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Luca
The room felt stifling. I hated being cooped up inside. It was why football had been the best career option for me. I could be outside in the fresh air and take out some of my aggression by hitting the opposing team’s offense.
I’d never wanted to be on a football field more in my life than at that moment. Fuck, I would have taken a day touring every circle of hell if it meant I didn’t have to deal with this shit.
Violet sat at the conference table, her purple dress clinging to her from shoulder to mid-thigh. Our lawyer was at the head of the table, calmly reading over the paperwork spread before him. Aunt Emmie had had Barrick do a full background check on Megan to see what she’d been up to over the years. From what little she’d told me about the investigation, Mieke had to get involved to hack a few files, but they’d obtained everything we needed for this meeting.
“Daddy.” Love Bug’s sweet voice drew my attention, and I looked down at where she was sitting in my lap. “Does your tummy hurt?”
“No, princess. Why do you ask?”
“You’re all sweaty, and you look like you might throw up. Kinda like Grier did when we rode the teacups at Disneyland.” She tilted her blond head to the side, her beautiful blue-mixed-with-violet eyes filling with concern. “Maybe you need a popsicle. Those always help my tummy aches.”
Dropping a kiss on top of her head, I inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. One side was pulled back with a huge pink ribbon, something she’d done herself because she was a big girl now. At least, that was what she’d been telling me since she started kindergarten. That first day of school had nearly killed me. I couldn’t even go to practice afterward because I was such a mess. Vi had been teary-eyed when we left our baby girl with her teacher, but I’d been full-on snotting all the way home. I’d spent the entire day in her room, surrounded by all her toys and blankets, trying to comfort myself.
Remington had prepared me for a lot in the months before his death via our emails and occasional video chats, but he hadn’t left me any encouraging words to get me through our precious baby’s first day of school.
Having her with us for this hadn’t been ideal, but there was no school today, and I’d needed both my girls with me while we dealt with Megan’s bullshit. My lawyer had reached out the day after she’d told me I supposedly had a son, requesting a DNA test. I didn’t want to meet a kid unless I knew for sure that he was mine. It could confuse him, and that wasn’t fair. Plus, I didn’t want to deal with Megan unless I absolutely had to.
She’d refused the request with the claim that with one look at the boy, I would know he was mine. Then she’d told the lawyer that I needed to “leave Violet and her bastard daughter and finally take care of his real family.”
She thought she could just drop the bombshell that we had a kid together after all, and I would let go of everything and play happy family with her and this child?
It seemed her crazy had only gotten worse over the years.
Calling my daughter a bastard had sent me into a rage, and I might have taken it out on the field at Sunday’s game. We were still undefeated, and the other team’s quarterback was out for the season with a broken ankle from the way he’d landed when I’d tackled him. Their second-string quarterback would have to fill in for the rest of the season, which didn’t bode well for them making it to the play-offs.
A tap on the conference room door was followed by the lawyer’s assistant stepping inside with Megan and her own lawyer. Typically, this kind of meeting would take place in front of a judge since she had refused the paternity test, but we were just trying to have a conversation today. For one, in hopes this wouldn’t have to go to court. For another, that would mean alerting the media, who would have a field day with this shit.
At her side, Megan held a little boy’s hand. My gaze was instantly drawn to him. At a glance, I could make out a slight resemblance to when I was a kid, but he was too small for his supposed age. He wasn’t much taller than Love Bug, who was five. If this kid was mine, he should be at least eight, closer to nine.
Then there were his eyes. Like my father, I had the same changing brown eyes. So did Lyric and all four of his kids. This kid’s eyes were a vivid blue. Megan’s were greenish, but I did remember her dad had blue eyes, so I couldn’t toss out that possibility.
While the lawyers greeted each other, Megan crouched down in front of her child. “Luca, remember what we talked about,” she said softly, stroking her hand over his light-brown hair. Features-wise, the kid looked a lot like his mother, with a few exceptions. His chin and jawline could have been a trait inherited from me, but they weren’t exactly unique. If we based paternity on those two things alone, I knew at least ten other men who had similar features.
“Okay, Mommy,” the little boy said quietly.
“Daddy, why does that boy have your name?” Love Bug whispered, keeping her eyes trained on the other kid.
Megan must have heard her, because she straightened and rubbed her hands over her hips to straighten her skirt. Smirking, she looked right at Love Bug. “Because he’s my son’s father.”
“I have a brother?” Love Bug asked, her interest piqued.
“No,” Megan said, her smugness growing.
“But—”
“Enough chitchat,” Violet interrupted, cutting off our little girl before Megan could cause chaos. I could read the evil glee in her eyes. She wanted to tell my daughter that she wasn’t biologically mine. She’d come there to cause trouble and hurt my princess.
If there was ever a moment in my life that I wanted to cause bodily harm to a female, it was that one.
Megan’s gaze snapped to Violet, and the glee turned to something darker. “Wow, you still look twelve.”
“And you still can’t hide the ugly in your soul,” Vi countered. “Sit down so we can get this taken care of and we can all move on with our lives.”
“Yes,” Megan actually agreed as she walked over to the long table without her son. “Once Luca comes to his senses, he will realize where he belongs and we can start our life together. We can raise our son together, and you can find yourself another surrogate father for your little bastard.”
“Language!” I snapped, slapping my hand down on the table. The boy flinched and made a whimpering noise, but Love Bug didn’t even budge. “Don’t curse in front of my daughter. I won’t tolerate it from anyone. Understand?”
