Chapter One #2
“I see Dash and Cassidy,” I say to Xander. “Go find your wife.” I pat his arm and send him on his way. “Dash, Cassidy!” I call, catching their attention before they can get lost in the crowd.
They turn and I walk over, joining them. Cassidy is nine months pregnant, due any day now, and glowing despite her large belly.
“Who’s watching the princess?” Cassidy asks.
I slide my hair over one shoulder. “I have a babysitter who lives in the neighborhood. If Leah doesn’t wear her out and she’s willing to come back next time I need her, I consider it a win.” I’m still reeling from watching my daughter’s antics as I got ready.
Dash laughs. “Maybe she’ll play guitar for her all night?”
“Funny,” I mutter, at his reference to the guitar he bought Leah last year for Christmas. I gave him hell.
Especially after Leah started waking me up at five every morning when she played.
Badly. The child does not take after her talented uncle when it comes to music—at least, not yet.
She is young, and there is time, but until she’s older, I have no intention of spending money on lessons.
I need Leah to have a burning desire to learn before that point.
Right now, she’s just a little girl who tends to jump from one thing to another.
I decide to change the subject. “I cannot wait to see the film!”
Cassidy’s cheeks turn red, no doubt because it is her first solo turn at producing. “I’m so nervous,” she says. “I’m not sure if the twisting in my stomach is the baby or anxiety!” She rubs her lower back, and I glance at her with concern.
“Babe, you’ve got this. They’re already talking Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. I’m so proud of you.” Dash hugs her to his side.
Watching them, I feel a twinge of envy at the wonderful relationships my siblings found.
Though I am beyond happy for each of them, I can’t seem to get past the struggle my life was before Linc found me.
And now, my focus has to be on Leah. Any man interested in me will find out Leah and I are a package deal.
Leah will always come first with me. And I am determined to shower my girl with all the love and security I never had growing up.
“Don’t remind me,” Cassidy says of the potential awards, still holding on to her belly in a way that does not make me comfortable .
“Are you feeling okay?” I ask.
“I am.” Cassidy blows out a breath and seems to shake off whatever she’s feeling. “I’m just tired. We made the rounds when we arrived.”
“That’s why we found a place to hide out in for a little while,” Dash adds, glancing around the corner where they stand.
I nod. “I remember how tough it was at the end of my pregnancy. You should get off your feet and rest.”
“She’s right,” Dash says, his growing concern also obvious by the tight expression on his face.
Cassidy sighs. “Soon.” She looks around the room, and her gaze settles on an area near the bar. “Looks like Harrison’s family is as close as yours.”
I met Harrison Dare when Sasha, Xander and Cassidy were just starting to put their production company together.
Dash and Xander have houses in East Hampton, and since I was staying with Melly, I went to visit often.
With Sasha and Cassidy’s help, I managed to set up a nonprofit organization very close to my heart—one that helps girls and boys who age out of foster care start their new lives on the right foot.
Harrison, who I recognize in the group, is a true movie star.
He is irresistible, with his thick black hair, and sexy smile that is just short of perfect, courtesy of one side tooth that overlaps another, but which only adds to his appeal.
Right now, he is surrounded by men I don’t know.
One has his back to me, and the others are obviously related, given their similar features.
“The Dirty Dares.” I grin at the name Harrison uses to describe his family. It is also on their Dirty Dare vodka brand.
“Yes. Their vodka is world famous and extremely good. I wish I could have a drink before I have to sit through an hour and a half of waiting for everyone to watch the first movie I produced,” Cassidy says with a cute whine.
“The doctor says you can have a small glass of white wine,” Dash says, in a don’t push your luck tone of voice.
I am about to pull my gaze away from the huddle of handsome men when the one whose face I couldn’t see turns my way. Familiarity hits me in the gut.
But there is no possible way it is him. I was thinking about Leah’s father earlier, and he was on my mind. That is the only reason I think Nick is standing across the room from me now.
Of course, the rationale doesn’t stop my stomach from spasming or my palms from sweating. Then he looks at me head on, those eyes I was musing on earlier meeting mine.
“Oh, my God.” My voice shakes and dizziness assaults me .
Cassidy glances over.
“What’s wrong?” Dash immediately clasps my elbow and pulls me toward him, protective as usual.
I shake my head. “Nothing… I… There’s someone who looks familiar but…” It can’t be him. What are the odds?
But he’s already left the other men and has started towards me. I panic. I need…time to think, to breathe, to accept who he is and what finding him here means.
“I…I need the ladies’ room!” I jerk my arm out of Dash’s grip and bolt for the double doors that lead to a hallway where the bathrooms are located.
“Aurora?” Chloe calls out my name as I pass my sister by, not stopping to talk. But I feel my sister’s presence as Chloe follows me to the ladies’ room.
I don’t care as long as I have a few minutes to process one very important fact. Nick, my daughter’s father, is here. And my entire life is about to change. Again.
***
Nick
I stand with my brothers, killing time until we’re let into the theater to see Harrison’s latest movie.
I do my best to keep my attention on the conversation around me, but it’s hard.
Yesterday I was in L.A., overseeing an issue in one of our California Meridian hotels.
Tonight, I’m in Manhattan, trying to keep my eyes open.
My siblings and I wear tuxedos, all except Zach, who insists on marching to his own beat, which, in this case, means he is dressed in dark jeans, a hooded leather jacket, and scuffed, black motorcycle boots.
Ever the rebel. The only person missing is my twin sister, Jade, for reasons everyone understands.
She suffers from migraines and isn’t feeling well, though I sense the reason she skipped tonight go deeper than that.
I’ll have to talk to her about it tomorrow.
“I thought you were bringing a date?” Asher, my oldest sibling, says, interrupting my thoughts. “One of the women you know in the city.” He takes a sip of his vodka as he waits for an answer.
At the question, I rethink my decision not to drink tonight, but I figure the alcohol won’t help my jet lag.
“Umm, no. Last woman I was with used up her three dates,” I say.
Harrison groans. “You really are an asshole.”
I shake my head, disagreeing. “If I let a relationship go on, knowing it doesn’t have a chance, then I’d be the asshole who led the woman on.” I shrug. “In three dates, I pretty well know if something’s going to work out or not. Seems fair to me. ”
Zach bursts out laughing. “Are you still using that rule?”
“It’s a solid one.” As far as I’m concerned, a woman’s true personality isn’t difficult to discern. Especially when money is involved. Women who are after me for the Dare name or fortune usually show their true colors quickly.
I ignore my brothers’ comments and turn to look around. Thanks to Harrison’s talent and fame, I’m used to premieres, after parties and mixing with celebrities around the room.
My gaze lands on Dash Kingston, lead singer of The Original Kings, and one of my favorite rock bands. We met earlier when Harrison introduced Dash’s very pregnant wife as the producer of tonight’s film. Beside him stands a blonde woman with a knockout body in a gorgeous fitted gown.
A surge of awareness ripples through me. But it isn’t one of simple attraction, though I am definitely drawn to her. It’s something more. I continue to stare until, as if sensing the weight of my gaze, she turns her head.
Her eyes widen, and I realize I’m right. What I feel is a renewed connection with the only woman with whom I ever experienced something real. I might have been young then but I knew .
I’m halfway across the room before I register that I’ve moved. Though people block my way, I manage to catch sight of her rushing out the double doors. So, I follow.
I reach the hallway just as she disappears into the Ladies’ Room. I have no doubt she recognizes me, but I don’t understand why she ran. We had one amazing night together. Why would that freak her out now?
Determined to get an answer, I prop myself against the wall outside the bathroom door and settle in to wait. Aurora—no last names needed—got away from me once before.
I’m not about to let it happen again.
***
Aurora
I sit in a chair in the outer room of the restroom, attempting to pull myself together.
“Breathe,” Chloe says, putting a hand on my back.
“Trying.” My mind is spinning. Nick is here! I thought I’d never see him again.
Shortly after our time together, I found myself pregnant and alone.
Then Braden and Willow Prescott, whom I met at the free clinic where I went for prenatal care in Florida, gave me a place to stay.
And not long after that, Linc showed up and told me I was a Kingston.
And though I was no longer been alone, through it all, I was a single mother .
It’s the way I identify myself, then and now. And I didn’t expect that to change.
But now Leah’s father has surfaced, and questions filter through my brain.
Will Nick want to be part of his daughter’s life?
Will he fight for custody? Is that possible?
I don’t know him at all—not really. There is one thing I am certain of, though—things are going to change.
At the thought, I begin hyperventilating again.
“Okay enough.” Chloe gets down on her knees. “You need to tell me what’s going on, because I’m starting to panic.”
“I… Okay. I just…”
“Let’s start with why you ran out of the ballroom.” Now that she has my attention, Chloe’s voice gentles.
I nod and pull in a longer breath. “I saw someone from my past.”
Chloe places a hand on my knee, steadying herself. “Who?”
Tears fill my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “Leah’s father,” I whisper.
“Holy shit! No wonder you’re in here hyperventilating!” Chloe pushes herself up. “Sorry, I have to stand. This position is killing my knees.” Then she looks at me and sighs. “Do you want to tell me how you met him? ”
I never discussed that night with my family. It never seemed to matter. After all, I couldn’t track Nick down, no matter how much money I now have.
“It was my birthday. I had aged out of foster care that day, and I’d gone to work at the diner, as usual.
I’d already made arrangements with the owners—they’d agreed to let me sleep in the back room, thank God,” I say, recalling my past. “I waited on a table of guys. One of them—his name was Nick—asked me out that night. Normally, I’d have said no, but it was my birthday and I figured I deserved something good that day… ” I trail off, remembering.
I was attracted to Nick from the moment I saw him. The other guys around the table were cocky, prep-school types. Most had blond hair and sticks up their asses. They whistled and winked at me, but they were just showing off for their friends.
Nick was different. Kinder. Confident in an innate way. He didn’t have to prove himself or act superior. He was just a hot, sexy guy who knew what he wanted. I couldn’t believe he chose me.
Chloe waits patiently for me to continue.
I draw a deep breath. “We had dinner, walked on the beach and talked, a lot. We ended up back in his room and…you know the rest. But he used protection.” I wave my hands in the air, as frustrated now as I was then. “It was just one of those freak things. ”
I never regretted having Leah. I adore my child. Leah is my life. But at the time, my fear was overwhelming.
“Nick and I never exchanged last names. We both knew he was in town for a short time visiting a friend, and that he’d go back to his life. And I had to figure out mine.”
“But now he’s out there?” Chloe asks.
“He was standing with the so-called Dirty Dare brothers.”
Chloe narrows her gaze. “You said Nick.” She pulls her phone from her purse. “Don’t worry. I’m just asking Sasha if there’s a Nick Dare.” Her fingers tap on the screen.
I blink. “He looked like Harrison,” I whisper.
A few seconds later, Chloe’s phone beeps and she glances down. “And we have a winner. Nick Dare is your baby daddy.”
I nod slowly. A Dare. A cousin to Dr. Braden Prescott and his wife, Willow, who helped me when I was pregnant.
Well, that is a coincidence, but it is one I can handle. Nick being here, now, will be harder.
“I have to face him. He needs to know about Leah.” My insides tremble at the thought.
Chloe sighs. “He does. But why don’t you start with just seeing him again, then go from there. Can you do that?”
“I have no choice.” Drawing a deep breath for courage, I rise to my feet. Though I am mortified that I ran away like a coward, I needed time to get over the shock.
It is time to face my past.
“I’m ready,” I say to Chloe.
My sister pulls me into a hug—something that even after five years, I am still getting used to, after a lifetime deprived of affection.
I hug Chloe back. “Thank you.”
“Don’t be silly. That’s what family is for.” Chloe shoots me a look, and I nod.
Chloe steps towards the bathroom door and walks outside, and I follow behind. But I don’t have to go far.
Just as I step out into the hallway, I come face to face with Nick.