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“Look at you. So beautiful in your white dress and your hair all put up,” I rumble, stepping into her. “You look like a fucking wet dream, teasing any man that looks at you.”
Her body flinches with shock, and she gasps. The sound is loud and full of rage. “Fuck you, Jake! Who in the hell do you think you are?”
“Funny you should ask that.”
“I don’t think there’s a damn thing funny about any of this!”
I step into her again, backing her against the wall of the barn. She swallows nervously. I watch as fear bleeds into her face. That’s good. Katie needs to fear me. Right now, I fear myself. I cage her in with my body and just because I want her to know that she needs to stop running her fucking mouth, I wrap myhand around her neck. She’s used to dealing with my brother. I am not him. I never was and never will be. I am not Mr. Nice Guy. Katie used to prefer that.
“Jake, stop. You’re scaring me.”
I tighten my hold on her throat. When she squeaks out a breath, it’s fucking twisted that my cock goes hard, but it does, just the same.
“I should scare you,Kathryn,” I growl under my breath, using her real name because she hates it. “You asked me who I am, right? I am thefatherof your child and if you think that I’m about to let you and my so-called brother take that from me, you need to think again. He’s mine and you never fucking uttered the truth to me one damn time, Katie. I think it’s time we get it all out in the open.”
I let her go and step away from her then. If I don’t, I might actually choke the life out of her.
Jesus.
I found out a week ago that Lennon belongs to me. He’s seven and I just found out. I’ve tried to control my anger, to beat it down before I came here to face Katie and my so-called family. It didn’t work. If anything, I just keep getting more and more enraged. I want her to suffer. I want them all to suffer. I know I made the wrong decisions, said the wrong fucking things in the past.I know it, and it fucking kills.Still, how could they keep this from me?
Even my own fucking mother…
“Jake, I…”
“Donottell me more lies, Katie. I’m barely hanging on by a thread here and if you push me over the edge, it won’t end well for either one of us.”
“You didn’t want Lennon. You didn’t want any kids. Why are you doing this?” she says, sounding resigned. Her voice is monotone. For some reason, that just pisses me off more.
“You don’t get to ask the questions. Not now. You get to march your pretty ass out there in your expensive wedding dress, that’s now covered in horse shit on the edges, and tell everyone the wedding is off. We’ll talk after that.”
“You need to check yourself, Jake Ryan. You might be Lennon’s father, but you have no hold on me anymore. Jeff and I are getting married, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. We can deal with our issues and LennonafterI’ve said I do.”
“You do whatever you want, Katie. It seems you have for way too long.”
“You would think that. Then again, I don’t think you ever really knew me,” she huffs.
She begins to stomp off, and I let her almost get to the door before I speak, and just like I knew she would, she stops walking with my words.
“I’m warning you, though. You go out there and marry my brother and my lawyer is ready to serve papers.”
“Papers?”
“You marry Jeff–or any other man–and I will file for full custody of Lennon. No one will be a father to my child but me,” I bark, my fist going through the old wood of the barn.
Katie lets out a scream and jumps. I walk away. I can’t deal with her right now.
I can’t deal with any of them.
CHAPTER 2
Katie
This is panic.
Heart slamming against my chest, a sick feeling of heat spreading through my body, a cold sweat breaking out over my skin, my hands shaking, and my knees weak. I can’t believe that just happened. I didn’t even allow myself to think there was a chance it could. I haven’t heard from Jake in forever, and then, suddenly, he’s here at my wedding.
My wedding to his brother.
