Beautiful Illusions Duet Bundle: Eighty-One Nights and Beautiful Ever After

by Georgia Cates

Lou loves me. She didn’t leave of her own accord. So what the fuck could Blair possibly be holding over Lou’s head? And why is she allowing Blair to control her actions?

  I can’t figure it out. The only thing I’m certain of is that Lou won’t see me until I take care of this with Blair.

  I’ve been racking my brain for ideas since I saw Rachel two nights ago. I’ve come up with nothing.

  I’m on my fifth whisky of the night. Maybe sixth. Doesn’t matter what number you put on it—it’s the one that makes being in this house without Lou bearable.

  I turn up the last of my whisky and see the figure of a woman over the glass.

  Lou?

  My elation quickly turns to anger when my eyes focus and I register who it is. “Blair. I was just thinking about you.”

  She smiles. “You know how to make a woman feel special.”

  I sit taller and slide toward the coffee table, pouring myself another whisky. “Grab a glass from the bar and have a drink with me.”

  She places the glass on the table in front of me, and I pour four fingers high. “What brings you all the way out to Kirkliston?”

  “You were upset the last time I saw you. I wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”

  I hold up my whisky glass. “I’m fucking miserable. That’s how I’m doing.”

  It’s such a kick in the bollocks to find happiness after two years of misery and then have it ripped out of your life.

  “Why are you miserable?”

  That fucking faux innocent tone in her voice makes me want to rip out her vocal cords.

  “You know very well why.”

  “For the life of me, I don’t know.”

  “Lou is gone and you’re the reason.”

  “She told you that?”

  “Lou has told me nothing because I’ve not seen her since the day she walked out of here without so much as a goodbye. And she refuses to see me.”

  Blair does a shitty job of hiding her satisfaction. “And that is somehow my fault?”

  “I believe it is.”

  “Why would I do anything to make your housekeeper leave her position?”

  “Stop being coy. It doesn’t suit you. We both know that she isn’t my housekeeper.”

  Blair shrugs and shakes her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  This game she’s playing is infuriating.

  “Lou and I were having an affair. You knew. And you didn’t like it worth a damn.”

  Blair breathes in deeply and slowly releases the air. “That woman, that whore, has no place in your life or Ava Rose’s.”

  “Lou isn’t a whore. But even if she was, it wouldn’t be your place to decide who is or isn’t in my life.”

  “Mina wouldn’t want a prostitute living under the same roof as her daughter.”

  “Lou isn’t a prostitute.”

  “She is according to my sources.”

  Blair has sources. Okay. This is starting to come together now. “Who are your sources?”

  “A very reputable private investigator. And also the son of Inamorata’s owner.”

  Chambers. I knew that bastard would find a way to hurt Lou.

  “You know nothing about Lou.”

  “She’s an escort and you paid her to have sex with you. That’s the definition of a prostitute.”

  Well, fuck. That much is true. And it sounds bad when she says it like that.

  “How could you think that bringing that woman into your home would be acceptable?”

  “This is my house and what I do here is my business. I don’t owe you an explanation about anything I do in the privacy of my own home.”

  “You do as long as Ava Rose lives in this house. And if at any time your actions become unfit, it’s my job to step in and help you find your way back onto the right path.”

  So Blair has made herself the warden who governs my actions? Let’s see what she has to say about this.

  “I love Lou.”

  There’s a catch in her throat and her eyes widen. “No. That can’t happen.”

  “Too late. It already has.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “I. Love. Lou.”

  “You can’t love someone else. It’ll ruin everything.”

  “What will it ruin?”

  “Do you really not see the truth of what’s been happening all these years?”

  The only truth that I know about all of these years is that getting tied up with the Lochridges has led me down a road of misery and despair. “What truth?”

  “You shouldn’t have married Mina.”

  I couldn’t agree more, but I can’t believe that I’m hearing that out of Blair. “No truer words have ever been spoken.”

  Blair places her glass on the table and gets up, walking over and standing in front of me.

  What the fuck is she doing?

  “I always saw your true worth. Mina never did.”

  She unties the belt at her waist, opening her wrap dress to reveal her naked body beneath. Lifting one of her legs, she moves to climb on top of me but I reach out, gripping her waist. “No. Don’t do that.”

  “I know you want me. You always have.”

  I don’t know what in the fuck I could have done to give Blair that impression. “You’re wrong. Very wrong.”

  She drops to her knees in front of me and reaches for my belt buckle. “I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to have you in my mouth.”

  I push at her hands, but her grip around my buckle is tight. “Stop. Now.”

  She stops tugging on my belt, but her grip doesn’t lessen. “Let me see if I have this right. I’m trying to suck you off and you’re telling me no?”

  “That is accurate.”

  “You’re turning down a blowjob from me?”

  How many different ways does she need to hear rejection? “I don’t want you to blow me.”

  Blair’s laughter clearly isn’t sparked by humor. “You’re rejecting me because of this nobody whore who calls herself Lou?”

  “I love her.” And her lips are the only ones I want wrapped around my cock.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

  “You have to know that I’ll never let you be with her.”

  It’s laughable that she truly believes she has the right to say how I live my life.

  “You can’t stop me from being with her.”

  “If you bring that whore back into your life, I will ruin you. I will tell Dad everything.”

  “Go ahead. Tell him that I’m in love with Lou. Tell him that I want to make her my wife. Tell him to fire me and ensure that I never work in Edinburgh again. The three of us will be happier in Glasgow anyway.”

  Aye, it’s a dick move to threaten Blair with moving Ava Rose to Glasgow, but what choice has she given me?

  “Try to take my niece out of Edinburgh, and you’ll find out what happens when you fuck with the Lochridges.”

  “Ava Rose is my daughter. I can take her anywhere I want.”

  A grin of pure evil spreads across Blair’s face. “Come on, Max. We both know that Ava Rose is not your daughter.”

  Whoa.

  Wait a fucking minute.

  Blair knows?

  It feels like someone has knocked the breath right out of me. “What are you talking about?”

  “You think my sister didn’t confide in me?”

  It’s hard for me to believe that Mina would have confided in Blair about anything. Of her three sisters, Blair was her least favorite.

  “I don’t know what Mina told you, but I think you’re confused.”

  “Of the two of us, I’m the only one who isn’t confused about the truth. I know everything about Mina’s affair and who fathered Ava Rose.”

  She knows who got Mina pregnant?

  I’ve never wanted to know who Ava Rose’s father is. Being unaware meant not carrying the burden of withholding her from her true pat
ernal family. Learning the truth would change everything.

  “Don’t tell me who he is. I don’t want to know.”

  “Don’t worry. I don’t plan on telling you or him unless I have no other choice.”

  The biological father doesn’t know about Ava Rose. That’s good to know.

  “What do you mean by no other choice?”

  “If you choose to bring Lou back into your life, it’ll mean losing custody of Ava Rose. I’ll tell everyone that you aren’t her biological father, and a paternity test will prove it. There won’t be a judge in Edinburgh who would rule for her to remain in the care of a man who isn’t her father rather than placing her with her real family.”

  “You’d do that to her? And to me? Take her away from the only parent she’s ever known?”

  “I wouldn’t want to, but you’d be leaving me with no choice if you choose to have Caitriona Louden in your life.”

  Lou’s real name is Caitriona Louden.

  Finally, I have a name for her.

  “You’d make me choose between my daughter and the woman I love?”

  “I certainly would, but there’s another option to consider.”

  “What other option?”

  “We could raise Ava Rose together as our daughter.”

  Our daughter? Mine and Blair’s?

  What the actual fuck?

  “Are you suggesting that we share custody?”

  “No, Max. I want you to marry me. I want to be Ava Rose’s mother. And your wife.”

  That’s the craziest shite I’ve ever heard. “You’re already married.”

  “I can begin the divorce process tomorrow.”

  My brother-in-law Doug. The poor bastard has no idea that his wife has come to my house, gotten on her knees and tried to suck my cock, and told me she wants to divorce him and marry me.

  “Yer aff yer heid if you think that I’d ever marry you.”

  Blair sits back, her bum against her lower legs. “You’ll marry me or lose everything you love. Your choice.”

  I’ve already lost everything I love.

  “Get out. Now.”

  Blair stands and adjusts her dress, retying the belt around her waist. “I want you, Max. And for that reason, I’m going to give you time to think about what I’m offering you.”

  I don’t need time to think about anything. “No deal.”

  “You shouldn’t make your decision in haste. Make no mistake about it. The price of having Caitriona is high. It’s a price that you can’t afford.”

  If she were a man, I’d punch her in her fucking face.

  “Go home to your husband.” The poor fool.

  I forgo the tumbler and turn up the bottle of whisky. The liquid scorches my throat all the way until it hits my gut, and then the fire spreads inside of my core.

  Without doubt, Blair is the spawn of Thomas Lochridge. And she may actually be eviler than her father is.

  Ava Rose. I have come to love that little girl so much. And I could lose her if Lou comes back into my life.

  My daughter or the woman I love? How do I make that kind of choice?

  I can’t. There has to be another way. I can’t lose either of them. I won’t.

  I find the bottom of the bottle quickly and opt to sleep on the couch. I don’t want another repeat of today—waking to a cold bed and reaching out only to find an empty space beside me.

  “Come back to me, Lou. Come. Back. Please.”

  45

  Caitriona Louden

  Two Weeks Later

  Another restless night. That’s my nightly ritual despite the exhaustion I constantly feel. This pregnancy has robbed me of all my energy. But that’s normal at this stage according to everything I’ve read.

  I lie on my back, staring at the darkness dancing on my bedroom ceiling. It’s my other nightly routine and has been for almost six weeks. It’s hard to believe that my separation from Hutch is approaching the month-and-a-half mark.

  I’ve somehow managed to survive without him. Not that I really wanted to in the beginning but this baby has changed everything. I already love our child with all of my heart.

  I haven’t felt well today. It’s been the worst day so far. My stomach has been threatening to send me to the toilet for hours, and it finally makes good on its threats.

  Sudden. Sharp. Stabbing.

  My abdomen hasn’t cramped like this in years. Not since I was a teenager and having trouble with my periods and menstrual cramps.

  Bright. Red. Blood. A lot of it.

  What is this? What is happening?

  I wipe away the blood and more replaces it. “Nooo!”

  No, no, no. This isn’t happening. I’m not losing this baby.

  Drip. Drip. Drip.

  More blood.

  “Oh God, no.”

  Tucking a towel between my legs, I return to bed and call Rachel.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I need you to come over and take me to the hospital.” I feel a huge gush between my legs. “I’m bleeding.”

  “How badly?”

  “It’s a lot.”

  “All right. We’ll be right there.”

  I lie motionless on my back, crying, as I wait for Rachel to arrive. I’m terrified that any kind of movement could be the single motion that causes me to lose this baby.

  That can’t happen. I lost Hutch. I can’t lose his baby too. The pain will be too much to bear.

  A thin sheen of sweat has formed over my body, and I’m trembling when Rachel and Claud come into my bedroom.

  “Tell me what’s happening.”

  “My lower abdomen is cramping and I’m bleeding. A lot.”

  Rachel lifts the covers and pulls back the towel between my legs. “You need to see a doctor.”

  Rachel motions for Claud to come to us. “Carry her to the car.”

  “It’s bad, isn’t it?” I haven’t looked but I felt it coming out.

  Three heartbeats pass before Rachel answers. “It’s a lot.”

  Claud pushes his arms beneath me and lifts my body from the bed, the movement making my cramp intensify tenfold. “Ohh, it hurts.”

  “I’m sorry,” Claud says.

  I wrap my arms around his shoulders and as tightly as I can in spite of the weakness overtaking my body. “I’m losing the baby. I know I am.”

  “We’re going to do everything possible to make sure that you don’t.”

  Something is coming out of me down there, but I can’t bring myself to say the words. Admitting it makes the possibility too real.

  Rachel covers me with a blanket and Claud carries me to the lift. And I pray with every step that God will allow this tiny little baby to remain inside of me.

  Please, please, please don’t take this baby from me. I want to be its mother so badly. I want to love it. And I want it to love me.

  Claud gently places me in the back seat and Rachel crawls in beside me. She lifts my head, placing it in her lap, and strokes the top of my head. “It’s going to be okay, Caity bug.”

  I don’t say the words but I think Rachel is wrong. There’s too much blood for everything to be okay.

  “I know what you’re thinking but this baby is a part of you. I’ve never known a stronger person in my life. This baby is going to be okay.”

  Claud’s driver makes a turn and I grip my stomach. “Ohhh,” I hiss through my clenched teeth.

  “I’m sorry. He’s just trying to hurry.”

  “It’s not his driving. The pain is getting worse on its own whether I’m jostled or not.”

  The bright lights of the hospital’s glowing sign are a welcome sight. But I think we’re too late.

  “Don’t move. I’ll go inside to get someone,” Claud says.

  Rachel is still stroking the top of my head when Claud returns to the car with two staff members of the hospital and a wheelchair.

  “Are you able to move?” one of the nurses asked.

  “Probably not quickly, but yes, I think I can mo
ve.”

  Rachel helps me sit up and scoot toward the open door. The staff members grasp me beneath my arms and assist me to the wheelchair. The drenched towel drops to the ground and I see the proof of how heavily I’m bleeding.

  I’m taken to an exam room and assessed by a couple of hospital staff members, nurses I presume. One asks me a million questions while the other takes my vital signs and a third appears and draws blood.

  “The first thing Dr. Kimble will want to do is an ultrasound to evaluate what’s going on.”

  Oh God. This is it. Someone is going to swirl that wand around my stomach and tell me if my baby is gone from my body.

  “Will I have to wait long?”

  “Someone should be in very soon.”

  The nurses step out of the exam room, leaving me alone with Rachel.

  “On the way to the hospital, I felt something come out.”

  A soft gasp catches in Rachel’s throat. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.”

  Rachel reaches for my hand. “Ohhh, Cait.”

  My chest aches. “I think I’ve lost the only piece of Hutch that I had left.”

  Rachel laces her fingers through mine, entwining our hands. “You must have faith, Cait.”

  “I want to.” But that’s a very difficult thing to have when you’ve known nothing but heartache your entire life.

  Good things don’t happen to me. Choose the worst possible outcome and that’s my fate. And losing my child feels like the next tragedy waiting to happen.

  The door opens and my doctor comes into the room. Behind her is a woman rolling an ultrasound machine and I know exactly what to expect this time.

  “Hello, Caitriona. The nurses tell me that you’ve come in because you’re having pain and bleeding.”

  “I am.”

  “When did this start?”

  “I had mild cramping earlier today. I thought it was stomach cramps, but then the pain got a lot worse and there was blood when I went to the toilet.”

  “When did the bleeding start?”

  “About an hour ago.”

  “We’re going to do an ultrasound and find out what’s happening.”

  Warm gel on my skin and a wand pressed against my lower belly. I thought I was scared to death when we did this same thing two weeks ago but tonight I feel a completely different kind of fear.