Page 40 of Sebastian's Baby

Fury flows through me, and I snarl, “Get the fuck out of here, Cooper. Now.”

Cooper looks at me, and I’m pretty sure he knows that if he doesn’t do it, I’m going to beat him to a pulp. It’s taking everything in me to stay where I am right now, and the thread holding me to my sanity is dangerously close to snapping.

Cooper gets up from the sofa and says, “The offer stands, Miss Ciccone.”

“You can take your offer and shove it up your ass, Cooper Powell. This isnotyour fucking choice; it’s mine. If I end the pregnancy, I would die before accepting a single dime from any of you for it. I sure as shit wouldn’t sell my story to some dirtbag who wants to exploit what happened.”

Lita is shaking slightly as she stares up at Cooper, and her voice is laced with rage.

“And, if I decide to keep the baby, I still won’t accept a single dime and am even less likely to sell my story. As if I would risk the whole world finding out I got knocked up by a player like Sebastian Fox. You can go now.”

Her obvious disdain for me comes through in what she’s saying. Her words slice at me, painful through my anger, and I feel a strange combination of hurt and fury while also being proud of her for standing up to my asshole manager.

Cooper leaves without another word, and Lita stares at his retreating back. After the door closes behind him, the only sound in the room is of Lita’s heavy breathing. Her body is stiff, and after a few moments, she moves away from me and turns to face me.

“Did you know he was going to do that?” Lita asks in an accusatory tone.

“No, princess. I would never have let him come if I had. He was pretty insistent, just said he wanted to help us plan how to proceed.”

I cringe as I tell her this because it’s pretty fucking obvious now that, of course, Cooper would think paying Lita off to have an abortion would be the best way to deal with this situation.

“So, pretty much exactly what he did, then,” she spits at me, her jaw set and her eyes narrowed.

I need her to know how I managed to fuck this up. Why it seemed natural to have Cooper along when a big issue arose in my life.

“That’s not what I expected, Lita. We have meetings with him all the time about how to manage the press or issues that come up. A plan of attack for how we’ll spin it if—or when—it comes out.”

I shrug my shoulders because it seems inevitable that even if Lita does end the pregnancy, the paparazzi will find out it happened. They always do.

“So, I’m an ‘issue’? I see. You’ve probably had shitloads of those meetings about other women you’ve slept with, no doubt!”

“Yeah, I have,” I tell her because it’s the truth. One particular case required an entire press conference and a round of interviews to deal with. Lita scoffs; I can feel her judgment of my lifestyle, and I hate it. “He’s never offered to pay someone off to end a pregnancy before, though. Not that I’ve ever gotten someone pregnant before, of course. I…” I trail off, unable to find the right words to explain how I’m feeling after what Cooper did.

“You what, Sebastian?” she asks coolly, her body still shaking.

I hate the part I played in Cooper coming here to make such a terrible offer to her, and I hate that she’s upset.

I figured there’s no point in lying about my intentions for why I traveled to Seattle this weekend. “I came here thinking we would come to the logical conclusion. Maybe we could have some great sex, and I would go home, back to business as usual.”

I look into her eyes and remember what Heather said on the phone earlier. This must be a lot for Lita to deal with, and what just happened has made that a thousand times worse. She needs to know that I do actually intend to support her, regardless of which choice she makes.

“But, shit. I don’t think I’ve ever been angrier than I was when he did that. It was so far past the line; I wanted to hit him for suggesting it. I’m sorry for bringing him, Lita. What you said, you’re right. It’s your decision. I’m glad you told me and didn’t just keep it to yourself. No matter what you choose to do, I’ll support you.”

She still has a deep frown on her face, but her body has stopped shaking, at least.

“If you want to end the pregnancy, I’ll hold your hand while it happens. If you want to keep the baby, I’ll come to as many appointments as I can get my ass to. Then, we can figure out some way to co-parent together. Family is the only thing that’s ever meant anything to me other than music.”

It’s the truth, and as I say it, I realize that if she keeps the baby, she will become my family. I’ll be tied to her and this baby forever. A part of me instinctively recoils at the idea of being tied down in any way. I’ve never wanted it, and I didn’t sign up for this, as Lita said earlier. But there are plenty of people who co-parent without being in a relationship together.

Lita purses her lips, then says, “I can’t make this decision based on that. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your support, but without a plan in place, I can’t have a baby. So, let’s pretend I do this. The baby would be mine and would live with me. Your lifestyle isn’t conducive to full-time parenting.” She gives me a wry smile.

“I suppose you’re right.”

I mean, that’s a bit of a no-brainer. I’m always flying to different locations for events or touring, which is months and months away from home.

“Holy shit, Sebastian Fox and I agree on something,” she laughs. “Maybe we can have a baby together after all.”

“I thought we agreed the sex between us was really,reallygood?” I can’t resist teasing her as I raise an eyebrow, and she shivers in response. I really do like how responsive she is to me, and I ask her, “Are you cold, princess?”

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