Page 66 of Pursued By My Grumpy Fiancé
“You know, I’m not too sure. Probably shopping for the baby. Hailey, I wanted to apologize for this predicament that we’ve found ourselves in. I never considered how uncomfortable it might be for you as Landon’s fiancée to have Victoria living with me.” She flashes me a small smile.
“Oh, that’s okay! I take no offense, I know that it was just your way of making sure the family is safe.”
Eleanor beams at me, grateful for my understanding.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking that maybe I should get to know her better. I mean, if she’s going to be in Landon’s life, even just as a partner in parenting, it’s important for me to know her too.” I give them what I hope is a genuine smile.
All of that is lies, of course. I just needed to ensure that Victoria isn’t here before I go snooping around the house. Not that I can let them know that; it would be in very poor taste to go accusing Victoria of faking everything to Landon’s mother when we don’t even know if that is the truth yet.
“Oh, that’s so mature of you, Hailey. I really admire that about you. If this situation was happening to me, I imagine I’d be an absolute harpy.” Penny laughs and I join her, guilt creeping in due to my lies.
“Oh, you know, all this coffee is actually getting to me. Where is the restroom?” I ask as I stand up.
“Right down the hall, second door to the left.” Eleanor points down the hallway.
Smiling, I make my way down the hallway, past the second door to the left. Why are there so many doors down here? There are three doors that could potentially be Victoria’s room.
Opening the one on the back wall of the hallway leads to the discovery of a towel closet. The next door is a bedroom, but is it Victoria’s? I slowly creep inside.
The room is painted a deep and soothing shade of blue. Light oak furniture fills the space. A quiet tip-toe to the dresser reveals framed pictures of Landon, Penny, and two men that I assume are Grayson and Preston. Yet another framed photo of an older man, handsome and standing with his arm around Eleanor, tells me that I am not in Vicrtoria’s room. I shut the door behind me as I slowly creep out.
The final door is before me. Opening it reveals a small bed tucked in the corner, a desk covered in papers, and a suitcase overflowing with clothes left open on the floor. Bingo.
Closing the door behind me, I make my way to the desk with various papers scattered over it. A lot of them are letters from family or declarations for business deals. After a few more moments of rifling through them, I find what I’m looking for.
Two different lab reports, almost identical, with the conclusion stating that the man in question is above all likelihood, the father of the child Victoria is carrying.
Except that one report has Landon’s name on it, and the other has the name of a different, yet familiar man.
Ivan Sokolov.
After unlocking the front door, I’m met with the sight of Landon relaxing on the couch, a small glass of whiskey in his hand.
“Hey, you. I’ve missed you today.” I smile and make my way to the couch.
My purse drops to the floor as I lean over and plant a kiss on his lips.
“Mmmm. I like that,” he whispers.
“You know, I think I have something you might like even more.”
“Even more than your lips? I wonder what that could be.” He winks, and I give him a gentle shove as I laugh.
“Not that sort of thing. Perv.”
“I don’t think finding my girlfriend to be the sexiest person on earth makes me a perv.” He sits up on the couch and caresses my chin, pulling me into yet another kiss.
After a moment I pull back, reaching for my purse.
“Okay, stop distracting me. This is important.”
I draw two pieces of folded papers out of my handbag. After unfolding them, I hand them both to Landon. He takes them from me and reads their contents, his eyes widening in shock.
“How…Where did you get this?” he asks as he looks up at me, surprise coloring his features.
“I did some snooping when your mom invited me for lunch earlier. I found these on Victoria’s desk. Or, I guess, the desk Victoria is using. Not that the semantics matter.” I’m rambling because of my nerves.
That’s the only explanation I have for all the word vomit pouring out of me.
