Page 4 of Enemy Ex's Secret Baby

“I only cursed him out a couple times.”

“Like I said, better than expected.” Grant chuckles. Then, he looks down at Harley. “I’m very lucky.”

Another pang to my heart. You’re happy for them, Gillian. Stay happy. “And don’t you forget it,” I say, wagging my finger at him playfully.

“I won’t. Promise.”

I swallow and nod. “Good.” I need a break from all the lovey-dovey, so I turn back to my daughter. She’s in good hands with Dad behind her and Dana now crouching where I once was. On the other side of the room, Kira, Victoria, and Amy are arranging a food order for Harley. She’s desperate for sushi since she wasn’t able to eat it while pregnant.

I’ll leave them to that and instead go to the window where Lola is leaning, taking in the whole scene. “Thanks for inviting me, Gill,” she murmurs.

“Of course. You’re family, Lola,” I reply. It’s true to me beyond a shadow of a doubt.

She smiles at me and holds up her pinky finger. I put my pinky up to hers and we squeeze them together. An unspoken tradition between us, something we’ve done over and over since we were little. The love is always there regardless of what happens between us. I hope. “You know…” she says with a sigh, looking back at Harley and Grant as Dad helps return the baby into Harley’s arms. “I’m glad we have a pact about Axel being off-limits.”

I do a double take. “Wha-what?! Why are you bringing that up?” It’s been a rule since we hit puberty. Axel was off limits to me; my sisters were off limits to her (on the off chance her sexuality took a turn toward the female persuasion).

“Just cause…” Lola jerks her head subtly toward Grant and Harley. “The drama, ya know?”

I glance back at my family. Yeah, there was a lot of drama. There was a lot of arguing, at least one punch involved, and some work to get us all to a point where our sort-of-uncle Grant was now more than that. “But it all worked out. They’re happy. It doesn’t matter how they got there, it’s just…” I trail off as I look at Lola. “Never mind. Yeah. You’re right.”

What Lola doesn’t know can’t hurt her.

2

AXEL

“Do you know what this is going to cost me?”

I blink at my father. Best to stay quiet when he’s angry to keep his blood pressure down.

“Axel.”

Unless he demands a response. Then it’s best to actually respond. “A lot of money.”

“Yeah. A lot of fucking money,” Dad growls and throws the newspaper down on his desk. “I should have known twenty years ago that she was going to be a troublemaker.” On the very front page is a picture of Gillian with her bullhorn and “Community, not condos!” sign overhead, looking as vicious as a wild beast. He’s somehow managed to get the issue before it went to print. Just the Hitchins way. Throwing money at the problem to get what he wants. Or someone owed him a favor.

I straighten up. I haven’t bothered to sit down. That way I can always make a quick getaway if he loses his temper. “I’ll take care of it,” I say, as if there won’t be any problem. However, knowing Gillian, there will definitely be a problem. I just have to give my dad some sort of confidence so I can get out of here unscathed.

“Oh, will you?” Dad asks sarcastically.

“It’s not a problem.” On the outside, I remain calm even though, inside, I’m screaming at myself. “Taking care” of anything when it comes to Gillian Solace is definitely a problem. However, I’ll spin whatever tale I need to make sure Dad stays happy. Otherwise, he might cast me aside just like he did Jeremiah, my older brother. Unlike Jeremiah, I’m not more passionate about my social causes than our family name and legacy. Not to mention the money. Yeah, it’s mostly about the money.

“Axel, if you could have handled this problem, then we would have had this nipped in the bud yesterday. In fact, there never would have been a protest and we would have already broken ground,” Dad grumbles, leaning back in his seat. Even in his home office, he’s every bit the businessman he is when we’re at the Hitchins Property Development headquarters. “So, forgive me for not having a lot of faith that you’re going to be able to handle this without me throwing a couple bribes over to the city council.”

If Jeremiah could see us now, he’d be losing his lunch. He’s working somewhere in Africa building schools and wells for remote villages. Good for him, I guess. Couldn’t be me. “Like I said, I’ll get Gillian to back off, alright? Lola is already–”

“Don’t get me started on Lola,” Dad spits, pulling out a handkerchief and dabbing his forehead. Now a septuagenarian, the man’s health is starting to worry me. “No, Gillian Solace is far too hard-headed for Lola to break down. They’re too close.” Dad eyes me, green meeting green. “You’ll do it. You don’t care about Gillian Solace’s feelings, do you?”

I gulp. “Nope.”

“Great. It’s business, right?”

I glance out the window of Dad’s office. It has a view of the second floor of the Solace home. Back in the day, things seemed so simple. Gillian was just my kid sister’s best friend. Now she’s actively plotting my demise.

Stiff upper lip, Axel. You don’t need friends. You need this project to go through.

This was supposed to be my first major build to kick off Dad’s retirement plan. Of course, with Dad, he’s scheduled his retirement into phases that will last five years. The man’s swimming in money but will be a workaholic until the day he dies, that is very clear.

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