Chapter 15 The Cursed Kiss
THE CURSED KISS
Summer
Daisy told me she was staying in the pizza place after we’d finished eating, as she was meeting another friend there for a drink. After settling my part of the bill and walking out into the bright sunshine, I decided to give Eden a call and check in with her.
“I’m in the line at the movie theater,” she said when she answered. “I was going to be brave and go by myself, but I’m lonely already.” She laughed. “Wanna join? I’ll buy the popcorn.”
A grin tugged at my mouth. I’d known Eden for a long time. She, Daisy, and I went to the same public schools, from elementary to high school, and we’d all grown up with Felix and Henry, as they lived in the neighborhood.
“I’ll be right there.” I grinned. I could use a distraction.
How the hell was I supposed to tell a man I just tried to kill, who was engaged to a woman I couldn’t stand, that I was having his baby?
I felt like one of those trashy daytime talk show characters whose lives were so fucked up that the people watching thought it was all made up for TV.
Here I was, living proof. I was carrying the baby of my dad’s murderer.
Shaking Thaddeus from my head, I drove to meet Eden at the movie theater.
She was waiting in the lobby, exactly where she said I could find her.
I waved as I approached. “Wow, you look beautiful. You’re glowing! ”
Was I? That, and vomiting, were the two pregnancy symptoms that had showed up early for me. Not ready to explain the situation I got myself into, I tried to move Eden off the subject and steered her toward the ticket office. “You know how much I love Halloween; I can’t wait for the parade.”
Thankfully, Eden took the bait, and we talked all about the Halloween events coming up as we grabbed tickets, popcorn, and two medium sodas.
I was ready to sit in the dark, relax, and watch Hocus Pocus, forgetting all my troubles.
In the end, I didn’t catch most of my favorite movie because I was either taking breaks to pee or vomit.
As I slumped in a stall for the sixth time, Thaddeus flickered in my thoughts. I forgot he has a warm side to him, I mentally noted, thinking about how much he cared for Wylie. I was sure it would be all coldness and bitter feelings upon his release from prison.
But yesterday I’d seen a spark of the man I once fell in love with. It felt strange to recount now, my stomach twirling and my mind foggy. This is the same guy who put a bullet through your father’s skull.
He’d combed the streets for Wylie as if his life depended on it. Honestly, watching the sweat pour down his face, I didn’t think Thaddeus would accept any option but finding Wylie safely that day.
That was far from the selfish image I’d painted in my brain. The Thaddeus I hated would yank people from their homes if it got a business deal, wouldn’t hesitate to take another life if it meant feeding his thirst for revenge.
Yet, he can also care for others too?
Conflicting emotions swirled inside me. Half of it from the morning sickness, I’d imagine, and the other half from the buried feelings that were starting to rise.
Was it possible that I’d got it all wrong?
That I’d let my feelings cloud seeing who he truly was?
That inside him, a good person can still be hiding after all?
I left the bathroom and returned to my seat next to Eden for a while before the bathroom called for me yet again. Eden observed me suspiciously. I was on what felt like my 25th trip to the bathroom when she finally asked, “Okay, what gives? Why do you keep going out there?”
My plan was to come clean, but my bladder insisted I do it after the movie. Which I did when I exited the restroom and spotted Eden outside the door.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
Her jaw fell open. Then, she quickly fixed her face into a smile. “Well . . . that’s good news . . . isn’t it? Congratulations.”
I took the hug and braced myself for the next question. Eden didn’t ask it, and I was grateful and impressed by her restraint. We walked from the theater to the parking lot in silence when I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “It wasn’t planned.”
Eden nodded.
“And now I’ll have to face the music and sit down and have a talk with the father.”
Eden chuckled. “Unless you’re going to tell me Felix is the father, this is nothing compared to the mess in our former friend group.”
Thaddeus
I’d beaten my father to the office this morning.
We needed to talk. While hanging out with Henry yesterday, one thing had become painfully obvious, I wasn’t marrying Mimi.
She’d clearly told him I’d called things off, if the thundercloud across his face was anything to go by, but I’d still seen a press release about my wedding in the paper this morning. That was of his doing.
“The wedding isn’t happening,” I announced as soon as he walked into his office.
After one glance at me, my father removed his coat and tossed it on the hook. “Thaddeus, be reasonable. There is a lot of money on the line. Marry the woman and screw whoever you want; nobody is stopping you.”
I wasn’t surprised he would think of this idea. It was the same sort of marriage he’d had with my mother. I stood in front of him so our eyes locked. “No amount of money is worth it. I don’t want a marriage like yours. My damn mother should’ve been home that—”
When the words flew out of my mouth, I regretted them, but then realized we never had a frank conversation about this. “You never even cried when she died.”
He looked unmoved, and I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or furious. “Have you ever seen me cry any other time?” he asked in a dry and firm tone.
I stared at him.
“No.”
He shrugged. “Then I don’t get your point.”
My point is, you’re a heartless bastard!
“The men of my generation didn’t make a habit of running around crying. I am the head of this family. I don’t have the luxury of feelings. Unlike you.”
Damn right. I have a heart.
I couldn’t see myself losing my wife, the woman I should’ve loved more than anyone, and just going about business the next day like nothing had happened.
As I weighed the thought, the face of a certain woman flashed before my eyes.
I quickly blinked it away. Why did I think of Summer?
Just old feelings and memories tugging me back to the past, that was all.
Obviously, if I had a marriage coming up with someone I was actually attached to, they’d have come to mind instead. Right?
“After my mother died, you just went on like nothing changed,” I finally said.
My dad didn’t waste a moment. “Oh, should I have turned into a raving madman and gunned down the daughter after you killed the dad?”
My breath hitched at his words. It was hard to picture Summer’s lifeless body. She was my sworn enemy, but something in me cracked at the thought of hurting her.
Seriously, what is up with me today?
“In life, you have to make hard decisions. You can’t just run off emotions alone. Look now, we’re in this situation because of you, and you won’t even help fix things.”
Damn it. I’d come in here certain I was right. Now, after a few minutes, I wasn’t sure.
“You’ve done a lot for your mother. Do me one favor for fucking once, marry the girl and make a baby.”
He didn’t hear a word I said. Frustrated, I turned around and left his office.
I spent the rest of the day in my office thinking of a way to get out of the wedding. One idea that seemed to stand out to me was adopting a child, but Henry killed that idea when he reminded me that convicted murderers don’t make good prospective parents.
“Damn,” I hurled aloud.
A knock came at my door.
Jerking my head up, Summer standing in the doorframe shocked me. Typically, she avoided me unless I dragged her in here.
“We need to talk about the project.”
Her voice sounded different today. There wasn’t as much venom, and she wasn’t biting her lip as if she was worried she’d let it slip how much she hated me.
There was also that glow I spotted about her, but as Henry pointed out, women nowadays can do amazing things with makeup.
Glowing didn’t mean she and the bartender were fucking like rabbits.
Summer stood directly in front of my desk, her eyes lowered, and she flipped through a file she carried with her. She didn’t seem to notice me watching.
I examined her closely, even though I should’ve been listening to whatever she came to tell me. She frowned at me. A look I knew all too well.
“What do you think?” she said, waiting for something from me.
I stood and went to her side. “Let me see.”
More than likely, whatever she wanted my opinion about was in the file she’d been rummaging through.
Our fingers touched as I took the folder, sending a rush of electricity through my body. For just a second, neither of us moved. I looked at Summer’s face. She was cool as a cucumber, while my heart was racing.
What the hell is wrong with me? Wait, maybe I’m sick.
As I mulled over the options, a scent overwhelmed me. Summer had leaned over to show me something in the file I was holding, and her perfume was light and sweet.
Her mouth started moving, but again I couldn’t hear shit.
My thoughts drifted to the other day when we were on the search, and I saw that gentle smile sweep over her face.
Summer isn’t all edges. I followed the movement of her lips. If I could see that smile again, maybe I wouldn’t be in such a crappy mood. Tingles spread across me as I pictured her leaning this close to me with that smile, her hair thrown to the side, showing a tempting amount of that arched neck.
“What do you think?”
Fuck, I was barely paying attention. I cleared my throat loudly as I blurted, “Let’s do it your way.”
Summer stared at me. “My way?”