sit down on the floor in front of Danny.

  Jamie looks at me, then Daniele, before she walks to the front of the diner. I haven’t had time to talk to her yet. I haven’t had time to absorb the past twenty-four hours, let alone try making sense of it.

  “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll wash them tonight so you can wear them tomorrow.” She shakes her head, pushing her bottom lip out even further.

  Jamie kneels next to me. Taking the purple socks from me she says, “Princess Danny has a visitor. Let’s get these socks on so you see who it is.”

  Danny forgets about sulking and lets Jamie put the socks on. It’s times like this I feel like a failure.

  I stand up and pulling my ponytail a little tighter, I turn, but I’m stopped in my tracks by the look on Carter’s face. His eyes are filled with worry as they lock with mine.

  Dammit! He just saw how I couldn’t even get socks on his daughter’s feet.

  “I’m a princess,” Danny starts to sing. She starts to spin around so her dress fans out around her.

  Carter crouches down and slowly a smile spreads over his face. His eyes are glued to his little girl. I can see that he’s fighting to hold himself back.

  “Danny,” I say as I kneel beside her again.

  She stops spinning and gulps in huge amounts of air. “That was a lot of work.”

  I take her hand and pull her tiny body closer to mine. I don’t know how to introduce her to her father, so I just spit the words out. “This is Carter Hayes.”

  Her little face lights up and suddenly she’s very interested in Carter. “Hey, that’s my name. You can’t have the same name, silly.”

  Carter sucks in a harsh breath of air and tears start to well in his eyes.

  “You’re my little girl,” he whispers as he struggles to keep control over his emotions.

  Daniele’s eyes go wide and she looks from me to him. She pulls away from me and walks right up to Carter. She places her tiny hand on his shoulder. “Shh, it’s okay. Don’t cry. You can have the same name.”

  A sob shudders through him and he grabs her to him. He buries his face in her dark curls.

  I cover my mouth with a trembling hand when she hugs him back. She pats him and gently brushes her hand over his hair. “It’s okay,” she whispers.

  I take a deep breath and get up. I walk closer to them and placing my hand on her back, I get her attention.

  “Daniele, this is your daddy.”

  She pulls away and her tiny hands cradle his face. “I have a daddy?”

  I can’t hold it in anymore. I get up and turn away from them as the tears burst free.

  “Yeah, I’m your daddy,” he says.

  “Where did you come from?” she asks with all the innocence in the world.

  Quickly, I wipe the tears from my face and I turn back to them. I can see the lost look on his face. He has no answer for her.

  “Your daddy had to fight a dragon so he could come save his princess,” Jamie suddenly says.

  I’ve never loved my sister more than I do in this moment.

  Carter looks at Jamie from over Danny’s head and he mouths thank you.

  “You’re a king?” Danny asks.

  Carter nods and smiles at her with all the love only a father can have for his little girl. “Yeah.”

  “Is mommy your queen? Are you going to get married? I want a pink dress, Daddy,” she says with a serious look on her face.

  Carter picks her up as he raises to his full length. “I’ll buy you all the pink dresses you want, but first I have to talk to your mommy, okay.”

  Danny sighs heavily. “Okay.”

  He presses a kiss to her chubby cheek before he reluctantly hands her over to Jamie.

  “I want pink milk,” she says to Jamie as they walk to the kitchen.

  ***

  CARTER

  “She’s going through a pink phase right now,” Della says as she nervously starts to play with her watch.

  “Is it okay if we talk here?” I ask.

  “Sure, let’s sit at one of the tables.”

  I follow her to the nearest one and pull a chair out for her to sit. When I’ve taken a seat myself, I say, “I spoke with Rhett last night and with Charlotte this morning. The reason she ignored your letter is because she gets constant demands that I’m someone’s father and that I should pay up. She dealt with your letter the same way she dealt with all the others.”

  “But I wasn’t making any demands. I just wanted you to know,” Della quickly starts to defend herself.

  “I know,” I sigh. “I never told Charlotte about you. There was no way for her to know who you really were.”

  “Oh.” Della slumps back in her chair and her eyes drop to her hands. “I suppose it makes sense with me just being a one night stand.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and frown at her. “If my memory serves me correctly, I was the one the one who fucking spilled my guts all over the place and you were the one who just walked over it.”

  “What?” she breathes.

  “I made it pretty fucking clear that I wanted more. I was ready to give you the fucking world and you just walked away from it.”

  “You’re still an alpha asshole!” she hisses at me.

  She actually just fucking hissed at me.

  “Don’t fucking hiss at me,” I growl.

  “Don’t accuse me of things I didn’t do!” she shrieks. “And don’t growl at me.”

  Anger takes over and I stand up. “Don’t tell me what to do. No one fucking tells me what to do.”

  “Guys,” Jamie suddenly snaps from the entrance that leads to the back. “There’s a little girl in there that can hear all of this.” She looks to Della. “Shit happened and you need to get over it. Danny is all that matters right now.” Then her eyes fall on me and somehow this teenage girl has the power to make me feel ten inches small. “You’re not some big shot CEO here. You’re just a father and you need to start acting like one. You can’t use that language around her.”

  Jamie walks up to me and holds out her hand. “Money, please. I’ll take your daughter out to buy something pink while you rip each other apart.”

  Guilt washes over me as I give her one of my credit cards.

  “What do you expect me to do with this?”

  Fuck, this girl has balls.

  “Swipe it,” I grind the words out. “If my little girl wants something then you fucking swipe the card.”

  She grabs the card from my hand but instead of walking away, she takes another step closer t
o me. She only reaches my shoulder but that doesn’t intimidate her.

  “You will never talk to me like that again. I’m your daughter’s aunt. I changed your daughter’s diapers instead of getting sleep for my exams. I filled your shoes and you will respect me for that.”

  Once again, she’s put me nicely in my place. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Thank you, Jamie. It might not mean much now but I’ll make it up to you.”

  “I want nothing from you,” she says, her face pulling with disgust. “Just be the father my niece needs.”

  CHAPTER 13

  CARTER

  I got the results yesterday. There’s not a doubt that Daniele is mine.

  Today will be the first day that I’ll be alone with Daniele. I walk into the dinner and go look for Della. I find her in a make shift office of some sort. Her shoulders are hunched forward as she looks through some papers.

  “Hi,” I say so she’ll know I’m here.

  “My heart!” She swings around and sends some papers flying from the desk.

  I start to pick them up when my eye catches the red words stamped in bold over one of the letters. Final notice.

  I see two more like the one I’m holding before Della manages to gather them all.

  “Are you in financial trouble?” I ask as she takes the letter I’m holding.

  She doesn’t even look at me. “I’ll manage.”

  “We need to talk about all of this,” I snap and I take a step closer to her.

  “Talk about what?” Her eyes snap up to finally meet mine.

  “I’m leaving in three days, Della.”

  “Oh.” She sits down again and shoves all the papers to the side. “We need to schedule some sort of visiting thing. “

  I shake my head. “No. When I leave here Daniele goes with me.”

  Della darts to her feet and all the blood drains from her face. Her breathing starts to speed up until it looks like she’s going to faint.

  “Hey, take a breath.” I put my arm around her and her hands fist in my shirt.