Trusting Fate (4 page)

“
You are the best mommy eva!
”
he screamed.

I was unpacking some boxes in the kitchen when I heard a knock at my door.
“
Who in the world could that be
…
?
”
I looked out the peep hole and saw his car. Mr. Greene was standing at my front door and I was wearing an old T-shirt and jeans with my hair on top of my head in a messy bun.
Holy crap.
I so did not have time to change, and he knew I was home because my car was in the driveway. How did he know where I lived?

I quickly opened the door and he was leaning on the door frame, wearing a pair of tight jeans and a black leather jacket.
Crap, he looks good.
“
Mr. Greene, to what do I owe this surprise?
”
I asked nervously.

“
Hello Gabriella, honestly I am really not sure. I wanted to congratulate you on your new home and I also wanted to see you and please call me Jace outside the office. Mr. Greene makes me feel like my father and I hate that bastard,
”
he smiled.

“
Okay Jace, um would you like to come in? My son is asleep and my house is a mess because I just moved in today, so I have to apologize in advance.
”

He eyed me carefully.
“
Yes, Gabriella, I would love to come in. I hope I am not interrupting anything,
”
he said.

“
No, of course not, I was just unpacking. But please, call me Gabby. Only my mother calls me Gabriella,
”
I winked at him.
Oh great I winked, good one Gab.

I watched him look around my house, which I am sure is nothing like where he lives, but I was proud of it.

“
Your house is nice, Gabby. Does your son like it yet?
”
he asked.

Strange to be asked about my son by him, but it seemed innocent.
“
Yes, he is very excited. His room was small at my old apartment and he didn
’
t have a lot of space to be a boy, you know?
”
I said.

He nodded his head.
“
So Gabby, I really hope I am not being too forward here, but I wanted to see you and I couldn
’
t wait until Monday at work,
”
he said.

My pulse sped up and I found myself staring at his gorgeous head of hair.
“
Sure Jace, why did you want to see me?
”
I said, questioning his motives.

“
Well I find myself drawn to you, in ways that I cannot explain or understand. I just wanted you to know that I have been thinking about you and that while I will not rush anything, I want to spend more time with you outside of work. You do not have to answer right now, but think about it. Please?
”
he said urgently.

Oh my, I was already thinking about it. I would be lying if I said no.

I smiled and said,
“
Okay Jace, I will think about it. I have a lot on my plate at the moment and I am not sure how I would fit in dating. As I have told you, I have a 2 and half year-old son. He keeps me really busy and my parents live kind of far away. Sometimes I feel like I don
’
t know how I even make it to work. But I love being a mother so I deal with it,
”
I smiled at him.

The way he looked at me was like he was staring into my soul. He made me uncomfortable, but in a good way. I would be lying if I said that I didn
’
t want to date him or be around him more than just at the office, but how could this work? Did he like kids? I couldn
’
t tell what kind of man he was, but I knew that he was thoughtful and a very to-the-point kind of guy.

“
Gabby, it makes me very happy that you will consider this. Like I said with my offer at work
…
you will not be disappointed,
”
he grinned and kissed me on the cheek. Then he left, just like that, leaving me breathless and dizzy. I wasn
’
t sure how I was going to work in the building, let alone side by side with this gorgeous man. I locked my front door and went and curled into bed, letting the exhaustion of this past week take me prisoner.

Jace

I have not been so emotionally disturbed in all of my life. I feel like I am this whole new person around Gabby. She lights up my whole reason for existence and she has from the moment I first laid eyes on her. Screwing this up was not an option and she was not about to sneak out of my life again like she did years ago. How do I even begin to explain to her who I really am? She seems so good and fragile, I am scared to death to tell her the truth and have her think I am some kind of stalker. Which okay, so I have been doing some stalking
…
but I cannot help myself. She just has this light all around her and I do not know how some other poor bastard has not noticed it yet. Most of my life I have slept around with countless women, and I never felt an ounce of emotion, or anything for that matter, for them. Not until the night I met Gabby and my entire world changed. I spent a lot of time, money, and resources trying to find her. After I eventually gave up I was trying to get my life back in order. But sleeping around with just any woman was not cutting it anymore. I have been very busy with taking over my family's company, so that helps the time pass. I just wish I knew how to tell her without losing her again.

Chapter 6

Gabby

Monday morning arrived and I had never been so frazzled or felt so out of control in my life. I was grateful for the busywork to distract me from my sex on a stick boss. That man makes me crazy, and just knowing that he wants me too is all the more intoxicating, but I feel like I cannot afford this type of distraction.

It was around lunchtime when my phone buzzed. It was Taylor, sending me a picture of her and Theo through Snapchat. His preschool was closed for the day and she wanted to spend time with him. I had just started letting her keep him alone. I loved Tay enough to trust her and she always surprised me with him. Theo loved her and always listened to her.

I was distracted and smiling when Jace came out of his office. He walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder, startling me.

“
Oh, Mr. Greene, I am really sorry, I didn
’
t mean to have my phone out. My friend is babysitting today so I was just checking on my son,
”
I said, nervous that he had caught me on my phone.

“
Gabby, it
’
s alright. Is that your son in the picture? May I see it?" he asked.

Weird but sweet that he is taking interest.
“
Sure,
”
I said and handed him the phone. He smiled and then studied the picture very carefully.

“
He is very cute, although he does not look a thing like you, my dear,
”
he smiled.

That I did know. He must look just like his father. Please dear lord don
’
t ask me about his father.

“
So Gabby, does he look like his father then?
”
he asked.

And there it is
…
crap.
“
Well I would hope so,
”
I said. Oh geez,
Gabby. Really, you hope so?
He must think I am nuts. He was studying me very closely.

“
I
’
m sorry if I have offended you, Gabby. I didn
’
t mean to pry. You have just never mentioned a boyfriend so I was curious.
”

“
Yes, no husband and no boyfriend. Honestly, I don
’
t love to talk about Theo
’
s father. I
’
m sorry,
”
I said.

“
Gabby, please do not apologize to me about that. It was rude of me to ask. I just wanted to make sure you weren
’
t involved with someone else while I was pursuing you this way.
”
He smiled, handing me my phone back and then went to leave, but paused at the elevators.

“
Gabby, your son reminds me of my younger brother. He appears to be full of life and even looks slightly the same in the face and hair. It is very nice. He seems like a sweet boy,
”
he said, smiling.

I was so confused by what that meant. He got on the elevator and was gone. I wondered why he looked so sad when he said my son was sweet. He didn
’
t seem the type to like children. I wasn't sure how to feel about all of this. I quickly brushed the thoughts aside.

Jace

Sweet boy? What was I thinking? How can I just casually throw things like that out there? I am not sure why I am so obsessed with Gabriella Thomas, but whatever this compulsive obsession is, I need to find out really quickly and ease the cravings I have for this woman. She is absolutely incredible and I need to find out what she is hiding. I think what scares me the most is how familiar her son looks to me. Like I have seen his picture somewhere
…
he looks a lot like someone I think I know. My brother. Obviously he isn
’
t my brother
’
s child, but that would mean one of two things
…
.either my brother had an affair with same woman I slept with, or this child is mine. I am not sure how I would feel about having a son, much less having one and not being there for all this time. I wouldn
’
t even know what to do with a child or how to take care of one. Gabby would hate me forever if she found out that I was the father, but what doesn
’
t make sense to me is she seemed to sort of know who he was, but she didn
’
t want to discuss it. One thing is for sure
…
I am related to that boy. There is no denying it at all. Could she really be so na
ï
ve to think I wouldn
’
t figure it out? Or does she honestly not remember that night that we shared together at all? She couldn
’
t if she doesn
’
t think I am that boy
’
s father.

I had to get to the bottom of this. I pulled out my phone and called one of my oldest friends who is my lawyer by day and private investigator by night. He doesn
’
t exactly do his detective work legally but hey, not all of us are rats
…
I only use him when I am in desperate need of information on someone, and right now I am desperate. He answered on the first ring as usual. To be honest, he is a total drama whore. He loves to hear what kind of dirt I am wanting dug up and who it is on.

“
Hey Mikey, it
’
s Greene. Look man, I need a background check on a Miss Gabriella Thomas. Her DOB is 10/1/90. I need to know when her son was born and the names on the birth certificate.
”
My voice was shaking the whole time.

“
Geez Greene, did you knock up some poor girl and not know it?
”
he laughed.

“
Yeah maybe, something like that. Look man, can you help me or not?" I asked annoyed and he knew I was not messing around.

“
Yeah Greene, sure man I can help you. Consider it done,
”
he said.

I hung up the phone and paced the office halls as soon as I get into my office from the elevator. Could there really be a chance that the most incredible night I ever had was also a night that could quite possibly forever change my life? I quickly walked back to my office, I noticed Gabby was still at her desk so I was glad my phone vibrated in my pocket so that I could slip into my office quickly.
“
Greene,
”
I said sharply.

“
Hey man, it
’
s Mikey. Look the name listed for mother on the birth certificate is Gabriella Thomas and the baby boy
’
s name is Theodore Michael Thomas. He was born on 10/4/2011, weighing 6 lbs. 2 oz.,
”
he said.

“
Was there no father's name?
”
I asked, concerned.

“
No, it
’
s blank under the father
’
s part. Sorry man,
”
he said.