“I’m going to be having a friend over for dinner tonight.Would you be so kind as to make enough, please?”Aside from my daughters, Becky is the only other woman who receives kindness from me these days.
“A friend, huh.”Rolling my eyes, she snickers.“I sure can.Pineapple chicken still good?”
“I believe so.”Honestly, I wouldn’t have a clue, but if Noa has no interest in it, then we could go out or order in.
Letting Becky get back to work, I head upstairs with the intent of ensuring my/our room is acceptable for Noa.Any changes will have to come later, but I can at least provide room for her in the closet, dresser, and attached bathroom.The entire process opens my eyes to how much I have that I don’t need.With Malice and Holy taking over so much of the business these days, my wardrobe could use a downsizing.
As I clean out the closet and lay suits, ties, shoes, and so many other things on the bed, Jermaine enters the room with a raised brow.“Becky mentioned a friend coming over this evening?”His curious tone conveys his knowledge of who it is.The only woman I’ve been interested in since my wife’s passing is Noa.
“I do.”No point in denying it.
Jer whistles out his shock.“Finally claiming the woman who’s had you so grumpy all this time, are you?”
Dropping another suit on the bed, I turn to face him.“She’s pregnant.”
I’m still shocked and figuring out how I feel about that.I’m in my forties now, not a young man like I was when CJ came along.
“Son of a bitch.”He grins.“That’s some fucking news right there.”Sure fucking is.“Yours, I assume?”
The thought never occurred to me.“No fucking clue,” I respond.
My mood sours as I think about Noa with another man.The woman is curvy in the ass, hips, and tits, but she’s still slight in frame, so I couldn’t guess how many months along she is.
Fucking hell.
Storming past Jermaine, I stomp down to the garage, grab a set of keys from the lock box near the door, and climb into my Range Rover, peeling off the property with one destination in mind as my anger ramps up the more I imagine her with another man.I'm not misogynistic.I didn’t expect her to be some kind of virgin or celibate before or after we were together.But Iwasarrogant enough to hope she couldn’t move on from me so quickly.
The idea ofmeever moving on fromherhas never been a possibility.Not from the first moment I laid eyes on her in the principal’s office when Odette was a student and I sent Malice in to keep an eye on her.
I always knew Noa had feelings for me; that’s why I pushed her away for so long.I didn’t want to make false promises when, at the time, I knew I couldn’t follow through with them.Noa deserved someone who could love her wholly.Now that there’s the possibility of her being with someone else, I can’t fucking stand the thought.In fact, I might have to kill the fucker if there is one and he’s still in the picture.
Traffic is slow, so I’m at the school an hour before the last bell.Slamming the vehicle into park, I take a deep breath, not wanting to bite her head off, because no matter what, she doesn’t deserve my displaced anger.
Straightening my suit jacket, I pull open the front door and make my way to the office, where I notice her back turned towards me through the glass doors, looking fucking breathtaking as always.She’s doing something at the printer as I walk in and wait silently for her to turn around to face me.
Unsure if she feels watched or is just looking around while the printer spews out paper for her, she glances over her shoulder to notice me standing there.
“Carmine,” she gasps, quickly turning back around.
“Noa.”I can’t help my growly tone.She brings out the feral beast in me.
“What are you doing here?”Her voice shakes slightly.From nerves or fear, I’m not sure.
“Is it mine?”I ask directly.No sense in beating around the bush.She needn’t be concerned that I’ll be pissed to see her pregnancy.Even though she’ll resist my claim on her because of it, also because it forced me to realize I can’t live without her any longer.
“What?”she asks as the printer dies down, and she plays with the papers in her hand.
“The baby, Noa.”
She inhales sharply.
“How did you know?”She still hasn’t turned around, and I’m growing frustrated.I’d rather not have this conversation with her back.
“Turn around and look at me.”She jumps at the barked order but ignores me, so I move around the counter and stop half a foot behind her.“Turn around, Noa.”
Her shoulders droop, and she lets out a sad sigh before turning, but keeps her head down, refusing to look up so I can see her face.
“I want your eyes, Noa.Look at me.”
