Sucker Bet (21 page)

"So are we going to call it a day and meet back up tonight? Or would you like to go with me to pop by my friend Brittany's house? She and the baby are home from the hospital and I wanted to pay her a visit and see if she needs anything."

Go back to his place alone or hang out with Gwenna? No contest. "Sure. I'd love to go with you. Just tell me where to drive."

Gwenna really needed some kind of pill to cure her of poor decision-making skills. Or maybe it was more that she suffered from appallingly bad luck.

Either way, it was horribly ironic that she would show up at Brittany and Corbin's to see baby Ava at the same time Roberto was comfortably ensconced in their sitting room and having a chat.

Brittany had warned her at the door, with a whispered "Donatelli's here," and a curious glance in Nate's direction.

But when Gwenna had suggested they come back later, Brittany had waved her hand in dismissal of the idea, and Nate had said, "Your ex-husband's here? I would
love
to meet him." He stuck his hand out and shook Brittany's with a firm "I'm Nate Thomas. It's a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on your baby. Gwenna says she's beautiful."

"Oh, thanks so much. I'm Brittany Atelier. Come on in." She smiled at Nate and gestured for them to come in. "Where have you two been? You're all dressed up."

"A funeral," Nate said quickly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Brittany glanced between them. "Well, we're glad you could stop by. Sorry it's not the greatest timing. I didn't know…" She jerked her head toward the interior of the house. "You know how he is. Like a freight train rolling through."

"Trust me, I know," Gwenna said wryly, hoping like hell that Brittany would catch on that Nate was mortal. But given that Brittany was the child of Roberto and a mortal mother, she had particularly good instincts when it came to telling mortals from vamps.

Gwenna just didn't want her to say anything she shouldn't in front of Nate. It occurred to her as she anxiously followed Brittany into the house that she really should have called ahead. This was a lousy spontaneous plan. But she had been avoiding letting Nate go home by himself, and the other reasonable option—grabbing a bite to eat—was out of the question given that she wouldn't eat and he already appeared to suspect her of anorexia.

But now she was walking into God only knew what sort of confrontation.

"Maybe we really should stop by another time."

"We're already here," Nate said, looking down at her, his eyes flashing. He was ready for a fight with Roberto, she could see it.

In theory, the idea of two men squabbling over her was sexy. In reality, it was a bit embarrassing.

Especially when Roberto wasted no time in being rude. As the round of introductions were made, he casually looked Nate over and said, "So you're Gwenna's latest boy toy. What are you… cop, fireman, construction worker? She's been in a workingman phase recently."

He couldn't have shocked her more if he'd stood up, dropped his drawers, and did a naked tap dance. "Roberto!" What was almost as amazing as his words was that she could still be surprised by anything he did. If he wanted to embarrass her, or destroy any relationship she might have with Nate, he was determined to do it. And Roberto was an intelligent strategist. Instead of playing the irrational jealous ex-husband—which he was—he had simply painted her a tart. The complete and total bastard.

But Nate didn't look particularly shocked or disgusted. He wasn't recoiling from her or demanding she find her own ride back to his house. He just met Roberto's look dead on and said, "I'm a cop, and yes, I'm her latest boy toy. You must be the asshole ex-husband she complains about. The one who has nothing better to do than be pathetic and call his ex-wife seventeen times a day."

Yikes. Roberto's face turned the color of an eggplant. And he had a tick in his left eye that spelled serious trouble. Gwenna reached out for Nate's arm. They needed to leave.

"Well, now that we're all clear on who's who…" Brittany smiled cheerfully at each of them, obviously determined to brazen through the awkwardness. "Who wants to hold the baby?"

Corbin, Brittany's husband, looked irritated with all of them, and unwilling to part with his daughter. But he didn't protest when Nate said, "I would love to hold the baby."

Passing Ava over with multiple warnings about her floppy head, soft spot, and umbilical cord stump, Corbin watched Nate suspiciously as he adjusted Ava into a cradle position. But Nate looked like he knew what he was doing, and he was comfortable holding her. He ran his finger over her lip and smiled down at her.

Gwenna was unprepared for the kick in the heart that gave her. Not to mention the unexpected rush of heat in her inner thighs, which was just wrong. She should not be feeling any sort of desire for Nate Thomas with her ex-husband and an innocent baby present. Nate made a funny face at Ava and said, "You're so pretty, yes you are. You're just gorgeous," in a singsong voice.

And there it was again. Lust. The man solved murders, cared about women and children, wanted to beat up her ex, and was good in the sack. Damn it, she was in trouble.

Brittany was watching Nate in pleased amusement, Corbin was relaxing, and Roberto looked like he'd swallowed a hard-boiled egg. Nate seemed intentionally oblivious to Roberto, and quite enamored of little Ava. Gwenna found herself quite enamored of Nate, and wishing a meteor would hit Roberto. The latter wasn't a new feeling. The other thing, about Nate, was so fresh, so unexpected, so outside of her normal dull existence, she wasn't at all sure how to deal with it.

Because the absolute only thing wrong with Nate, that she could see, was that he was mortal. Which was more than a bit of a problem, it was a catastrophe, and one she needed to remind herself of repeatedly, particularly after sex when she was inclined to think that it wouldn't be a bad idea to spend a decade or two naked with Nate.

Roberto stood up. "A word in private, Gwenna."

That ought to be a good time. "Sure," Normally, she would put him off, but she didn't want any confrontations with her ex and Nate, nor did she want Roberto doing something like wiping Nate's memories out, which he was perfectly capable of doing. And think what a bloody shame it would be if Nate didn't remember their massage table encounter. Besides, if she tried, she could usually hear Roberto's thoughts, and at the moment he was actually more hurt than angry that she was with another man. It had nicked his heart, given the morose thoughts he was having, which almost made her feel indulgent toward him.

She didn't suppose she would have appreciated seeing Roberto with another woman either. Oh, wait. She had. A dozen times or more while they were still married.

Sympathy disappeared. As did her patience and her politeness. "You know what, actually, I've changed my mind, Roberto. I'm not in the mood to talk to you. And Nate and I have plans and we really need to get going. So unless you have something earth-shattering and vital to either of our existences, you can wait. In fact, why don't you send me an e-mail? That would be best all round for everyone."

She turned and gave Brittany a kiss on the cheek. "I'll stop by at a better time."

"Okay. Good to see you." Brittany reached to take Ava from Nate.

Corbin touched Gwenna's sleeve. "Your brother stopped by last night after the… event. Perhaps you should speak to him about ze future."

Gwenna stared at Corbin. What the hell did that mean? "Alright, then. If you think there's something to be discussed."

"Yes, I do." He was giving her all kinds of meaningful looks, so she tuned in to his internal thoughts, knowing he was giving her permission.

Chechikov is mortal now, and in hiding, you know zis, yes? Well, beware of his wife. There is something I do not like about her, and Ethan said she was at the ball last night with Ringo. That makes me suspicious of her.

"Okay." It occurred to Gwenna that maybe Corbin would be a good person to discuss the slayers' loop murders with. He knew all the parties involved, and he would focus in on the important facts, not harass her with safety tips. "Let's talk later." She was forced to say it out loud since Corbin was no longer vampire and couldn't hear her thoughts in return. He had used a vaccine he had created on himself, returning to a mortal state, and he had done the same to Chechikov as punishment for kidnapping Brittany.

Corbin nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I heard that, by the way," Roberto said. "If you let in one, you let in all of us. But in this case, I agree with Atelier. I'm suspicious, too. Though I don't think it's any concern of Gwenna's."

Wonderful. Leave it to Roberto to get the last word in.

"Heard what?" Nate asked. "What are you talking about?"

Roberto raised an eyebrow. "Mind your own fucking business."

"Hey!" Brittany shot him a dirty look, and turned her daughter away from Donatelli. "Watch your mouth in front of the baby."

"She's an infant," Roberto protested.

"Precisely," Brittany snapped at him. "We had a deal. I said you could visit Ava if you were on your best behavior and didn't do anything to corrupt her."

Roberto looked so confused Gwenna felt the urge to laugh. In his world of wheeling, dealing, drugs, and stealing, using off-color language was hardly the worst offense he could make.

"Using a swear word in front of a three-day-old baby is going to corrupt her? I find it hard to believe your mother didn't swear in front of you and you turned out just fine."

"Leave my mother out of this." Brittany's cheeks turned pink.

"Donatelli, watch what you say to my wife." Corbin was off the couch and over to Brittany.

"What? I just said—"

Gwenna interrupted him, enjoying that particular novelty. "Roberto, why don't you head out with Nate and I? I think we're all finished being a dysfunctional family for the moment, and I suspect Brittany could use a rest."

"You go ahead," Roberto said. "I want to speak to my daughter."

Brittany rolled her eyes.

Gwenna sighed. He just couldn't keep quiet. Now she was going to have to lie to Nate yet again. Better to do it in private, though. So she just waved to Brittany and Corbin and took Nate's hand—sure to inspire murderous thoughts in Roberto's mind—and went out the front door.

"Daughter? Who the hell is his daughter?" Nate glanced back at the house as he pulled his keys out of his pocket.

Gwenna jumped in the passenger side as soon as he clicked the door unlocked. She decided to go with the truth, as close there to it as she could. "Brittany's his daughter. Ava is his granddaughter."

"What? How is
that
possible? He can't be any more than forty. Which makes him too young to be Brittany's father, and too old to be your ex-husband."

There was possibly truth to that. Roberto was fourteen years older than her, and he hadn't aged well. He looked a decade older than his mortal age at death. He had been the adult when she had met him, in his thirties, and he had taken advantage of her naivety. No question about it.

"He's a bit older than forty." A lot older. "And he had a misguided youth. Brittany's mother was an exotic dancer he had no business having an affair with at his age." Let Nate interpret that however he chose. "But he did, and there you have it. Brittany is the result. It's only been a few months since DNA testing proved his paternity. Neither of them knew he was her father."

"Wow. That's a little awkward, huh?"

"Very awkward. But Brittany is a generous person and she's willing to give him a chance to be in her life. Hopefully for both their sakes, he won't screw it up." She clicked her seat belt. "I'm sorry about that. I had no idea he would be there."

"Not your fault. And hell, he doesn't bother me. Just another prick who thinks he's right—I deal with them every day." Nate put his hands on the steering wheel, the car already running. "So where are we going now?"

Gwenna ran her hand through her hair, flipping it back over her shoulder. She was anxious, restless, irritated, and not sure why. Maybe it was the obvious—that she needed to let go of Nate. It was very selfish on her part to drag him into vampire politics and the personal squabblings of their inner circle. She felt guilty that she was lying to him repeatedly, giving him only bits and pieces of information. Granted, it wasn't like it was possible to be totally honest with him, but it was still troublesome.

A small part of her also realized that Nate was still a man. And she was supposed to be entering a new, totally independent phase of her life, and how much could she really do that if she was involved with a man like Nate, who was confident and protective, saw the world entirely in black and white, and was maybe even just a bit controlling?

Those things were all true, and Gwenna knew that she couldn't continue to see Nate. It wasn't practical. Smart. Or good for her mental health.

Yet they still had now. Today. She wanted that. Wanted him.

"Let's go to the casino," she said. "I feel like gambling."

Nate gave her a funny look. "You don't have plans to meet Slash, do you? You know how I feel about that."