The baby. He was innocent. He hadn’t asked for any of this.
“Your son doesn’t need to be a billionaire to have a future,” I replied.
Faith panted, in and out, gripping her forehead and sliding her hand down to cover her eyes. “I can’t do this on my own. I can’t be a single mother.”
“Hey, look,” I said, gripping my phone and circling to her side of the counter, “it won’t be that bad. You’ll have help. I’m sure your father wouldn’t give up on his legacy. I mean, that’s his grandson.”
Faith looked up at me, dropping her hand to her distended belly. “He’s kicking,” she whimpered, “hard.”
“You need to calm down, okay?” I walked closer and she hissed at me. I halted, then cleared my throat. “I know you don’t like me. I’m your worst enemy or whatever, but I’m just trying to help you now. You should sit down.”
“You? Help me?” Faith pinched her blouse between her thumb and forefinger and pulled it from her skin, then released. “I’m the one who could help you. You’re nothing. You’re just some base chick who bakes for a living.”
She was overwrought. She needed to calm down, so I couldn’t begrudge her the bitchy comments.
“You need to sit down, Faith.” I gestured to the same chair she’d graced the first time she’d come here.
“I don’t need your help,” she replied, but this time it was accompanied with a pained groan. She stumbled. “He’s kicking so hard.”
“Shit,” I said. There was a puddle of water at her feet, spreading beneath the hem of the open trench she’d worn over her jeans.
“What the fuck?” Faith blinked at it, then doubled over with a cry.
Just perfect. I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, then raised my cell and dialed 911.
“You’re in labor,” I said, “I’m calling an ambulance.”
Faith stumbled to a chair and sat down, gasping and moaning. “He’s just kicking.”
“Stop being a stubborn fool,” I snapped.
I stood beside the counter, watching her while I made the call. She panted through the contractions, letting out a low shriek at one point. I hung up a few moments later.
“The ambulance is on its way and they’ll take you to the hospital. You and the baby will be just fine,” I said, walking up to her. She didn’t lash out — apparently, the pain of labor had overthrown her deep hatred for me.
Faith snatched at my hand and held it tight. She squeezed through another contraction and I yelped along with her. The woman had the grip of a pro-wrestler.
“How much longer?” she asked after a few minutes.
“Soon, Faith. They’ll be here soon.”
The sound of a siren approached and the ambulance skidded around the corner and came to a halt in front of the bakery a few seconds later. Medics poured out of it. Okay, there were just two, but it was a flood of relief to me. They entered the bakery with a stretcher.
“She’s over here,” I said. The stress had pushed Faith into early labor, and I couldn’t help feeling guilty about it.
They helped her onto a stretcher with soothing words and blood pressure checks. It kind of reminded me of the night I’d met Gabe, with the bakery on fire and the ambulance outside.
I sighed, ready to dust off my hands after a hard day’s work.
Faith grabbed me by the apron. “Don’t leave me.”
“W-what?” I stammered.
“I told you, I don’t have anyone. I need your—” she broke off to swallow her pride this time. “I need your help, Allegra.”
It was the first time she’d ever called me by my name.
I looked down at her, covered in sweat, tears streaming down her sticky cheeks. She was at her worst and I wasn’t the kind of person to kick her when she was down. That wasn’t the kind of woman my mother had raised. Regardless of her current residence.
I patted her arm. “I won’t leave you.”
Chapter 50
Gabe
I was over the shock of discovering the truth about Faith’s pregnancy. Now, I was just worried about Allegra. I’d tried her cell two more times after leaving the Moreno abode — a.k.a. the house of incest and lies. No answer. Where the fuck was she?
If that Matthew prick had gone near her, I’d rip his testicles off, shove them in his mouth and sew his lips together. Too mafia bad-ass for you? Well, I am Italian. Joe Pesci can just damn well step aside.
I growled low in my throat as I turned into her street, slid to a stop outside the bakery and looked in. All the lights were off. So were the ones upstairs.
“You’d better be safe, Allegra.” The street appeared enveloped in darkness and silence, even though it was still relatively early. No shoppers or diners had ventured out, but I had this sick feeling in my gut. I didn’t like this one bit. Hated it really. Allegra had become my everything and she needed to hear the truth from me. Tonight.
I took out my cell to dial Kelly and check if Allegra had gone to her place for the night. It rang in my hand before I could swipe to unlock. Like she’d been conjured up as a fantasy, Allegra’s beautiful face floated across the screen.
“Are you okay?” I asked immediately. “I’m at the bakery and you’re not here.”
“I’m fine, Gabe.” She paused to clear her throat. “As fine as I can be, given the circumstances.” A woman’s scream rang out in the background. It sounded horrible. Like death. Echoing along the line and piercing my eardrum.
“What’s going on? Where are you?”
“I’m at Abbott Northwestern Hospital with Faith. She’s gone into labor.”
My mind boggled. How the hell had that happened?
“I can smell your brain burning over the phone,” she quipped, “so I’ll make it easy on you, sweetie. She came over to lay down her special kind of pain on me about convincing you to end it with her.”
“Did she tell you about—?”
“Your scumbag of a father? Yeah, it came up in the tirade. Anyway, she went into labor during our conversation and I couldn’t leave her alone since your dad decided to toss her aside like trash. What’s the matter with him?”
Way to go Donovan Moreno. The paternal figure was on a fucking roll today.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” I said as I turned the key in the ignition to fire up the engine of my car. It stalled and I pumped the clutch and tried again.
“I need you to do something first,” Allegra said.
I revved the engine. “Anything for you.”
“Call your father and get him to come to the hospital and look after Faith. And his son.”
“That won’t be easy,” I replied. If he’d disowned Faith too, it was because he was afraid of public fallout. I had firsthand knowledge that he’d stop at nothing to protect his image. Even reject his new son. He wouldn’t be convinced easily.
“Honestly, Gabe, I don’t care right now. I just want him here. If this had been your baby, I would’ve expected the same thing from you. Get him here. Quickly.” Another mangled death scream from Faith in the background was accompanied by a few choice curse words.
“I’ll do what I can,” I said.
Allegra hung up without saying goodbye. That had me worried. Maybe my psycho fuck of a father had convinced her to let go of what we had. I couldn’t blame her if that were true. It was all like some bad Lifetime movie or one of those crazy taboo novels on Amazon in the romance genre. When I’d left her to get my stuff at home, she’d still been a little withdrawn with me, like she was afraid of getting hurt. She didn’t trust me yet.
I stared at the screen to avoid the dreaded call. I really didn’t want to speak to the old man again.
The car purred beneath me, the vibrations from the engine running through the seat of my chair and directly into my ass. Days like today make me grateful for the seat warmers.
I dialed Donovan’s number and pressed the phone to my ear.
“Donovan Moreno.” The more things changed, the more they stayed the fuckin
g same.
“Hello there, Mr. Moreno, this is Gabe speaking.”
“What do you want?” He sighed, and the shuffle of papers came through on the line. Working late while his next son came into the world. Typical.
“I just thought I’d let you know that Faith has gone into labor. My brother is about to enter this world.” I smacked my lips. “But you’d know that if you gave a shit about anything but yourself and your venal agenda.”
Donovan gave a sniff, an over-the-phone dismissal. “That’s no longer my concern nor my business. I suggest you stay out of it too.”
“You realize you can’t just abandon her. She could take you to court. You’d have to pay legal fees.”
“I’m rich. We’ll settle out of court. I have a cotillion of highly paid attorneys on staff for just this type of mess,” Donovan replied, cool as a fucking cucumber. Jesus, he made my skin crawl. Who could sit and talk about lawyers at a time like this?
“You’re such a bag of dicks.” I shook my head.
“If that will be all…” he trailed off, readying himself to hang up the phone.
“No, that won’t be fucking all.” I inhaled and injected patience into my tone. That simpering patience to be used on toddlers and idiots. “Here’s the thing, Faith is greedy so you’re right, she probably would settle out of court and use vicious sums of money to put the kid through school. Hell, you’ll probably end up giving her half of what you have to keep her quiet.”
Donovan didn’t reply.
“Which is all right, because you can always make more money, as long as your reputation is intact.” I was going somewhere with this, and it wasn’t a place he’d appreciate. “But your reputation won’t remain intact.”
“Gabe,” he said, but his warning tone had a bit of a squeak to it. He knew he was in a checkmate situation.
“So father,” I continued, mocking the title, “either you get your sleazy ass to that hospital and take your place at Faith’s side, or I go to coffee with Tom Lyden and spill the entire story.”
“I’ll sue you for defamation of character.” Donovan grasped at a straw.
“Go for it. You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip. But guess what?” I paused, long enough to build the tension for him. “The damage will already be done. Your reputation will be tarnished and the results of my paternity test will back up my claims.”
The straw slipped out of Donovan’s hand. He stammered wordlessly, gulped hard. Finally, he croaked, “You wouldn’t do that to me. I’m your father.”
“You won’t go see your son at the hospital, and you’re his father. Yeah, the whole blood is thicker than water thing won’t work in this situation. Get your fucking ass to Abbott Northwestern Hospital. I’ll see you there.”
“Gabe, I—” There was an apology in his voice.
“Save it, asshole. After today, I don’t want to hear from you again. You take that kid and raise it properly, but you don’t come near me again. Got it?”
“Gabe,” he tried again.
“Got it?” I repeated, grinding my teeth against each other. I put the car in gear and let down the hand brake.
“Yes,” he replied finally.
“Good. If you’re not there in twenty, I’m leaving the hospital and going to the media. Fuck it, I’ll post this shit on Facebook too. Give Jerry Springer a call.”
Donovan clicked off the line.
I let out a long, low breath, rolling my head from side-to-side. Allegra had said to get him there and I’d done it. At least, if Donovan didn’t want to be the laughing stock of the society page in the Star Tribune, he’d be at the hospital.
I eased out of the parking lot and took to the road, roaring down the street in the direction of Abbott. My mind was possessed by a single thought. Allegra.
Chapter 51
Ally
I sat beside Faith’s bed and yawned, stifling it with the back of my hand.
She was sweaty and exhausted, but the first genuine smile I’d seen from her ever stretched her lips damn near from ear to ear. She held a blue bundle in her arms, and had one of her breasts out to feed the baby who’d latched on for dear life.
He was a cutie pie. A red-faced, wrinkled, screaming little Moreno.
Faith cooed and tickled his forehead, then met my gaze. “Thank you,” she said, looking like she meant it.
“Those meds haven’t worn off yet, have they?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. She was lucky the birth had gone smoothly and quickly. By the time we’d gotten to the hospital, she’d already been eight centimeters dilated.
“Not entirely,” she said, then chuckled. “But hey, I owe you some gratitude. You helped get me here and you didn’t leave me alone.” Faith blinked and readjusted her son in her arms.
“I’m pretty sure anyone would’ve done the same in my situation.”
“Not true. Donovan didn’t.” Faith’s smile wavered, but affixed itself a moment later. “I really love him, you know. I didn’t want to involve Gabe in this, but Donavan… well, he’s domineering and proud and he can be very persuasive.”
Awkward silence parted us. I didn’t know how to respond to her admission. Or her gratitude. She’d messed with Gabe’s head and mine, tried to break us up and make my life hell for the past month. One positive encounter and a shot of the truth didn’t change that. It didn’t change who she was or what she’d done.
Hopefully, having the baby would mature her a little bit.
I shifted in the hospital chair. There was a TV over her bed, but I didn’t want to switch it on in case it bothered the baby whose eyelids had fluttered closed.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “It’s no problem, I guess. I won’t say it was a pleasure.”
“No,” Faith replied, “it definitely wasn’t a pleasure for either of us.” She grimaced, most likely in reference to her labor, the contractions and utter chaos that had ensued since we’d left my bakery.
“Do you need me to call your mom and dad?”
“No, they don’t take calls from strange numbers and they screen their calls at home. Honestly, you probably wouldn’t be able to get through to them.” Faith swept a damp strand of red hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear.
“Snobbery without limitations,” I observed.
“I know we’ll never be friends, even though I’m open to it, but I just wanted to… I don’t know, I guess there’s no hard feelings between us?” Faith inclined her head in my direction, shrugging her shoulders.
I opened my mouth, then shut it again.
“I’m sorry for being so rude,” she said, “I just didn’t want anything to ruin my future or his future.” Faith stroked her son’s forehead lovingly. “You can understand that, right?”
“Apology accepted,” I replied, “and yeah, we’re definitely not going to be friends. But I’m sure we’ll see each other from time to time since your son is Gabe’s brother. Does he have a name yet?”
Yeah, Faith and I wouldn’t be sharing croissants and coffee anytime soon. But we could be civil. I might even name a cupcake after her.
The Frisky Faith. Pure white vanilla. All innocent and beautiful on the outside with a molten hot, red center.
She sighed and settled the little one, grinning at his cute sucking noises and moaning complaints. She had something to focus on now, other than Gabe. Thank God for that.
The door to the maternity ward swung inward and Donovan Moreno entered, carrying the scent of expensive cologne and Cuban cigars. Perhaps he’d ‘celebrated’ in his limo on the way over.
“Donny,” Faith cried out and her son mewled, clutching at her hospital gown with his tiny fist.
“Faith,” he murmured, his cheeks coloring. He made eye contact with me for the briefest moment, and the posh façade slammed back into place. “I came as soon as I heard.”
That had to be bullshit.
“You do care.” Faith teared up and swiped at the wetness beneath her eyes. “I was worried that you didn’t
. That I’d have to do this on my own.”
“That would never happen, baby. Forget what I said before. I want us to be together, a happy family.” Donovan strode toward her, a frog march that didn’t suit his verbal sentiments.
I’d be damned if this man knew what a happy family was. Most likely, he planned on keeping his son’s true identity a secret. Probably announce that Gabe had abandoned Faith and the baby, and he’d taken them in out of the goodness of his solid coal heart.
My heart beat lumpy custard for this poser. I loved Gabe, but that love didn’t have to translate to his father.
I rose slowly.
“I know you from somewhere, don’t I?” Donovan asked, extending a hand and turning on the charm. He did it with his back to Faith, to his credit.
“Yeah, you do. Your front doorstep. I’m Allegra, Gabe’s girlfriend.” I waited for Faith to chime in about me being a slut or the like. She didn’t.
Donovan snatched his hand back and wiped it on his suit jacket, his charm dissipating. “Oh,” he said, “what are you doing here?”
“Well, sir, I was with Faith when she went into labor. She was hysterical because you insinuated that you wanted nothing to do with her or your child. Any of this ringing a bell?” I smiled and my gaze flicked to Faith, who returned a faint grin. I just felt pity for her again. She loved this man?
“I came as soon as I heard.”
I pouted and beckoned for him to come closer. He walked around the bed and I led him further across the room, out of Faith’s range of hearing.
“You came because I told your son to send you here,” I whispered fiercely and poked him in the chest. “And you’d better damn well stay and look after her, because if you don’t I’ll make your life a living shit storm, do you hear me?”
“That’s the second time I’ve heard that same ugly threat in the last half hour. Donovan Moreno doesn’t take kindly to ultimatums. I’ve already discussed the matter with Gabe.” Donovan readjusted his sleeves regardless, and I got the feeling his fingers were itching to loosen that designer collar. The heat was on for Mr. Moreno, who obviously loved referring to himself in the third person.
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