Page 47 of Six Nights in Paradise

“I guess I could’ve told you all this sooner,” he conceded. “I just assumed you were over her when you popped the question to Gianna. It never occurred to me that you two were still so hung up on each other.”

“So you always knew and said nothing?” He just shrugged. I’d never wanted to punch my best friend in the face more than I did in that moment. “Asshole.”

“I’m sorry, man. If I’d known she’d end up dating a whole string of losers, I would’ve pushed you two together a long time ago. As far as any man possibly being good enough for her, you come the closest.”

“You mean I’m the only one, right?”

“Nah, man. Not evenyouare good enough for her. No one is.”

I guessed I could understand that. I didn’t have any siblings—at least none that I knew of— but I imagined I’d be just as protective over them if I did.

We said our goodbyes and I left there with the peace of mind that our friendship would survive this. It would take a little while to get back to normal, but it would happen eventually. The best part was that I no longer had to hide my attraction to Taylor. We were free to pursue a relationship without interference or sneaking around behind her brother’s back.

The final obstacle was situated in a luxury condo across town, plotting to keep an unborn child from its father for her own benefit. I should give her a chance to come clean. Sit her down and ask for the truth. It would be hard to remain civil in light of her deception. What she was doing went far beyond anything a decent, reasonable human being would do. It made me wonder, not for the first time, how I could’ve loved her the way I had. She still had a lot of growing up to do, but immaturity was no excuse for the hell she’d put me through over the last couple months. And it certainly wasn’t enough of a reason to deceive not one, but two men regarding the paternity of a child. She went too far this time, and there was no forgiving this indiscretion.

I sent her a quick text before pulling onto the street to head home, asking her to come over around noon. It was best to get this over with as soon as possible. I considered having her meet somewhere in public like she’d done when she ended our engagement, but I feared that would backfire on me. Instead of keeping her composure because there were people around like I had, I worried she’d do the opposite. This was going to be ugly, so we would have to do this in private.

She answered me back immediately, saying she would be there. I asked Aiden to send me the recording in case she tried to deny everything. The file came through just as I pulled into my driveway.

Even though I wanted to keep Taylor’s scent with me all day, I needed a shower. I closed my eyes as the warm spray pelted my back and shoulders. Memories of my time spent with Taylor came flooding back. Her in the shower with me, us on the beach pretending we didn’t want to rip each other’s clothes off, that first night in the tub when I thought I’d combust if I didn’t make love to her. She was everything I’d never let myself dream of before. I shut the water off and toweled myself dry before I let those thoughts go any farther.

As I poured a cup of coffee, I contemplated my approach with Gianna. If I came at her with guns blazing, she would freak out and shut down. She needed to stay calm and accept that I would no longer be a part of her life. I considered calling her parents so they could intervene if she got too out of control, but I wanted to give her a chance to do the right thing and come clean to them as well.

My front door opened at eleven thirty and I cringed. I would have to get that house key back from her somehow, or else get my locks changed. This was going to suck.

“Hey, D. I brought lunch,” she called from the foyer. I met her in the kitchen as she sat the bag of takeout on the counter. I winced, realizing she thought this was some kind of date or happy get together. She would be sorely disappointed once she gleaned the true purpose of our meeting. She reached out to embrace me and plant her signature I’m-pretending-to-just-be-friendly kiss on my cheek. I grabbed her upper arms and held her at bay.

“We need to talk.” Her smile fell and for the first time in weeks, she looked nervous. Even when we’d had our talk earlier and I told her we weren’t going to be a couple again, she remained confident, but now she could sense something major was about to go down and her bravado slipped. I guided her to the living room and instructed her to sit on the couch while I took the chair adjacent to her.

“Gianna,” I began, but had no fucking clue what to say. I’d gone over a hundred conversations in my head but still hadn’t settled on one by the time she arrived, thirty minutes early. “I need you to be honest with me.”Let’s lead with that, set the expectation.

“Of course,” she promised, but her hands were wringing in her lap, a dead giveaway that I’d already thrown her off-kilter. She clenched them together and settled them over her knee when she noticed me watching.

“The baby.” I held her gaze. I wanted her to look me in the eye. I wanted her to tell the truth and confess on her own. “Who’s the father?”

Her eyes darted to the side quickly and then settled back to me. “I don’t understand.”

“Tell me the truth.” My calm demeanor and even tone belied the turmoil boiling just below the surface. “Who is the baby’s father?”

She opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut again. She wanted to lie, to keep the ruse going for her own selfish benefit, but she needed to fess up. Once she let her mask fall, it was obvious the guilt was eating at her. She’d been pretending for weeks. Pretending to still be in love with me, pretending that she’d all but forgotten Antonio, pretending to be carrying my child instead of his. Her lips trembled as tears pooled in her eyes.

“Dalton,” she pleaded.

Gianna didn’t want me to make her confess, but I needed to hear it from her. I wanted to be sure. Regardless of what she told me in the next few moments, I was going to be with Taylor. If, by some chance, the child turned out to be mine, I would honor my responsibility and shower my child with the love and affection my father never showed me. I would be there for Gianna, just not as a lover. But my gut was telling me that wasn’t the case.

“Tell me.” My command was gentle but left no room for argument.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen!” she said, breaking into sobs.

“You lied to me.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“You tried to trick me into taking responsibility for another man’s child!”

She cried harder. “I was losing everything. I had no choice!” Her voice rose in desperation.

“Of course you had a choice,” I snapped, climbing to my feet quickly. My chest heaved with barely contained anger. “You could have grown the hell up and taken responsibility for yourself, for once in your life. You have a degree and countless connections. You could easily get a job and support yourself. You had a boyfriend that you obviously loved. I mean,” I huffed out a humorless laugh, raking my hands through my hair, “you called off our wedding for him, so he must be very important to you. He should be the one helping to support you.”

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