A Family Reunion (33 page)

“Monica? What do you think about it?” Taye asked concernedly, although it was apparent Monica had been bothered by the news.

Monica stood, looked at Michael and then at her mother. “I think it sucks; that’s what I think. I’m worse off now than before,” she said, her body shaking with suppressed sobs. “Sebrina has a daddy and Kennedy has a daddy, but I still won’t have one.” She then whirled and made a dash for the kitchen and was out the back door before anyone had time to react.

Michael took in Taye’s stricken face before she moved to go after her daughter. “I have to go talk to her, Michael.”

He placed his hand on her wrist to stop her. “No. Let me handle it. You stay here with the girls and explain the rest of it to them. The family matter.”

Taye started to protest. The mother in her wanted to go after her child and comfort her.

“She has to have a father’s assurance, Taye, and I’m the only one who can do that,” Michael said softly. “Trust me.”

Taye slowly nodded and stepped back. She then watched as Michael walked out of the living room and went into the kitchen, to go after Monica.

When Michael stepped out on the back porch he saw Monica sitting on the grass under a huge oak tree with her head bowed. He knew she was still crying. Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked over to where she sat.

He gently lowered his body on the grass next to hers and reached out and gently brought her into his embrace. “Don’t you like me, Monica?” he asked softly.

She slowly lifted her head and met his gaze. Her eyes, Michael saw, were still filled with tears. “Yes, I like you,” she said, still shaking from the onslaught of her emotions. “But that doesn’t mean anything. I still won’t have a father and it’s not fair.”

The heartbreaking pain he heard in her voice touched him deeply. He inwardly cursed the man who had fathered her but had never come to see his child, to be a part of her life. “When your mother and I get married, I will become your father, Monica. That is, if you want me.”

Monica looked up at him. She swiped at the tears in her eyes. “Why would you do that? You already have a daughter.”

Michael breathed deeply, wondering how he could say the words to let this precious child know how he felt. His voice was rough and unsteady when he said, “Yes, but after marrying your mom, I’ll have three daughters. They will be three daughters that I will love and cherish equally.”

Several tense moments passed and then Monica spoke. “But why?”

“Because I love your mother, so there’s no way I couldn’t love you or Sebrina and think of you as my daughters, too. And I hope the two of you will think of me as your father.”

Monica frowned. “Sebrina already has a father and he sends for her every summer and he sends her stuff every Christmas. Lots of stuff.”

Michael nodded, hearing the hurt in her voice. This beautiful little girl whose features reminded him so much of Taye’s when she was Monica’s age.

“I didn’t have anyone,” Monica added, roping Michael’s thoughts back in.

He tightened his arms around her. “Well, you got me. In fact, how would you like to be my best girl at the wedding?”

Monica’s eyes widened. “You gonna have a wedding?”

Michael smiled. He hadn’t talked to Taye about having one, but he wanted a wedding. When he had married Lynda, they had gotten married in a small chapel on the military base with only the two of them, the minister, and two witnesses from the administration office. He wanted the chance to watch Taye walk down the aisle to him, surrounded by friends and family. He sighed when the thought occurred to him that they might have more friends than family present. “Yes, we’ll have a wedding and you’ll be my best girl. I will have a best man and a best girl.”

Monica smiled at the very thought of that.

“So does that mean you will accept me as your father once I marry your mother?” he asked her.

“Yes,” Monica said softly.

“And does that also mean you’ve agreed to be my best girl in the wedding?”

Her smile widened. “Yes.”

Michael chuckled. “Good.”

Monica then gazed at him apprehensively. “Does—does that mean I can start calling you Daddy after the wedding? I never called anyone Daddy before.”

Michael didn’t think he could love this child any more than he did right now. She was asking the question like it would be an honor for her to call him Daddy. “Yes, just as long as I can introduce you to everyone as my daughter.”

“OK.”

Michael slowly got to his feet. “It’s all settled then. You’re my best girl until the wedding. Then you’ll become my daughter. How does that sound?”

Monica gazed up at him as he towered over her. “That sounds good.”

Michael reached out his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s go tell your mother our plans.”

They lay facing each other. Naked. Satiated. Contented.

Quinn gazed at Alexia as he forced his breathing back to normal. The long, luxurious mass of hair on her head totally surrounded her face, and he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. No woman should look this breathtaking just minutes after making love. He didn’t think he would ever be able to erase from his mind the picture of her above him, taking control, setting the pace and gliding them higher and higher until they soared together.

He felt his throat constrict when he thought about just how much he loved her and how much he wanted her in his life permanently. They had been seeing each other exclusively for the past three months. Three glorious months. Things had gotten off to a rocky start, but then they had grown comfortable with each other. She had begun trusting him, confiding in him, and making him a part of her life. They did things together and, more often than not, they shared the same bed each night, whether it was at his place or hers. Things were good between them, but he wanted them better.

He wanted forever.

He thought about what was inside his pants pocket. It was a box he had picked up from the jeweler that morning. An engagement ring. He had intended to pop the question as soon as he arrived, but when she had greeted him at the door wearing nothing but her panties and bra, his mind had immediately gone blank. They had barely made it into the bedroom. He’d barely had time to tell her the good news that Raisa Forbes had dropped her frivolous lawsuit before Alexia had begun removing his clothes.

“Do you want to take a shower with me, Quinn?” Alexia asked softly.

He heard her question, but for the moment he could only stare at her and soak up her beauty. Finally he spoke. “I don’t think I have the strength to move,” he said huskily. “Were you trying to kill me just now?”

She smiled that smile that always made his heart do flips. “No. I wasn’t trying to kill you.” Then after a few moments she added in a still softer voice, “I don’t want anything to happen to you. You mean too much to me, Quinn.”

Quinn took a sharp intake of breath. This was the first time she had admitted that to him. More than anything he wanted to believe her. “Tell me,” he said. His eyes and mouth issued a challenge to her. “Tell me what I mean to you.”

Alexia blinked, clearly understanding what he was asking her to do. Was she ready to tell him how she felt about him? That she loved him? Was now a good time to tell him about the baby, since she’d gotten the official word after visiting her gynecologist earlier that day?

Yes, she thought. She couldn’t put off telling him both things any longer. But first she had to take a shower. When she told him, she wanted to feel refreshed, and she hoped to God that he loved her as much as she loved him, and that he would be OK with the news about the baby. Their baby.

So instead of answering him she avoided the question by saying, “I’m going to take a shower. You’re welcome to join me if you like.” Without waiting for his response, she quickly slid out of bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Quinn remained where he was and sighed deeply. There was something different about Alexia today. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. For some reason her mood seemed a little subdued, although she’d almost killed him while making love. She was a passionate person, a real hellion in the bedroom, but he wouldn’t want her any other way.

At that moment her phone rang. He decided that he was too tired to reach over and pick it up and would let her answering machine get it. It was probably Abbott Bodie calling about the tour being set up for her that would start in a couple of months.

“Alexia, this is Rae’jean,”
an urgent voice said.
“Evidently you aren’t in, but I hope you play back this message before you leave for Jamaica tomorrow.”

Quinn raised a brow as he remembered that Rae’jean was one of Alexia’s ace-boon-coon cousins, the one who was the heart doctor. She’d told him that the other cousin she was close to was Taye and that she lived in Atlanta. Alexia would be flying out in the morning for Jamaica to attend one of her cousins’ wedding.

“Girl, all hell has broken loose in the Bennett family,”
Rae’jean continued.
“Aunt Otha Mae and nosy Cuzin Sophie found out that Taye and Michael are having an affair. Now the family is split down the middle. Half want to give them their blessings and the other half want Reverend Overstreet to exorcise the demons from their bodies. They’re convinced Taye and Michael are possessed by the devil.”

Quinn covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing out loud.

“Trust me, Alexia. This is no laughing matter.”

He stopped laughing immediately, felt contrite for doing so, and was grateful she hadn’t heard him.

“Taye and Michael need our support, so be prepared when you see them this weekend. And I’ll tell you all about that business with my father when I see you. Bye. Wait! I forgot to ask how things are moving on your end. Have you gotten pregnant from that attorney yet?”

Quinn raised a dark brow.

“Alexia, you know I love you and I’ll support you in whatever you do, but please be careful. No man likes being used. I know how much you want a child, but there are other ways you can go about it without deliberately deceiving someone. Well…that’s my two cents. Think about it. I’ll see you in Jamaica.”

Quinn sucked in a deep gulp of air, refusing to let his heart shatter into a million pieces. Evidently he’d heard wrong. He’d misunderstood what the caller had said. With the sound of Alexia’s shower going in the background he pulled himself up to sit on the side of the bed and pressed the replay button on the telephone.

He listened to the message all over again.

Quinn didn’t think he could get a full breath of air past the excruciating tightness in his throat. Moments later he slowly stood as he tried to get a grip on his emotions. The past three months had been nothing but an act on Alexia’s part to get pregnant? She’d been that desperate for a baby that she had set a plan into motion to use him for stud services? Nothing more than a breeding machine? She had actually led him to believe that she’d been on some sort of birth control.

He shut his eyes against the pain and heartache that suddenly racked his body. He’d been a fool to believe she had cared for him. He’d even convinced himself that she had begun falling in love with him and that eventually she would love him as much as he loved her. The media had been right. Alexia Bennett didn’t love any man. She used them until she had her fill, then tossed them aside.

He opened his eyes when he heard the shower stop. Crossing the room, he picked up his pants and shirt and began putting them on. His heart began aching even more when his hand brushed against his pants pocket and felt the box inside. It was the box that contained the engagement ring he had planned to give her tonight. How could he have been so stupid? The tigress had definitely done a job on him. She had used her long, sharp claws and completely ripped his heart in two.

Quinn didn’t turn around when he heard the sound of the bathroom door opening.

“Quinn? Why are you getting dressed? I thought you’d be staying tonight,” Alexia said behind him.

He turned around slowly to face her.

The smile on Alexia’s face vanished when she saw the dark, cold look in Quinn’s eyes and the tight way he was holding his chin. It was obvious that he was upset about something. “Quinn, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“You got a call while you were in the shower,” he said quietly.

Alexia wondered what call she could have gotten that had upset him so much. “What did they want?”

His dark eyes blazed in anger, but his voice was rather calm when he spoke. “It was your cousin Rae’jean. I didn’t pick it up. She left a message for you on your answering machine. I suggest that you replay it.”

Alexia heard the quiet anger in his voice and was confused by it. “All right.” She walked across the room and pushed the replay button.

And she listened.

At the end of the recording she took a deep breath, knowing she had a lot of explaining to do. She slowly turned around to Quinn. The anger she felt radiating from him was so thick that even from across the room she could cut it with a knife. “I can explain things, Quinn,” she said softly, meeting his gaze.

“Can you?”

She heard the pain in his voice and her heart began to ache. “Yes.”

He continued to stare at her before saying, “Just answer this for me. Did you set me up, Alexia? Was the only reason you invited me over that first night to get pregnant from me?”

The room got completely quiet. The only sounds were their breathing. It seemed like an eternity before Alexia finally answered. “Yes,” she said miserably. “That was my initial plan, but—”

“No!” Quinn said, the sound so loud that it thundered off the walls. “If that’s true, then there’s really nothing else you can say, is there? You lied to me. You deliberately used me.” He then began walking to the door.

“Quinn! Wait! Please let me explain.”

Quinn stopped walking. “There’s nothing to explain.” He then thought about the number of times they had made love without protection because he’d assumed she was on some sort of birth control. “Did you succeed in getting what you wanted, Alexia? Are you pregnant?”

Alexia inhaled a deep breath. She started to lie but then changed her mind. Lying would only make things worse between them. She met his dark gaze. “Yes. I found out today that I’m pregnant.”

Quinn’s insides twisted into knots. The woman he loved was carrying his child, but she had lied and deceived him to get it. “There’s something you should know,” he said in a voice laced with steel as his eyes held hers. “I will take you to court to gain full custody of my child. By the time I finish with you, you won’t have anything left, not even a decent name or a singing career, and you sure won’t have my child. I’ll make damn sure of that, Alexia. You’ve used a man for the very last time.”

Tears shimmered in Alexia’s eyes. “You don’t understand, Quinn. I fell in love with you. No matter what my intentions were in the beginning, I love you now. Please believe me.”

“I don’t believe anything you say,” he said coldly. He turned around to leave.

“You lied to me, Quinn.”

Quinn stopped walking and turned around slowly. “What the hell are you talking about? Don’t try shifting guilt here, Alexia. You aren’t the one who got used, so don’t pretend otherwise.”

She swiped at her tears. “You did lie to me. You promised you wouldn’t hurt me and that I could trust you.”

Quinn just stared at her, taken aback by her words. Before he could give her a flaming retort, she continued.

“But you are hurting me, Quinn. You’re hurting me by not believing in me and by not trusting me. You asked me to believe in you and to trust you, but you never intended to believe in me and to trust me. And knowing that hurts.”

Quinn inhaled deeply. His feelings and emotions were too raw to deal with this right now. What she was saying wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. As far as he was concerned, she was deliberately trying to confuse the issue and place the blame on him when all he’d ever wanted to do was love her. Totally. Completely. He inhaled another deep breath, and without saying anything, he turned and walked out of the bedroom.

It was only when Alexia heard the sound of the front door closing behind him that she hugged her stomach and gave in to her tears.