Page 12 of Conveniently Yours

He and his attorneys walk toward the door, my father stops as his cronies exit the room. "Come by the house and see your mother," he says.

I blink. "Why would I do that?" I haven't seen the woman in over four years. I have no intention of seeing her now.

"She misses you, and she's your mother."

I stare at him with a blank expression. I'd never treat my son the way he and my mother treated me. I would want my son to flourish in whatever he wanted to pursue and not force him to do something he didn't. I certainly wouldn't kick him out of my home and cut him off if he didn't do as I wanted. It's bullshit, and to have the audacity to have this bastard say she misses me in my face is a kick to the gut. They did this. Not me.

"Goodbye, father," I say as I reach for my cell. I have a call to make, and I'd much rather do it when he wasn't present.

Thankfully, he leaves the office without a word, and I call Preston, my attorney. Hopefully, he'll have something that can help me out of this fucking shit that my parents have put me in. That bastard of a father of mine knew exactly what he was doing, and he's got me fucked and over a barrel.

"Axel,"Scarlett breathes as she opens the door wide for me to enter.

True to my word, I'm here at seven just as I said I'd be. There's nothing that's going to stop me from getting what I want, and that's to know my son and hope I can have my woman back. I have a plan, and I'm hoping Scarlett will be receptive of what I propose.

"Hey," I say with a smile. "Is he asleep?"

She nods. "He is, he was tuckered out from the playground. I told him about you," she whispers. "He's so excited to see you. I told him it could happen tomorrow, if that's okay?"

I smile, the anger I felt from my father's actions have slowly ebbed away, and now, I'm happy. I'm fucking happy and I've not felt that way in five years. "Name a time and place, and I'll be here."

She releases a heavy breath and beams at me. "Thank you," she says softly. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness for keeping Brandon from you, Axel, but I did the only thing that was healthy for me. I'm sorry it hurt you in the process."

"Hurt not only me, Scar, but our son."

She nods. "I know, I'm just hoping you’ll be able to forgive me, you both will."

I take a seat on the sofa, and she sits beside me. "I have to talk about that night," I begin. "You have no idea how much I wanted you, Scarlett. You're Noah's sister, and he wasn't stupid. He knew I wanted you; I think I fell for you somewhere along the way. You were always so fucking beautiful," I tell her. I need her to know what happened that night wasn't supposed to be a one-time thing. "Finally admitting it to you felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I could breathe. Then we made love, and it was as though my world was righted. I knew you were who I'd been waiting for."

Tears slowly trickle down her face, and I hate that I'm making her cry, but she needs to know the full story before we go any further.

"But Noah had been adamant. You were off-limits. His behavior back then wasn't healthy. He was drunk all the fucking time, and he was drowning in grief. You are what saved him, and then you were going away to college, and he was drowning once again. That morning he acted like a bastard, I knew he needed to cool the fuck off. Hence why I left it alone. I was never, not fucking ever going to walk away from you."

She pulls in a ragged breath. "You told him it would never happen again," she reminds me.

"I did, and I was lying. I had my room packed up and was going to come with you when you left for college. My life was with you. I knew that, but I needed to step away from Noah and let him calm the fuck down before I spoke to him again."

"You what?" she whispers, almost as if she doesn't believe what I'm saying.

"I was coming with you. I had it all planned out. You have no idea what you mean to me. I fucked up by not letting you know my plan. I never expected you to run away. Noah and I got into a fight when you did. He's changed a lot. He's no longer drinking, and he's got his shit together."

She gives me a wobbly smile. "I'm glad he did, but he broke me that day, Axel, I couldn't function for a long time after I left. He hurt me so deeply, I didn't know what would happen."

I pull her into my arms, loving the way she sinks against my embrace. She fits perfectly, right where she belongs, where she's always belonged.

"What happens now?" she asks a little while later, lifting her head, her eyes are red and puffy from crying, and she's looking at me with longing. I know what she wants, I can sense her need, and feel the electricity hum around us. I want the same, but right now, I have one last thing to say.

"I know why you took the job at AllBeck Management," I tell her.

She pulls back and looks at me in shock. "How?"

EIGHT

SCARLETT

My mind is all over the place, I can't think straight. Axel's words have been a revelation. I had no idea he felt just as I did. I never had any inclination he felt that way, or that he had planned on moving with me to a new city for college. But I heard the sincerity in his voice. This is what he truly wanted, and I broke his heart when I left. He didn't say those exact words, but I know that I did. I really hurt him by running away, even more so, by keeping Brandon a secret from him.

I watch as he gives me a sheepish grin. "Anyone who applies for my company has a background check on them. When you said you needed extra cash, I got concerned, wondering if you were in debt or needed help. You have to understand, Scar, you have my son under your roof, I needed to know you were both safe. Imagine my surprise when my investigator told me it was due to a shelter needing money."

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