5. Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Beau
W hen Pari took her nap, I left home to meet Fallon and talk to her about this new change in my life.
Our family doctor, Colby Mayfield had come by to the house to take a cheek swab from Pari and me. Mira had hovered around, obviously afraid of what all these changes meant for her role in Pari's life. I understood. I was Pari's parent—I would always have more rights and responsibilities than her when it came to my daughter. I also didn't know what the future would bring with Mira—but I wanted to assure her that Pari was in good hands with me.
Fallon had asked to meet at the SOHO South Café, which made me always feel like I was not in Savannah as its décor was unapologetically urban with an industrial vibe, better suited for New York than the historic downtown. It was a far cry from the stiff, upscale joints I usually frequented for business lunches, which was probably why Fallon had chosen it. She disliked all the business hoopla, as she liked to call it, and had told me time and again my obsession with work was unhealthy. If I had to start worrying about my health, mental and physical, there was a long line of things I had to take into consideration, not including indiscriminate sex, alcohol, and my love of Cuban cigars.
I walked in and immediately spotted Fallon at a small table near the window, a faint smile playing on her lips as she looked up at me. She looked good—really good if I was being honest. She'd always had that effortless, polished vibe as she'd just stepped out of a magazine ad for success. But today, there was something softer about her—maybe it was the way her hair fell a little looser around her shoulders or the warmth in her eyes that seemed to brighten as I approached.
"Beau. It's been too long." She rose and gave me a warm hug that lingered longer than friends usually did, but then we'd been intimate in the past, so it made sense. I had no desire to rekindle a sexual relationship with Fallon. I liked that we'd moved past that. I enjoyed women—both in and out of bed. I had friends and lovers—not necessarily the same people. As I grew older, I preferred to like the women I took to bed, but sometimes, when I just needed to bust a nut, I didn't mind picking up a one-night stand at a bar.
"Thanks for seeing me, Fallon." I took a seat across from her. The menu was already on the table, but I didn't need to look at it. I'd been here enough times to know what I wanted. "How've you been?"
"Busy, but good," she replied. "How about you? I'm curious as to what's goin' on with you, baby."
I grinned. I knew she'd get a kick out of me becoming a dad all of a fucking sudden; and that, too, of a daughter. "I'm a father," I announced.
"Pardon me?" Her eyes all but popped out.
"Yeah, imagine how I feel," I joked.
"Beau?"
"I have a daughter. Just found out yesterday."
A server came by then, and we quickly ordered. I went with my usual—grilled chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. Fallon ordered a salad, something light that she'd barely touch, if I remembered her habits correctly.
"Tell me," she prompted.
I leaned back in my chair, taking a moment to think before answering. "It's complicated as fuck," I stated and told her about Mira, Asha, and Pari.
"Oh my God!" She gaped at me. "You're a daddy?"
"She calls me Bodaddy."
Fallon smiled. "That's cute."
"She's fuckin' adorable, Fallon." I pulled out my phone and showed her some of the pictures of Pari that I hadn't been able to resist taking.
"And this is the aunt?" Fallon pointed to a photo of Mira holding Pari. She was laughing that big belly laugh of hers, the one that made me feel things I never thought I was capable of. When she was around my daughter, Mira had an inherent joy within that was unmistakable.
"She's gorgeous. Indian?"
"Yeah. They're from Atlanta. If I remember correctly, her father is a big-time lawyer or somethin'. But they're estranged. I don't know why."
Fallon gave me back my phone. "I have some Indian clients, and Asha having a baby out of wedlock could have caused a rift, if they're conservative, which, from the sound of it, they are."
"Right now, I'm not going to worry about them beyond the legalities. I'm confused enough," I admitted. "A part of me is freaking out, and another is just happy as a fucker can be."
"You can feel two contradictory things at one time, Beau."
"Hell, Fallon, I usually have trouble feelin' anythin'!" I exclaimed.
She laughed. "I can't believe it. You're a father. By the way, are you sure? Did Trev—"
"Like he'd cheat on Katya," I snapped, defending my brother. "And I trust Mira when she says Asha claimed I'm the father. There's no way Trev had sex with her—he didn't even know her. I met Asha in Atlanta. Besides, she's got those green Bodine flecks in her blue eyes."
Fallon raised a hand in a peace sign. "I get it. Just askin', baby. Well, the DNA test will make it all legal and clear. What will you do if you find out she's not yours?"
I cocked an eyebrow. "I'm here to talk to you about what to do because I'm certain, beyond certain , that Pari is my kid."
When our food arrived, we made room on the small table for our plates. I also asked for a beer in addition to the water, while Fallon refused anything with alcohol as she was going back to work after lunch.
"How is your family feelin' about her? Donna must be…well, I know it's not been easy for her to find out about Nova being your half-sister."
Most of Savannah now knew that Nova King soon-to-be Larue was actually a Bodine by blood. Fallon knew my mother well, as our mothers were friends, so I knew she was privy to Mama's frustration with the news about my father's infidelity and how callously he had disregarded his child, leaving her to struggle in poverty.
"She's having trouble with Pari's name for starters…and then everythin' else."
Fallon stabbed a lettuce leaf while I took a big bite of the chicken sandwich. "It's an unusual name. Maybe she has a middle name, or maybe you can find an alternative to—"
"No." I put my sandwich down, fixing Fallon with a steady look. "Pari is her name—her actual name. I don't get why everyone's so worked up about it. Sure, it's not some Southern Anglo-Saxon thing, but it's not hard to pronounce. Her mother gave her a beautiful name that means Angel. What's the issue? And you saw her photo—she's brown, Fallon. There's no way anyone's mistaking her for pure white or whatever other nonsense people around here seem to care about."
Fallon put her hand on mine and stroked tenderly. "I get it, baby. This little girl had no one, but now she has you and your family."
I frowned. "Pari's always had Mira."
Fallon flipped her hair from her shoulder. "I'd like to meet both of them to see their dynamic and then spend time with Paari ."
I shook my head. "It's Pari. Not Paris in French."
Fallon grinned. "Does it matter?"
"Yeah, it does. It's her name, Fallon."
She smiled and continued to caress my hand. "Pari," she tried again.
"Yeah, sounds like curry."
She tried again.
"That works," I nodded approvingly.
I disengaged my hand from underneath hers to pick up my beer.
"So, how do you want me to work with Pa…your daughter?"
"From what I can see, and I know, I don't hang out with two-and-a-half-year-olds often, so what the fuck do I know—but Pari seems to be happy and healthy. Mira's here, so she has continuity. Roxy is already in love. My mother is all but ready to descend to take over childcare. But I'm out of my depth, trying to figure out how to be a father overnight."
Fallon nodded, her expression sympathetic. "That's a lot to take in. How's Mira handling things?"
"Mira..." I paused, not sure how much to say. "She's damn good with Pari. Patient, caring, loving."
"But?" she coaxed.
I ran a hand through my hair. " But …I want to fuck her."
There it was, out in the open. I wasn't the type to dance around a subject, even if it was a minefield. Fallon didn't flinch, but I caught the brief tightening of her jaw.
"Beau, you can't do that."
"I know," I groaned, and then arched an eyebrow. "But why?"
"Because you fuck ‘em and leave ‘em, Beau, and Mira is your daughter's aunt, so you can't exactly leave her," she admonished. "Mira's in a vulnerable position right now, and so are you. Getting involved with her could complicate things even more—especially with custody issues hanging in the balance. You need to focus on what's best for Pari."
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. "And you really don't think that could include Mira? She's Pari's mother, for all practical purposes."
Fallon's eyes softened. "Mira might be the best thing for Pari right now, but that doesn't mean she should be more than that. You start sleeping with her, and she's going to make assumptions. You need to think long-term. Relationships like this can get messy, and if things go south between you two, it could hurt Pari."
She had a point, and I knew it. But that didn't change the fact that I couldn't get Mira out of my head. I wanted her, and not just because of the way she looked, though that was quite potent; it was about how she took care of my daughter.
Mira was a mass of contradictions—vulnerable yet strong, delicate yet steely. I wanted to take care of Mira; I'd always, as Fallon often accused me, had a white knight syndrome problem. But there was something else that pulled me to Mira, something I couldn't identify. Maybe it was as simple as her loving Pari so much that it made her attractive to me. The other problem was that it wasn't one-sided. I'd been around the block and then some, and I had seen how she watched me this morning when I came from the gym. Most women had a problem with a sweaty man, but Mira looked like she wanted to lick me up—and Goddamn, I enjoyed that. I'd had to sit down because her hungry eyes made my dick stand up.
"Does Mira have a plan for what happens once Pari is settled?" Fallon inquired after I asked the server to bring our check.
"She just got here yesterday afternoon, Fallon. I doubt she's had enough sleep in years to even know what side is up." That was the other thing—Mira obviously was a caring person. She took care of her ill sister and niece. That appealed to me. I wanted a woman to cosset me, and I knew she would.
"She needs to think about what she wants for herself, Beau. She can't live with you."
Why the hell not? Because then you'll have her spread under you sooner or later.
"She doesn't have any money or a job and—"
"Do you think you can maybe buy her off then? Make this whole custody thing easier?"
What the fuck? "No. She's not like that."
Fallon rolled her eyes. "How the hell would you know? You barely knew her sister, except biblically, and you met Mira yesterday . She could have come here just to get compensation, and God knows she deserves it. And, let's face it, you've got plenty."
If Mira wanted money, I'd give her as much as she wanted. As Fallon said, I had enough for a few lifetimes. But the idea of Mira wanting that from me was like acid in my stomach. I didn't like the sound of that at all.
"She wants to go back to culinary school." I nodded at the waiter who brought our check and handed her my credit card.
"She sounds like a train wreck. What kind of education does she have? Did she even go to college?"
"I don't know, Fallon. But for the past three years, she's been taking care of her sister and my daughter, which didn't give her much time to build a career. She's just twenty-two and—"
"When you get your PI's report on her, I want to take a look," Fallon huffed, cutting me off. "You're obviously thinking with your dick when it comes to her and not your brain. And, Lordy, she's so young."
I liked Fallon. She was honest and open with me, and since we weren't fucking, the friendship was, in many ways, extremely satisfying. If there was one thing I disliked about Fallon was how judgmental she was.
"When you meet Mira, you'll see all your suspicions are unwarranted," I assured her.
The server returned with my card, and I signed the check, sliding my card back into my wallet.
"So, when do we do this?" Fallon asked as we got ready to leave.
I considered it. "The family descends for dinner tonight. I can't hold them off. Let's say next Friday? Come over after lunch, Pari will be up from her nap, and then you can stay for dinner."
When we got up to leave, Fallon slid a hand around my waist and leaned into me. "It's cute to hear you talk about a little girl's nap time. What's next, you gonna learn how to braid her hair?"
I wrapped my arm around her as we walked out of the restaurant. "She wears pigtails and looks freakin' adorable. So, yeah, I'll learn how to braid her hair."
"Maybe also hire a nanny?" Fallon suggested.
If Mira lives with us, maybe I won't need a nanny. We could raise Pari together and… .
Fuck me! Was I thinking about becoming a family with Mira? Me ? The confirmed bachelor? Perhaps Fallon was right; I was thinking with my dick and not my head.