I froze.
What the fuck?
My dad was on the sofa, and he wasn’t alone. A woman was in his arms. Her long red hair streamed down her naked back as she pumped herself up and down on my dad’s cock. I didn’t even have to see her front. I’d know that hair anywhere. I stood there for seconds that seemed like hours as a fog overtook my senses.
What?
A moan escaped her lips as my dad brought his hands up to cup her swollen breasts.
“Donovan… God, that feels spectacular. Don’t stop. Please.”
I hissed in a breath. Louder. Louder. Louder.
Until finally she glanced over her shoulder, but her eyes were closed. “Get out, Alicia, can’t you see Mr. Moreno and I are busy?”
I found my voice.
“What the actual fuck is going on here?”
They sprang apart, Faith clutching her belly and my dad buttoning his dress pants.
“Are you serious?” I asked and laughter, sick and wet, bubbled in my throat. “Are you serious?”
“It’s not what you think,” Faith started, but my father held up his hand and gestured for her to be silent.
“It’s too late for that now,” he said to her, then turned back to me, eyebrows drawn into a straight line. “Yes, Faith and I are together. We have been for some time now.”
“Jesus H. Christ.” This was a shock to the system. Did it matter that Faith had found someone else? No. It didn’t matter for shit. But my father? My own fucking father?
“I told you I was in the middle of something,” he said, rising and shielding my ex-girlfriend from view.
Or trying to. She peered around him, clasping a black chiffon blouse tight to her pregnant form.
Pregnant form. No fucking way.
“The baby isn’t mine,” I said stupidly.
“You mentioned that,” Donovan replied. “And yes, you mentioned you’re not going to marry Faith either. You understand I don’t have a problem with that anymore, obviously.” He struck a pose of confidence, shoulders pulled wide, chin elevated. The businessman look. It was a fucking ruse.
“The baby,” I said, blinking at Faith.
She shied away from my gaze the minute I said it. That was enough confirmation for me.
“The baby is yours.” I pointed at my father. “That baby is yours. You sick motherfucker.”
“Now, now, let’s not jump to conclusions.” Donovan raised his palms in surrender, but I wasn’t done yet.
“You tried to make me marry her. You tried to make me the father of… of… my own brother!” I grasped handfuls of my hair, then released it and pumped my fists downwards at my sides. “Why?”
“I… Gabe, this might seem like a betrayal, but—” Donovan Moreno stammered. He actually fucking stammered. My father, the picture of calm and collected was unsettled.
“You didn’t want anyone to find out what you’d done.” I clicked my fingers at the dawning of truth. “If this gets out it will ruin you, so you used me. You used your own son to get ahead. Because if anybody found out about this they would think you’re a sick fucking pervert knocking up the woman you used to view as your own daughter.”
“I did what I had to do,” Donovan snapped. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect the firm.”
Faith stumbled to her feet and grasped his forearm. She rested her head against his shoulder and met my gaze. “I know this might seem like a shock now, but it’s true. I love him and he loves me. I guess we’ve always loved each other.”
“Neither one of you two sick fucks even understands the meaning of the word love. What does Faith’s dad think about this? Please don’t tell me he’s okay with it.” I glanced around the room for good measure. “That he’s going to pop out of the nearest closet and join you.”
“Now, Gabe…”
I stood in front of my father and grabbed the fronts of his dress shirt. He didn’t even try to stop me. But I didn’t really want to hit him. I just wanted to shake some damn sense into him.
“You would’ve had me stuck in a loveless marriage, raising a child that wasn’t even mine so you could protect your business, and keep her close?”
Seeing them together wasn’t a problem. It was the fact that my own father had so little concern for me. I was a tool to be used, not a worthy human being, not his child. Fuck that.
Faith had acted like a lunatic because of what? She wanted a package deal? Dad and son in the same house, so she could choose which bed to sleep in for the night. God, that was revolting. My stomach rolled over.
Donovan — I couldn’t bring myself to think of him as Dad — moved towards me, leaving Faith behind.
“It’s very important to me that you don’t talk to anyone about this. We didn’t mean to hurt you, Gabe. You have to understand the position this has put me in.”
“Put you in?!” I tried to summon an image of him from when I was a kid. A good memory to redeem him, but there wasn’t one. None of them compared to this betrayal. Nothing could change how far he’d fallen. “Who are you? Who the hell are you?”
“I’m your father.”
“You’re dead to me,” I replied calmly. “Both of you.”
The anger I’d held inside, the bitter twisting of my guts and balls was now gone. I couldn’t possibly need this man’s approval when he was scum. They didn’t deserve my time.
I turned to walk out the door, but Donovan’s hand shot out and grabbed hold of my coat sleeve.
“Wait, Gabe, just wait a second.”
I stopped in my tracks, turning cold eyes on him. Not hatred, but disdain. A deep disregard for everything my father was.
“Faith is due soon and I want you to be part of the family. I need—”
“I don’t care what you need,” I replied.
“Just hear him out,” Faith said from behind. Donovan waved her to be quiet again and Faith showed her displeasure by tossing that red mane. If George found out about this, he’d lose his shit.
“You understand if this got out it would ruin me. It would destroy our family.”
“You’re not my family,” I said. “Not anymore.”
“It would take away that child’s future.” Donovan gestured to Faith’s belly. “Could you really do that? You’re not that kind of man. That’s not how I raised you. Regardless of how you feel about us, this is your brother. Your flesh and blood.”
“You didn’t raise me. A string of nannies did.” There was no end to his manipulations. “Goodbye,” I said, walking to the door.
“Gabe, please,” he called out. “Please, I’ll pay you. You can inherit everything. I’ll give you money. Just don’t sell me out now.”
I stopped at the door to the study and looked back over my shoulder at them. Broken people. Assholes.
“Keep your fucking money.”
Chapter 48
Ally
The kitchen was my favorite place to be. Maybe that was a little fifties housewife, but so what? I loved creating, coming up with new recipes for cupcakes done a different way. Someday, I might even wear my frilly pink apron for Gabe while I whipped him up a batch of Dark Decadence. With nothing else underneath.
This week’s creation was the perfect way to get Gabe and Faith and the cluster fuck of crazy off my mind.
“Have you got an idea for the name?” Kelly asked, stealing a scoop of pink frosting from the bowl. It was good to see her again. Having her in the bakery was refreshing; like I had a sister to talk to.
“I’m not sure. Something sexy. Sultry Strawberry?” I asked, mixing the batter, then bringing out a cupcake pan. I brought out the plain white cupcake wrappers and opened the bag.
I always used plain white for test batches, and with the bakery closed for the evening, this was the best time to get imaginative.
“Hmm,” Kelly said, tapping her strawberry tipped finger against her lips. “I like that, but what about… Strawberry Seductress?”
“Yeah, that is better,” I replied, nodding, then la
ying the wrappers in their respective holes. Gabe popped into my head every few minutes, which made it nearly impossible to concentrate.
“I wish you’d come over for Valentine’s dinner,” Kelly said, with a sly smile. Oh, she knew all right. I had no idea how my best friend did it, but she always had the dirt.
“I was busy.”
“Oh?” Kelly asked, feigning innocent and widening her eyes. “Busy with what?”
“Don’t make me smack you,” I scolded, raising my wooden, batter-coated spoon. I began pouring the mix into the wrappers. “Gabe came over.”
“I’m shocked.” Kelly wiggled her eyebrows. “And I’m happy.”
“What?” The last I’d told Kelly, I’d been furious with Gabe because of the engagement thing. Had she forgotten my utter humiliation on the steps of Donovan Moreno’s mansion?
I shuddered at the recollection.
“I figured there would be an explanation for what happened.” Kelly wiggled her butt, swaying her hips in a mini-salsa dance of indecision. “Look, Gabe Moreno is special, Ally, even Pat thinks so. He told me Gabe is clearly head over heels for you.”
“Yeah, but the engagement.” It was off now, I had to keep reminding myself of that. Keep telling myself that nothing else would go wrong. It felt like tempting fate to think that.
“Faith is a lecherous little princess, Ally. I didn’t believe the engagement and I’m sure there’s an explanation for it. Am I right?” Kelly tried to dip her finger in the rapidly emptying bowl and I slapped it away.
“Yes, you’re right. But—”
Kelly’s phone trilled and she whipped it out of her handbag, along with a handful of tampons and a few tissues. She pulled a face and answered. “Hey honey, what’s up?”
I put the bowl down and helped repack her handbag while she chatted with Pat. She hung up a few seconds later.
“I’ve got to go. Pat’s put something unspeakable down the coffee grinder.” She shook her head and accepted her tote with a nod of thanks. “I’ll be back over later if you’re still busy.”
“That would be great,” I replied. “Have fun!”
“Yeah, right,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Men these days, God.” She stomped out of the kitchen and into the bakery proper. The bell tinkled and the door slammed.
Pat and the coffee grinder had been waging war against one another since Kelly bought it. We joked about it every now and again because it was the only thing they argued about. If you called light quips arguments.
I finished spooning the cupcake mixture and popped them into the oven with a smile of satisfaction. Strawberry Seductress was cute. I liked the idea of calling out that we needed more Seductresses in the bakery. Tess would love that one and she just might volunteer. She’d even been flirty with Hank the plumber when he’d been by last week to seal up a leaky pipe.
I set the timer and turned to start the dishes.
The bell out front tinkled again.
“Back so soon?” I called. “Thank God, I worried Pat had lost a finger to the beast this time.”
“Hello, Ally, you’re looking good enough to eat.”
I spun on the spot and met Matthew’s sleazy gaze. This guy just didn’t know when to give up. Both his eyes were still black and blue from the beating in the dive bar.
“What are you doing here? I think I made it clear I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“You’re alone,” he said, glancing at the staircase in the corner, spying for Gabe. “Where’s lover boy? With his other slut?”
This guy was such a fucking idiot. “You can’t seriously think I’ll ever be with you after what happened. You’re not that crazy, right? Matthew, tell me you’re not that crazy, because if you are, I’ll have to call your brethren.”
Calmness on the outside, freak out on the inside. Why couldn’t he leave me the hell alone? Did all women go through this shit with their exes? I could handle an occasional whistle in the street by the local construction crew, but this?
“I am the cops.” He swaggered closer. I wondered when that card would lose its value since he laid it down every damn time.
I whipped a rolling pin off the counter and slapped it in my palm a few times, hoping he’d get the message. He stopped swaggering. Was he drunk?
“Don’t try that with me again. I don’t care if you’re a cop, you’re behaving like a cockroach and I will blacken your entire face if you continue this shit.” I’d get a restraining order tomorrow. Stomp right up the courthouse steps and tell them all about Matthew’s dangerous ways. I should’ve done it ages ago.
“You couldn’t squash me if you tried. No one would ever believe you,” he said, as if he could read my thoughts by looking at my face. Maybe he could. He was all kinds of insane.
“Matthew, get the hell out of my bakery. I have nothing more to say to you. We’re so over. We’re afros and mullets over. Do you get that?” I shook my head. “I mean, do you actually comprehend that I do not want you?”
“I don’t care if you don’t want me. Just as long as he can’t have you.” Matthew paused and fiddled around with his belt.
“He can have me and will have me, every day for the rest of my life.” I paused and checked my watch. “In fact, he should be back any second.”
Matthew paled and he touched a hand to his nose.
“I’m going to tell him you came to see me, and then I’m going to report you to the police,” I said, dotting the side of the rolling pin to the counter. “And if you ever come near me again, I will lop off your dick with my Wedgwood cake knife.”
“Jesus,” he said, then took a single step back. “You’re the crazy one.”
“Why? Because I won’t be bullied by you anymore?” I asked, cocking my head to one side. “Get the hell out of my bakery,” I spat.
Matthew blinked a couple times, and I could make out the humiliation and anger warring in his gaze.
The bell over the door tinkled again.
“Bitch!” Faith’s voice traveled through from the front. “I’ll kill you for this.”
“I think that’s your cue,” I said with a sigh, waving towards the front. “I can only deal with so much crazy in one day, and this one is pregnant on top of that.”
Matthew’s humiliation won out. He spun on the spot and marched out of the bakery.
I turned to face Faith. The one person who still had the ability to implode my new found happiness.
Chapter 49
Ally
I followed Matthew’s wake of overpowering Ralph Lauren, dropping the rolling pin in the sink on my path through to the front. The bell tinkled and the door slammed, announcing his departure.
I sniffed and walked into the front section of my bakery. The counters glistened, reflecting the lights overhead. I blinked in the brightness and allowed my eyes to adjust.
“How could you do this?” Faith yelled. She leaned heavily on my cupcake counter, a winded ox of a woman. Her fiery hair was a mess, specked with snowflakes and sticking out at odd angles.
“You don’t look your best,” I remarked. “Can I help you with something?”
I spied my cell next to the cash register and inched towards it, giving the angry pregnant woman a wide berth.
“You did this. You ruined everything! The plan was perfect, life would’ve been perfect, but then you came into the picture and fucked it up. You’re a horrid slut.” She words dripped with venom from her viper fangs.
“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Do enlighten me,” I said, grasping my cell and unlocking it to dial the cops. She was desperate and desperate women did desperate things. There was no telling how far this one would go.
I restrained a gasp. Shit, Gabe had called me twice.
“You told him to get the paternity test. You told him to call off the engagement.” She pointed a finger, tipped in a talon painted magenta. Her stomach strained against the chiffon blouse she’d chosen for the confrontation.
“I told him to do
what was best for everyone involved and get a test done. The engagement was his idea.” She was so angry. It couldn’t be about the empty ring finger on her left hand. Could that mean—?
“You ruined it. I was going to marry him, give birth to Donny’s baby and we’d be happy. A happy family. Just the four of us.”
“The four of you?” I mentally gagged at that. Donny’s baby? “Holy shit, Donovan Moreno is the father of your child?”
Her face went through a dozen emotions before settling back on pissed. “Yes,” she hissed, “and I’m proud of it. This child will inherit the future. I’ll have everything. Everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Except you won’t have Gabe.
“And you called me a slut,” I said, unable to keep the scorn from my tone. She was an objectionable slime ball and she deserved Donovan Moreno. How could he have done this to his son? He didn’t deserve to be the father of any child. I felt waves of empathy and sadness for the unborn son in Faith’s uterus. That poor kid didn’t even have a chance.
“It wasn’t my idea to involve Gabe, though honestly, I would’ve welcomed a marriage to him. He’s got the biggest—”
“That’s enough.” I cut her off before she said something we would both regret.
“That’s one area where Gabe has his father beat. Hands down. Donovan wanted to trick him into the wedding. He was afraid of what it would mean for the future. But you… you destroyed everything,” she whispered, raising a bloated forefinger again. “Donovan wants to distance himself now. He thinks that his son abandoning me will look better than him marrying his son’s ex-girlfriend.”
“Pregnant ex-girlfriend,” I added helpfully. “And surrogate daughter. Of his number one business associate.” A smidgen of pity wormed into my chest. She was pregnant and now she felt alone. But she’d worked so hard to destroy my relationship with Gabe for her selfish reasons.
She’s wretched, I thought, but she can’t help it.
“What do I do now?” Faith grasped the edge of my glass countertop, visibly shaking, tears streaming down her freckled cheeks. Her mascara ran. She was an ugly crier. “What the fuck do I do now? My father will disown me. I’ll have nowhere to live. My son,” she paused and choked between sobs, “my son won’t have a future.”
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