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15 months later…
“Are you sure about this? You know the press will hound you in New York when they find out about Baron. It won’t take them long to figure out that he is yours, and then questions about the... father will start,” my sister, Thalia, who looks just like our mother with her dark hair and gray eyes, says from the couch as she plays with my son, Baron. Her fiancé, Theo, sits beside her, gazing at her like she has hung the moon. It’s obvious from the look in his eyes that he is getting broody and wants a family of his own. It makes me jealous of the things my son and I won’t experience because of the choices a certain selfish individual made.
At twenty-two and four months pregnant, with no idea where my baby daddy was or if he was dead or alive, I came to Wellington to stay with my sister and Theo to keep out of the public eye. Being the daughter of Christian Maxwell III, the owner of the world’s biggest diamond and jewelry corporation, and America’s sweetheart and movie star, Elena Maxwell, it was the best option. I needed the space and privacy that their ranch offered, and I knew that if I stayed in New York, as soon as the press caught wind of my pregnancy, it would have been all over the tabloids. I didn’t want that. Didn’t want to answer questions I had no answers to. So, I came to Florida to live, and I even gave birth at a local, private hospital out here with my sister and mother by my side.
Shaking the thought away, I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I’m sure, sis. I need to get back to New York. I have been here for ten months now. I can’t keep hiding out in Wellington with you two…as much fun as it has been and the privacy it has enabled us. It’s time to go back. I cannot spend the rest of my life hiding away on the off chance thathemight see us or spot us in some trashy gossip rag.” Thalia eyes me, so I continue with my rant. “If he wanted to be with me, he would have come back. It’s been nearly two years, Thalia.Hewho shall not be named is gone, and he is not coming back.” I cough out the last words to cover up the emotion in my voice. I should know my sister knows me better than anyone and would pick up on it.
She sighs before handing Baron over to Theo. Pushing off the couch, she closes the distance between us and plops down next to me, pulling me into a hug. Emotion overcomes me, and I can’t help the tears that prick my eyes. I am so angry. Not just for me but also for my son who will never meet his father. “Stay for a couple more weeks. We love having you both here, and we are not leaving for Europe for another month.”
Swiping angrily at the errant tears that fall, I pull back to look at my sister. I hate the look of pity on her face. I don’t want anyone to pity me. I don’t need…him, a liar, around me and Baron. It's better this way. Doing parenthood on my own. At least then, my son will not experience the disappointment I did whenhedisappeared. “Okay. I guess Mama is still wrapping up filming and won’t be back for another couple of days. I will stay another week. But that’s it. Not only do I want to get back for school,” I grin, shooting a look at Theo, “but I’m worried that if we stay any longer, Theo will have you knocked up in no time. I can feel and see his broodiness from here. The way he looks out for Baron. He wants a baby little sister,” I tease.
My future brother-in-law smirks. “It’s not from lack of trying. Trust me. My piccola still insists on taking those pesky pills, though.”
I chuckle as Thalia shakes her head. “Theo, we just got engaged. A baby can wait. For now. We have too much going on to even consider getting pregnant. I want to be married first.” Her voice sounds exasperated.
Theo smiles softly at her, and my heart cracks again. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for my sister—she deserves everything after all she has been through. But I can’t help being a little envious when their love is literally in my face. Witnessing them together while I have been living with them? They are so in love with one another, it’s almost sickening. They have the kind of love our parents have, and I can’t help but be a little jealous. I thought I had found my own happily ever after, only for it to be taken away. Or in my case, for he who shall not be named to just walk away and never look back.
Sighing, I shove the thought away. I am strong. I need to be. My son deserves everything, and I intend on giving it to him. He will never know the loss of a father, not with all the love that surrounds him from me and my family. I will make sure of it.
“Thalia has spoken. No babies right now, Theo,” I tease, wagging a finger at him.
He rolls his eyes. “Good thing we are getting married in less than nine months, then. I knew there was a reason for a rushed wedding.” He pushes off the couch and crosses the room to us in only a few strides. Handing me Baron, he leans into Thalia. “Better stop taking your birth control, piccola. I have every intention of knocking you up as soon as you are my wife.” He drops a kiss to her lips and saunters out of the room, leaving my sister with pink cheeks.
“I don’t know why you still get embarrassed, it’s not like I don’t know that you two have sex,” I laugh.
She rolls her eyes. “I do not get embarrassed.”
I cock a brow and look pointedly at her red cheeks. “Yeah, you do.” I nudge her shoulder. “It’s cute.”
Thalia pushes off the couch. “Whatever. I need to go and ride. I will see you later.” She starts toward the exit.
“Ride a horse or Theo?” I call out just before she leaves the room.
Her head whips over her shoulder, and she glares at me. “Ride my horses.”
I fall back against the couch laughing. “Just asking. Flove you.” I shout the word we came up with as children. Instead of saying I fucking love you, which our parents would never allow, we came up with flove.
Blowing out a breath, I glance down at my son. He is so beautiful, it makes my chest tighten. He looks just like his father with his bright, blue eyes and dark hair, so no matter how much I try to forget Bishop, I see him every time I look at Baron. Lifting him, I kiss his forehead before breathing him in. “I love you, bambino mio, and Mama will do anything to protect you.”
* * *
“But why not? I promise not to tell my parents. It will be our little secret.” I waggle my brows at my bodyguard, Bishop, as he walks me into school. He is so hot with his dark hair, piercing blue eyes, tattoos, and brooding face. I want him so bad. He started working for my father a couple of months ago and was assigned as my private security soon after. God knows what my father was thinking when he made that decision. He could have given me someone old like Greg, my sister Thalia’s guard. But no, he gave me the hottest guy I have ever seen. It was like putting a fillet of wagyu steak in front of a hungry lion. There was not a chance in hell I wasn’t going to try and seduce him. My father is a smart man, one of the richest men in the world, and yet he stupidly chose Bishop to guard me.
Bishop grunts. “You know why, princess.”
My eyebrows shoot up at the pet name he just called me, and a grin curves my lips. “Princess, huh? First comes the terms of endearment and then comes the sex.” I wink. “I will wear you down.”
He sighs in exasperation. “Go to class, Aria. I will be here waiting for you when you finish.”
I step into him, enjoying when his eyes flare. “Think about it. I will make it worth your while.” And with that, I turn and make my way to class. I know I shouldn’t provoke him. But there is something about him that calls to me. Yeah, he is hot, but it’s more than that. I like that he is a challenge. I am so used to people throwing themselves at me and getting what I want, and Bishop doesn’t do any of that. It makes whatever this thing is between us exciting. He can deny it all he wants, but I know he wants me, too. I see it in the way he looks at me. Good for him, I have every intention of getting him.
And I won’t stop until I do.
A bump has me jolting awake, and I realize we are landing. I frown at the memory of my dream. I would like to say it’s a one-off—–dreaming of Bishop—–but it’s a regular occurrence. The time we spent together, the memories we made, assaults me nearly every time I close my eyes.
I scrub a palm down my face as my father’s private jet comes to a stop on the tarmac. Glancing out the window, I take in the New York skyline and sigh. This is it. Time to get my life back on track and not hide from the world. Am I worried abouthimpotentially seeing me in some gossip magazine? Yes. But I don’t want to hide for the rest of my life because of the risk of being seen. Ifhewas that bothered about me, he would have found me by now. It’s obvious he has moved on. And I need to do the same.
“Aria.” A soft masculine voice drags me from my thoughts, and I look up to find my bodyguard, Edward, staring down at me. “We are ready to disembark.”
