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Sighing, I turned to Mercy and nodded before I heard him clearly say, “All right boys and girls, this is how this is going to go.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tessa
“Tessa? There’s someone here to see you.”
Rolling over, I looked at my best friend and nodded.
I really didn’t want to see anyone. It had been two weeks since I saw Montana, and after numerous attempts to reach out to him with no success, I vowed never again. I couldn’t live with his ever-changing rules. I had a son that needed me. He depended on me and as much as I loved Montana, I couldn’t depend on him. He lived in a world that I couldn’t be a part of. While fun and exciting, it wasn’t a world I wanted to raise York in and that didn’t include the other problem I had with him.
The man wore two faces.
One where the world knew him as the son and future CEO of Stone Industries. The man who was worth millions, who attended fancy balls and dinner parties. The man who hobnobbed with the social elite and could buy anything, or anyone, he wanted without a second thought.
Then there was the real man. The man I knew first. The man I fell in love with. The man behind the fake façade he showed the world. The man who, if the world ever realized who he truly was, would condemn and prosecute him. The killer. The man with blood on his hands. The President of the Soulless Sinners.
Sliding out of bed, I donned my robe before walking into the living room to find Virginia Stone sitting in the living room, holding York. Taking a seat across from her, I said, “I haven’t seen him. I don’t know where he is if you’re looking for him.”
“He’s away on club business. I’m here for my grandbaby. He’s such a happy baby,” she muttered, as York tugged and pulled on the pearls hanging around her neck. “I thought I knew love, but I never really did. There is something about having a child with the man you love. A perfect mix. The best of you both. But holding my first grandchild, knowing that a little bit of my immortality is before me, is awe-inspiring. I never thanked you for him. He is perfect Tessa. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I know my son messed up. I make no excuses. He’s like his father in that regard. If there is anything I can do, please just ask. As much as my son can be a pain in the ass, I do love him. He isn’t easy to love, my dear, but dear God, he is worthy.”
“Loving Montana isn’t the problem, Virginia.”
“It’s the rules.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She sighed, leaning back, sitting York in her lap. “I felt the same when George steamrolled into my life. I never thought when I graduated from law school and got my first job with at the District Attorney’s Office that I would become embroiled in so many lies and deceptions. It’s a fine line to walk, but worth it. I guess it just depends on what you really want.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, my dear, you can walk away from my son, co-parent York, and live your life. You can date, work any job, and just be who you want, but doing that you will miss out on so much. You will live a half-life always missing, wondering what if? However, if you chose my son, yes, there will be rules, but your world will be so much more. You will never be alone again, Tessa. You will have a family who will become anything you need, protect you and York from any threats, and stand beside you when you are weak. Being with my son won’t be easy, but the rewards you will receive will outweigh the loneliness you will feel. I see how you look at Montana. You love him dearly, and he loves you.”
“Sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“Love is always enough. It’s what comes with it that’s hard to handle.”
Sighing, I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. “I just don’t know, Virginia. He said we were getting married as if it was nothing. Almost an afterthought. I’m sorry, but that’s not how I envisioned my proposal. I know Montana isn’t one for hearts and flowers, but damn, I would have thought he would at least asked.”
Virginia laughed. “Do you know how George proposed? He showed up at my work one day and said,‘Well, I’m here. Let’s do this shit’.That was it. I thought the man had lost his mind. I didn’t know what he was talking about until he showed me two gold bands.”
I chuckled. “Bet that went down well for him.”
She laughed softly. “As you can see, it did. It doesn’t matter how a marriage starts, Tessa. That’s just semantics. It’s the journey, the amazing adventure that makes the marriage worthwhile and, trust me, darling, it’s a journey you want to take.”
“I don’t know if I can handle everything. The club I got. That’s what I know. That was the man I fell in love with. It’s his other life.”
Virginia nodded. “I understand. This town is cutthroat, and they won’t think twice before chewing you up and spitting you out if you don’t conform. Sometimes, I think those socialites are worse than the club brothers, but for me, club life was a harder pill to swallow. Especially with my job. Montana’s had his whole life to get used to wearing two faces and sometimes his mask falls. He isn’t perfect Tessa. None of us are. We all have skeletons in the closet.”
“I don’t. I’m just the daughter of a single mom, raised in a trailer park in West Virginia. I graduated from NYU with honors in medicine to become a general surgeon. I worked my way through college by waitressing at the Gentlemen’s club where I met Montana and had a three-year relationship that culminated in our son.”
“And what about your father?”
“Never knew him. Mom never told me who he was.”
