by Hamel, B. B.
“Come on in,” I say.
She follows me into the kitchen. I nod at my whiskey. “Want something?”
“No, thanks,” she says. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” I pick up my drink. “Let’s go hang outside. It’s nice right now.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“How are you doing?” I ask. “Still trying to make porn?”
She glares at me. “Reality TV.”
“Oh, sorry. My bad.”
“Dick.” She sighs. “But the business is good.”
“How’d that meeting go, the one you missed?”
She frowns then laughs. “Oh, that. The one about Divas in Space.”
“Right, yeah. I’ve been watching, by the way. Caught the premiere last night.”
“What did you think?”
“Watching Tiara try to put on that suit was pure trash TV magic.”
She grins at me. “That’s what I thought. I pushed to keep that sequence.”
I laugh as we step out onto the balcony. I lean against it and look out at the ocean, breathing the salty air deep. “You have a good eye then.”
She leans next to me and stared down at the sand. “Hey, so listen,” she says.
“Is this the part where you tell me why you sound so upset?”
She glances at me. “You could hear that?”
“You’re not good at hiding it.”
She smiles but there’s nothing behind it. “Yeah, I guess not.”
“Look, what’s up?”
She turns to me and stares for a long moment. I look back into those gorgeous blue eyes and wonder if maybe, just maybe, I don’t want her to say it after all. Maybe I just want that one night to be all there was between us, just one perfect night of pure lust and incredible fucking sex.
“I’m pregnant,” she says.
I take a sharp breath and slowly let it out.
“Okay,” I say.
She frowns. “That’s it? I’m pregnant. With your baby.”
“I figured it was mine.” I tilt my head. “I mean, I did come inside of you. Probably not the best move.”
She blushes. “I didn’t stop you.”
“No, you didn’t.”
She bites her lip and looks away. “I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. I just… I thought you should know, okay?”
“I’m glad you came,” I say softly. I lean closer to her. “You’re having my baby, huh?”
“I’m having… a baby.” She shrugs. “It doesn’t have to be yours. Really, Shaun. You don’t need to be involved at all. I’m only telling you because… well, because I thought I should.”
I stare at her and feel a surge of anger. “You think I’m the kind of guy to get you pregnant and just… walk away?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know what kind of guy you are at all,” she says. “That’s the point.”
I bite down on my retort and look at the water again.
Pregnant with my baby. I never thought it would come to that.
I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me. I wasn’t careful with her. I’m always so careful, but with her… I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t control it.
I needed to fill her, needed to possess her.
And now I do. Now she’s carrying my child.
“I’m not walking out on you,” I say softly. I reach out and tilt her chin toward me, but she pulls away.
“I don’t want to make my life more complicated,” she says, moving away from the balcony. She can’t even look me in the eye as she says it. “I know that’s stupid, since having a baby’s going to complicate things, I just… I don’t need to involve you.”
“What you need and what you want are different things,” I say. “I can help take care of you. Help take care of the baby.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She lets out a breath. “I only came here because I thought it would be the right thing to do.”
“Klara.” I put my drink down and step toward her. “If you didn’t want me involved, you wouldn’t have come. I never would have known, but here you are.”
“No,” she whispers.
“Yes. You want this. You want me in this baby’s life. And you better believe I’m going to be a good father.”
She clenches her jaw. I can tell she’s fighting back tears. “Don’t,” she says.
“I will,” I growl. “You show up on my doorstep, say you’re pregnant, and I’m supposed to just smile and say good luck? Fuck that. I’m not that kind of man. I take care of my family.”
“We’re not family.” She stares at me. “You were fun. But it was just one night.”
“Klara—”
“This was a mistake.” She turns away. “My life is complicated enough as it is.” She walks inside. I hurry after her and think about grabbing her arm, making her stay, but I let her go. She reaches the door and looks back at me. “I’m sorry if I just dropped a bomb on you. I know that’s not fair.”
“I don’t care about that.”
She smiles. “I believe you.”
“Let’s talk again,” I say. “Tomorrow. Go home, think about things. We’ll meet up somewhere and talk.”
She hesitates. I can tell she wants to do it. “I don’t know,” she says.
“Remember that Mexican food truck? We’ll meet there tomorrow at six. We’ll walk on the beach like that day and talk about it.”
“Shaun—”
“Listen to me,” I growl. “If you’re going to come in here and drop this into my life, then you’re going to at least give me the courtesy of talking to me about it. So you will show up tomorrow.”
She stares at me for a long beat, surprised by my intensity. But she sighs and turns away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I watch her go as my heart beats fast in my chest.
I’m going to be a father.
The thought keeps ringing in my mind.
I’m going to be a father and the mother of my child doesn’t want me involved.
That hurts. I think I can imagine her reasons, and they’re probably good ones. But she doesn’t know me well, or else she’d never expect me to walk away from this.
No, I’m taking my baby. I’m taking her.
It doesn’t matter if she thinks that’s not happening.
I walk back outside and pick up my glass. I knock it back and clench it so hard, I’m afraid it might shatter.
My life has been on autopilot for a long time now. Even this trip out here was just another distraction. I kept telling myself that I was here to diversify my family’s business holdings, and I still believe that’s at least partially true.
But now I see I’m just drifting.
And suddenly, purpose dropped into my lap.
Purpose in the form of a baby. Purpose in the form of a gorgeous, sexy girl that needs to be taken.
I’m not about to turn away from that just because it’s not simple.
Nothing’s simple in life.
I’ll embrace the complicated.
3
Klara
I wave cigarette smoke away as my father laughs his low, croaking laugh.
Aldo Funk, my beloved father and owner of our company, Truth Hurts Productions, is drunk. Which doesn’t really need to be said, since it’s currently after noon on a Wednesday, so of course he’s drunk.
He laughs again and leans toward the man sitting across the conference room table from us. Aldo pours another glass of whiskey and shoves it over to the guy. He smiles but doesn’t pick it up as my father sloshes his own drink onto the table before managing to get some into his mouth.
“Look, Ricky, kid, you’re the king, right? I agree with what you’re saying, but Divas is a smash. It’s going to be a hit, kid, right? We’re going to put those sexy girls in every single industry in America, film them the whole time, and we’ll all profit.”
“No disrespect, Mr. Aldo,” the young studio executive says, “but we’re just a little hesitant to p
ut these women in dangerous situations.”
“What the hell is dangerous about wearing a bikini while putting together cars?” He cackles again and gestures wildly. “I’m just saying, any asshole can do it. You’ve seen the pictures of those guys working on the auto lines, right?”
I cringe and speak up. “What my father is trying to say is that we take their safety very seriously,” I say. “We’re not going to put them in danger. Any shooting in an auto parts factory will be staged and the girls will never, ever be in any real danger.”
Rick gives me a sallow smile. “I suppose that could work.”
“Trust me, we’ll make it work,” I say. “I agree that the Divas franchise can be huge, if we’re smart about it.” I give my father a glare at that last part. “So let’s just take a step back and think this all through.”
“That’s my daughter,” Aldo says. “Always thinking. She’s the brains here, right? I’m just the smile.” He grins at both of us.
Rick stands. “Well, Aldo, thanks for your time.”
Aldo stands and they shake. My father puffs on his cigarette and walks the young executive to the door.
I sigh and clean up the conference room. Aldo is a goddamn mess and he’s going to ruin this good thing for us, I just know it. I need to be on top of my father at all times making sure he’s not saying something stupid or making some awful deal that’ll sink everything.
The Divas franchise really is going to be a hit. Divas in Space is already killing the ratings, and the mini spinoff episodes we’ve put out online are getting huge views. There are talks of expanding into multiple different formats, including prime time network TV.
Aldo comes back and looks at me. He’s an older man in his sixties with wrinkled tan skin, big black hair pushed back in an obnoxious wave, and thick dark sunglasses. He’s wearing a light gray shirt and a black leather jacket over top of a pair of black jeans.
“All right, daughter of mine,” he says. “Did I embarrass the family?”
“Yes,” I hiss. “You have to stop drinking at meetings. It’s not even two o’clock yet.”
He laughs. “That little twerp is nothing,” he says. “Just a test. And I think we passed.”
I hesitate. “Test… how?”
Aldo grins at me. I know my father is a drunk and a creepy asshole… but he’s been in this business a long time. The man knows a thing or two about this whole game, as much as I hate to admit it.
“They want to make sure we’re willing to take a meeting at any time, with anyone they want. Me being drunk is no big deal. That little twerp will dutifully go report to his bosses that we were both in the office and ready to work.”
I stare at him. “Are you kidding me? They’re just… checking up on us?”
“You’d be surprised how much shit goes down in this town. They want to make sure their investment is sound. And we, my darling child, we are a sound investment.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re drunk. I’m a sound investment.”
He laughs and shrugs. “I can’t argue.”
I push past him and out into the hall. “I’m going to my office. Let me know if you’re going to do any more work today. Otherwise, don’t fall asleep at your desk again. Get a cab home.”
“Yes, daughter,” he says, saluting me.
I glare at him but I don’t take the bait.
Doing business with my father is a pain in the ass. Putting aside the fact that I’m his daughter, he thinks that the phrases “business meeting” and “doing coke” mean the same thing. He’s from a different time when drugs and laughter and sex were the central ways things got done around this town.
Things have changed. I want to run a legitimate business here, and I’ve taken a lot of pains to get us halfway there. Despite how badly he wants to tear all this down, I’ve managed to keep it all going, and even found the Divas in Space idea. All this success is because of me, and I think he knows it.
And yet he still shows up to meetings drunk and insists on being an asshole.
I sit at my desk and let out a long sigh. I close my eyes and try to push my frustrations away. I need to try to keep calm.
Apparently, stress isn’t good for a pregnancy.
I groan and shake my head. For a second back there, I forgot that I was pregnant with a total stranger’s baby.
Shaun Lofthouse. Gorgeous bachelor. Notorious playboy.
I did some research into him. After I found out I was pregnant, I asked around town about him, trying to be as discreet as I could.
I heard some things. I heard he’s a party boy, loves to sleep with women, even had multiple girlfriends at once. I heard he’s dated singers, actresses, models. Women so far beyond my league that I don’t even know how he decided to take me home that night.
And yet here I am, pregnant with his baby.
He’s the exact kind of man that I don’t want involved in all this. He’s just like my father, and if I’m going to have a baby, I need more stability than that in my life.
I never should’ve told him. But maybe he’s right, maybe I do want him around. I mean, I could’ve just had this baby and gone on with things on my own. Maybe there is some part of me that wants him around.
God, I’m so stupid. This is such a mess.
I want to take over this production studio… but I have no clue how I’m going to do that with a baby.
I spend the rest of the day answering emails and getting some work done. When five rolls around, I leave the office and sit in traffic for an hour. But I make it on time and park near the Mexican food truck. I’m nervous as I check myself in the mirror, then stop before I can primp too much.
That’s not what I’m here for. He wants to talk about this, so I’ll let him talk about it. And when we’re done, I’ll move on and start planning for my future.
Because I’m having this baby. I know it deep in my bones. I’m having this baby no matter what, even though I know it’ll make things harder. It’s a baby, my baby, and I know I’m going to love it.
I take a deep breath and get out of the car. I spot him sitting on a bench, his legs crossed. He catches my eye and smiles.
I nearly stop and run away right then and there.
He’s so handsome. It strikes me harder every time. He’s wearing a pair of dark jeans and a dark shirt. The tattoos on his arms are colorful and gorgeous, beautiful works of art, just like his smile, like his eyes. He stands as I approach.
“Glad you came,” he says.
“You thought I wouldn’t?”
“It occurred to me,” he admits.
“Ouch.”
“Well, to be fair, you did all but tell me you don’t want to have anything to do with me.”
“Okay, yeah, there’s that.” I look up into his eyes and force myself to smile. “So, what now?”
“Let’s walk,” he says, glancing toward the beach. “We probably have an hour of sunlight left.”
I nod and we head down onto the sand. We walk down to the beach and move just out of reach of the waves.
“So,” he says, “you have a good day?”
I shrug. “Sure. Not bad. You?”
“Took a few meetings, but nothing special.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re trying to start up your own production company. How’s that going?”
“Slow,” he admits, and glances at me. “Really slow.”
I smile at him, unable to help myself. “I’m sure you’ll get there.”
“Maybe.”
I have this strange urge to lean against him. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This happened the last time we were together, too. I want him to touch me, hold me. I want to feel him against my body.
But of course, I can’t do that. Not now, anyway.
“All right,” I say. “I’m guessing you didn’t want to meet here just to discuss our careers.”
“No,” he says. “I want to discuss that baby.”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing else to say.”
> “I want to marry you.”
I come to a dead stop and let out a sputtering sound. The waves lap against my feet as he turns and tilts his head to the side with a smile on his lips.
“You… you what? Are you joking right now?”
“I wouldn’t joke about that,” he says. “I want to marry you, Klara. Make you my wife, make you all mine. I can raise that baby and give you anything you want.”
I take a step back. “Wait. Hold on. This is insane. You barely know me. I just…”
“Klara.” He stares at me. “I know we barely know each other. But you’re carrying my baby. I’m not about to let you go through that alone.”
I put my hands up. “Hold on, wait. I can do this alone if I need to. I don’t need you to just… swoop in and save me.”
He looks frustrated. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Isn’t it? Like I’m some… some princess you need to save?”
“You’re no princess.” He smirks and shakes his head. “Come on, Klara. Don’t pretend like you don’t feel this between us.”
I clench my jaw and look away. “I won’t pretend like there’s nothing,” I say. “But it’s just…”
“Lust?”
I nod once. “Yeah. Lust.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” he purrs. “I think it might be more.”
“No. It’s not. And I’m not going to marry you.”
That doesn’t seem to surprise him. “I thought you might say that.”
I start walking again, faster this time. My head’s spinning and I feel a little dizzy. “Look, I’m just saying, I have a life. I’m going to take over my father’s production company and it’s the one thing I’ve always wanted. I know this baby will make that harder, but… but marrying you will make it impossible.”
“Why?” he asks.
“Because you’ll distract me. And I did some research on you, Mr. Shaun Lofthouse.”
He chuckles. “Did you now?”
“You’re not exactly the marrying type.”
His face clouds but he doesn’t deny it. “So you think I’ll get in the way.”
“I don’t know. I think it would be rash and impulsive. I can’t marry someone just because they got me pregnant, you know?”