Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Aria
She waited until seven, when she knew her father would be up and at work already, to arrive.
The waiting had been torture, especially since she hadn’t slept more than a couple hours the night before.
She’d run through the process of telling him the truth about who the father of her child was a hundred, maybe a thousand times in her mind during those long waking hours.
Fucking Killian O’Rourke, forcing her to tell her father secrets she’d been determined to take with her to her grave. But she should have known better. A man like Killian wasn’t used to being denied.
The memory of him in her apartment, holding her tight against his hard body as his emerald eyes flashed with fire, played over in her mind again just as it had countless times while she’d lain awake last night.
And just like last night, she had to squeeze her thighs together against the flash of need.
Fucking hormones.
Shoving aside those uncomfortable thoughts, and the even more uncomfortable feelings they inspired, she made her way toward her father’s office.
The solid oak door was closed, which was unusual for him at this time of morning.
Usually he didn’t schedule meetings before nine, as part of his dedication to a positive work-life balance for his employees.
Not for him, as she’d noted on more than one occasion. Her father was a bit of a workaholic, though he seemed to enjoy it. But he was very conscious of the fact that him being a workaholic didn’t mean everyone who worked for him needed to be one as well.
It was one of the things she admired most about him when it came to business.
Even if he was in a meeting, she would be welcome to come and sit and listen in as she’d always been. So she plastered on what she hoped was a convincing smile and pushed the door open.
And stopped cold at the sight that greeted her.
Killian Fucking O’Rourke was perched in one of her father’s visitor’s chairs, looking exactly like what he was—a wealthy, dangerous man without a care in the fucking world. He turned when the door opened, a smug smile curving his lips as his gaze raked possessively over her.
Suddenly she wished she was wearing more clothes, even though she was already dressed for the cold in a sweater and leggings.
“Aria.” Was it just her imagination or did her father look a bit guilty at being caught behind closed doors with Charleston’s most infamous mobster at such an ungodly hour? “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I’m in the middle of something. Did you need me?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was not how she’d envisioned telling him. But she couldn’t let Killian be the one to tell him, either.
Or maybe she could. Would serve the asshole right when her father punched him in his pretty face.
No. Her father deserved to hear the truth from her, no matter how painful it might be.
“Actually, yes. I need to talk to you about the baby.”
God, it was fucking painful to see the way his face lit up at the mention of his future grandchild. Would he still feel that way once he learned the truth? “Of course. Killian, rain check for our meeting?”
“Ah, actually… he can stay.”
Surprise flickered over both men’s faces. But where her father simply looked confused, Killian quickly returned to his smug state as he gestured to the chair beside him.
“Join us, then.”
A command, not a suggestion, and everything in her rankled at it.
She told herself that if she hadn’t been so dead tired she would have ignored him just on principle.
But as it was, the adrenaline pumping through her veins was only making her shakier than she had been on the drive over, so she lowered herself into the free chair and forced herself to meet her father’s eyes.
“You asked me who the father was.” Clenching her hands together on her lap, she breathed through the sudden hammering of her heart as best she could. “I didn’t want to tell you, but it’s been made clear to me that I no longer have a choice in the matter.”
Braden’s brow wrinkled. “Made clear by whom?”
“Your friend here.”
Okay, maybe it was petty of her, but damn it felt good to watch her father’s eyes flash with anger as he turned his attention to the man on her right. “Goddammit, Killian. That isn’t what I asked you to do.”
Yeah, Killian.
Beside her, Killian sighed. “This isn’t how you were meant to find out, Braden. I’m sorry.”
“Find out what?” Agitation poured off her father in waves as his gaze—equal parts furious and confused—shifted between her and Killian. “What the fuck is going on?”
“You wanted to know who the father of your grandchild is. I found him.”
The reminder that her father had gone behind her back to find out the identity of her baby’s father reignited her fury from the night before.
“Which is a whole other discussion we need to have. I told you I didn’t want to tell you who he was.
You told me you’d respect my wishes, but then you sent someone to go snooping around in my personal business. ”
Her dad didn’t even have the grace to look sheepish. “I wanted to be sure you were safe.”
“Fine. But Killian O’Rourke of all fucking people? Knowing how I feel about him?”
“You have to admire the irony of it,” Killian said, his tone dry as he lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug when she turned to glare at him. “Okay, well I admire the irony even if I am the one caught in the snare.”
“What irony? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you hiring the father of your grandchild to hunt down the father of your grandchild.”
Silence fell over them, the air around them so perfectly still Aria wondered if they could hear her pulse thundering in her veins.
“You?” Braden’s voice was strained with disbelief when he finally spoke again. “You… and my daughter…”
“I didn’t know she was your daughter when it happened. But yes. I went by Aria’s apartment yesterday to confirm with her. I wanted to be sure before I spoke with you.”
“No.” Pushing away from his desk, Braden shook his head as he paced, his movements jerky, borderline frantic. “Absolutely the fuck not. This is some sick practical joke.”
She should say something. Anything. She’d imagined this scene a hundred different ways with a hundred different outcomes. Rehearsed what she would say over and over again.
But now that the moment was here, she couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even force her mouth to open as she watched her father’s increasingly agitated movements. Her own fury dimmed again, snuffed out by the knowledge of how badly she’d failed her father.
“It’s not.” By contrast, Killian’s voice was calm, quiet. “But you have my word I’ll do right by your daughter, Braden.”
That stopped her father in his tracks, his furious glare locking on Killian. “My daughter is not marrying into the mob.”
She sensed more than saw Killian flinch beside her. “It’s the best way to keep her safe, Braden. There are dangerous men out there who would love nothing more than to get their hands on my child, and they would care nothing about the fate of the woman carrying said child.”
All the blood drained from her head. Holy fuck. This was real. She was actually carrying a mob boss’s baby.
Suddenly, her father’s reaction seemed like the least of her concerns.
“No.” Braden shook his head. “I’ll send her back to Oregon. Hell, I’ll send her to fucking Antarctica if that’s what it takes to keep her safe. But she is not marrying you.”
“I understand why you feel that way.” Though the words were delivered in an even, almost bored tone, she could hear the hurt underneath. “But this really is the best option, Braden.”
“Is anyone going to ask me what I want?”
Both men turned to her, twin expressions of surprise on their faces, as if they’d forgotten she was even in the room. That thought only reignited the anger her guilt had smothered.
Killian recovered first. “Of course, princess. What do you want?”
From the corner of her eye, she saw her father visibly recoil at the pet name.
Honestly, if the man beside her had been anyone other than Killian O’Rourke, she might have been able to enjoy her father’s clear discomfort.
“I want to live my life, exactly the way I had planned. I want to finish my internship with Mr. Williams—”
“Absolutely not.” Killian’s expression shifted, hardened in a way that had her fighting the urge to pull back from him. “You will not get within a hundred feet of Richard Williams. I’m sure your father can find you someone else to intern with.”
That spark of anger flourished to a raging inferno. “Just because you squirted your baby batter inside me does not give you the right to control my life, Killian.”
“Aria, for fuck’s sake.” Looking even more pained than before, Braden ran a hand over his face. “Don’t be so crass.”
“I’m just saying. This is my life and I’m not going to suddenly drop everything just to be some rich asshole’s trophy wife. I’m not my mother.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished with everything she had that she could take them back. “Dad… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine.” Though it was clear from the look on his face and the tightness in his voice it wasn’t fine, not by a long shot.
“No, really, I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re just some rich asshole.”
“Only me, then,” Killian said, his voice tinged with amusement. “I suppose it’s an upgrade from ‘fucking mob boss’, so I’ll take it.”
“What on earth is going on in here?”
As one, they all turned to the doorway where Lottie stood still dressed in her pajamas, her hair piled in a messy bun atop her head.
Great.
“Everything’s fine, Lottie-bug. Go back to bed.”
At Braden’s command, Lottie simply cocked a brow and folded her arms beneath her breasts. “I was in bed, until I heard you all trying to shout the house down around me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I’ll tell you later.”
Lottie let out a snort of pure derision. “Which is it, Braden? Is it nothing or will you tell me later?”
“Watch your attitude, little girl.”
“I’ll watch my attitude when you stop keeping secrets.” Turning, she pinned Aria with a look and jabbed a finger in her direction. “You. Talk.”
There really wasn’t any point in keeping Lottie out of the loop.
And she was self-aware enough to admit that the way her father had spoken to Lottie was under her skin and she wasn’t in the mood to give in to him.
“I came over to tell my dad who the father of my baby is. But apparently he hired Killian to find out for him, and Mr. O’Rourke came by to deliver the same news. ”
Mouth falling open with shock, Lottie whirled back to her husband. “Braden Elliott! What the hell is wrong with you? After you promised Aria you wouldn’t ask her about the father again?”
“I promised I wouldn’t ask her. I never promised I wouldn’t try and find out on my own.”
“That’s a distinction without a difference and you know damn well if I tried something like that with you, I wouldn’t sit comfortably for a week.”
Ugh. She did not want to be thinking about her father and Lottie doing… that.
And judging by the look on Braden’s face, he wasn’t any happier about having the subject brought up in mixed company, either. “You are well on your way to that fate right now, Charlotte Ann.”
“Because I’m calling you on your bullshit? You’re better than that, Braden.”
“Because you know how to call me on my bullshit without being outright disrespectful.”
The rebuke had color flooding Lottie’s cheeks. “I’m sorry for the disrespect, Sir, but you shouldn’t have gone behind Aria’s back like that. It’s not right.”
To Aria’s eternal surprise, her father sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “You’re right, Lottie-bug. Aria, I’m sorry I betrayed your trust by asking Killian to find the information for me.”
“Much better. Now, is someone going to tell me who the father is, or do I have to book us all a spot on one of those trashy TV shows?”
“No need for that, Lottie darling.” Rising from his seat, Killian smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in his perfect suit. “It’s me.”
“I know that. I’m asking who… oh.” Lottie’s eyes went wide as she whipped her head back and forth between Killian and Aria. “You? But when? How?”
“Ah.” Looking almost as pained as Braden had earlier, Killian cleared his throat. “I’m not sure we really need to get into the nitty-gritty details.”
“Right. Sure.” A dozen emotions flickered over Lottie’s face before she seemed to settle on pure, unadulterated joy. “Oh, Killian. You’re gonna be the best dad!”
Flinging herself forward, Lottie threw her arms around Killian’s neck. An ugly, twisting sort of emotion wrapped itself around Aria, tying her stomach into knots.
Was that… jealousy?
No. Impossible. She’d have to actually want Killian to feel jealous of him hugging another woman.
Right?
“Thank you, Lottie.” The simple gratitude in his tone tightened those annoying knots in Aria’s stomach. “I appreciate your faith in me.”
“Well, of course I have faith in you. I love you.” Pulling away, Lottie waved at Braden and rolled her eyes. “Ignore him. He’ll come around.”
“Like hell I will. This is completely inappropriate.”
Hand on her hip, Lottie smirked. “Oh? Are you upset that your best friend is sleeping with your daughter? Gee, I wonder if you know anyone who might be able to sympathize.”
It was a dig at her husband, considering Lottie’s father was, indeed, one of Braden’s best friends. And judging by the thunderous look on Braden’s face, he didn’t appreciate the reminder. “That was entirely different, Charlotte.”
“It was,” Killian agreed breezily. “Braden here is an upstanding member of society. Where I am certainly not.”
“Oh, Killian, I’m sure that’s not—”
Killian held up a hand, cutting her off. “It’s fine. I understand your husband’s position.” His gaze shifted, locking onto Aria. “But I will do whatever it takes to protect my child. The sooner everyone in this room comes to terms with that, the happier we all will certainly be.”
And with that, he turned and swept from the room. Leaving Aria behind to wonder exactly what the fuck he was planning to do.