Page 91 of Hot and Bothered

His words flattened her. “I came to tell you, you fucking prick, and you were with your wife. Should I have announced it in the middle of your cozy little reunion? Should I have told Magda that the child she was carrying would have a little brother or sister soon?”

Conveniently, he ignored that. “You had no right to keep this from me, Jules. That’s my flesh and blood in there.” His gaze bored through the back door’s wood, seeking out his son.His son.The words sickened her. “If you had acted like an adult instead of a spoiled brat, we could have come up with some suitable arrangement.”

“I don’t need your money. Evan doesn’t need a thing from you.”

“A boy needs his father. And I plan to be in his life.”

The space around her heart contracted. Her entire body took that as its cue, pulling her inside herself, making her feel small and insignificant.

Desperately, she clawed for the higher moral ground here. “What about Magda? Your other child?”

“We’re divorced.” For the first time since he had arrived, he looked uncomfortable. She cheered a mental home run that collided with pettiness in her chest. “She has custody of all three kids.”

Three children.The blessings went on and on. “You don’t see your regular family, so you want a piece of mine.”

“I want a piece of mine, Jules.” He said it with finality, chopping through the air. “We can talk about this till the cows come home but we both know there’s only one end here. You kept this a secret from me, and that kind of behavior doesn’t play well in front of a judge. Fathers’ rights are all the rage now. Your brother can throw his money and weight around all he likes but he can’t deny me access to my son.”

He stood quickly, rocking the table so orange juice splashed over the lip of a jug.

“Time to grow up, little girl, and come out from behind Jack’s apron. I’ll be in town until Friday.”

Thirty-Two

“So what’s the plan?” Shane asked, unease in his voice. “There is a plan, right?”

Everyone had crowded around the island in Jack and Lili’s kitchen as soon as Simon flounced out. Jack crossed his arms, uncrossed them, crossed them again. Jules recognized that look. He was primed to explode.

“We’re going to make sure he never lays a finger on Evan,” Jack said icily.

“Jules, is that what he wants?” Lili asked.

“Why else is he here?” Cara threw out. She sat in an armchair with Evan noodled in the crook of her arm. “I mean, he’s had all this time to make his presence known—”

“He didn’t know about Evan,” Jules said quietly, fire rushing to her cheeks. Not once had she regretted her decision to keep Evan from Simon but she could see how it might look. Jules, the home-wrecker. Jules, the liar. “I had my reasons.”

“You should have told me who it was, Jules,” Jack said so low the whole room felt its chill. “He’s married, with kids and responsibilities.”

“I didn’t know that when we were together,” she said defensively, and then more softly, “It was a bad time for me.”

Cara made a sound of disgust. “What a dick!”

Too late, she realized that Evan could hear that. She made a brief gesture to cover his ears, then waved her hand at the futility of trying to cocoon Evan from the swirl of negativity. The situation sucked. “He’s married and he took advantage of you.”

“He didn’t take advantage of me,” Jules said, thrilled at her sister’s support but needing to make clear the circumstances. “Sure, he deceived me about being married but I was just as responsible for what happened. Two of us made Evan.”

“Well, he’s not going anywhere near him,” Shane said, looking at Jack for confirmation. Her brother nodded curtly, his jaw so tight Jules imagined the softest touch might shatter it.

Tad hadn’t spoken a word or looked at her since he had come to her rescue moments before. From beneath heavy-lidded eyes, he watched not her or Evan, but Jack. Anger rolled off him in waves.

Jack plucked his phone from his jeans pocket and looked at Cara expectantly. “Cara, what’s the name of the lawyer who handled your annulment?”

“What are you doing?” Jules asked.

“Getting a restraining order.”

“Jack,” Lili said soothingly. “You need to let Jules decide.”

Her brother looked exasperated. “This is what you want, isn’t it, Jules? That piece of crap doesn’t get to have any say in how Evan is raised, what he eats, where he goes to school. He doesn’t getanything.”

---