He threw the lid at me. I stepped to the side, letting the plastic lid fall to the ground about three feet away from me. He took off running, carrying a trash bag from my can. “Hey!” I shouted again.
I picked up the lid that had been thrown at me and slapped it on the can. “Fucking bums, seriously.”
I went back inside, shaking my head in disgust. I lived in a good neighborhood and was a little surprised to find a bum digging through my trashcan. I rarely closed the gate to my backyard, but that was going to change. I walked over and slammed the chain-link gate closed, irritated by the intrusion. I froze the moment the thought occurred.
“Oh shit,” I whispered, running back outside.
I lifted the lid and shone the flashlight inside. There was one bag inside. The camera around the man’s neck had been professional. He wasn’t a bum. He was a photographer. Why in the hell would a photographer be digging in my trash? Not just digging in my can. He had stolen a bag of trash.
I went back inside, trying to remember what was in the trash bag. The pregnancy test had been taken at work and long disposed of. I wasn’t sure what else was in there. Maybe some old fast-food wrappers and empty cartons.
It had to be Amber. Amber and Evan. I wanted none of their drama. It made me realize I had made the right decision in getting out of that relationship. I did not need the craziness in my life. I had no idea what they hoped to glean from digging through my trash, but more power to them. All I did know was I wanted out. I couldn’t deal with the paparazzi like Evan did. I didn’t want to court them like Amber did. I just wanted to be left alone.
There was only one way that was going to happen. I locked the back door before going to the front door and making sure it was locked as well. I drew the blinds, doublechecking the windows were locked. I didn’t want to have anyone else trying to get information by breaking into my house.
I picked up my phone and went to my room, closing the door in an effort to feel a little safer. I couldn’t help but feel violated. It was exactly why I didn’t want to get mixed up with Evan. His life came with strings I didn’t like—like people digging through my trash. That was weird. That was not something I could ever get used to.
“Hey,” I said when Tara answered the phone.
“What’s up?” she answered. “Feeling any better?”
“No. Actually, I think I feel worse.”
“I’m sorry. How’s the belly? Are you still feeling sick?”
“No, that part feels better. It’s my heart that isn’t doing so good.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Thanks,” I murmured. “I think I want to get out of town for a couple of days. Do you think you can handle things? I hate to dump it all on you, but I need to get out of here. I just caught someone digging through my trash.”
“What? Why?”
“I have no idea. It could be nothing or it could be someone Amber tipped off. I don’t want to deal with any of it right now. I just want to get out of here for a couple of days.”
“Of course. I’ve got things handled. We’re slow right now. Where are you going to go?”
“Home. I need to get out of the city. I’m going to hang out with my mom.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Are you going to tell your mom about the baby?”
I cringed. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m just going to get out of here.”
“Okay. Check in with me. I’m worried about you. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I smiled, appreciating her friendship. “Thank you, but I’m going to be fine. Things are just rough right now, but I’ll bounce back.”
“Okay. I’m here for you if you need me.”
“I know you are,” I said and ended the call.
I left the phone on the bed and grabbed my suitcase. I tossed a few things in, not expecting to be gone for long. I just needed a few days. I had been feeling a little stir crazy since things went down. I wasn’t sure the city was big enough for the both of us. I didn’t want to risk running into him. Although with our very different lifestyles, that was highly unlikely.
I knew I didn’t need to call my mom and ask her if I could crash for a few days. She was always getting on me to visit more often. Her wish was about to be granted. I grabbed my phone charger and laptop before going into the bathroom to grab my toiletries. I opened the medicine cabinet, grabbed the bottle of prenatal vitamins, and tossed everything into my bag.
I did another sweep of the house, checking windows and making sure it was secure. I grabbed my keys and left. The faster I got some distance between me and the city, the better. I was ready to start moving forward.
Chapter 33
Evan
I had spent three long days on the island, not that I remembered much of it. I had crawled inside the bottle and languished there until it was time to sober up and fly back to the city. I had shown up for work, facing the stares from my employees. They all smiled at me as I came in, but I could tell they were anxious by my presence.
The guy I had been a month ago would have tried to assure them all was well. The guy that was in the office now didn’t give a shit.
I was destined to be one of those guys that frowned at everyone and stole the toys of little kids who dared throw a ball in my yard. I would have the reputation as the guy whose door the Girl Scouts didn’t dare knock on.
My life was destined to be miserable. I was going to die a lonely, bitter man. If I couldn’t have Cherie, I didn’t want anyone. And I knew I couldn’t have Cherie. She had made that clear. She was lost to me. I had gotten so close, and then she was gone. Ripped away from me just like the first time.
While I had been trying to drink my weight in Jack, I had come up with some pretty grand ideas about how to win her back. Then I remembered she didn’t want me. She had dumped me. I made her miserable. There was no point in trying to win back a woman who truly didn’t want to be with me. I didn’t want to be with someone that I made miserable.
Cherie was a stubborn woman. She had put her foot down and made up her mind. I could make an ass of myself and bend over backward and it wouldn’t do any good. She had walked out of my life for a second time. I wasn’t that much of a glutton for punishment. I was going to have to live with a piece of my heart missing. I had accepted that. I wasn’t ready to say I was moving on, but I knew my fate, and I was working toward learning how to live with the loneliness.
It was time to focus on work. I couldn’t have love, so I may as well be richer than God. I would build a fortune that would be given away to some worthy charity upon my death. I had to do something to keep myself busy. I supposed I could retire and hide out somewhere. That was still an option I was considering.
At some point during my drunken stupor, I had considered the idea of being a hermit on my little island. Initially, the idea had been a bit of a joke, but now I was strongly considering it. I could hide away, disappear from the world, and live with my own misery.
Before I could really sink my teeth into my plans to become a reclusive beast, there was a quick double knock on my office door before it was pushed open. I didn’t have to ask who it was. That was David’s signal. He never waited to be invited in and just came strolling in whenever he chose.
I looked up and saw the look on his face and immediately knew something was wrong. I sighed, dropping the pen in my hand and looking up at him. “What now?”
He held up a rag mag, shaking it and shaking his head. “We’ve got a problem.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care what’s in those bullshit papers. They are not my problem.”
“Oh, I think this one is,” he said and slapped it on the desk in front of me.
My eyes were immediately drawn to a picture of Cherie looking fraught with worry. I read the headline aloud. “Valentine’s Love Child,” I murmured, trying to pull together the storyline with the picture.
It was clear Cherie didn’t know the picture was being taken. I looke
d closer and realized the picture had been taken at her house. She was standing in her living room, looking stressed out and worried. I wasn’t going to lie. Seeing her distraught gave me a tiny bit of satisfaction. I didn’t want her happy and carrying on with her life as if I never existed. I wanted her to be just as miserable as I was.
“What the hell is going on?” David growled.
I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. Why are you reading this trash anyway?”
“Open it,” he said, waving a finger at the paper. “Read the story.”
“It’s all bullshit and lies.”
“Read it.”
I flipped open the paper and found the story, along with another shitty picture of Cherie. “Cherie Sanders named as the other woman in love triangle with Evan Daniels and Amber Marks,” I read. The words sank in. “Shit.” I looked up at David and saw irritation on his face.
“It gets better,” David said, waving at me to keep reading.
“Sources report Amber is brokenhearted after finding Cherie and Evan in a compromising position at his mansion in Miami. The other woman was the couple’s wedding planner. Amber has reportedly been left reeling after discovering the man she was about to marry had been having an affair for months.”
I looked up at David. “What the fuck is this about?”
He shook his head. “We knew Amber could spin a tale, but I’m not sure this is all Amber.”
“Who else would it be?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Read.”
“Amber is devastated, a friend says. She found out Cherie is pregnant with Evan’s child. The news came as a major blow to the model who has only recently discovered she is unable to have children. The wedding planner has been telling her friends about the baby and how excited she is to have secured her financial future. Sources report the woman was spotted buying prenatal vitamins and was seen browsing cribs and other baby gear at an exclusive baby gear retailer.”
I slowly shook my head, looking at David. I needed him to tell me it was a joke. “Sorry,” he said, his green eyes filled with anger and sympathy at the same time.
“This has to be bullshit,” I said.
“There are pictures,” he said on a sigh. “I’m assuming that’s her house.”
I nodded. “That doesn’t mean anything. Amber tipped them off and a quick Google search would reveal the rest.”
“Is she pregnant?” he asked.
“No,” I immediately answered. “I don’t know.”
“Fuck,” David groaned.
“This could all be a load of bullshit. These tabloids are notorious for making up some pretty wild stories. We’ve been down this road before.”
He gave me a look. “Where would they get such a wild story from? There is usually a tiny nugget of truth to a story.”
“She isn’t pregnant,” I said, more to myself than him. “Why would she dump me if she was pregnant with my baby?”
“Because she can get a lot more money out of you if she isn’t with you,” he stated.
He was right, but I couldn’t believe Cherie would do that. “How would the tabloid find out about Cherie being pregnant, assuming she is? Amber wouldn’t know.”
He stared at me for several seconds, his expression blank. “How would they know?” he repeated the question.
Then it hit me. “No fucking way,” I breathed. “No. I refuse to believe Cherie sold her story to the press.”
“Evan, it’s the only way this story would even get out there. Amber doesn’t have much to gain from you getting another woman pregnant. Not until she ensured she had her payday. This doesn’t benefit Amber. You and I both know she only does things that make her look good.”
“She could be trying to garner sympathy,” I argued. “She made it clear she was pissed about Cherie. She would absolutely tell the tabloids I had stepped out on her.”
He blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I wish I had a concrete answer for you, but it doesn’t look good. To me, this looks like Cherie took a page out of Amber’s book. She wanted a payout.”
I shook my head. “That doesn’t make any sense. I wanted to marry her. She would have had access to my fortune.”
“You would have had a prenup,” he said with a frown. “Right?”
“I don’t know if I would have. I trusted her. I loved her. I still love her. I can’t believe she would do this.”
“Money makes people do crazy things. Don’t you think it’s kind of strange she hooked up with you while you were engaged to someone else? She saw you, saw you still had the hots for her, and took advantage of it.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Could I have really been that stupid and naïve to believe she wanted me back? “I don’t know,” I said, unable to get my head around the idea.
“Evan, think about it. I know it’s hard. I hate that this is happening, but you need to look at the facts. She played you. Hell, maybe she and Amber were in on it together. It’s hard to say. I’ve got Vaughn digging into the story and trying to shakedown the reporter to find out who the source is. I need you to be prepared for what is going to come out. Vaughn is very effective, and he will get the truth. Can you handle it?”
My first response would have been no. No, I couldn’t handle the idea of Cherie betraying me. Getting dumped had been bad enough. I wasn’t sure I could deal with the knowledge none of it had been real, that she had been using me the entire time I was falling head over heels in love with her all over again.
“I won’t believe it,” I said. “If she was pregnant, I don’t understand why she would break up with me. I know I sound like I’m in denial, but she isn’t like that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Something else is going on,” I insisted. “I’m not going to believe anything until I have actual proof.”
“Do you want me to get PR to put out a statement?”
“No. Don’t acknowledge it. I’m tired of feeding into the storyline. It’s only going to keep coming. No one is listening to us. Every time we respond, we give them what they want.”
“Is there a chance she is pregnant?” he asked.
I thought about it and realized I really didn’t know for sure. “I suppose there could be.”
“Fuck, Evan. How many times did Mom tell us to protect ourselves?!”
“She was on the pill before and I know it was only me and her,” I defended.
“That was a long time ago.”
He was right. I had been foolish. “I’ll try talking to her.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. You need to operate under the assumption she did sell this story to them. She might record you and feed more stories to the press. The more traction you give to the story, the bigger her payout is going to be. Don’t feed the beast.”
“I’m supposed to just sit back and let her have my kid without saying a word?” I snapped.
“If she is pregnant and if the baby is yours, I guarantee you she isn’t going to just have your kid. She is going to come after you for some serious child support. With your financial situation, you are going to be paying six figures a month. I don’t know what her game is, but if she is carrying your baby, she is set for life. She will never have to work again. She gets your money without the hassle of a pesky prenup.”
I couldn’t believe that. What we had shared wasn’t fake. There was no possible way she had been able to fake the way her body responded to mine or the look of love in her eyes. I reminded myself she had told me directly to my face she was miserable with me, but I struggled to believe that. There had been no signs of misery.
I was going to find out what the hell was going on. Vaughn could do his research, but I preferred to go directly to the source. “I’m going to find out.”
“Let it be. Let Vaughn do his job.”
“No. I want her to tell me to my face she used me. I want to know if she’s carrying my child. She better believe I will be in my child’s life. She doesn’t get to take my kid and my mone
y.”
He offered a small smile. “There’s the fighting spirit I was hoping to see. Keep it cool. Vaughn will know something soon. He’s like a dog with a bone.”
Vaughn could do his job, but Cherie was going to tell me to my face what the hell was going on. I was not going to be played.
Chapter 34
Cherie
I walked into the general store looking for something to drink. It was a little strange to be home, but it had been nice to get away from the craziness that was my life in Miami.
For the first time in days, I had been able to get some decent sleep the night before. Not a lot, but more than what I would have gotten at home. There was something comforting about being in the small town. It was quiet and so much slower than being in the city. It was a good place to take a step back and just unwind.
I knew it was risky being in the small town with everyone knowing everybody’s business. I knew Evan’s mom still lived in the area as well. I wasn’t revisiting any of the usual places. The general store was a necessity. I was craving a soda and my mom didn’t have anything without caffeine in the house. I looked around the store and didn’t recognize anyone. I was avoiding his mom and hoped I wouldn’t run into her. She was the last person I wanted to see.
I paid for the diet soda and walked out of the store and right into Marie Daniels, Evan’s mom. I hoped she wouldn’t recognize me. Maybe I could escape before she remembered who I was. I knew I had left a bad impression on the entire Daniels family when I had broken the heart of her teenage son all those years ago.
“Cherie Sanders!” she exclaimed, dashing any hopes she wouldn’t remember me or recognize my face.
I smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Daniels.”
“Oh please, call me Marie. What are you doing in town?”
I held my smile. “Visiting my mom.”
Marie always had a kind of scattered look about her. She reminded me of a sixties flower child with her long hair that was always a little messy. She was very friendly and warm and a little flighty. Evan picked up some of her easygoing nature, but he could be very serious when needed. Marie always had a serene look on her face, even when she had busted me sneaking out of Evan’s room early in the morning.
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