Heart of a Stripper (23 page)

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He sighed
, fixing his jacket once more.

“Then let’s go.” Adam replied
, leading the way out of the room, and Mitchell followed.

Walking down the hallway,
Mitchell felt like a prisoner walking down death row for the last time. Walking up to the huge closed double doors, he sucked in a breath.

“This is it.” Adam said
, clearly.

“I know.”
Mitchell said, nervously.

Looking at his best friend, Adam sighed. Keeping silent about this whole ordeal was killing him.

“Mitchell, don’t do this.” Adam blurted out.

“Do what?”
Mitchell asked, looking up confused.

“Marry Kaitlin. You don’t love her, and I doubt she really loves you.” Adam said clearly.

“You can’t say this to me
now
.” Mitchell said, shaking his head. “I’m not going back on my word again. I need to be decisive, besides what do you expect me to do? Run back to a girl who doesn’t want me?”

“No, you can be
single
.” He said, dangling the word. “Being married is—this’ll be a prison for you.” Adam said, truthfully, he didn’t want to see Mitchell throw the rest of his life away doing what others expected.

“Can I ta
lk to my son alone for a minute?” Bruce’s voice interrupted.

Spinning around,
Mitchell bawled his hands into fists as anger took hold of him. He couldn’t believe the asshole had the nerve to show up to his wedding, let alone want to talk to him. If he insisted on acting like nothing ever happened, then he damn sure could shove that notion up his ass. Mitchell wasn’t accepting apologies after what he’d done. Sleeping with his fiancée was one thing, but making the love of is life miscarry his only child was the biggest fault he wouldn’t let go. Adam stepped away quietly as Mitchell and Bruce glared at each other.

“I know I haven’t been the best example of a father—” He started, but
Mitchell cut him short.

“Save it. I have nothing to say to you.”
Mitchell bit harshly.

“Good because I didn’t come to listen to anything. I said
I
came to talk to
you
.” He said, coldly.

Just by
Bruce’s demeanor, Mitchell could tell this wouldn’t end well. How he had come from the bastard baffled Mitchell every day. For him to be so kind hearted when the bastard standing in front of him was so cold was beyond him. Narrowing eyes at him, he got his good hand ready to punch him square in the face—again. Doing it at the hospital had been fulfilling, but it was only the tip of the iceberg.

“I’m glad you’re
finally
doing the right thing.” He insisted. “Your mother would be proud of you. Especially if you take this offer at the company that I’m about to give you. ”

“How dare you? Don’t you dare speak of my
mother.” Mitchell snapped.

“She was my wife way before you entered the picture you little bastard.” Bruce said
, through gritted teeth. “If it weren’t for you, she’d be here today.”

Sucking in a hard breath,
Mitchell couldn’t battle that statement. He was the sole reason that his mother had died. Even though it had been an accident, that had meant nothing to his father. From the day she died all he could do was blame Mitchell day in and day out.

“
Don’t act like you loved her, you don’t even visit her grave. You didn’t deserve her.” Mitchell whispered, furiously.

“I didn’t come here to argue with you.” Bruce snapped
, ending the conversation.

He was good at that. Dodging things was the one thing he was great at, but the truth was the subject stung. Bruce had loved his mother Grace with everything in him, even though he rarely showed it. He knew she resented him and hated that they’d gotten married so young because Bruce was never there. He’d worked hard to build his empire, but once it started getting off the ground, he didn’t know how
to slow down. There was no slowing down for him. Work became his life, even after he’d become a father.  

“Then leave.”
Mitchell insisted.

“I’m here to watch my
only son get married. There’s no way I’m leaving and missing it.” Bruce replied, as Adam strolled back over.

“Your honeymoon is paid for
, and when you get back a CEO position will be open for you. Your school will still be funded and I’ve found the best person qualified to take over as principal. All you have to do is say I do.” Bruce insisted.

“Hate to interrupt, but the wedding planner is over there giving you the stink eye.” Adam said softly.

Mitchell walked off as the double doors opened. Bruce watched and let out a sigh. That wasn’t how he had wanted the conversation to go, but his pride had stood in the way. What he wanted to really do was tell him that Nevaeh was still pregnant. After dwelling on the situation for a few days, he realized it had been wrong to handle the situation the way he had. His options were to either tell Mitchell the truth, or take action and make her get rid of it. The latter seemed better, but his conscience was telling him to tell the truth and he would
after
the wedding. There was no way he was going to ruin what he’d set in motion.

Mitchell
stared at all the guests that were staring back at him. The camera’s planted around the room put a stamp on how widespread this wedding had become. Things seemed to move along quickly after he stood at the front of the venue. He watched as the bridesmaids strolled down the center aisle, escorted by his other friends Scott and Brad before taking their place on the opposite side of him and Adam. They were draped in salmon pink gowns, with flowers to match. The tempo of the music changed as the minister asked for everyone to stand.

The double doors opened again and he spotted Kaitlin standing there. She was in a pure white couture gown.
Upon seeing it, Mitchell immediately thought she should have had on another dress to accommodate her. The pure white was for virginal women, and Kate was definitely not that. Looking at her as she started towards him, all he could envision was Nevaeh instead. Blowing out a hard breath, he shook those thoughts away. Kaitlin smiled as the whole room oohed and aah-ed at her. Flashes from many cameras were going off in every direction. You would’ve thought they were hosting a fashion event and she as modeling, instead of getting married.

Her father Paul was escorting her.
Mitchell’s dad had been longtime friends with Paul. They worked together for many years, and that was how Mitchell met Kaitlin. At first Mitchell despised Kate because of her values, and the fact that she
only
wanted to be famous was also a turn off to him. Another thing that made him turn away was the fact that he wanted to have children and she didn’t. He wanted to have an “All American” family, where as she refused to be “strapped down with kids”. She had become interested in dating Mitchell, but Mitchell wasn’t for it.

Seeing that his son wasn’t interested, Bruce had put
them in the same circles and persuaded Mitchell to give her a chance. From there, their courtship had begun. Every time they were out on dates, the paparazzi were there to immortalize the event. It was how her career at modeling really kick started. Her name had become a household name all by dating a mogul’s son. Tucking those feelings into a draw, Mitchell refused to revisit them. He was getting married and had no time for doubts.

Paul
had on a nice black dress suit, and his salt and peppered hair was trimmed properly. You could tell he worked in an office by his manner. When they got to the front, Kaitlin flashed him a huge smile and Mitchell returned it. She was beautiful, her blonde hair was swept up into a bun and she had a ton of makeup on to say the least.

“You look nice.” He whispered to her.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” the minister asked.

“I do.” Paul chimed in before kissing her cheek, and placing her hand into
Mitchell’s.

Everyone sat as the music went silent and they both turned to the minister. He read a few things, and then asked them to recite their vowels. Kaitlin started as
Mitchell held her hands and listened.

“I thought a lot about what I wanted to say to you
Mitchell.” Kate smiled. “It took a while for us to get here, but we made it. I want to spend my life with you. Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth; where my life was dark, you have brought light. I pledge before this assembled company to be your wife from this day forward. Let us make of our two lives, one life, and let us always honor and respect each other.”

As she fell silent
Mitchell glared at her. The words that he was hoping to find to say to her just weren’t there. He had a blank slate. So, he decided to wing it. Looking out at the crowd, he could see everyone anxiously waiting for his response. Sucking in a much needed breath, he opened his mouth to tell her what she needed to hear.

Nevaeh shut her TV off and sat up. She couldn’t take any more talk
of the “McCallister Wedding”. It was on every freaking channel imaginable and very sickening. Grabbing her stomach, she groaned. She had been sick all day and hated it. It was like the nausea refused to pass and she had grown tired of it. As soon as the holidays were over, she was going to make a doctor’s visit to see if she was alright. Her dad was being a prick as usual, but she chose to ignore him.

After cooking him lunch, she laid down for a while hoping to try and rest, but the TV proved otherwise. Seeing
Mitchell marry Kaitlin had been the bane of her existence. She knew it was her fault that she had pushed him away, but she hated seeing him make a huge mistake.

Getting dressed, she headed out because she
needed some fresh air. Even though it was Christmas, it had been the worst one she had ever endured. Going back into the routine that was deemed “her life” was depressing. To be alone with her abusive father, and to try and fill the void of every loss she’d experienced was exhausting. She’d fallen in love and in the blink of an eye, she lost that. Watching and hearing about the only man she loved marry another was heart wrenching.

She wanted so bad to forg
et the moments they shared, but it haunted her every moment of every day. His lips touching hers, his hands caressing her body, her tender body pressed against his hard chiseled form—every dreaded bittersweet memory refused to fade away. She was hoping the walk would make her feel better. Strolling down the street, she took in the scenery before a car stopped beside her. As the window rolled down, she saw Bruce glaring at her. Anger burned through her quickly as everything he’d done flooded her mind.

“Get in, we need to talk.” He insisted.

“Go to hell!” she spat as she continued on.       

There was no way she was giving him the time of day after everything that happened. She hated him to her very core and now knew why he and
Mitchell shared a strained relationship. Bruce hopped out of the running car and went after her.

“Nevaeh stop!” he shouted and she spun around to him.

“What else do you want from me?!” she screamed as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Come with me. There’s something we need to discuss.” He insisted.

“I’d be stupid to get in that car with you. You’re a monster.” She spat as she looked up to him.

“
I’m not going to dispute that,” he said sighing deeply. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Searching his face, she saw disdain and knew whatever it was had to be heavy, but
she knew better. She wasn’t going to allow him to bully her anymore.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.” She said turning and walking away.

“It’s about you and Mitchell!” he shouted, and she stopped in her tracks.

What could he possibly say about her and
Mitchell that mattered? He had already driven them apart in the worst possible way, so if he intended to do something worse she wouldn’t give him the chance.

“I already know he’s married, so you don’t have to worry about me going after him.” She replied.
 

“That’s not what I want to say. Just—come ride with me for a minute and I guarantee you won’t regret it.” He bit.