A veil of sadness washed over her face. “It’s Taelyn. She wants custody of Millie.”
“No.” The ground vanished beneath my feet. Ice-cold fingers of dread ripped my heart from my chest. “She can’t have her.”
Mrs. Humphreys shook her head. “Unfortunately, she can. She’s claiming you’re not equipped enough to raise Millie on your own. She believes she and her husband can provide Millie with a more stable upbringing.”
Stable upbringing?Tears filled my eyes, and I didn’t do a damn thing to keep them from rolling down my cheeks. How could I when I was about to lose the most important person in my life?
Chapter two
Tristan
“Don’t be like that.” The moment I’d said it, I realized my mistake.
An incredulous sound filled the air right before Shelby flicked her wrist and baptized me with fermented grapes.
Clearly not the right thing to say to an infuriated woman holding a glass of red wine.
“Don’t be like that?” She threw my words back at me with a few dashes of crazy added to her tone. “I thought we had something special, Tristan.”
I probably should’ve felt bad, but it was hard to grab on to even the tiniest sliver of guilt when I had wine dripping from my eyebrows. Besides, I never promised her anything other than a few amazing orgasms—I’d more than delivered on that.
Shaking out the napkin, I dragged it over my face to mop up most of the mess. “You’re a nice girl, Shelby, but—”
“I am not a girl.” Her face twisted, eyes almost bugging out of her skull. “I amallwoman.” With a huff, she jumped from her chair, looking about two seconds away from stomping her foot. “Clearly, more woman than you can handle.”
“Sweetheart,” I chuckled. “I can handle two of you any day of the week and twice on Sundays.” Cocking my brow, daring her to continue this conversation.
She didn’t of course. Choosing instead to pivot and march out of the restaurant. But not before plowing over an innocent waiter in the process.
A sour taste filled my mouth.
Kate wouldn’t react this way.
What?Why the fuck did my assistant just pop into my mind? Shaking my head at the ridiculous thought, I pushed to my feet and grabbed the jacket draped over the back of my chair. After sliding my arms into the sleeves, I secured the button and headed toward the hostess stand.
“Enzo, good to see you.” I held out my hand to the owner—one of my best friend’s grandfather. “How have you been?”
He slapped his palm against mine and made a show focusing his dark eyes on the red staining my white shirt. “Better than you.”
Unease rolled over my skin. I ignored it and tucked my hands inside my pockets. “You know how it goes. Same shit, different day.”
The older man tsked disapprovingly. Muttered Italian words fell from his lips in quick succession. I knew why. He and his wife, Helena, had been in love for as long as they could remember, which was why he didn’t fully understand how I—or their grandson for that matter—could be so blaséabout it all.
The thing was as long as you had money, there’d be people falling over themselves to get a piece of you. I’d grown tired of trying to sort genuine people from the fake ones a long, long time ago.
Women like Shelby weren’t interested in the man behind the Blake name; they just wanted the perks that came with it. So why waste my time on frivolous things like feelings?
Still grinning at Enzo, I retrieved my wallet. “We had two drinks, but I’d like to pay for the food that landed on the floor next to that poor man.” I placed my card on the countertop and jerked my head in the direction of the waiter scraping up the wasted spaghetti.
Enzo held up his hand and shook his head.
“Please. I insist.” My tone left no room for argument, still, the Italian studied me for way too long before he snatched my card up with a defeated sigh.
“Be sure to add a decent tip.”
A creepy smile played at the corner of his mouth, as he handed the piece of plastic back to me. Only, he didn’t let go. “I cannot wait for the day love knocks you on your ass.”
“When hell freezes over.”
