Page 124 of Wine & Whiskey
“Nick’s old girlfriend…” Carter clears his throat, but his voice still croaks. “Jessica.”
She can’t quite make out the words Jessica hurls at Nick except for “your daughter.” The baby lifts her head from her mother’s shoulder as she yells, revealing Nick’s dark blue eyes.
It hurts so much, she laughs at the absurdity of it. Far worse than Evan said. She thought she was someone special, and now, she and her baby are just two more people in line for Nick’s heart.
Carter’s eyes widen at her laughter. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She opens the car door and steps out.
Jessica stops shouting mid-sentence, her eyes growing wide as she looks Shae up and down. A smirk crosses her lips before she laughs. “So, you’re ‘her’?”
Jessica’s mocking tone conveys a familiarity she doesn’t understand or like. “What are you talking about?”
“No, Jessica.” Nick’s voice rumbles with fury. “Don’t do it.”
Jessica ignores him, the smirk turning into a huge smile. “You’re the reason why he ended up back in my bed.”
* * *
“Damn it, Jessica! What are you trying to pull?” Nick poses his question to his ex-girlfriend, but his attention transfixes on Shae. The glow of happiness radiating from her beautiful face slowly fades at Jessica’s declaration of his infidelity. He has to prove to her both of Jessica’s claims are lies.
“It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Nicky. But you climbed out of bed so fast this morning, you didn’t give me the chance. So, I came over to introduce you to your daughter. This is Emme.”
Their breakup was ugly, her screaming and slapping him before he walked out the door. But never once did Jessica say or do anything to make him think she was pregnant. “Stop saying that. She’s not my child.”
“Are you calling me a fucking liar? I know who the father of my baby is.”
Shae’s soft voice interrupts their argument. Even in her pain, she attempts to diffuse the situation, to calm the anger broiling between them. “You have a beautiful daughter.”
Jessica’s smirk returns, enjoying the torture she inflicts on Shae. And on him. “Of course I do. She looks like her daddy.”
He shakes his head. “If it was true, why would you wait all this time to tell me? Why are you showing up now?”
“Because the man I thought was her father, isn’t. So, that leaves you. It’s time for you to own up to your responsibilities.”
Max’s research about her living situation provides the real answer to the question. Her relationship with her latest victim ended, and she needs someone to take care of her. “I knew it. You’re looking for a reason for me to support you.”
“Well, that’s all you’re good for anyway, isn’t it? Your dick and your money.”
He bites back his response as the baby begins to cry. Jessica rubs Emme’s back, and the toddler tucks her head into her mother’s neck. He takes a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm. “I don’t want to argue. We can solve this with a paternity test. Take her home, and we’ll make arrangements for one on Monday.”
“Fuck you! I don’t need some test to know the truth. You’re her father, and you fucking know it. Don’t stand here and act like she isn’t in front of your little pop star princess girlfriend.” She waves her hand at Shae before jabbing her finger into his chest. “Emme needs you, and I’m not going to let you turn your back on her.”
Shae smiles at Jessica and shakes her head. “He won’t. Nick will be a wonderful father, and you don’t have to worry about me getting in the way. He can focus on her completely.” She steps back and pulls the car door open. “Carter, can you please take me back to my house?”
Panic churns in his stomach. He refuses to let her leave thinking he’s been unfaithful. “Shae, wait.” He wraps his fingers around her hand as she grasps the handle. “Give me a chance to fix this. She’s lying, and you have to know the truth.”
“Please just let me go. Everyone’s watching. Do you know how humiliating it is they all know what a fool I’ve been?”
“I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. All I care about is you. That you believe me. I didn’t sleep with her.”
“You were in her bed.”
Her defeated tone churns his gut. A few minutes of weakness he’d kill to take back. Seeking relief from his self-torment, Jessica’s harshness made him long for Shae even more. “Nothing happened. I couldn’t go through with it.”
“It doesn’t change the fact you wanted to.”
What he wanted was to erase the image of Evan making love to the woman he was too fucking stubborn and stupid to hang onto. The thought of her smiling up at him, welcoming his touch, crying out his name, drove him over the edge. “I was upset you were with Evan.”
