“It’s Jada. What’s yours?”
“Grace!” I snapped.
“Come on, little mama. Let’s go get strawberry pancakes. Your mom can fend for herself.”
The bedroom door closed behind them as I slid out of bed. The air in the room was so thick that I couldn’t breathe it in. I felt Reed’s eyes burning a hole in my back as I sauntered to the bathroom hoping that he would disappear while I emptied my bladder.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a daughter?” he asked before I could make my escape.
“Because I didn’t want to discuss my personal life with a subject.”
He chuckled dryly. “I’m not a subject. You’re trying to ruin the reputation of my business.”
“OK. Well, that too.”
“Come back over here and talk to me, Faith.”
“Reed, last night was fun, but this is not a thing,” I said, closing the bathroom door so I could pee.
Mostly, I needed a barrier between us. I couldn’t look at him because I felt like all he had to do was look into my eyes to know the truth. Actually, all he had to do was look into Jada’s eyes, and he had already done that.
I took my time washing my hands and brushing my teeth before emerging from my hiding place. Unfortunately, when I walked back into my bedroom, Reed was still there.
“Your daughter is beautiful. How old is she?” His voice was even, not giving away much, but I knew there was a hidden agenda behind his question. Why else would he have it locked and loaded as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom?
I sighed, shaking my head and waving both of my hands as if they would erase his question. “Reed, don’t.”
“How old is she, Faith?” he asked again.
I closed my eyes briefly before bracing myself as I answered. “Six.”
The silence following my answer was deafening. I could almost hear him doing the math in his head as I crossed the room to find something to change into after my shower. He didn’t have to do much calculating before his eyes stretched then quickly narrowed.
“When is her birthday?”
“Why are you asking all these questions when you should be getting dressed and getting the hell out of my house? I already have to explain why I had a man in my bed to my daughter. She’s never seen that before.”
“When is her birthday, Faith?” I finally let our eyes connect.
He looked like he was coming undone. I needed to get him out of there before he exploded or unraveled, whichever came first. I wasn’t afraid of Reed, but I had never been on the receiving end of his anger either.
“Reed, please don’t do this. I gave you one night. Shouldn’t that be enough to quench whatever thirst you had for me after all these years? You fucked me, mission accomplished.”
“Missionnotaccomplished. I didn’t come here to fuck you. I came here to get you back.”
“Well, that’s out of the question.”
“Stop changing the subject and answer the damn question.”
“I’m not about to stand around answering questions all day. I have enough on my plate as it is.”
“Stop playing with me, Faith. Is that my fucking daughter?”
I swallowed hard, toying with the bracelet on my wrist as I considered what I would say. Tears stung the rims of my eyes as I realized that the day I’d been dreading for so long had finally come. This could not be happening right now.
“Jesus, Faith! What the fuck?” Reed muttered.
“I swear I was going to tell you. I came to tell you . . . back when I found out.”
