Shattered Heart (The Hart Series) (52 page)

“Just tell me. 
With everything that’s come out tonight, I think I know, but I need to hear you
say it.”  I look back at Rachel, who’s signaling with her hands for me to go
on.  Turning back to Alex, I drop my head, resting my forehead against his
chest as I take deep breaths.

Breathlessly, I
reveal my last secret, “The baby…it’s yours.”

“Say it again.” 
His chest rumbles with his demand.  I look up into his handsome face, unable to
read his reaction.  He’s grinding his teeth together causing his jaw to flex. 
Other than that, nothing.

“The baby is
yours,” I release again, this time more confidently as I look him in the eyes. 

It feels like
eternity has passed since I told him, yet his face is still unreadable. 
Silence is all I’m met with before he drops to his knees in front of me,
clutching my body to him.  I’m frozen for a moment before my fingers find his
hair to comfort him.

“Alex, your
suit.”  I tug on his arm, but he doesn’t budge.

Resting his
forehead against my belly Alex murmurs, “Fuck my suit.”  I giggle as his arms
tighten around my waist.  “No more secrets, no more lies.”  Alex looks up the
length of my body.

I nod.  While
Alex has a moment with LJ, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.  I can’t
shake the anger and the images of Arianna and Alex together.  I shouldn’t have
to.  “What about Arianna?”

He stands up,
but doesn’t allow me to pull away.  “What about her?” 

“You slept with
her, Alex.  That’s not something I’m going to forget anytime soon.”

“I wish I had an
explanation for you.  I know it’s a lame excuse, but I honestly don’t
remember.  Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.  I know I didn’t sleep with
her, but I don’t know how I can prove that to you.  Please, Elyssa, please just
trust me.  After everything Arianna has done…”

I bang on his
chest with both fists, only to have him pull me in closer.  “You think this is
gonna be easy to forget?  That the pictures are just going to erase from my
mind.  I saw you, Alex.  I get that I shattered your faith in me, but to go and
be with
her
, I just don’t know how I’m going to put this behind me.  I
want to,” I shake my head, “I want to be with you more than anything.  Help me
believe in us again.”

“I will do
anything, Elyssa.  You have to know I wasn’t in my right mind.  You took away
everything from me.  I didn’t care if I saw the next day; all I wanted was to
drink until it didn’t hurt so much.  It doesn’t absolve me of anything, but I
want you to know it’s my truth.”

I run my hand
along his cheek, before resting it on his jaw line.  I’ve seen the pictures,
I’ve felt the heartache.  But I also believe Alex when he says he doesn’t
remember.  In my heart, I know he’d never intentionally hurt me.  And although
being drunk is no excuse, I can’t ignore the fact that what we are is bigger than
Arianna.

Alex turns his
face in, kissing my palm before pulling me in closer so that my head rests on
his shoulder.

“No more running
away.  We take care of each other now.”

There is still
so much to work through, but I’m tired of fighting.  “You sure you want to do
this?  Your baby mama is homeless and unemployed.  These are not check marks in
the pros column.”

“No, my fiancée
is beautiful, having my baby and we are moving into a new house together. 
She’s giving me the family I never imagined and is my reason for being. 
Besides, I could care less if she works as long as she’s pregnant, naked, and
waiting for me when I get home.”

The image he
paints stirs a smile, but it quickly vanishes as I look towards the double
doors as Arianna shakes hands with a few men in suits. 

“What are we
going to do about her?”

Alex leans down,
his lips brushing against mine.  “I protect what’s mine.  Let me worry about
her.  She won’t touch you or this baby.” 

“I can’t let her
hurt the baby, Alex.  I can’t.  You have to promise me.”  I look into his face,
pleading with him to give me some sense of security after months of unease.

“Cross my
Hart.”  He marks an x on my chest, giving me a dimpled grin.

Unraveling his
arms, Alex takes my hand in his, pulling me towards Rachel.

“That was an
impressive right hook, Rachel,” Alex jokes as he pulls me to his side.  I wrap
my arm around his waist.

Rachel giggles
as she shakes her hand.  “It still stings.  Movies make it seem so simple.”  We
share a laugh as Rachel looks between the two of us.  “So, you guys are good?”

I look up at
Alex.  The truth set me free, well that and letting go of my job.  Although the
pictures of him with her still bother me, I know that I have no right to be
angry with him. 

“We have a lot
to work through.”

Alex kisses me
on my temple.  “Yes, but we will work through it together.” 

“So no U-Haul
and bothering the guys to move your stuff to my place tomorrow?”

Alex answers for
me.  “She’s still moving, just into our house.”  Alex reaches into his pocket,
pulling out a key.

“Merry
Christmas, Hart.”  He places it in my palm.

“What’s this?”

“Our new home.” 

Excuse me? 
Our
new
home?  What, when, how?

“When?”

“I placed an
offer on it the week you agreed to move in with me.  I’m not going to lie.  I
almost cancelled, but I just couldn’t.  I wasn’t ready to give up on us just
yet.”

“Well, it seems
you guys are on the right track.  I better get out of here before the cops
come.  Keep your cell phones on in case I need bail.”  She laughs as she gets
into her car.  “I’ll call you tomorrow, El.  Love you.”

“Love you
more.”  I wave goodbye as Rachel pulls out and drives away.

“So what now?” 

“Make-up sex. 
Lots and lots of make-up sex.”  Alex pulls me into a constricting embrace
before kissing me as if there was no tomorrow.

This is far from
my happily ever after.  I can’t live in my fairy tale until I know the wicked
witch has been destroyed.  But I can enjoy the brief moment of joy and triumph
while Alex eagerly kisses me, deepening it with each move of his tongue.

E
PILOGUE

Jesus.  How did I ever
find this sniveling, pathetic, spineless waste of air attractive enough to let
him inside me?  I really need to remind myself to douche later on.  His weak
sperm might cause a malfunction in my uterus. 

“I did everything you
asked of me.  I followed her.  I took those pictures.  I delivered them to
her.  I basically ruined her life.  She’ll never forgive me.”  Cole takes his
head into his hands as he sits on the edge of the bed.  I can’t stand when men
cry.  They might as well grow a vagina and get the word “pussy” tattooed on
their forehead.

This façade is growing
cumbersome.  Cole may have outgrown his intended purpose.  He couldn’t even get
the simple task of following her right.

“I need you to get your
clothes on and leave.  I have company coming.”  I blot at the corners of my
lips with a tissue, removing any remnants of our brief time together.  Cole’s a
sloppy kisser.  It’s as if his tongue has a mind of its own; traveling to the
four corners of my mouth erratically.  Its times like these that make me miss
Alex.  No not miss; crave.  Missing someone is a weak emotion.  Craving is how
your body communicates sheer primal attraction.

“Who?”  Cole lifts his
head, looking at me over his shoulder.  I stand and walk over to the couch to
grab my silk kimono robe draped over the arm.

“Those photos weren’t
enough to break her.  I want her begging for her life to end.  I want her to
watch as everyone she’s ever loved is taken away from her.  Then, I’ll finally
be satisfied.”

“The photos were
convincing.  We staged it perfectly.  She’ll never get over the thought of the
two of you being together; regardless if it’s true or not.”

“It would have
happened.  Just a little more coercion and he would have…”

“Who are you kidding,
Arianna?”  Cole stands in frustration; re-buttoning his jeans and pulling on
his jeans.  “He was completely wasted.  The last thing he wanted to do was
fuck.  I had to practically glue his hands on you to take those photos.”

“Fuck off, Cole.”  I
tighten my robe around myself. 

“I can’t do this
anymore.”  He sounds pathetic and looks even worse with his head bowed down. 
Why I thought he would have enough conviction to follow through is beyond me at
this point.

“Can’t do what?  Fuck
me or go ahead with what we agreed.”  I stand with my hand resting on my hip. 
If he thinks this is over, he has another thing coming.

“She doesn’t deserve
this.”  Here we go again.  I don’t know what it is about that girl, but she
must have some fairy dust inside her because she makes men stupid.  Alex threw
away everything I gave him for what?  Love?  Ha!

“No, she doesn’t; she
deserves so much more.  And you need to remember that you agreed to go through
with this.  You’re in too deep to try to back out now.”

“I’m not doing anything
else.  I’m out.”  He throws his hands up in the air.

“You’re out huh? 
Hmmmm….do you think the police will buy into your sudden need to have a
conscious?”  I place the tip of my finger on my lip.  “I’m pretty positive
attempted murder isn’t just wiped clean by good intentions.  After the fact.”

“Stop,” he grumbles. 
Cole covers his face with his forearms; his hands resting on top of his head.

“What?  Too difficult
to hear?  You almost killed two people Cole.  Their blood is on your hands.”  I
push the verbal knife in a little deeper.

“I thought she was
him.”  His voice is muffled, but I can still hear his pathetic excuses for what
he’s already done.

“Do you think they will
forgive you for that?  Do you think your precious Elyssa will look past the
fact that you tried to kill the love of her life?”

“Stop.  Please,” he
begs, irritation flaring his nostrils.

“I can’t wait to see
what you look like in an orange jumpsuit.”

“Stop!”  Cole clutches
the sides of his head as he erupts in anger. 

My, oh my, this is a
side I’ve never seen.  It actually turns me on.  Maybe he’ll tie me up, get
rough a little.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Guess a little red room
of pain action will have to be postponed.  Business first.  I walk to the door
and open without looking through the peephole.  I must say the similarities
between father and son is astounding; dark hair, dimpled cheeks, those fierce
blue eyes.  If he fucks anything like his son does, I can only imagine I won’t
be able to walk for days.  I ache with want as my eyes run over his rough
features. 

I step back, giving him
room to step inside just past the entryway.  Obviously the years haven’t been
kind to him.  Even though he looks so much like Alex, I can see the dark
circles around his eyes and his hand me down clothes show exactly what tax
bracket he’s in.

“Cole, I need you to
leave.”  I instruct without looking back at him.  He pauses at the door, taking
in the man in front of me before pushing past and slamming the door behind him.

“Come have a seat.”  I
gesture towards the couch.  He eyes me suspiciously before walking past and
making himself at home.  “Thirsty?” 

He nods.  He looks like
a scotch man, so he’ll appreciate the 25 year old Speyburn I’m pouring on the
rocks for him.  He finishes off the glass before I even have a chance to settle
in next to him.

“Why did you ask me
here?”

“Well, I’ve come to
find out that you’ve been sniffing around my company trying to find your son.”

“What’s it to you?”

“I think we can be of
use to one another.”  I run my finger up his thigh before making its way to the
inseam of his khakis.  He grabs my wrist; I eye him through my lashes.

“What did you have in
mind?”

“Your son is in love. 
I can’t have his mind on anything besides work.”

“Work or you?”

“One in the same.”

“What do I get out of
it?”

“I figure you’re here
for a reason.”  He nods, letting go of my wrist.  I quickly unbuckle his pants
before eagerly pushing my hand inside his briefs.

He settles in, resting
his head on the back of the couch as he opens his legs farther.  Content, he questions
the deal, “So, I help you ruin his little girlfriend and I get what I want in
return.”

“Anything your heart
desires.”

“Fine.  Let’s start
with you dropping to your knees and sucking my cock.”

I think I may like my
new business partner.  I drop to my knees, eagerly pulling his pants down, and
salivate at the thought.  Elyssa thought it was over.  But I warned her, time
and time again, she didn’t want to fuck with me.