Chapter 14 #3
Dane exhales hard, dragging a hand down his face like he’s trying to wipe off the weight of it all.
“Fine. I won’t get in the way, but this is for her, don’t think for a second that we’re good again, and if you hurt her in any way…
” his eyes flash dangerously, “… the next thing I’m gonna break is your dick. ”
“If I somehow manage to hurt her more, I’ll pull my pants down for you to do it.”
Luc looks away, pressing his lips together, and Dane stares at me, his jaw twitching like he’s this close to breaking again.
Instead, he looks down at the linoleum floor, and when he looks back up, there’s the ghost of a smile threatening the corner of his mouth before he huffs a breath and storms off.
I start to turn, too, ready to leave, unsure of my place, but a firm hand clamps on my shoulder and pulls me back.
“Where do you think you’re going, Papi?”
I blink at him. “I don’t know. I thought you’d want me to leave.”
Luc rolls his eyes like I just said the dumbest thing on the planet. “I didn’t make you come here for a little chitchat.”
“I mean…” I glance back toward where Alaina disappeared with Mason, something in my chest pulling tight. “I’m here. I’ll support her, whatever she needs, but I don’t think she needs me when you guys are here too—”
“Shut up,” Luc cuts me off, sharp but not cruel. “Of course, she needs you too. She needs all of us. You want this to work?”
I frown. “Work? What are you talking about?”
“All of us. For her.”
“What?”
“Alaina needs us all to feel better. She needs me, you, and Mason. So, we get our shit together and be good for her, and maybe we can be friends, even if you said you weren’t mine.”
“What are you even saying, Delacroix?”
He shrugs, but there’s a glint in his eye. “You’ll figure it out soon enough. Just know, I’m willing to work together to make her happy. I’m willing to share, if that’s what she needs. You’d better get on the same page.”
“Share as in…”
Luc just smirks. “Think about it.” I barely get a second to process that when he claps his hands. “But for now, I made appointments.”
“Appointments?” I echo, my head still spinning with what he just implied.
“For STD testing.”
“What the fuck?”
“Alaina and Mason are already on it. You and I are next.”
“Why would we?”
“Because you fucked her without a condom in the gondola like a fucking asshole,” Luc says without missing a beat.
“And I expect more from you, Greer. If you want me to trust you with her, I want your A-game. No more mindless shit. This is too important. Instead of kicking your ass for it, I’m making you do this, so count yourself lucky. ”
Shame crawls up the back of my neck. “Right.”
“We’re going to get tested to make sure you didn’t give her anything.”
“I haven’t slept with anyone since my fiancée,” I mutter.
Luc raises a brow. “That’s depressing but good for our situation. Still, I won’t chance her health. Will you?”
I shake my head fast. “Of course not.”
“Bonne.” He’s already turning on his heel. “Then it’s settled. Let’s go.”
I trail after him, feet moving while my mind runs in a hundred directions. I haven’t even thought about this. Not once. Not during. Not after.
How the fuck could I be so irresponsible?
I should’ve thought of this.
My stomach knots, and before I can stop myself, the question slips out.
“What about… pregnancy?”
Luc stops dead in the hallway and spins around so fast I nearly walk into him.
“You’re asking me that now, and not her before you bombed the gnarliest line without a helmet?
” His voice is sharp, incredulous, but there’s a glint of something like disgusted amusement in his eyes.
“Mon Dieu, you’re even more of a mess than I thought.
” He throws up his hands. “Were you dropped on your head before or after the gondola, Greer?”
I flinch. I deserve that.
His voice flattens, a little darker now. “She can’t have kids. The crash took that option off the table.”
The floor shifts under me, even though I remember that she was loud about never wanting kids when she was seventeen. But people change, and she didn’t choose this. The choice was stolen from her.
“If that’s a problem…” Luc continues, his tone turning ice-cold, “… then walk. Walk the hell out of her life the second you’re done testing. Don’t waste a minute more of her time.”
I blink, shaken, but not by the news, but by how little it changes anything in me.
I want her no matter what.
“I’m fine. If she’s okay with it, then I’m okay.”
Luc stares at me for a long beat, then gives a slow nod and starts walking again, and I follow him once more like a kicked puppy, still stunned, still trying to wrap my head around everything, what he’s saying, what he’s offering, what the hell this even means, but one thing is for sure.
If this is what it takes to prove I’m serious about Alaina, to fight for her, protect her, and maybe, one day, deserve her again, I’ll do it.
Whatever it takes.
Even if it means teaming up with the French asshole who humiliated me in a Polish pub and just invited me into his chaos.
For her?
I’m all in.