Everyone laughs, including Piper. “Okay,” she says. “I might be willing to consider it.”
Mason lifts her into the air and spins her around. Then he says, “Let’s go home and consider it right now.”
She swats him. “I think I’d like to hang around until my niece or nephew makes an appearance.”
Mason looks at Charlie. “Do you think we could hurry this along?”
Dr. Chavis comes into the room, smiling at the festive atmosphere. “I hate to break this up, but somebody is about to become a party crasher,” she says, walking over to place a hand on Charlie’s belly.
Everyone comes over to kiss Charlie and wish us well. Bruce Mitchell shakes my hand, pulling me into a hug. “Welcome to the family, son.”
I can barely control my emotions when I see my mother crying happy tears over the video stream. I know she never thought this day would come. The day when she would see her son experience pure joy again. I tell her we’ll call her back after the baby arrives. Then I shut the lid to the laptop and turn around to face my bride.
She too is crying, because she has removed the ring and is reading the inscription. “Rule number eighteen—forever isn’t long enough.” She looks up at me, eyes glistening. “I love you so much.”
I take her in my arms. “Right backatcha, Mrs. Stone.”
“Charlie Stone,” she says, pondering over the name. “I think that has a nice ring to it.” She frowns and I wonder if another contraction is starting. “I just wish we could have said vows and stuff. There is so much I want to say to you.”
“We will have sixty or seventy years to say all the things we want to say to each other,” I tell her. “And believe me, the vows I want to say to you, are for your ears only, Tate.”
Her eyes snap to mine and she smiles. She smiles big.
“That’s the one?” I ask.
She nods. “That’s the one,” she says. “That’s always been the one.”
Dr. Chavis clears her throat. “Is there anyone we need to be calling?”
I know what she’s asking, but I don’t let the thought put a damper on this incredible moment. I shake my head. “No. Everyone who is supposed to be here is here.”
Dr. Chavis smiles. “That’s what I thought. Now let’s have this baby, shall we?”
Chapter Forty-six
I look down into the baby-blue eyes of our day-old son. I’ve counted every finger and every toe a hundred times. They are all still there. And they are perfect. He is perfect.
Charlie comes up behind me to catch me staring again. She wraps her arms around me. “All babies have blue eyes, Ethan. It doesn’t mean anything.”
I nod my head. I know that. And I know that whatever the test says and whatever happens, he will be as much my son as Cat was my daughter. But I was hoping for some kind of sign. Blonde hair maybe; or his second and third toes being slightly webbed together as mine are.
But Eli is completely bald. He’s the cutest bald baby I’ve ever seen. I love it when his little face scrunches up right before he cries. I love it when he grabs my finger and holds onto it for dear life. I love it when I watch him feed from Charlie’s breast. I love it when I look at him and think of how it felt to hold Cat in my arms.
I’m only human, though, and I know if he’s not my biological son, it will devastate me. I won’t love him any less. I won’t be any less of a father to him. It shouldn’t make any bit of difference in the world. Except that I know it will.
I stare at him, unable to pull my eyes away from this little miracle swaddled in the hospital blanket they wrapped him in. I have the car seat all ready to go. I’ve long since loaded all of the flowers, cards and teddy bears into the trunk of my car. And Charlie is getting his going-home outfit out of her bag.
I almost dread leaving the hospital. It means we have to go home and face reality. The reality of us not informing Thompson. The heartbreaking task of being forced to do it now. The consequences of what will come after.
But when I look down into Eli’s face, I know it was all worth it. Watching him come into the world; sharing that moment with Charlie; having her become my wife. Nothing and no one can ever take those moments away from us.
“Let’s get him changed,” Charlie says. She picks him up out of the hospital bassinette and lays him on the bed. I help her as we carefully, and somewhat awkwardly, remove his blanket and try not to break him as we dress him in his very first outfit.
I’m working on getting his little legs into it, while she works on his arms. She gasps, putting a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries.
My heart slams into the front of my chest. I quickly look him over to see if he’s hurt and to make sure he’s still breathing. “What is it?”
Through her tears, she says, “I didn’t notice it before. Oh my God, Ethan. Why didn’t we notice it?”
“Notice what?” I ask.
She holds up his tiny left arm, pointing to the underpart of his bicep. I squint to see what she’s showing me. As it comes into focus, my heart stops and then starts again. The rug I thought was coming out from under me is now securely in place under my feet. The future that was uncertain is now entirely ours to navigate.
Tears stream down my face, matching those on Charlie’s when I see his birthmark. The tiny brown marking that to me still looks more like a fingernail moon than a banana. But I realize now might not be the time to argue the point.
Charlie touches my left arm, running her fingers over the very same place the birthmark is on my skin. “He’s yours, Ethan. He’s yours,” she cries.
I reach over and pick up my half-dressed son. I hold him securely in my arms. I place kisses on his soft bald head. I thank God for giving us this sign. “He was always mine,” I tell Charlie, leaning down to kiss her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now. Right this second.” She touches Eli’s cheek.
“Get used to it, Tate. I plan on making the two of you happy every day for the rest of our lives.”
The nurse comes in asking if we’re ready to go.
“Just about,” I say, wiping what’s left of Charlie’s tears.
While Charlie finishes dressing Eli, I send a text to Skylar, letting her know we’re on our way. She and Baylor and Piper have been decorating the penthouse for our arrival. And Skylar has been there all day, cooking enough meals to last us two weeks. I smile knowing my son will never know a family without love. He will never know parents who wouldn't die for him. He will live a life surrounded by cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles.
Before I put my phone away, it pings with an email. When I see who it’s from, the only thing I can do is smile. It’s not the reaction I would’ve had ten minutes ago. Ten minutes ago, if I’d seen this email containing the results of the paternity test, I would have fallen to my knees, praying the results would go our way. But now, even before I open the email and see the results, I know what they will say. I also know that both Charlie and Zach have gotten the same email.
Charlie finishes securing Eli into the car seat. “Check your email,” I tell her.
She gives me a strange look. “Now?”
“Yes, now.”
She pulls out her phone and opens up the email. Fresh tears stream down her face as she reads it. She throws her arms around me and hugs me. “It’s over. It’s really over,” she cries. “He’s out of our lives.” She looks up at me with red eyes. “I’m so sorry I put you through all this, Ethan.”
“I forgive you,” I say, knowing there is nothing to forgive. “But I’m the one who’s sorry. I never should have pushed you away back then.”
She puts her hand on my chest, right over my tattoo. “I forgive you, too.”
I smile down at her. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”
“What?” she asks.
“Forgiveness,” I say.
She looks over at Eli, now fast asleep in the car seat. Then she looks back at me. “I think I’m ready,” she says. “I’m ready to talk
to my dad again. Maybe we could have him over to meet Eli.”
I nod, holding back more tears because as a father, I know just how much that will mean to him.
“Come on,” I say, gently picking up the car seat. “Let’s take our son home.”
She gathers her overnight bag, but before we leave the room, she stops, turning to me. “There is one stop we need to make on the way.”
I look down at our day-old son, wondering what on earth could be so important. “Where?” I ask.
“I want to introduce Cat to her new brother.”
If love were tangible, I would be suffocating in it. This woman never fails to surprise me. She never fails to become even stronger than she thought she could ever be. She never fails to make me love her more deeply than the moment before.
I look down at my son in one hand, and then I take Charlie’s hand with my other. “Let’s go, Mrs. Stone. Let’s go see what amazing things life has in store for us on the other side of that door.”
She smiles. Then she opens the door and we walk through.
The End
stone promises
Chapter One
Chad
“Is it true you only have one testicle?” someone shouts.
I look up, only to be blinded by dozens of camera flashes. Damn it!
Even with the private entrance, secure hallways, and VIP lounges, we still have to go through TSA security like everyone else. And now pictures of me removing my belt while Courtney was conveniently draped over me like a cheap fucking suit will be tabloid fodder for days.
I look over my shoulder at my publicist. “Kendra?”
She nods knowingly. “I’m on it,” she says, depositing her phone into a security bin. “As soon as we get through the line.”
Kendra has proven to be worth her weight in gold. She probably works harder than most publicists out there considering my less-than-ideal past. She’s only been with me for a few months, since the pre-release screenings of Defcon One started last December. That was when the studio pretty much told me if this film doesn’t shoot me straight to A-list, nothing would.
As soon as we’re on the other side, being escorted to our private lounge in LAX, she’s chatting away on her phone trying to do damage control on what the press will surely twist into some kind of torrid ongoing affair between Courtney and me. And that’s exactly how Courtney would like it. Ever since I tossed her to the curb when I found out she was using, she’s tried her best to be connected with me every chance she gets.
Not that anyone seems to mind except Kendra and me. Hell, the studio and even my own manager drool over it. Everyone wants to see the leading man and woman get together. Sex sells. And off-screen sex sells even more.
After being secretly boarded through a side door into our first-class seats, I snag a seat by the window, wanting to get some shuteye on the five-hour flight to New York. Courtney sits down next to me and I roll my eyes and let my head fall back onto the seat as I reach for my earbuds.
“Courtney,” Kendra says, coming up to stand beside her, “I really need to borrow Thad for a while. I have tons of interviews to prepare him for. Would you mind?” The two women participate in a stare down.
Courtney huffs and picks up the small bag she had tucked under the seat in front of her. “Fine.” She looks around for an empty seat, finally taking the one next to Hayden, the actor who portrayed my arch enemy in the movie, but who is probably the closest thing I have to a true friend at this point. With the exception of Kendra maybe, but I’m paying her so she doesn’t really count.
I think back to the last time in my life I had genuine friends. Friends who liked Chad Stone, the kid who liked to play basketball. The kid who shaved the neighbor’s cat as a practical joke one Halloween. The kid who didn’t have an eight-figure bank account thanks not only to a random discovery by a talent scout in a shopping mall of all places, but also to inheriting a shitload of money from his grandparents.
Nine years. That’s how long it’s been since I haven’t had to question the motives of anyone who speaks to me. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve had a best friend who doesn’t share my last name. Ethan and Kyle, my two brothers, became my best friends when I was sixteen, after I left the only two people I’d never be able to replace when my parents moved me across the country. But my brothers both reside back in New York City now which makes it hard to see them as much as I’d like. And knowing I’m on my way there, that the Manhattan premiere of Defcon One will allow me to hang out with them for two straight weeks, almost makes having to put up with that bitch, Courtney, worth it.
Every time I think of my brothers, I long for the normalcy they have. The practicality of a nine-to-five job that doesn’t hang in the balance if they say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or put on a few pounds. A job that allows them to go to the goddamn grocery store without being mobbed by paparazzi and psychotic fans. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fans—most of them. It’s the fans who have put me where I am today, and it’s the fans who will decide if I stay here. But some of them just go too far and ruin it for everyone.
I love acting. It’s a job I never dreamed of pursuing. Hell, I’d only ever acted one time in a sappy play back in high school. For all I knew, I was going to teach high school history. Or maybe college. I hadn’t decided yet. But acting? No, that was Mallory’s dream—not mine.
Mallory. I close my eyes and sigh. I try not to think about her anymore. She represents everything that was ever normal in my life. Everything that is the opposite of who I’ve become. The man who is Thad Stone. Sometimes the line between Thad and Chad becomes blurred. Sometimes I wish I could just become that history teacher who goes home to his wife and kids at the end of every day. But I know it’s not possible. First, because I do enjoy my profession—if you take away the rabid fans, the overbearing press, and the general upheaval of normal existence. And second, because there is only one person I could ever see myself coming home to and she wrote me off years ago. Who can blame her after all the things I’ve done? After the mess I’ve made of my life.
“You okay, Thad?” Kendra asks, touching my forearm in a motherly way even though she’s only five years my senior.
“Yeah,” I say, shaking off unproductive thoughts of the past. “Thanks for saving me from the queen bitch of the universe again. Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“Ha! I wish,” she says.
I laugh off her comment. “You do not. I think Todd would have something to say about that.”
She shakes her head in amusement, her beautiful short auburn hair bouncing around her chin.
“What?” I ask.
“Do you know you’re the only one of my clients who even knows my husband’s name?”
“Get the fuck out of here,” I say.
“Really,” she says, nodding.
I ponder it for a second before saying, “Do you know you’re the only publicist who would give me the time of day last December?”
“Actually, I did know that,” she says, shrugging. “But I’d been following your career since Malibu 310 and saw great potential there. I also saw a kid thrust into the public eye who didn’t have the first clue about how to deal with it. People make bad choices, Thad, but that doesn’t make them bad people.”
I nod, pretending to agree with her. But I know better. The things I’ve done follow me around like stink on shit, and Kendra is a saint to deal with all of it. She took a chance on me. I know that. And I don’t plan on letting her down. I’m different now. I know the studio and the fans see Thad Stone as the ultimate bad boy of Hollywood, but that hasn’t been who I am for a long time now. And they will all have to fucking deal with it.
“So, you’re not staying at The Waldorf with the rest of us?” she asks. “Paul said you’d be staying with your brother, Ethan. You know the ramifications, right?”
“You can bet Paul made sure I knew the studio would only provide security if I followed their strict guidelines. Don’
t worry, Cole is flying in later today. He’ll be here in time for the premiere.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.”
“Hear what? That my manager tore into me—again. Or that I hired my own bodyguard?”
She laughs. “Thad, Paul tearing into you is nothing new. If he went one day without reading you the riot act, I would think he had developed a fever or something. I’m glad you decided to hire Cole. He’s good. Better than studio security for sure. Are you going to make it permanent?”
“I’m not sure yet. This is still all so new to me. I mean, back when I did Malibu, everything was different. The fans were different. Not so goddamn scary.”
“That’s because they were all adolescent girls,” she jokes. “And that’s the difference between the small screen and the silver screen.”
I nod. “I guess I’m not quite ready to completely give up my independence. This could be a one-time thing, you know.”
Kendra looks at me like I’m crazy. “Thad, you saw what happened at the L.A. premiere. And the London one. And you’ve already signed on for the sequel, and then there is Blind Shot which everyone is saying will be just as big as Defcon One. And then next year, Dark Tunnels—they gave you that role, Thad. Things like that don’t happen to B-listers. You no longer have to audition for parts. When are you going to realize that you’ve made it to the big time?” She pats my hand. “It’s time to talk to Cole about making it permanent. Besides, I hear Greyson James uses him, too. You need to beat him to the punch if Cole is who you want.”
“I’ll think about it,” I say to placate her. But deep down, I believe all the craziness surrounding the Defcon One release will die out. Then I’ll be yesterday’s news. Just like after they canceled Malibu.
“So, how is that adorable nephew of yours?” she asks. “Eli, right?”
I proudly whip out my phone and show her the latest pictures of Ethan’s three-month-old son. “You know, I could say the same thing about you,” I tell her. “You are the only person working for me who knows the name of everyone in my family.”
The Stone Brothers: A Complete Romance Series (3-Book Box Set) Page 30
