Authors: Toni Aleo
“Fallon, you need this money.”
“No I don’t. As long as I have you, and Aiden, and my pride, I don’t need anything, especially from Lucas Brooks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed.”
Fallon passed by a stunned Audrey and basically ran up the stairs before Audrey could see the tears that welled up in her eyes. Audrey was right, Fallon did need the money but she couldn’t do it. Cashing that check would basically be telling Lucas that she needed him, and by God, she didn’t need anyone. She had Aiden and Audrey, and she didn’t need anyone else.
Especially Lucas Brooks.
A couple of days later when Fallon glanced out at the party she had put together for Aiden, she was regretting not cashing that check. Of course, she went all out. The kids that joined Aiden for his party were basically transformed into the famous little kid hero from the popular kids’ show. As they ran around Centennial Park shooting green arrows at each other, Fallon stood with Elli and her best friend, Harper. Fallon had known Harper as long as she had known Elli, and loved her almost the same. Harper looked gorgeous with her brown hair in a messy bun and her one year old, Allison, on her hip. Even though the baby girl was a beauty, it still stung every time someone said her name. The name Allison would forever hold painful memories for Fallon.
Elli stood in a beautiful floor-length green cotton dress with her hair in curls down her back. Shelli sat on her hip with her leg above Elli’s cute little baby belly. Fallon found herself feeling a little inferior to Elli and Harper’s beauty. It had to be the newlywed vibes or maybe the new baby ones. Whatever it was, it agreed with both women. They were stunning.
“The party is great, Fallon,” Harper gushed as she looked out at the party.
“Thanks, Harper. Thank you for coming, too.”
“Of course, we love Aiden, don’t we Ally,” Harper gushed to her precious baby. Allison giggled happily before laying her head on Harper’s chest.
“When’s the guys supposed to get here?” Harper asked, then she looked over at Fallon. “Which reminds me, thanks for telling me Lucas was your baby daddy. I had to hear it from Jakob! My own best friend didn’t even tell me!”
Fallon and Elli laughed as they shared a look. It was a great feeling knowing that Elli hadn’t even told her best friend. Elli was a good person, and Fallon was lucky to have her in her life. Fallon shot Elli a grin before looking back at Harper. “I’m sorry, babe. I couldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t even tell him.”
“So I heard! Scandalous, I tell you! I didn’t think you had that in ya,” Harper gushed with a playful grin on her face.
“Neither did anyone else, but thankfully that’s all water under the bridge and now Aiden and Lucas are happy. That’s all that matters.”
“Your happiness matters too, Fallon,” Elli said from beside her. Fallon nodded as Aiden came running towards her.
“I am happy,” she said, but she knew no one believed her. Aiden wrapped his arms around her waist, grinning up at her, as his breathing was labored.
“Their plane got delayed in Vancouver, Aiden. That’s why Mr. Shea and Mr. Jakob aren’t here either, but guess what,” Elli gushed as she bent down to be at the level Aiden was.
Aiden’s face lit up as he came closer to her. “What?!”
“I think I see your daddy now,” she said, pointing to the other side of the park. Fallon followed the direction Elli was pointing, and there was Lucas.
Walking with Molly.
“Dad!”
Fallon watched as Aiden took off towards Lucas, the biggest grin imaginable on his face. The same size grin spread across Lucas’ face before he dropped the gift he held in his hands and replaced them with an excited seven year old. Molly stood by them with a large grin on her face and all Fallon could think was that she hadn’t changed a bit. Molly’s bone-straight brown hair was back in a barrette that Fallon knew James had gotten her before he died. Her eyes had laugh lines around them, and she had gained weight but she carried it well. It made her look homey, like she was made to hug someone. She was still as beautiful as ever and Fallon could only hope that in the future she looked as good as Molly Brooks did — without the help of Dr. Swartz.
Fallon’s eyes traveled back to Lucas and her mouth slowly parted. Without a doubt, Lucas Brooks was the most gorgeous man on earth. Fallon shook her head at his sexiness as her eyes roamed his body. He wore fitted blue jeans with a black Assassins tee. The shirt hugged each of his muscles, and Fallon swore she drooled on herself. Fallon ran her hand along her mouth to make sure she hadn’t. She was good, thank goodness. Fallon couldn’t see his eyes because of the black hat he wore, but Fallon figured they were bright with excitement.
Lucas let out a bark of laughter before he glanced over at Fallon, catching her looking him over like he was a buffet. Fallon’s cheeks warmed as he gave her a small smile before looking back down at his mom. Fallon also looked over at Molly and when she did, she froze because she wasn’t looking into the eyes of the sweet Molly Brooks she had known.
Nope, now it was more like ‘You kept my grandson from me for seven years and now I’m gonna kill you’ Molly Brooks. Fallon knew at that moment that even though her day had started out amazing, it was all about to go to shit.
Fantastic.
Lucas saw Fallon before he saw anyone else. She stood with Elli and Jakob’s wife, looking not like the mom he knew but more like a mom he would like to get naked with. She was hot, gorgeous, and man how he wanted her. The multicolor dress she wore was tight in spots and flowed in others. Thankfully, the tight parts were the parts he loved, like her ass and breasts.
It was definitely something a mommy shouldn’t be wearing.
A slow satisfied grin went across his face as he walked with his mom admiring Fallon’s beautiful body as her hair blew in the wind. Her eyes were covered by sunglasses but he had those memorized. And even though he had her lips memorized too, he still found himself drawn to them. They were glossed up to perfection and she was smiling, looking completely carefree — a look he loved on her.
“She hasn’t change a bit. A little thicker, but she is still stunning,” Molly said from beside him. He took his eyes away from Fallon and nodded to his mom.
“She’s gorgeous.”
Molly laughed just as Lucas turned to look back at Fallon. “Love-sick fool,” Molly said under her breath, but Lucas heard her loud and clear. Molly Brooks wasn’t subtle about anything. When Lucas looked back at the three women, he noticed that Elli was bending down pointing at him. That was when he noticed Aiden. Aiden’s head turned quickly in Lucas’ direction and the biggest, brightest smile came across his face. Lucas found that even though he was outside in the fresh air, he couldn’t seem to catch his breath.
“Hey Dad!” Aiden said again, his arms waving in the air as he ran towards him and Molly. From beside him, he heard Molly take in a deep breath as Aiden catapulted himself into Lucas’ arms. Aiden wrapped his arms tightly around Lucas’ neck as Lucas did the same to Aiden’s middle. “I’ve missed you,” Aiden whispered.
Lucas closed his eyes, hugging Aiden closer to him. Lucas couldn’t believe it. Aiden called him dad. It was supposed to be Aiden’s birthday but Lucas was convinced that he was the one receiving the best gift ever.
“I missed you too, bud,” Lucas choked out, and it wasn’t easy. Aiden brought out so much emotion from Lucas and he was sure that if he didn’t get it together, he was going to start crying like a girl. “Sorry I’m late, bud.”
“It’s okay! You’re here now!”
“Yup, are you having a nice time?”
Aiden pulled back, nodding his head. “The best ever. All my friends are here, and now that you are here, everything is awesome! Where’s my Grandma?!”
Lucas laughed because for the first time ever, he had forgotten his mom was there and really? Aiden was funny as hell. Lucas shifted Aiden to his hip, and turned to his mom. Lucas knew that Molly was going to be crying, what he didn’t expect was the huge smile that went along with big tears that rolled down her plump cheeks. “Aiden, this is your grandma, Molly.”
Aiden waved with a big smile on his face. “Hi, Grandma! I’m Aiden James Brooks; it’s great to meet you!”
Molly let out a cry before snatching Aiden out of Lucas’ arms and hugging him tightly against her. Aiden wrapped his little arms around Molly with a cute little grin on his face as she continued to hug the stuffing out of him. “Mom, come on. You are going to hurt him,” Lucas laughed. Molly let out a loud laugh before pulling back and kissing Aiden all over his face.
“I will not!” she scolded at Lucas before looking back at Aiden. “Oh, Aiden James Brooks, do you know how much I love you?” she asked. Lucas smiled as his heart skipped a beat. Even he knew that Molly loved Aiden, probably more than she loved him. She had talked nonstop about seeing him since she got off the plane.
“A lot probably. I’m pretty awesome, and everyone loves me,” Aiden said with a shrug of his shoulders. He was so sure of himself that it filled Lucas with pride. Brooks’ men were confident and he loved that Aiden was following in his footsteps just fine.
“Oh yeah I do. I am so cocky!” Aiden exclaimed with his arms in the air. Molly let out a booming laugh before wrapping Aiden back up in her arms and kissing him all over his precious little face.
“Hey there, stranger!”
Lucas looked over to see Audrey coming towards them with a big grin on her face. She had her hair in pigtails and wore a bright yellow shirt and jean skirt with ridiculously high heels. It seemed like she always had heels on, but today she looked like a little girl playing dress up. Lucas smiled as he hugged her lightly.
“Hey Audrey,” Lucas said as they parted. He then turned to bring Molly closer, “Mom, this is Aiden’s aunt, Audrey. Audrey this is my mom, Molly.”
“Hi!” Audrey exclaimed, holding out her hand. Molly fumbled a little so Lucas took Aiden, giving Molly free hands.
“Hello! So nice to meet you. You are just as gorgeous as your sister. You guys could be twins!” Molly gushed, pulling Audrey into a tight hug.
“Aw, thanks!” Audrey giggled as she hugged Molly tightly. She gave Lucas a small smile before backing away from Molly. “It’s so nice to meet you, too.” Audrey turned to Aiden. “Hey bud, your friends are looking for ya. Wanna come on?”
Aiden gave him a wide smile before running off towards his friends. Lucas watched him for a moment before turning back to Audrey. “Sorry to pull him away.”
“Oh Audrey, my heart hasn’t been beating steady since I left you,” Lucas said with straightest face he could manage. It didn’t work and both of them let out gut-busting laughs as Molly watched them like they were fools.
“Whatever, I know you are lying. I know who your heart beats for,” Audrey giggled as she gave him a knowing look. Lucas’ mouth picked up on one side as he shifted back and forth on the balls on his feet. He hated when he was embarrassed and being embarrassed in front of his mom and Audrey wasn’t helping his ego. Audrey gave him one last smile before she locked arms with Molly. “Molly, my mom and dad are so excited to meet you. Would you like to go meet them?”
“Well, even if I didn’t, I couldn’t say no when you started the request like that,” Molly giggled.
Audrey gave her a bright smile before the two started off towards William and Nora. Lucas stood there for a moment looking out at the party. Aiden was running with a bunch of little girls and Lucas’ face broke out in a grin. Before he would say ‘Like father, like son’ but Lucas had no need to chase females anymore. He had one woman in mind, and only one. As he searched the party her, someone slapped him hard on the back. Lucas turned to see Shea and Jakob looking out at the party.
Lucas nodded his head before pointing over to where the two gorgeous women stood with their beautiful babies. “Right over there gentlemen and if I may say…”
“You may not,” Shea said cutting him off. “I like you right now Brooks. Don’t piss me off.” Shea cut Lucas a dirty look before walking with Jakob towards their wives.
Lucas chuckled as they walked away. “I was going to say you guys’ babies were beautiful,” he said. He loved messing with Shea — he didn’t like them getting along. It wasn’t how they worked; it was way better when they picked on each other.
“Sure you were. You have had eyes for my woman since you first saw her,” Shea called over his shoulders.
Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “She’s hot.” Shea turned around quickly, and Lucas smiled, “What? She is.”