Page 178 of The Blame Game

They were good cigars, of course. Cuban, because that was what his father preferred. Dom had a sudden flash of memories of his dad and his teammates smoking them in the basement rec room, playing poker and drinking.

They’d taught Dom how to gamble and smoke and drink and Jesus Christ, they’d bought him his first—and, thankfully, last—lap dance from a woman he’d wanted nothing to do with.

Eventually, when Dom couldn’t stand another second of silence, he cleared his throat. “You said you had things you wanted to tell me.”

“Yes.” Kurt sighed, looking out at the lake. “Just trying to work up to it.”

“Okay.” Dom watched the wind ruffle the water, sending up white sprays, the mellow scent of tobacco, leather, and spice clinging to his tongue.

Something appeared on the horizon, and it took Dom a minute to realize it was a large sailboat, heading back toward the harbor.

“Your mother knew,” Kurt finally said.

“Did she?” Dom lifted his brows, still staring at the sailboat, oddly mesmerized by the way it glided across the waves.

“Yes. It was part of the plan.”

“The plan?” Dom echoed blankly. He set down his cigar and glanced over at his father.

“I wanted a child and that wasn’t going to happen if I only slept with men.”

“Wait,” Dom said, his head spinning, feeling dazed and not sure if it was the smoke or the drinks that caused it. “Start at the beginning.”

“Your mother and I met at the Olympics. Simone Moreau was a beautiful woman and a hell of a skater. I was intrigued by her because there weren’t many women I found appealing.”

“Okay.”

Kurt shrugged. “Besides, you know what it’s like, there’s sex everywhere there.”

“Sure,” Dom said slowly. Though he hadn’t exactly partaken in the hookups everyone else seemed to enjoy in the Olympic Village.

He was sure he could have, if he’d been willing to risk it. But he hadn’t been, so he’d watched his teammates flirt with women, feeling resentful of their freedom.

“After that first time, Simone and I talked a lot. And after the Olympics, we stayed in contact.”

“And then you found out she was pregnant with me,” Dom said dully.

“No.” Kurt furrowed his brow. “No, you were very much planned.”

“What?”

“The more Simone and I talked, the more I learned how unhappy she was with her coach. She didn’t have the money to find a new one. I had plenty of money. She wanted a change, so I offered her financial security in exchange for giving me a child.”

“Okay.” Dom rubbed his hands over his face because Christ that was a lot of information to learn in one go. “Wouldn’t getting pregnant and giving birth delay her career though?”

Dom wasn’t exactly an expert on women’s bodies or on pregnancy and birth, but that felt pretty obvious, even to him.

“Sure but we thought it would happen right away,” Kurt admitted. “That she’d have time.”

Dom rubbed his head. “Right, so the plan was to get married so she could live and train in Canada with you and you’d knock her up?”

“Yeah. That was what we’d agreed on. The plan was that when you were a little older, she’d return to France. You’d stay with me and Vanessa.”

Dom nodded. Vanessa had been his nanny.

“And Mom knew you were gay,” Dom said flatly.

He shrugged. “Much more interested in men than women, anyway. I cared about Simone but we both knew I’d make a lousy husband to her.”

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