Chapter 16
sixteen
CHAINS
It’s been a week since Daisy slammed the door in my face. And with good reason. I keep telling her I won’t touch her because of Evan, yet when I’m within breathing distance, I can’t help myself. She’s like a magnetic pull I can’t fight.
Every time I close my eyes, I still taste her. Feel her body pressed up against mine. Hear the soft sounds of arousal escape her lips. Just kissing her got me harder than I’ve ever been. I don’t usually take the time to kiss a woman so thoroughly. With Daisy, it was the biggest turn on.
After leaving the baby store, I meant to drop her off at home, walk away and never see her again. Take away the temptation.
I didn’t need to walk her inside. It was for my own selfish reasons. I needed just a few more minutes with her before I let her go. I got more than a few minutes. I was ready to fuck her up against her door. When she’d asked me inside, having her was the only thing on my mind.
Until Evan’s call.
That snapped me out of the haze I was under.
However, my plan to keep her away backfired.
I have a new mother threatening me with bodily harm if I don’t get Daisy to visit again.
At first, Natasha thought it was something she’d done.
Wondered if she’d somehow pushed Daisy away.
She’s had enough rejection in her young life; I can’t let her believe that Daisy would abandon her.
So, I had to fess up. Without giving her any details, I told her I’d pissed Daisy off, and she’s avoiding coming anywhere near me.
So, now whenever Daisy visits, I’ll make sure I’m not around.
Especially if she’s with Evan. The thought of her with another man makes my gut churn—even if it’s with my brother.
Although, if things move forward between them, and now that he’s back in my life, I won’t have much of a choice but to see them together.
But for Evan, I’ll get over it. I’ll have to. Missing out on more of his life is not an option.
I’ve already missed too much. The only good thing in my life had been ripped away from me.
Living in a hellhole household, I soon came to the conclusion that he was better off without me.
Especially after I left that shit place.
He would have ended up in trouble or worse…
dead. I could barely look after myself, let alone a kid.
I did the right thing, keeping my distance and not contacting him.
Things are different now. I’m not that kid getting into trouble.
The business I’ve built with Lincoln and Asher has provided us with more money and stability than we know what to do with.
We’re doing things the right way now. Once I got my life on track, I should’ve contacted him.
I was just ashamed and didn’t think he’d want to have anything to do with me.
Better to stay away than to face rejection.
But after what I told him about my life, it hasn’t scared him away.
In fact, he’s on his way over for pizza.
We’ve had a few interactions since we stumbled upon each other at the club.
We haven’t had a deep and meaningful conversation since that morning in my kitchen when I told him what a troubled kid I was.
There’s so much more I want to know about him.
After all these years apart, can I have a relationship with Evan? What would we have in common? Our lives are so different. What if, after spending time together, we hate each other?
My phone dings with a message. Maybe it’s Evan wanting to cancel. Maybe he’s feeling unsettled about spending time with me too. I pick the phone up off the coffee table.
It’s Natasha.
Have you spoken to Daisy yet? Is she coming over anytime soon? You better not have pissed her off so much that being in the same building with you is too close. You better make things right, or I’ll never speak to you again.
This is the third message in an hour. I’ve been avoiding contacting Daisy. If I don’t get her here anytime soon, Natasha will never stop.
I rest back on the couch and drop my feet on the coffee table. Blowing out a long breath, I dial her number instead of texting. For some reason, I want to hear her voice. Who the fuck am I?
She picks up after the third ring. “Hello?” She answers like she’s asking a question. After the way we left things last week, I’m not surprised if she’s wondering why I’m calling.
“Daisy, it’s Chains… I mean, Kade.” What the hell is happening to me? She’s turning me into some teenage boy who doesn’t know where the fuck his dick is.
“Is everything okay? Is something wrong with Natasha?”
“Everything’s fine. Natasha’s been asking for you. If you’re free this evening, do you think you could visit with her?”
There’s silence. For a moment, I wonder if she’s hung up, then she says, “You said she wouldn’t need me. That the nurses had everything under control.” I hear a note of accusation in her voice.
“Yeah, well, she misses you. So, if you’re not busy, she’d appreciate it.”
More silence for a beat. “I’d love to visit with them. I can be over in twenty minutes.”
“Great,” I say.
“Great,” she responds. “I’ll see you soon.”
“No, you won’t,” I say a little too abruptly. I rub my fingers up and down my forehead. “Evan is coming over. We’re having dinner, so I won’t be at Natasha’s apartment.”
“Oh… okay. I’m glad you and Evan are reconnecting. I hope it all goes well.”
“Thanks. Me too.”
We’re both silent, like no one wants to hang up, then there’s a knock on the door. “Evan’s here. Have fun with Natasha and Remi.” With that, I hang up.
Tossing the phone on the couch beside me, I blow out a deep breath.
Daisy is doing something to me. She’s getting under my skin, and I don’t know what to do about it.
I need to either fuck her or forget her.
One, I’m happy to do, if it weren’t for Evan.
The other, I’m not sure is possible, and that scares the crap out of me.
There’s another knock. I can’t keep sitting here thinking about Daisy. Getting up, I walk over to the door and let Evan in, who’s carrying two pizza boxes he insisted on picking up on his way over.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey.” We stand by the door. For a moment, we’re both a little awkward. “The kitchen’s through here.” I point, and we head that way.
In the kitchen, I gather plates, napkins and two beers and set them on the dining table.
The awkwardness continues as we sit down and tuck into the pizza. “Deliver any babies today?” I ask to fill the silence.
Evan swallows the mouthful of food before answering, “No babies today. I had a full day of appointments with expectant mothers though.”
“How many babies would you deliver in a month?” What is this crap coming from my mouth? I don’t care how many babies he delivers.
He takes a swig of beer and rests the bottle on the table. “It varies. Sometimes I can deliver around twenty-five. Other times it’s as little as five.”
I scrunch up my napkin and toss it onto my plate. This small talk is fucked up. “Are you happy?” I get to the point of what I really want to know. The private investigator can only tell and show me so much. Pictures might show a happy family. No one ever knows what happens behind closed doors.
Evan raises an eyebrow. “Am I happy?”
I nod.
Leaning back in his chair, a look of confusion crosses his face like he’s wondering where this conversation is going. “Most days, yes. Like everyone, you can’t be happy all the time.”
“Did your parents treat you well… love you?” It would kill me if they didn’t.
He smiles slightly and nods with understanding at what I really mean.
“Yes. When they took me in, they showered me with so much affection. At first, I didn’t know what the hell was going on.
For a while, I fought against it. I thought it was all an act.
You know, like our parents did when the social worker turned up to check on us.
” My jaw tightens at the memory. “When they continued to treat me with care and love all the time, I realized they were legit. They loved me and would do anything for me. Eventually, I stopped fighting them when I knew I was in a loving family.”
Nothing makes me happier than knowing Evan had been given the best life. “I’m glad it worked out for you.”
“I only wish we weren’t separated. You would’ve had a better childhood too. Had the love you deserved.”
Love I deserved? I don’t think I could ever be loved, which I’m fine about. If anyone tried, they’d only end up disappointed because I could never return it. Something broke inside me a long time ago.
“So, do you follow the football?” I ask to change the heavy subject. Learning he had a happy family life is all I need to know.
“Sure do.”
“Who’s your team?”
He raises his beer in the air. “The Rams, of course.”
As a kid, I would make him sit with me and watch them whenever they were on TV. It doesn’t surprise me he’s following them. “You have good taste.”
“When you’re not running a billion-dollar business, what do you do for fun?”
Fun? I don’t have fun. Not in the normal sense of the word. “I work hard. That’s my fun.”
Evan raises an eyebrow. “Surely there’s something you do to wind down.”
I drum my fingers on the table. “Sometimes I take the Fat Boy out and ride down the coast.” Those are the days when I don’t think about anything but the road.
“You have a Fat Boy? I have one too.”
Even after so many years apart, I’m surprised we have similar interests. “What year?”
“2018. Yours?”
“1990.”
“Nice.”
“Yours too.”
“We should take them out together. Make a weekend out of it,” Evan suggests.
I couldn’t think of anything better. “Sounds good to me.”
We raise our beers and clink them. Maybe we have more in common than I thought.