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Everyone raises their hands apart from Ryker and me. I knew this was going to happen, but still, I can’t help but feel a little let down by my friends. By Walton Vanderbilt. Not that the votes matter anyway. My father would go ahead with this farce with or without the votes. “It’s decided then. Spencer Parkes will join the brotherhood as our fifth.” He grins in satisfaction, and I want to wipe it from his face. “Now onto the next order of business. Ryker, Xander, tell us about your trip to New York.” He booms, and Ryker jumps straight into it, covering everything we discussed. I jump in when I am asked a question, answering with ease. It doesn’t make my father happy, though. He still regards me with suspicion, no matter how much I tell him what he wants to hear. By the end of the meeting, I am wound tight, wanting nothing more than to speak to my princess, to see my son, and I plan on doing that as soon as I get to Ryker’s casino.
When the meeting is finished, Stone slaps me on the back. “That went better than expected,” he says. Although they are aware of the relationship I had with Aria, they don’t know about my son. The only person that does is Ryker, and it’s going to stay that way for now.
“Yeah. You wouldn’t be saying that if it was you being forced into marrying someone you didn’t want to,” I grumble.
He barks out a laugh. “No, I wouldn’t. But don’t worry. We are working on getting you out of it,” he whispers so only I can hear.
I glance at him. “Good. The sooner, the better.”
“We’ve got you, man.”
We all climb into the waiting SUV and then make our way to the casino. I lean my head back against the headrest and close my eyes.
My thoughts move to my family. And I know with everything in me, no matter what happens, I will do anything to get back to them.
ChapterThirteen
ARIA
A week has passed since Bishop left, and I don’t want to admit it, but I miss him. I miss watching him with our son. I miss his face. I miss the way he looks at me.
Jesus, I’m a mess.
Sighing, I continue feeding Baron some blended sweet potato and broccoli. “Is that nice, baby boy?” I coo. He smiles and lifts his chubby arms, waving them in the air. I chuckle, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I love you, bambino mio.”
Dropping the empty bowl and spoon on the counter, I wipe his face clean, then clean up the mess on the highchair. As I am finishing up, my cell phone rings.
Grabbing it from the counter, my heart kicks up when I see the name on the screen. Despite what Bishop did, I still can’t control my reaction to him, no matter how hard I try. Sliding to answer the video call, his beautiful, stupid face appears, and he smiles.
“Hey, princess,” he says.
I scowl even though I love the pet name he has given me. “I told you not to call me that,” I say, but there is no anger in my tone. “Hey, I just finished feeding Baron.” I flick the camera around so he can see.
“Hey, buddy. Daddy misses you.” I hear the truth in his words.
“Wait a second,” I hit the rotate button again so Bishop can see me before bringing the phone in front of Baron so he can see his daddy.
“There you are little man. Did you like your lunch?” Bishop drawls, knowing full well he won’t get a response. Baron squeals, and the biggest smile appears on his face as he looks at Bishop. My heart flips in my chest as I watch them interact with each other, and I wish more than anything Bishop was in New York full-time. Bishop babbles on for another few minutes or so before he says, “Can I speak to your mama now?” I grin before covering it then turn the phone around to face me. I frown at what I see. He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
I frown. “Hey, what’s up?”
He runs a hand through his hair, then says. “I will be there for Baron’s birthday, but I can’t make it for the holidays.”
I freeze, my heart pounding in my chest as anger surges through me. “What?”
“Look, I know it’s not ideal, and believe me, I would rather be spending Christmas with you and Baron, but something has come up. It is out of my hands, and until I take care of things with my father, I need to do as he says. It’s to keep you both safe.”
I am fuming. How dare he let his son down? I am just about to rage at him when I hear footsteps. My head snaps up when my mama walks into the kitchen. “Can you watch Baron for a minute?” I ask.
“Of course.” She makes grabby hands at him.
Pushing off the stool, I make my way to the privacy of my room, trying to calm my temper before I speak to my baby daddy. Shoving through my bedroom door, I close it behind me, then bring my cell to my face. “My family was graceful enough to extend an invitation to you after everything, and you are still going to let Baron down? I knew this would happen. I knew you would let him down just like you let me down,” I seethe.
Fire flashes in Bishop’s eyes, and he clenches his jaw. “I am doing it to keep you both safe. I would never let my son down just for the sake of letting him down. You can think what you like, princess, but both of your safety is more important to me than a holiday. You don’t know my father. You don’t know what I am dealing with. I want to be there for Christmas, but unfortunately, I can’t be, and it’s not just because I decided that I can’t be bothered. You can believe whatever your brain is telling you, but I will always put you two first. And if that meansmemissing Christmas, then believe it is for good reasons. Do you think I want to miss the holidays with you both? No, I don’t. You two are the most important people in my life, and soon, we will be a proper family. But until I get things under control here, I am going to have to make sacrifices.”
“I told you I wouldn’t stop you from being a part of Baron’s life, but if you are going to break promises to him, I would rather you not be around at all. I don’t want him to get attached only for you to do shit like this.” I know I am being hurtful, but I can’t stop myself. I am hurt Bishop won’t be spending the holidays with us. His face falls, making me feel guilty. But then, I remember I have my son to protect, and I will at all costs.
“I will never disappear on my own flesh and blood, and I have told you before why I had to leave you. Get it into your head already. I know I hurt you, but you don’t know how sorry I am for that. If I had a choice, I would have never left. If I had my way, my father would be out of the picture, and I would be living my life with you and our son. One day, I will tell you everything, but remember that sometimes, life isn’t black and white, Aria. If you believe anything, believe that I am doing all I can to get back to you and Baron. You two are all that matters to me.” His voice has softened and so has my anger.
