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Drew’s eyes land on my bump and his teeth sink into his bottom lip before he gives me a half smile. “Oh, there’ll be workouts, Mama. Team ones.”
I turn and look out of the window as something in my stomach flutters.
“Sounds fun.”
Chapter 24
Drew
I slide my handinto my pocket, checking the contents are still there for the hundredth time. My heartrate picks up as Sophie leans against the wooden railing of our roof terrace. We’ve come away to a private cabin, owned by someone Tanner knows, and the moment we stepped through the rustic wooden doorway, I knew this was a good call. Sophie has grown more and more relaxed each minute we’ve been here. We christened the front room the minute we arrived. Ate. Christened the kitchen… twice. Now, it’s dark and she’s changed into a cream loungewear set. Her blonde hair is loose around her shoulders as she gazes up at the night sky.
She’s breathtaking.
“This is so beautiful,” she muses.
I walk up behind her, curling a hand around the railing on one side of her.
“It certainly is.” I slide my other hand around her and rest it on the underside of her bump.
She sighs softly and leans back against my chest. “I can’t get over how clear the sky is. You never see the stars like this in the city.”
“Why don’t you make a wish on one,” I murmur against her neck as I kiss her smooth skin.
She places her hand over the top of mine on her stomach and inclines her neck so that I can kiss lower to the juncture where it meets her shoulder. I smile against her skin as I take the hint, relishing the way she shivers as my teeth lightly graze her.
“Okay, done,” she says softly, turning inside my arms and snaking her arms up around my neck.
“Fast work, Boss.” I smile. “Did you wish for my father to stop being as ass?”
She brings one hand forward and trails her fingertips along the stubble on my jaw, watching its path.
“No. I wished for something for my client. She needs the magic more than I do. I’ve got my own right here.” Her fingers brush along my jaw and then slip down my chest, coming to rest over my heart.
“It’s hard to believe you’re related sometimes. You’re nothing like him,” she whispers. “You’re such a good man, Drew.”
I take her chin between my finger and thumb and angle her head back so that her eyes meet mine. “He wasn’t always like this. He loved my mum the way she deserved once. When Maddy and I were kids, they were happy. We looked like any regular family to the outside world.”
“What happened?”
We promised each other honesty, communication. She deserves to know just what a fucked up family she’s joining.
“He’s not…” I pause to admire her as she looks into my eyes, waiting patiently. She’s so perfect, always listening, always supportive. More than I could ever wish for even if I did it on a million stars.
“He’s not my biological father.”
Sophie’s eyes widen. “What?”
“Just before my sixteenth birthday, I found out my parents used a sperm donor to have me. They thought Dad was the problem. He was crushed. But then a few years later, Maddy came along. So I guess the doctors were wrong.”
I stare at the calm surface of the lake. I wonder if it’s hiding a deeper current. One that could take you and drag you into the darkness, drowning you without hesitation. Like the one in my gut when I talk about the past.
The one that’s churning right now.
“It all suddenly made sense. Why Dad was stricter with me than Maddy. Why he always praised her and found fault with everything I did.” I clear my throat as Sophie wraps her arms around my waist and holds me, resting her head against my chest. “Why I’d catch him looking at me like he hated me. The night I found out, I called Logan. I needed to get out of the house. Away from him. Away from everyone. We stole a car. After that, things got worse. I was sent to juvie for six months, and Dad hated that I’d publicly humiliated him. I was a police officer’s son; I should have known better. But I think what bothered him most was that people might find out. They might know I wasn’t his, that he couldn’t get Mum pregnant. His pride has always come before all else. Narcissistic bastard.”
Sophie’s grip on me tightens as she lets out a splintered sigh, seeped in emotion. “You didn’t deserve that. God, Drew. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.” She lifts her head from my chest and her eyes are rimmed with red. “You deserved a father who loved you and would put you first.”
I stroke her cheek as I smile sadly. “Yeah, but not everyone gets that. At least now you know what you’re getting yourself into. He’s hoping one of the babies is a boy, so he gets the son he never had.”
