27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ORA
When I’m stressed, I bake.
Lu and Xanthe still haven’t returned, but they texted me and said they got Danger to agree to take them to the shops so they could buy me a pregnancy test. War lying pissed me off a lot, but seeing that woman call my dad ‘Daddy’ was the real icing on the cake. Just when I think the knife couldn’t slice any deeper, it does. It went all the way through and out the other side, piercing my heart in its wake.
Nothing is ever just mine .
Yeah, I didn’t tell him about Rome. That was something I had buried deep down inside. I wonder if Sarah is the same for him. She did cheat on him and kick him when he was down.
Would I have waited five years for him?
Pretty sure I’d wait forever because I’m loyal and stupid like that.
“Hey,” Rome greets, grabbing a beer from the refrigerator and turning to me. “You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, my voice filled with attitude. This man might have missed out on my childhood, but he’s about to get a dose of me acting like a bitch.
He twists off the lid and takes a sip, his blue eyes regarding me. “Sarah? I thought War would have told you about her by now.”
I slam down the whisk in my hand and face him, eyes narrowed. “You mean your daughter? I heard her call you ‘Daddy,’ or is that because you’ve fucked her too?”
Okay, out of line.
But I’m angry and hurt, and I need to take it out on someone.
“Ora,” he warns, placing his drink down and lowering his face to mine. “She was Kate’s kid. I was her stepdad during that time.”
I say nothing, keeping my face blank. “So, she calls you Daddy?”
“She’s always called me that,” he admits, running his palm over his beard.
“Well, I’m glad she has you as her father and War as her husband.”
My dream fucking life.
He glances up at the ceiling as if warring with his restraint before bringing his eyes back to me. “I’m sorry. I know how that must have felt hearing that. But?—”
But fucking nothing.
“I just want to be alone right now.”
With a soft sigh, he kisses the top of my head. “No one could ever replace you. No one .”
“Is she staying here?” I ask, hating that I want to know the answer to that question so badly.
“I can’t just kick her out… Kate…” he trails off, looking lost for a moment.
Luckily, Lu and Xanthe step in. “I’ve got the tampons you wanted!”
And those few words get rid of Rome pretty quickly.
“She’s staying here. I want to leave,” I whisper, muttering a curse when suddenly Lore makes a “tsk-tsk” sound, appearing out of nowhere.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he states, and I see his eye is swollen where he took a hit for pissing off War.
“Lore—”
“I mean it, Ora. I understand why you want to leave, but it’s not safe.”
“No one is safe around me right now,” I mutter, and Lu laughs. Xanthe shakes her head, clutching the bag in her hand tightly. “Fine, I’ll stay until lockdown is over, but then I’m gone.”
Lore’s violet eyes fill with relief. “You need anything, you come to me.”
He presses a sweet kiss against my forehead, then winks at my friends. “Why don’t you all come stay in my room tonight?”
I roll my eyes, but the idea holds merit. I should just move rooms. “How big is your bed?”
“Massive.” He grins, picking me up in the air and playfully spinning me around. “We going to have a sleepover?”
“Can I go and chill in there now?” I ask him, and he nods, putting me down and handing me his key.
Lore leaves the kitchen, and we all share a look.
Time to face reality.
“Oh my God, Lore’s drawers are filled with lube, condoms, and sex toys,” Lu calls out, Xanthe laughing in the background.
I’m in Lore’s bathroom, holding the stick I just peed on in my hands.
Opening the door, they both stand from his bed, which could, indeed, hold more than four people.
“We have to give it a minute,” I say, shifting on my feet. “What were you saying about sex toys?”
Needing the distraction, I put the test down and go have a look myself, smirking at his one-track mind. He has everything possibly needed for a kinky night of hot, no-holds-barred sex. In his second drawer, though, I find a picture of him and a beautiful woman. He looks much younger in the photograph, and his smile is bigger than I’ve ever experienced from him. I quickly put it away, realizing I’m crossing a line. I don’t think he’d care if we saw his condom stash and handcuffs, but the photo seems personal.
“Let’s go look,” Xanthe suggests, and we all head back to his bathroom counter, standing in a row, bending over the test.
Two. Damn. Lines.
“Holy fuck, you’re going to have a baby,” Lu murmurs, green eyes filled with emotion. “Should I say congratulations or sorry? We’re at that age where I don’t know which one is appropriate.”
I laugh with tears in my eyes. “Let’s go with the first one.” And we form a group hug.
“I need to tell War.”
“Now?” Xanthe asks, raking her teeth over her lower lip.
“I don’t know. Let me do the two other tests just to be sure,” I suggest.
But in my heart, I know.
I already knew.
Two more positive tests later, I head back down to speak to War. He’s not around the bar or even outside, where some of the women are swimming in the pool I’ve yet to try out.
I find him in the gym, punching the shit out of a boxing bag. He’s taken off his shirt, and a sheen of sweat covers his muscled body. That sexy V on his hips makes my mouth water a little, along with the little trail of hair that leads into his low-slung pants. I’m about to make myself known when Sarah approaches him.
I didn’t notice her there.
Has she been sitting there watching him?
I realize she’s changed into her workout gear—a sports bra and tight shorts that go right up her ass crack. She has a six-pack herself, making me glance down at my own soft, about-to-be extremely round stomach.
“Want to spar like the good old days?” she asks.
War ignores her, continuing to attack the bag.
“War—”
He suddenly stops and spins around to face her. “Why are you here, Sarah? Why don’t you sign the fucking papers and leave me alone? You want the house? Have at it. The only thing I want is my last ties to you cut.”
“I’m here because Daddy called me and told me to come for a visit.” She shrugs, and my mouth drops open when I realize it was my father who invited her here.
Goddammit! Did he do this to start shit on purpose? To make sure War and I don’t have a chance at making things work? Next, he will bring Scorp back here to pick up the pieces.
What a controlling asshole.
They always say never meet your heroes in real life.
And I have built up Rome in my head, putting him on some sort of pedestal that he never should have been put on in the first place.
War laughs without humor. “Of course he did. He knew you would come and start a shit storm in typical Sarah fashion.”
“You love me.”
“You cheated on me,” he fires back. “What happened to James, anyway?”
“We broke up,” she admits, shrugging it off. “You didn’t really expect me to be alone for five years, did you? And you call me selfish.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I want you gone,” War roars, gritting his teeth.
“No, you don’t.” She closes the space between them, pulls his face down, and kisses him.
I can tell it catches him off guard.
But he also doesn’t push her off right away.
The pregnancy test falls from my fingers.
At this moment, I know I’m done .