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Chest to chest, his inhale to her exhale, he took her mouth until his lungs burned then touched his forehead to hers. “We gotta go.”
“Where?”
“To meet JoJo.”
War kissed her one last time before he lifted from her body. Cali frowned, watching as he entered the bathroom, feeling another shift happening. One she wasn’t sure what to do with.
SIXTEEN
Cali and War had only been at Kirsten’s condo for no more than ten minutes. She greeted them at the door with a baby in her arms. Cali’s first thought was he’s so damn cute. She smiled back at his adorable face until the words began to flow. War was explaining that the adorable baby boy belonged to Merritt. The woman Merritt had been living with for years delivered him four months after he died.
Everything moved slowly. His words twisted and connected, running together. At least in her mind but one thing was certain. The baby belonged to the man she had been involved with and she didn’t know a thing about him.
“He’s Merritt’s son?” War studied Cali closely, taking in every detail. The way her perfectly manicured brows shifted in tightly, the way her lips which were normally full and pouty pressed into a straight line, the way her knee bounced anxiously, and most importantly the way her eyes kept shifting from Kirsten who held JoJo but avoided him. Cali never fully gave War her attention after the words Merritt and son surfaced because her eyes wouldn’t meet his.
She won’t fucking look at me.
“Cali…” Kirsten said her name softly. “Do you want to hold him?”
“No.” The lightning speed at which her head shook and she delivered the response had Kirsten’s eyes flicking over to her brother in desperation. War was in love with Cali, or at least she believed him to be. If he wasn’t fully there, War wasn’t far from it. Not accepting JoJo wasn’t something either of them could handle. He was theirs. The last piece of their cousin.
“I’m sorry this is being dropped into your lap but he is not to blame.” Kirsten kissed the top of JoJo’s head and Cali’s eyes lowered to his chubby round face, while he squirmed and grinned in her lap. He was so damn adorable. But he was Merritt’s son. One conceived during the time they were together.
“I’m not blaming him.” The words tumbled from her mouth.
But I don’t know what to do with any of this. Merritt has a son that War is raising because Merritt is gone and can’t.
“Maybe not, but you’re not accepting him either.” Kirsten stood and glanced at her brother. “I’m going to take him upstairs. My flight is at three. I have to be at the airport soon.”
“Kirs…” War’s tone was laced with annoyance.
“I’m not changing my plans. This is your mess. Figure it out,” she said and left the living room.
Cali dug her phone out and began swiping until it left her hands and ended up in War’s pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked calmly, even though his energy was explosive. She was gonna run, not deal with this, and he wasn’t fucking having it.
“I’m going to schedule a ride home because I don’t want to be here. If you would please give me my damn phone.” Cali shot to her feet but when she attempted to retrieve her phone from his pocket he grabbed her arm, spun her around so Cali’s back was against his chest, and locked her in place. He held her tightly and let his chin rest in her hair.
“War, let me go.”
“Nah, can’t do that. Not if you’re gonna run instead of talking to me.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Whatever the fuck you want as long as you say something.”
His arms tightened and Cali closed her eyes. She felt him, the scent of him crawled over her, his connection was loud. So fucking loud but so were the thoughts screaming in her head.
“I’m angry.”
“With me or him?”
“With you.” She pulled away and War allowed her but he also didn’t let her go far. When she put too much distance between them he moved closer so she couldn’t escape.
“He conceived a baby while we were together. You kept that from me. I’m hurt by him, but I’m angry with you.”
