Page 95 of King of Hearts

Aw, poor thing. Did he consider the flowers and showing up on my birthday a declaration of love?

I clicked my tongue, noticing that Juan had stepped closer, sipping his drink. In all black, he looked like the devil there to seduce and sway the feeble minds of man to the dark side. I was already hot and ready for him; I wanted to try to test how far we could go. My six weeks was over in a few days, but it was my birthday, so there had to be a chance it would be fine. Maybe if we only did half his cock, or the tip…maybe if we went really slow and careful it would be okay.

“You’re welcome to see Alex during scheduled visitations. I’ll expect you to begin paying child support, and we can set up a parenting schedule for her. However, the family aspect is already covered.” Right as I finished, Juan walked up behind me and resumed my favorite position with his hand at my waist. “I have a family. Alex has one. If you want to make your own with Alex, you can…but I won’t go easy on you. You have to prove you’ll be there for her. You can’t flipflop—you have to decide you’ll be there for her. You can’t quit parenthood. It’s forever, Holden, so you need to decide on that.”

A red coloring overcame his face. Maybe six months ago I would have felt bad for him, but he hadn’t even texted back when I had called letting him know that Alex had been born. He hadn’t done anything, so I owed him nothing.

“I thought we discussed that your dad would cover stuff. I want to be involved, but I’m still in school…how am I supposed to manage helping and going to school?” he pathetically asked, his eyes flicking around the house as if my dad had bought it. I wanted to roll my eyes.

“Holden, Charlie will happily help with anything and everything I need, but as I said…I have a family.” I covered Juan’s hands that were at my waist with my own. “We’re covered…but that doesn’t mean you get a free pass on responsibility. It takes work to be involved in your kid’s life. If you decide you’d like shared custody, the financial obligation changes, but for right now, while she’s this young…you have to show me you’re serious about it. Anything you give will only be used for her or set aside in a savings account for her.”

“This is bullshit!” Holden yelled, shaking his head back and forth.

“You’re welcome to leave. It is, after all, Taylor’s birthday party you’re crashing,” Juan advised smoothly from behind me. He still held me tight against his chest.

Holden took the opportunity to dig himself a grave. “You know what…fuck you man.” Holden stepped closer to me, trying to get into Juan’s face. We stayed steady for a second before Juan must have felt the mood shift. Within seconds he was pushing me behind him, and Holden punched him in the jaw. Juan’s face barely moved; in fact, it looked as though the hit hadn’t even registered. Stupid Holden—he had no idea who he was dealing with.

“That was one. I’ll let you have it, let you walk out of here thinking you’ve got the upper hand. You don’t want this, man.” Juan’s tone was hard as stone, allowing no room for argument.

Holden crowded Juan’s space as if he was ready for another hit. There was even a bit of chest puffing if I wasn’t mistaken.

“You can’t keep my daughter from me.” Holden shook his head.

“No one said anything about that. Taylor laid out the terms clearly—take it or leave it, but you’ve now outstayed your welcome.”

The man who shared DNA with my child sucked in his lip and nodded his head heavily. His eyes darted to me and then Juan.

“Fine…I’ll go, but you can keep your fucked family. I don’t want anything to do with it, and I won’t be paying you a dime, so if you want the baby, you can fucking have her.”

Holden stormed off around the corner of the house. Juan stayed facing the way he’d been talking with Holden. I tugged on his sleeve to get him to turn around.

“You okay?”

His whiskey eyes burned through me. “Me? Areyouokay? That wasn’t what I had planned for your birthday.”

I laughed, stepping under his chin. “I feel relieved, I guess. I mean, I didn’t mind if he wanted to be in her life, as long as he was serious…but if he’s not going to be, I don’t want him here. I feel like we know now.”

Strong fingers ran down my spine as a rumble reverberated under my cheek.

“What, you don’t agree?”

“I think he was caught up in expectations and emotions tonight. I think it wouldn’t hurt to give him another shot, if he wants to humble himself and apologize,” Juan replied smoothly.

Floored—Juan always left me floored with his goodness. I simply nodded into his chest, overwhelmed with gratitude that I got to call him mine.

He walked forward, reaching down to thread our fingers together.

“Happy birthday, baby. Let’s go celebrate your life, because you are worth celebrating.”

I followed after him, entering the house where all of our loved ones had gathered to support me. I smiled as the snow began to fall, and I realized I deserved to smile. I deserved to be happy, and most of all…I deserved to be loved.

Epilogue

Juan

Six months later

“You should just recordyourself singing to her.”

---