Bad Boys of Red Hook [2] You're the One (12 page)

Her face went ghostly pale, even under all that makeup. “You have a ten-year-old daughter and you’re just mentioning this to me?” She looked off—like a sick person trying to hide a terminal condition.

“I only found out after I arrived, and it wasn’t something I wanted to discuss over the phone. Besides, I’m still not sure of anything yet. I’m waiting for the results of the paternity test—they take a while. I saw no need to upset you before knowing all the facts.”

“No need to upset me?” Payton sank into the cushions. “She looks just like you.” Her voice was flat, emotionless. Her pale face might be blank, but he knew that look. Her mind was spinning.

“Nicki’s mother looks as if she’s of Hispanic descent too. Actually, Nicki’s a carbon copy of Marisa.”

“And where exactly is this Marisa woman?”

“I don’t know. We got together when she worked at the Crow’s Nest. No one had seen her in years until the day about four or five months ago—she dropped Nicki off at Pop’s and told him Nicki was his granddaughter.”

“Did she name you as the father?”

“No.” He shrugged and threaded his fingers together. “I slept with Marisa. I used protection, but there are warning labels all over the packaging for a reason.”

“And your other brothers?”

“Storm never slept with her. I’m not sure about Slater, but I highly doubt it. I have no idea if what Marisa said is even the truth. Even though Marisa might have lied, it doesn’t change the fact that Nicki needs a family.”

“She has a family. She has your father.”

“Pop can’t handle a girl her age on his own. What if something happened to him? He had a bypass surgery and he’s no spring chicken. Nicki is only ten.”

She threw her legs over the edge of the couch and leaned toward him. “Are you suggesting we take her?” Her expression made it clear how she felt about that idea.

He looked at Payton, really looked at her. He hadn’t thought about it before, maybe because in his mind, there was no other option. Nicki was part of him. And even if she wasn’t his biological child, he loved her. How could Payton know Nicki—even a little bit—and not see how incredible his little girl was? How could Payton know him and think that he would ever leave Nicki? How could Payton even entertain the idea? What kind of person would do that?

If Nicki was his child, he would never give her up. He’d never do what his parents did to him—he’d sooner cut off his arm than hurt Nicki. Parents were supposed to take care of their kids. Real parents. He might not have realized it until this very second, but he wanted to be a real parent. He wanted to be Nicki’s dad.

He tried to imagine his life without Nicki. Without tucking her into bed, without helping her with her homework,
without hearing about the kids who teased her in school. He couldn’t—it was just too painful. Somehow, over the last month, Nicki had become one of the best parts of his life. He never wanted to lose whatever it was they shared. He wanted to watch her grow up into the incredible young woman he knew she would be. He wanted to scare her boyfriends and wait up for her when she was out on dates. He wanted to know where she was and who she was with every moment of the day. He wanted them to be a family. Hell, they were a family. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. I want her with us. Nicki and I are a package deal.”

“Absolutely not.” Payton had obviously forgotten her agenda, and stomped to the bar for a refill.

Logan waited for her tirade to finish. She was worked up and nowhere near done.

Payton yanked the cork from the champagne, refilled her glass, and pointed the bottle at him, shaking her head. “Logan, I will not raise your bastard daughter.”

It was as if she’d kicked him in the diaphragm—all the air left his body, and blood roared through his ears like a riptide. He grabbed the back of the chair to anchor himself.

“I’m willing to overlook your shortcomings, but I will not spend the rest of my life paying for your mistakes.”

“That’s enough. Nicki is not a mistake. She’s a wonderful, smart, amazing little girl. I haven’t known her long and I already love her. I don’t know if she’s mine or not, but she deserves a family. She deserves a father. She deserves everything I never had. We can adopt her, Payton. We can be her parents. We can give her brothers and sisters and a happy family. We have so much to offer.”

“You can’t expect me to consider raising her with our
future children. It wouldn’t be fair to them, and she most certainly will never be a part of the vineyard; she won’t get one red cent of my inheritance.”

Logan took a step toward her and stopped. He set the beer bottle carefully on the table and then stuffed his hands in his pockets, afraid of the rage he felt. Years of slurs and teasing, and a lifetime of self-hate caused by the cruel, thoughtless comments of people like Payton, coalesced into a boulder crushing his chest. He fought to draw breath, and then another. “Fine. It’s over.”

“What’s over?” Her voice rose an octave—gone was that sexy controlled woman. Her mouth tightened and if he wasn’t mistaken, he saw fear in her eyes.

“Everything. You, me, the wedding—every fucking thing we ever had between us is finished. Dead. Gone.”

She set the champagne bottle on the bar and slid her shaking hands down her sides. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to calm herself or look sexy—whatever she was going for wasn’t working.

Logan looked around the opulent suite and shook his head. It looked as cold as Payton. He needed to leave before he said something he’d regret. He started toward the door.

Her eyes widened—she must have realized he was serious. “Logan, you can’t do this.”

“I just did.”

“That girl means more to you than I do? She might not even be yours.”

“Nicki means the world to me.” He wasn’t sure what Payton meant to him, but it was definitely not enough anymore. He’d always known she was far from perfect—he’d known she was a little on the superficial side—but he’d never known her to be cruel and hateful. Right now,
looking at her, he wondered if she’d been this way the whole time and he’d never noticed.

“Do you actually think you’ll still have a job without me?”

“Payton, I don’t care. Nicki means more to me than any job. I know what it feels like to be unwanted, to be tossed aside like day-old garbage, and I’d never do that to Nicki, nor will I be with someone who could.”

She stared at him with a stunned expression, her mouth hanging open.

He headed to the door, opened it, and took one last look at her. “Have a nice life, Payton.”

*   *   *

“Looks like the chocolate fairies haven’t visited, which is a damn shame.” Skye needed a chocolate fix—bad. She shut the cabinet door. She might not have any on hand, but there was plenty at the restaurant. Still, that would mean she’d have to put shoes on and go out after already changing for bed. She wore sweatpants and the huge Pratt sweatshirt she’d picked up at the thrift store and cut the neck out of. Not very attractive but comfy, and right now that counted for a lot.

She’d been in a bad mood ever since Logan had taken Payton back to the hotel. Wendy said dinner had been a clusterfuck. Fortunately for Skye, it had nothing to do with the food. Still, she wondered what was going on. Wendy had said the tension in Pete’s apartment was so thick, it was like breathing in pea soup. Poor Nicki. The kid had enough problems without having to deal with an uncomfortable situation like that.

Skye put the sleeping puppy in her crate, grabbed her keys, and headed to the Crow’s Nest. Less than a minute later, she let herself into the restaurant’s dark kitchen.
She switched on the lights and opened the walk-in to grab a piece of the double-chocolate cake. The only thing that would make it better was whipped cream, but she wasn’t in the mood to make it.

A smile crossed her face. They had to have some Reddi-wip behind the bar. She just needed a squirt. She grabbed the embarrassingly large slab of cake and kicked open the swinging kitchen doors only to have them slap back. The cake splattered against her chest, some of it falling down the front. She looked up to find Logan staring at her.

“Are you okay? I saw the lights and thought someone had broken in.”

“I’m fine except I think the chocolate gods are against me. I’m a mess.” She leaned over and peeled her shirt off the squished cake. There was no polite way to grab the hunk that was now plastered to her chest and firmly lodged between her breasts. “What are you doing here?”

He motioned to the bottle of tequila and the glass on the bar. “Just thinking and drinking. You?”

“Chocolate fix.” She grabbed a piece of cake hanging off her sweatshirt and, with a shrug, popped it in her mouth. “I was just coming out for whipped cream.”

He motioned her over to the bar. “Are you willing to share?”

“Smashed cake?” She held the plate toward him. “Sure, why not?”

“Let’s get that whipped cream.” He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the bar. “Take a seat.” He went around and grabbed the can of Reddi-wip, and then took a seat beside her.

“So what are you thinking about?”

“Life. Payton and I called it quits tonight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She really wasn’t, but then she could hardly say “yippee,” could she?

“I’m not.” He stared at the now-empty tequila glass, rolling it between his palms. “Payton was willing to overlook my humble beginnings and Nicki. I’m not willing to overlook Nicki.”

“Nicki?”

His gaze met hers. “You don’t know?”

“I guess not, since I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

“That’s surprising. I thought by now Patrice or Rocki would have filled you in on all the gossip.”

“I don’t encourage gossip.”

“Nicki might be my daughter. And before you say anything, I didn’t know Nicki even existed until Storm came back to Red Hook after Pop got sick. I didn’t find out that she could be mine until I got here. I guess Pop figured that would be an awkward phone conversation. Nicki doesn’t know anything about any of this yet. I’m waiting for the paternity test before I tell her.”

“And Payton wasn’t happy to have a ready-made family?”

“Not happy would be an understatement. I called off the engagement and told her to have a nice life.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“Would it be rude to say I feel relieved as hell?”

“Not rude—just honest.”

“It’s crazy. In one fell swoop my life has veered off course. A month ago I had a job I loved, an incredible home, a fiancée who I thought was the perfect partner. It was fine until I got home.” He shook his head wondering what the hell it all meant. “I should feel something.”
He looked into her eyes for a long time, as if she held all the answers. “I don’t know, Skye. I guess coming home made me look at my life and I realized I’ve just been going through the motions.”

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Just one. Why?”

“No reason.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Fine.” She rested her forearms on the bar and turned her head to look at him. “I wondered if you were sober enough to know what you feel.”

“It’s been a long time since I felt much of anything. I came home over a month ago and in that time I’ve realized that what Payton and I had wasn’t what it should be.”

“How so?”

“I don’t love her. I never have. I really thought I was incapable of love. But I love Nicki. I love Pop and my brothers—”

“You were going to marry someone you don’t love?”

“Yes, I was.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It was stupid, but we worked well together. I figured that made us a good match. I worked for her family. We’d been going out since we were in college and we didn’t make each other miserable. It made a weird kind of sense. I never knew I could feel…I thought I was incapable of feeling.”

“What happened?”

“Other than Nicki?”

She nodded.

“I was at my brother’s wedding, and it hit me. Payton and I didn’t have the connection that Bree and Storm do. Not even close. Hell, I’d been here for weeks and I didn’t even miss her. That’s not right.”

“Did you ever have that kind of connection with her?”

He shook his head.

“Have you ever had that kind of connection with anyone else?”

“Yes, I think so, but I never acted on it.”

“Why not?”

“Because until a few hours ago, I was engaged to someone else, and I don’t cheat.”

She couldn’t help but wonder who the lucky woman was. “You’re not engaged now. You’re free to do whatever you want.” She reached across the bar for the can of Reddi-wip and gave it a good shake. She squirted it all over what was left of her cake and then thought the hell with it—she tipped her head back, opened her mouth, and filled it with whipped cream.

“You think I should do whatever I want?”

Shit, all the whipped cream in the world wasn’t going to satisfy the craving his voice alone sparked within her. She swallowed and licked her lips. “Sure, it isn’t like you’re hung up on Payton, right?”

“No, definitely not.”

She took another shot of Reddi-wip to keep from asking who he was hung up on.

“I thought you were going to share.” He spun the stool around midshot and before she even knew what was happening, he kissed her.

*   *   *

The taste of Reddi-wip exploded on his tongue as it slid over Skye’s lips. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t pull away. She didn’t move closer either.

His hand slipped under the fall of her hair, caressing
the back of her neck, and he felt her swallow. He teased her lips, nibbling, asking for permission to enter.

Her mouth opened under his—cold and then, God, oh so hot.

Something hit the bar, probably the can of whipped cream. Her hand grabbed his shoulder and their tongues tangled. She tasted like chocolate and whipped cream and something else that was quintessentially her. He could kiss her all day.

He pulled away and her eyes opened. Her dark lashes created shadows on her cheeks from the overhead lights, her lips berry red and slightly swollen, her face flushed.

“I’ve wanted to taste you since the first moment I saw you.” He slid one finger from the top of her cleavage, scooping up double-chocolate icing, and brought it to his mouth, sucking the icing off. “You taste really good.”