Wicked Flower (30 page)

Stefan cradled the cell between his ear
and shoulder and finally finagled the door open.

“Five works. Bye, babe,” he said and
closed the door behind him, trying his best to sound like himself.

Inside, he hovered in the foyer, thinking
long and hard.

He’d have to be dumb not to know Dani
would try to contact him. Should he talk to Dani about what his mom had said,
now that he could replay the conversation without the need to pound something?
Try and convince her to give things with her baby’s father a chance? Maybe this
guy would have a change of heart when he came back and saw her swollen belly
with his child inside. How different would Stefan’s life
had
been if he’d had that chance with Amanda?

That shit pissed him off so bad.

He didn’t need to call
Tris
back. His phone rang and it was her. He flipped on a
light switch, glad to see property management had done its well-paid job of
keeping the power on and accepted the call, even though
Tris
had jumped the gun and called early. He’d have done the same thing for her.

“Hey baby, what’s wrong,”
Tris
asked right from the jump. She knew him so well. “You
said you needed help. I’m all ears.” A baby, most likely her little Eddie,
jabbered in the background. Trista cooed at him sweetly.

“It’s not important, I can call back
later,” Stefan offered. Did he really need
Tris
to
tell him it was safe to have sex with a pregnant lady? Dani had made it to her
checkup this morning and with the way she’d been sneaking looks at him during
their pancakes, his guess was that she’d asked the doc and been answered. Of
course none of that mattered now.

“No, come on now. You know I’ll get it
out of you.”

She was right. But things just didn’t
seem meant to be with him and Dani.
Going in to all that over
the phone with
Tris
made him want to scratch out his
eyes.
He could just pretend, maybe that would be easier. “I met
someone,” he said, amazed he’d admitted that out loud.
“
Tris
?
You there?”

“Sweetie!
That’s
wonderful, sorry I just, was a little surprised is all. So tell me about this
someone.” Trista used soft words to calm her baby after that burst of
excitement she’d had for him. He could see her with the cute little pill
bouncing on her hip, even in his rotten mood. Dani would be a good mom like
Tris
.

Where did he start? Admitting all this
would hurt later when he had to tell
Tris
there would
be no one coming back with his sorry ass. “Her name is Dani. Not that it
matters now,” he muttered and wiped his hand over his hair. He scratched at the
stubble already growing back. That shit was coming off when he got off the
phone.

“And when and where did you meet?”

Obviously she hadn’t heard all of what
he’d said. She cooed more for Eddie. He wanted to smile but didn’t have it in
him.

Trista didn’t need to hear his pity
party. What good would it do to bring her down? He’d keep up with the charade.

“Stef?”

Fuck, this was
gonna
hurt.

“She’s an old family friend actually.”
He thought of the thing he cherished most about Dani. “And she’s been taking
care of my mom.”

“Well, she must be pretty special for
you to call just to tell me about her. You sure there’s nothing else. You said
you needed help.”

“Oh, you know me. I just wanted to call
and hear your gorgeous voice.”

“Yeah, nice try.
Stefan. Listen
to me. You’re a good man. I’ve always known that when you found the right girl
she was
gonna
be very lucky and it was
gonna
knock you on your ass.”
Tris
giggled warmly. He missed her. She’d been like a loving sister to him.
Never judged him not once.
Kicked his ass plenty of times
but out of love. “Is this the ‘I’ve been knocked on my ass,
Tris
,
and I don’t know how to get back up’ call I’ve been waiting to get from you? Is
that the help you need?”

What could he say? That’s exactly what
this was. He just hadn’t realized it in time. He’d been playing a game this
whole time with Dani and now it was too late. He’d lost.
 

“Lucky is a lucky man,
Tris
.”

“He is,” she said. He could see her
winking in his mind. “But that’s the thing. I’m just as lucky as him. Without
each other, we’d have self-destructed. But had we met when I wasn’t ready, it
never would have worked. You, of all people, know that’s true.”

He took a moment to let the reasons
behind her words sink in. Remembering that night when he and Lucky had found
her and Jaxon beaten and left like trash in the street bubbled to the top of
his heart. He hated remembering that shit but he also never wanted to forget
it. You had to protect the ones you loved. It’s why he’d kept the number of
people he loved to a minimum. All the time he spent away from home, it would
kill him not to be there if he was needed. “I do. You’re so fucking smart,
Tris
.”

“I love you too, Stef. So this Dani, is
she someone I might get to meet anytime soon? Jaxon was telling Lucky and me at
dinner last night that tour rehearsals are just about to get started week after
next. He was joking—at least I think he was joking—that he hadn’t heard much
from you and Will. That he was
gonna
have to go
snatch you guys up and drag you back home. Have you asked your Dani to come to
opening night? I’d love to meet her. I’m so glad the tour’s kicking off in
Nashville.”

If she only knew how wanting that had
driven him insane, because now there was no chance of it happening. “Not yet. I
was still trying to figure that part out. Like I said, she takes care of my
mom. So…”
His mom who wouldn’t be coming back with him
either.

Before he could go any further,
Tris
chimed in. “You know, Lucky and I were just driving
home the other day and there’s a large ranch style house, it’s pretty big, between
us and the dress shop, that just went up for sale. It’s got its own little
running creek with the cutest little bridge.
Lots of trees.
Not too far from the studio. It made me think of you since I hear from Jaxon
every other day that you still haven’t gotten off your ass and bought a place
yet. His words, not mine, sweetie. It’s huge.
Has to be at
least five bedrooms.
Guess what else?”

“What?”
As long as he
was torturing himself.

“It’s white.”

Stefan chuckled for the first time in a
few days it seemed. She was persistent. “What do I need with such a big ass
house,
Tris
? Huh?” he was mostly teasing her. He’d
already planned to find a place big enough to fit at least him and Will. The
dream of including his mom and Dani popped like he’d just shot a bubble with a
mean ass sharp little needle. His head throbbed. Rubbing his temples did
nothing.

“Well, a nice big house solves your lady
problem.
Mrs. Gina and Miss Dani.”

She paused but not long enough for him
to stutter through anything more coherent than, “Whoa.”

“Don’t whoa me. I’ll text you the
realtor’s number. You do need a place, after all. In the meantime, I have one
more question about this someone special.”

“Okay, shoot.” Why the hell not? His
heart couldn’t hurt any worse at this point and
Tris
was like the big sister he’d never had who found all kinds of crazy joy
planning out his fairy tale life. Yeah, he’d pay like hell for it when they
hung up but he’d give her this much.

“Does she make you happy, Stef?”

“Fuck. Yes she does.” His heart may as
well have flat lined.
 
His fucking eyes
thought he’d let them get away with tears but he wiped that shit away. “She
doesn’t close her eyes when we kiss.”

Tris
cooed quietly
on the other end, this time he was sure it was for his pathetic, soppy ass and
not her baby. Stefan knew exactly what her face would look like with that big
ass smile and turquoise eyes. Yeah, it was no secret, he’d crushed on
Tris
back when she’d finally hit twenty and had been
working for the band a few years. But both he and Jaxon had declared her off
limits.
No matter what.
She was their adopted little
sister. If Lucky ever broke her heart, Stefan would hurt him.
Bad.

“Lucky doesn’t either. They’re not
ashamed of us. No matter how much we’ve screwed up in the past. It’s freaking precious.”

“
Tris
, I want
it to work with her. But there’s more to it than me being happy.” It was like
he physically couldn’t keep the damn truth to himself.

“I understand, Stef. I do. Trust me on
this because I speak from experience. If it’s meant to be, it doesn’t matter
how much the two of you, or the world for that matter, tries to fuck it up.
Eventually, love gets us all, babe.
Even your hot, horny
little ass.”

“I love you, Trista.”

“I know. Glad you called, aren’t
ya
?”

“Smart ass.
I’ll see you
soon.”

“Go get our girl. Bye, Hon.”

They hung up. Stefan took a few minutes
and a lazy stroll through the bottom level of the house to get a grip on all
the shit the call with
Tris
had just stirred up. His
mom’s words were still stuck in the back of his mind, mostly because he cared
about Dani and knew he wanted the best for her and her baby. But fuck if he
didn’t know with everything he was that he could be good for her. For them, he
amended. He punched the wall. Property management had a hole to fix.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dani was lost.

Will had sent her off with the
address programmed into the GPS and the cryptic message that if Stefan screwed
things up, to give him another chance. Actually Will had asked Dani to give
Stefan several chances because he would most surely screw up more ways than one.
Guy thing, he’d said and hugged her.

Finally, she pulled the Buick
through a thick section of tree line and found the private driveway that led to
the biggest home she’d ever seen. Mansion came to mind.

She parked alongside Stefan’s
Mercedes and walked up to the front door.

With as much Will Cordero as she
could muster, she knocked loudly.

It took a minute, time she used
to scope out the several A-frame levels and windows and garages of the home,
but eventually the door opened.

“What are you doing here?” he
asked.

Chance number
one used and now onto number two.
He wasn’t going to make this easy but
she was determined to get inside. Yes, to the house, but more importantly, his
heart.

“The least you could say is
‘Please come inside.’”

“No, the best thing I could say
is go away, Dani.”

Okay, so she had two choices
here, if this was how he was going to play. She could either slam him with the
L word which would surely leave him stunned enough to let her pass inside or
she could go this route.

“You owe me dinner and amazing
sex, Hon.
I’m
not leaving until I get both.
Unless you’re incapable of providing those things for a woman.”

Bingo. He stepped out of the doorway
and let her pass.

Yes, that had been a clever
little intro of hers because Stefan wasn’t the only one who knew how to get
what he wanted when he really wanted his way. With the way he still stood there
taking her in right now, her Superman, she envisioned at least a few more chances
in his future. But she had to make sure they also took a moment to talk. Her
little black and white print out was in her purse on the breakfast bar in the
dining room. She
’d probably need
help getting back to
it.
First things first, pregnant lady and all.

“Stefan, am I close to a restroom?”

His jaw flexed and she found that
the light stubble growing in was the hottest look she’d seen on him.

“Take your pick,” he said. He
sounded distracted.

The way he had yet to sit down on
any of the luxurious furniture, Stefan seemed uncomfortable, too. Maybe he was
still thinking about the rose garden fiasco. It had taken a couple hours of
talking but apparently, she was in love with Stefan and when she talked about
him, it was clear. She’d earned Gina’s blessing to be here and some very good
news that Dani couldn’t wait to share with Stefan.
After she
peed.

Dani wandered around some more,
thinking she’d found a bathroom only to be wrong. She continued checking doors
while her bladder squeezed. Their morning had started out so scattered. Coming
here to find Stefan felt right on the drive over. Landing at his doorstep to a
stiffer than usual bad boy had given her doubts but who wouldn’t have felt that
way after the way Gina had unintentionally hurt him? That was the other reason
Dani had to be here. To share good news and to make sure Stefan knew he wasn’t
the bad guy.
Bad boy, yes.
Bad guy, no way.