Chapter 26
Pull your head out of your ass – when you change the deal
Lucas
“D id your kid learn your right hook from you?” Weston asks.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You didn’t hear? Natalia got in trouble for punching some bully at summer camp. She didn’t phone you?”
I dig out my phone as it begins to ring.
“Someone’s in trouble,” Weston sings as he backs out of the locker room.
“Natalia. What happened?” I answer.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Which means it is a big deal. But her punching a kid is not a discussion I want to have on the phone.
“Where are you?”
“Chloe’s taking me home.”
“Chloe’s there?”
“Don’t be mad at her. I phoned her instead of you but when she found out I hadn’t contacted you, she made me call you.”
“I’m not mad at Chloe.” I’m relieved she showed up for my daughter again. Despite how I was an asshole and told her Natalia’s my daughter to deal with.
“Good because Chloe’s worried.”
She doesn’t need to worry because things between us are about to change. I’m pulling my head out of my ass.
“I’ll meet you at home.”
By the time I make it home, Chloe’s bike is in front of the garage. Good. They’re here. I open the door and Natalia rushes to me.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I know I shouldn’t have punched Sheila but she pushed me. She always pushes me. And says nasty things about me. She calls me a bastard.”
Chloe growls. “You didn’t tell me about the name calling.”
Natalia shrugs and her cheeks darken.
Chloe drops to her knees in front of my daughter. “Listen to me. No matter what names people call you, you don’t take it on.” She places a hand over Natalia’s heart. “You listen to who you are in here. No one else can say who you are. Only you.”
“Okay, Clo-Clo.”
Chloe tweaks her nose before standing. “I’ll let you and your dad talk.”
I tag her hand before she can escape. “I want you here.”
“Are you sure?”
“You’re my wife. Of course, I’m sure.”
I usher everyone into the living room. “What happened?”
Chloe opens her mouth to speak but I place a finger over her lip. “Not you. Natalia. What happened with Sheila this time?”
“She pushed me. I was first in line for lunch but she pushed me so she could be first.” She pauses.
“And what did you do?”
“I punched her in the stomach.”
“Punching is wrong.”
“I know! But what was I supposed to do?” She throws her arms in the air with a huff. “Sheila’s always pushing kids and saying nasty things but the teachers never do anything about it.”
“Do the teachers know about it?”
“They do. Trust me. They do,” Chloe mutters.
“And what happened at this parent meeting?” I ask.
“Chloe yelled a lot,” Natalia says.
I cock an eyebrow at Chloe. Her cheeks burn but she nods. “I had things to say.”
I stand and offer her my hand. “Chloe and I need to discuss what happened.”
“Don’t be mad at her, Dad. She was standing up for me.”
I ruffle her hair as I pass. “Don’t worry. I’m not mad.”
I lead Chloe upstairs to my bedroom.
“I’m sorry, Lucas,” she says as soon as the door is shut behind us. “I didn’t know Natalia didn’t phone you. I thought she did and you were running late. And I shouldn’t have yelled when I got there. But Maddy wasn’t doing anything about Sheila bullying Natalia and she was bullying her. Bullying her. I can’t… Not bullying...My mom…”
She bursts into tears and I wrap my arms around her.
“Don’t cry, wildcat. Your tears destroy me.”
My heart aches for her. Today’s incident brought up all the shit of the past with her mother.
I want to hunt down her mother and give her a piece of my mind. I usually work hard to not be intimidating when I’m in uniform since a police officer who towers over you can be frightening. But I want to frighten the hell out of Chloe’s mom.
“I’m sorry.”
Chloe leans back to meet my gaze. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re perfect.”
I wipe the tears from her face. “I did, though. I yelled at you when you gave Chloe permission to sleep over at her friend’s house when I should have been thankful to you for helping out. Being a parent to Natalia wasn’t part of our deal.”
“But—”
“Which is why our deal is changing,” I say and cut her off.
Her jaw drops open. “Our deal is changing? You’re kicking me out? I really am sorry. I…”
I slam my mouth to hers to stop her babbling. Her lips are salty from her tears. I growl. Chloe should never cry again because of her mother. And I will make sure of it.
I pull back. “From now on, you’re not my wife in name only. This marriage is no longer fake.”
Her green eyes cloud with confusion. “I don’t know what’s happening. Did I fall asleep doing inventory? Did the whole school incident not happen? I hope no one writes on my face with a Sharpie while I’m sleeping. I better not be snoring.”
I chuckle. My wildcat never ceases to amuse me. “You’re awake. And no one has written on your face with a Sharpie, but thanks for the idea.”
She rolls her eyes. “As if Mr. Law and Order would ever write on my face without permission.”
I’d do a lot of things she wouldn’t expect of me. Including binding her to my bed naked and not letting her go until we’re both satisfied and unable to walk.
“What do you say, wildcat? You want to make a go of this relationship?”
“I don’t understand. You’ve made it clear you don’t want a relationship.”
Because I was afraid before. Afraid Chloe would abandon us. But she wouldn’t. This woman would kill to protect my daughter. She’s the one I need in my life. I can’t let her go.
“What’s changed?”
I’m falling in love with my wife is what’s changed but Chloe’s not ready to hear those words. She’d flee the house faster than Natalia can disappear when it’s her turn to do the dishes.
But I’m not letting Chloe run again. She’s staying.
“I was afraid to expose Natalia to my dating,” I lie. “But since you’re living here and Natalia is used to you, there’s no sense in worrying about it.”
“Try again.”
“What?”
Chloe leans close to my face. “Try. Again. You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You shouldn’t lie to someone who’s a master at lying.”
I frown. Chloe’s a master liar? This doesn’t bode well.
“I can’t tell you the number of times I told my mom I had to go to Sophia’s because we had a school project we were working on. Lucky for me, Lily always backed me up.”
I growl. “I hate your mother.”
“And you haven’t met her yet. I bet she’d try to seduce you.”
I rear back. “Seduce me? Her daughter is my wife.”
She shrugs. “I doubt your status as her son-in-law would stop her. I can’t count the number of judges she seduced back in my pageantry days.” She shivers. “Mom did whatever was necessary to ensure she won.”
I brush her hair from her face. “But it wasn’t her winning. It was you.”
She laughs. “You really don’t understand my mom. Everything I won was her win. Did you know she stole all of my trophies and ribbons when she left? Even the ones for track and field despite ordering me not to participate?”
I place my hands on her cheeks. “I’m sorry for all you went through. I wish I could take all of the pain away.”
“But you can’t. Trust me. Even Paisley’s evil genius can’t erase thepain.”
“Your friends stood by you through all of it.”
She smiles. “And then we founded a business together so they can never get rid of me.”
“Wildcat, they wouldn’t get rid of you without the brewery.”
She shrugs and glances away.
“Another layer peeled away,” I mutter. “What do you say, wildcat? You want to make this fake marriage into a real relationship?”
She bites her lip as she studies me. I drop all of my walls and allow her to witness how much I want her. How much I want this. How desperate I am for her.
“Should we make some ground rules?”
I frown. “What ground rules?”
“One, I’m keeping my house in case things go belly up. And, two, I still get to be friends with Natalia whether we’re involved or not.”
I thread my hand through her hair and tug until her neck is exposed to me.
“One, you can keep your house but things aren’t going belly up. And, two, you can always be friends with Natalia because you’ll be her stepmother.”
“Don’t jump the—”
I smash my lips on hers. I’m done discussing this. She agreed. We’ll work on the details later. Hopefully, once she’s attached to me so tight, she can’t let go.
She moans and I thrust my tongue into her mouth. I’m desperate to taste her untamed flavor again. She wraps her legs around me and I whirl around to pin her to the wall.
My cock presses against my zipper. I’m ready to explode and we’re both still fully dressed. Lucky for me, we don’t need to get naked to get some satisfaction.
I sneak my hand between us and snap Chloe’s jeans open.
“Are you guys fighting?” Natalia shouts.
I rip my mouth from Chloe’s and lean my forehead against her shoulder while I catch my breath.
“We’re not fighting!” Chloe hollers.
“Good! Because I’m hungry.”
Chloe laughs and I pull back to watch. Her face is full of happiness. She’s beautiful. And one of these days she’s going to not cringe when I tell her how beautiful she is.
But not right now. Right now, I need to feed my wife and daughter.