Fallen Crest High (43 page)

I swallowed over a painful knot. "Why did she want to see me before so much?"

He stood and started to pull some clothes on. As he poked his head inside of his shirt and tug it down, he remarked, "I think she wanted you to like her more than your mom. Logan and I haven't been quiet. She knew you weren't happy with
Analise
any more than we were. But now…" He trailed off as he looked towards the door.

"But now," I prompted.

He shook his head and bent to grab my clothes. He handed them over as he sat beside me again. "I have no idea."

As I fitted my bra on and reached back to clasp it, I muttered, "I bet she thinks I'm like my mom now."

He didn't respond.

I looked up and saw the pity in his eyes.

"Don't," I hissed at him. "You don't feel sorry for me, not now after all the crap that's happened to me."

The corner of his mouth curved up. "You don't know my mom."

"I know you respect her." I held his gaze for a long drawn out moment. "I know you love her and you want to protect her."

"I did." He leaned forward and kissed me. "But that was before I realized something."

"What's that?"

He stood and waited until I pulled on my underwear and jeans to tug me beside him. Then he drew me in his arms for a tight hug and spoke against my shoulder, "I'm pretty sure my mom went after your bio dad to get back at your mom."

I lifted my arms and hugged him back. "Why do you think that?"

"Because in my mom's thinking, Garrett's the only guy your mom couldn't get."

"Why do you think that?" I leaned back and looked up.

He ran a finger down the side of my face in a gentle caress. "It's something I might do, if I was pissed off enough."

"If that's true, then…" A stone dropped to the pit of my stomach and a cold feeling started to sweep through my body. "Then you're right. I should be scared of your mom."

He grinned down and lifted me so I wrapped my legs around his waist. Our eyes met and held as his hand spread out over the bottom of my back. He leaned forward and nipped at my lips. I grinned and caught him in a deep kiss when he did it again.

When he started to walk out of the room and to the elevator, he sighed against my lips, "I won't let her do anything, Logan too." He breathed against me again. "I think that's why she's so mad. We won't let her hurt you."

When the elevator rose to their floor, he set me on my feet. The door opened and he took my hand in his. "You ready for this?"

I gave his hand a squeeze.

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

When we entered the top suite, I drew in a deep breath and let go of Mason's hand. He glanced back, but I shook my head. I needed to do this on my own, somewhat. Logan sat on a couch in the corner. He had two bags of chips on the table in front of him, a small television in his corner, and a cooler beside him. His smile couldn't be wider on his face and when he saw our entrance, his hand slid into the cooler. It came back up with a beer and he started to chug half of it down.

"Are they here?"

I flinched at the tone of their mother. When no one answered, she came around the corner. Her hand was raised to fix an earring in place. When her eyes lit on me, her hand fell down in slow motion. She straightened and crossed her arms over her chest as she lifted her head high and her shoulders were squared.

For a moment, I was speechless. She was beautiful. She had a model's body, tall and lean with long legs. She wore a white business skirt with a pale pink cashmere sweater over it. A necklace of white diamonds rested above her cleavage. They matched the diamonds in her ears and I caught a flash from her wrist. My eyes couldn't get any bigger at the sight of the diamond bracelet there. Even her pale pink high heels shimmered from the diamonds on their straps.

She had golden blonde hair, which looked streaked from sunlight and that rested high in a loose bun. Tendrils fell to the nape of her neck and with her clear blue eyes; she looked the image of a goddess. But her lips had formed into a sneer as she took her time to study me in turn.

Her wrist flicked at me with irritation. "This is
Analise's
daughter?"

Logan choked out a laugh, but guzzled some more of his beer.

Mason and their mother threw him a glare. He sank back against the couch and raised a hand across his lips. They were zipped.

Mason frowned at him, but sighed. "Yes, mother. This is Samantha."

Someone buzzed on the door and Logan jumped to his feet. He scurried around the room to open the door. Garrett
Brickshire
straightened as he viewed the room dressed in a navy blue suit. He'd been leaning with an arm near the top of the door.

"What's he doing here?" Mason rounded to his mother.

Logan's eyes widened. His smile grew and he hurried back to his seat. He picked up a bag of chips this time and started to munch on them.

Their mother grimaced, but swept past us. She rested a hand to Garrett's chest as his lips skimmed a kiss to her cheek. She gave Mason a small smile. "I figured it's appropriate. He is her real father after all, and you know about the two of us. We can deal with two birds with one stone tonight.
Mmmm
?
Don't you agree?"

Mason glanced at Logan. "You okay with this?"

He made a show of showing his zipped lips again and shrugged.

"Thanks." Mason didn't hold back a wry tone to his voice.

Logan bobbed his head up and down as he reached for another beer.

And then there was another buzz at the door. Helen frowned as she walked to it and peered through the peephole. "Who could that be—oh my god." She turned back with a panicked look on her face. Her chest started to rise and fall at a rapid pace and she seethed at Mason, "Were you behind this?"

"What—no…"

Garrett rubbed a hand over his jaw and shook his head. A low baritone chuckle escaped him. "Now, darling, it only seemed appropriate for me to call her. She is my daughter's real mother after all."

"Garrett," she snapped and cursed at him. "Now's not the time to be charming."

He lifted a shoulder and arched an eyebrow before he perched on a couch's end. "Answer it, darling. They're going to find out anyway and it might as well be now. They can't be angry at us later for withholding information. I know
Analise
would throw that at me."

"Mom, what's going on…
"
The words died in Mason's throat as she opened the door and his father walked in, followed by my mother. Both of them wore reserved expressions, but when
Analise
saw Garrett, she sucked in her breath. Her face stretched at every angle over her skull. She looked in pain and then her eyes swung towards Helen. A confused look replaced the horrified one.

Logan groaned behind us. Something that sounded like a mix of laughter and curses slipped out. He snorted next and pressed his head into a couch cushion as his shoulders shook.

"Honey, what are you doing here?"
Analise
asked me. She was cold and formal.

"Helen? Why are we here?"

All eyes turned towards James, who was frowning at Mason.

Garrett stood from his perch and stretched to his fullest height. "She didn't call you. I did."

Analise
jerked forward with fists clenched to her sides. "Why?"

He swung his head towards us. "Ask them. I was doing my fatherly duty." His lip curled up in a mocking manner.

"Sam?"

"Mason?"

"Garrett, what are you doing here? Sam, did you call him?"

I choked on my own vomit. "Are you kidding me?"

He drawled out again, "Nah, the girl doesn't want anything to do with me,
Lise
. You did a good job. She hates the sight of me."

I ducked my head and wished I could disappear. This was not somewhere I wanted to be.

"Why? What did you do to her?"

"Honey," James tone was soothing. "We were called here for a reason. Helen, you weren't behind this?"

She choked out an angry snort. "Are you kidding me? I'd like to handle our sons without your interference."

"And why would you have to handle them?" His tone cooled. "Mason? What is your mother referring to?"

Analise's
look was filled with loathing as she glared towards Garrett. "Why in the world are you here?"

Helen's laughter peeled out this time. "I can take credit for that one,
Analise
." Her lip curled up in disdain. "You're going to find out anyway. Everything's going to come out now."

"What are you talking about, Helen?"

"Helen, let's spare some of the sordid details."

She threw a seductive grin towards Garrett. "I think I'm going to have to. Your ex doesn't look like she can handle all the details, not just yet anyway."

My mother paled and she jerked forward a step. "What are you talking about? Garrett, what is she talking about?"

He threw his head back and rolled back his shoulders. A cocky smirk came out. "I'm leaving my wife,
Lise
. I fell in love with someone else." And he threw a pointed look towards the middle of the room.

Analise
seared everyone with a glare. "And why do I get the feeling you're not talking about your daughter?"

Helen smirked and poised with a hand to her hip. "He's talking about me,
Lise
. We were going to wait until his divorce was final, but we're engaged." And with that, she flipped a ring around on her finger. The diamond was double the size of my mother's. It sparkled as she wiggled her fingers around. "You like it? It matches the rest of my accessories. Only another woman can appreciate my outfit."

Mason groaned next to me and sat on the couch beside Logan. He passed the chips and the two munched away.

Analise
gasped as the information sunk in and James cursed under his breath. He pulled his fiancé back with a hand tucked around her arm. "Are you kidding me, Helen? And how did the two of you meet? I'm supposed to believe it was by chance?"

"Oh no."
Helen oozed with arrogance. "You see, when you started to run around behind my back with her, I hired a private investigator. And I learned all sorts of things, including the biological father of Samantha Jacquelyn
Strattan
. From there, all the pieces fell into place. It wasn't even hard to get the man
Analise
never could. Garrett and I had instant chemistry—"

He grunted. "We did.
Screwed on the first date."
He shrugged then. "Of course, it helped that my wife had already cheated on me and I learned about it that day."

"Oh my goodness."
Analise
bent over as she started to pant. "Honey, I can't breathe."

There was a look of enjoyment in Helen's eyes that had me snarling. I shot to my feet. "They called you here because of me. I'm screwing Mason."

And then someone else buzzed at the door.

James bit out a curse as he wrenched it open. He stopped in shock as David stood there, with Malinda behind him.

David scanned the inside and turned back. It wasn't long before Malinda left and he stepped inside.

"Great."
Analise
was livid. "This is great. Where'd your girlfriend go this time? She's not here to support you?"

David frowned, but his eyes rested on me. A tinge of concern had seeped into them. "I can see this is a family-only matter. Malinda came with me for support if I should need it. Her son came as well. I believe he's attending a party in this suite later on."

Logan choked on some beer and struggled to keep it in. Mason belted him on the back.

"Who called you?"

David glanced around, but Garrett lifted another finger in the air. The look of amusement was evident as he couldn't hold back a grin. "I did. Again, I thought it was only appropriate."

"Garrett," Helen hissed. "Stop interfering."

He extended a hand towards me. "She's my daughter. I called her mother and the man who's her real father. He raised her all her life." Then he strode forward and shook hands with David. "I'm the sperm donor.
Nice to meet you."

"You too."
The two sized each other up and after a moment stepped back.

Analise
rolled her eyes. "You two are okay with each other?"

Garrett gave her a polite smile. "We've both had to deal with you."

David added, "It's a bonding experience."

Logan choked back another laugh. When everyone turned to glare, he displayed his zipped lips again and stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth.

"You let them drink in the open?"

Helen turned, at a loss. "Excuse me?"

"They're underage, Helen. They aren't allowed to drink." He gestured towards his sons, who both had a beer in hand. "And they're throwing a party here tonight?"