His Bahamas Affair (The Albury Affairs)

by Christina OW

  Melody pulled her into a hug. “Oh God, Loraine is there something I can do to help you? I can ask Allan to find him. He has guys who can find a man hiding deep in the Amazon forest.”

  Loraine laughed pulling away. “I don’t doubt it. Your brother is mafia creepy when he wants to be.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. When I was sixteen, I thought I was secretly dating a guy. We snuck around and I loved it because it was mysterious and wrong.”

  “And nothing attracts a teenage girl more than a guy who’s bad for you,” Loraine commented.

  “Ditto. Anyway, the night when I was going to have sex with him for the first time, guess who shows up looking like the godfather?”

  Loraine laughed, enjoying the comic relief.

  “He didn’t even say a word he just stood there, his face giving nothing away. The guy picked up his clothes and took off and I’ve never heard from him since. Allan didn’t speak to me for a week. Not even our dad could get him to talk to me, which meant he was really pissed at me because Allan always did what our dad asked him to. I finally cracked and I begged him to forgive me and he told me, ‘I love you but the next time you try something that stupid again, I’ll put you in a Muslim version of a convent in Pakistan’. Since that day I’ve never tried anything as stupid as that again.”

  Loraine’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you telling me…are you a unicorn?”

  Melody blushed. “That threat stayed with me. I’m twenty-four-years-old and I haven’t had a boyfriend since.”

  “What about Ruiz?”

  Her blush deepened. “I like him, but I want Allan to like him more than I do before I let it get further than what it is now.”

  Loraine smirked. “Don’t hold your breath. You are his baby sister and now that he’s a father to a little girl, he’s going to be impossible. What does Ruiz think?”

  She shrugged. “As long as we keep the intimacy light, he’s willing to wait until Allan is comfortable with him as his brother-in-law then as the guy dating his sister, before things get serious.”

  Loraine smiled noticing that same glimmer in her eyes that she noted in Riana’s and hopefully was present in her own. Fairy tale love that makes one think that magic exists in the world. She just hoped she still had that glimmer once Reno gets his head out of his ass.

  “So, what are you going to do now Loraine?” she asked somberly.

  Loraine wasn’t sure if she was asking about the psycho stalker or Reno and Tyler. Either way, she needed to get them both sorted out sooner rather than later.

  “Have you pitched your idea to Reno yet?”

  Melody shook her head. “I didn’t think it was a good time.”

  “Do it, soon, and get Ruiz involved. He needs to shift his concentration from his resort to his son. He’s going to be on a permanent vacation unless he gets his sh—, his act together.”

  Melody laughed at the near slip. “What about you? When are you going to stop hiding?”

  She signed. “When my dad catches Pierre.”

  Melody shook her head, tagging on Loraine’s hair. “When do you stop hiding from everyone else, including yourself?”

  Loraine gave her a wobbly smile. “Soon, very soon.”

  “Lori, can I call you mommy?”

  Loraine felt her heart stop as she exchanged a startled look with Melody. “What?”

  Tyler fidgeted nervously, hugging Nosey to his chest like a shield again. “Uncle Z says you’ll love me forever and ever, and you’ll take care of me because daddy is working.”

  Uncle Z, Ruiz, had been filling Tyler’s little head with fairytales. Loraine was sure it was a knee jerk reaction to Tyler’s question as to why his daddy won’t spend time with him. Hell! She really didn’t like Reno at the moment.

  Loraine wasn’t exactly sure what to say to him. She wasn’t expecting this, but what else did she think would happen? Wasn’t this the role she had decided to play in Tyler’s life? At first because she wanted to be with Reno, until he started ignoring his son and it turned into needing to take his loneliness away.

  Being a mother was a huge commitment one she wasn’t sure she was capable of doing.

  “Nanny said you would be a great mommy but I had to ask you myself,” he pushed on, hope filling his eyes. “I promise to be good!” he pleaded, his eyes already brimming with tears.

  Loraine felt like her heart had been wretched out her chest. She hadn’t thought about this, what her attention to a motherless three year old would be interpreted as. She was fluttered, but it all depended on Reno and the proposal scared her to death!

  Loraine stretched her arms out to him. “Come here, honey.”

  He pushed off the floor, Nosey tucked to his side and rushed to her and climbed onto her lap. His eyes widened in that innocent way as he looked up at her, a shy smile playing on his lips.

  “Who else took care of you when your nanny wasn’t there?” she cautiously asked.

  His brows furrowed as he shook his head ‘no’.

  Georgia couldn’t have possibly left her son alone. “Not even your mommy?”

  He shook his head.

  Loraine’s heart broke a little bit more for him. “Why not?”

  “I don’t have a mommy,” he answered with a matter of fact tone.

  Loraine rolled her lips into her mouth to keep from cursing out loud. “Did your nanny tell you that?”

  He nodded.

  Loraine stroked his curly hair away from his forehead. “Do you know who Georgia is?”

  Tyler immediately folded into himself and hugged Nosey tightly to him and whispered, “She’s a bad lady. She doesn’t like me.”

  Loraine wrapped her arms around him, hugging him to her. “Don’t worry, she’s never coming near you again. I promise.”

  Loraine felt his arms wrap around her, his hands fisting her shirt at her sides. “Will you be our mommy?”

  For a moment Loraine was afraid there was another kid somewhere. “Our?”

  “Yeah, me and Nosey,” he announced loudly.

  Loraine and Melody laughed. “Of course, you and Nosey.”

  Loraine looked at Melody, hoping her new friend would help her decide. This was not an easy decision. There was a lot to think about. What if she said yes and Reno came in and said no, or ten years down the line Tyler ends up screwed up and it was all her fault?

  “Lori.”

  She turned her head to the demanding voice that came from her behind her. Reno saved her from straining her neck by stepping into view and their gazes clashed. His was hard and angry as he jerked his head from side to side in a resounding no. She held Tyler tighter to her as she stared at his father. Reno’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, a muscle working overtime in his jaw, his lips pressed in a thin line.

  Loraine protectively pressed her hand over Tyler’s ear, holding his head to her chest to keep him from looking over her shoulder and seeing his father. Reno looked frightening and she didn’t want Tyler seeing him that way and get scared. If Reno frightened Tyler, he would never go anywhere near Reno again.

  She didn’t understand Reno’s anger or his order, silent as it may have been it was an order he didn’t expect to be disobeyed. Well, he had another thing coming if he thought Loraine would nod and bow like a brainless twit to his every command.

  ‘Why not?’ she mouthed sharply to him.

  ‘I don’t want a kid!’ he mouthed back angrily. He might as well have said it out loud and accompanied it with a punch in her gut because she felt the impact like it was her he was rejecting.

  Tyler didn’t ask to be born so why was he the one suffering? Reno and Georgia were responsible for him, they brought him into the world and they didn’t have a choice but to do right by him. Georgia had already abandoned Tyler, even though it was a blessing in disguise. She sure as hell wasn’t going to let Reno do the same. He had a lot to offer and any kid would be lucky to have him as a father, even though he was refusing to see that.

&nbs
p; Making sure that both Tyler’s ears were covered, she whispered harshly, though it was like shouting considering the room had gone deadly silent. “Well too bad! You have one, we have one and we are not going to abandon him so get with the program and stop being an effing ass!”

  Reno took a step toward them and she instinctively moved closer to Melody, tightening her hold on Tyler. Before he could get closer, Ruiz, who had been behind him the entire time, grabbed his arm and pulled him back shaking his head no.

  Reno snarled, turning around and stomping out of the house.

  Loraine took a relieved breath. She’d never seen Reno so mad before. In fact, she didn’t even know the man that stood before her a moment ago. Her Reno would have taken his son into his arms and promised him the world. He would never deny Tyler what was rightfully his—his father’s love.

  How could Reno say no to what Tyler needed so much? How could he not love him? She fell for him the moment she held him in her arms the first time. How could she say no to him, how could she turn away from a piece of Reno especially now that none of his parents wanted him? It ripped her heart in two.

  Maybe this was how she could return the favor and help Reno. The last thing Reno would want was to become his own father. It was her job to prevent that.

  She lowered her hand from his ear and kissed the top of his head. She loved his dark curls.

  “Yes honey, I’d be honored to be your mommy.”

  He laughed loudly his fists opening and he quickly raised his arms to wrap them around her neck. “You’ll love me forever, you’ll never leave me!”

  Loraine kissed his chubby cheek glad to have made him happy. Now that she’d said it, she realized, that was what she wanted to be—his mother. “I promise.”

  Chapter Eight

  Reno stomped all the way to the resort in a haze of anger. How could Loraine disobey him! What the hell did she think she was doing, claiming a kid that wasn’t even hers? Hell, there was a possibility the kid wasn’t even his and he just looked like Reno out of coincidence. Even if Tyler was his, Loraine had no right to make that kind of decision for him.

  What was Reno going to do with a three year old?

  He remembered the look on his face the moment he and Loraine walked into the house. Fear and hope. Fear because he was in a strange place surrounded by people he didn’t know. Reno understood that but not the hope. Well, he didn’t then. But after Loraine’s announcement it was a no brainer.

  The kid wanted parents; people to love and cherish him and Loraine had granted him that wish.

  Reno could hear the desperation in his voice when Tyler asked Loraine to be his mother and his joy when she said yes. He’d have to be heartless not to notice, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be a father.

  God, when Reno saw Tyler’s face…. it was like staring back in time at his three year old self. The resemblance was frightening, and a part of him had been ready to claim him until Ruiz pointed out the obvious. Then he’d rejected the impulse, recalling Georgia’s whoring ways. Reno had thought Ruiz had gotten his problem with his decision all off his chest until he came into the office today. They’d argued for a while, their voices rising and attracting their employees until Ruiz tossed the heavy envelope at him.

  Inside were documents pertaining to Tyler. His birth certificate, which named Reno as the father, custody papers—Georgia had relinquished custody of Tyler, giving Reno full custody. She gave details as to where child services could find him and dump the kid. The nanny had said Georgia’s new husband wasn’t up to supporting her bastard any longer, and since she was pregnant again with his child, it was time for Tyler to go so that they could be a real family.

  Reno chortled bitterly, wondering what the hell he was on when he first married Georgia because he couldn’t have been sane that day or their entire courtship. Her new husband whose marriage wasn’t exactly legal at the time they exchanged vows because she was still married to Reno. He was just as heartless as she was. They deserved each other. He felt sorry for their kid.

  But did he truly believe he isn’t waiting like an anxious parent for another man’s child the second time round? Finding out Tyler wasn’t his must have been a blow to his ego. And Georgia? Reno was tempted to contact her current fool and tell him their marriage wasn’t valid. Save him before she traps him again with a kid that isn’t his and spite her at the same time.

  Tyler…

  What the hell was he going to do with a three year old? He and Loraine didn’t even know where they stood and there she was promising to be Tyler’s mother. Did she plan on moving to New Providence or was she planning on moving them to the States?

  Hell! Reno kicked at the sand, lifting the particles and watching as the wind pushed them inland. Everything was so messed up! Once just once he wanted his life to go as he planned it. Reno walked toward the water. He needed his mistress now more than ever.

  He didn’t know how long he’d been there, or when he’d fallen asleep staring out at the ocean, but as the sun rose over the horizon, he knew he couldn’t stay where he was any longer as peaceful as it may have been. Reno stood up and dusted the sand out of his clothes and started the short trek home. He needed a shower and a change of clothes before going into work. As early as it was, he was used to it. He’d been leaving early and coming home late since his return to avoid Loraine and Tyler. Working was the best way to get his mind off them.

  “Where have you been?”

  Reno scoffed at Loraine’s demanding question when he entered the room. She sat on his made bed, in her pajamas, her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her breasts up. If it was any other time, exactly three days ago, hell even a few hours ago before she made Tyler promises Reno couldn’t—wouldn’t— keep, he would have been on them.

  He pulled his shirt over his head as he walked into the bathroom. “A mother one night and you are already making demands. Or are you playing the nagging wife this morning?”

  Loraine got off the bed and followed him stomping her feet. “I asked you a question Reno. Where. Have. You. Been?” She shot out each word angrily. “You’ve been gone all night and I want to know where you spent it!”

  Reno turned to her with a raised brow and a sly smile as he unbuttoned his shorts. “What? Were you waiting for me like a dutiful little housewife?”

  Loraine’s eyes blazed with anger, her lips twisted in a sneer. “And who are you playing Reno, your father? Because from what I’ve heard about him you are starting to resemble your cheating dead beat dad!”

  Reno spread his lips in a forced smile. “Cheating, no. I’d need two women for that and you are headache enough. Either way, we are not in a relationship. Remember? And as for dead beat dad, I’d have to have a kid to be one.”

  He knew his words hurt her when Loraine winced visibly before she covered it with a fake laugh. “A blind man could tell Tyler is your son. One look at him and I knew, so did everyone else. Including you. So why the hell do you keep denying it?” She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back. He stumbled a step back but held his ground when she pushed him again. “Why are you acting like a fucking asshole to your son? Don’t you think he’s gone through enough with Georgia?”

  Reno shrugged, opting not to speak. Of course he had thought about what Tyler had gone through with Georgia but it didn’t mean he would be any less ignored under Reno’s care.

  He shucked off his shorts and underwear. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. I need to go to work.”

  “Third thing you have in common with your old man: work before family. You are looking more like your namesake with each passing minute, Reno.”

  He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him until she was pressed flash against his naked body. “Well then, why don’t you play your role as wife and bend over for me? It will be a quick fuck but it is my satisfaction you’ll be aiming for, oh dutiful wife.”

  “Get off me!” she yelled, punching at his shoulders as she fought to get out of his embrace. �
�Let me go Reno!”

  “What, not up to playing your role to the nine anymore?” he taunted but quickly released her when he saw her tears fall.

  He didn’t notice her hand until he felt the sharp sting and crack of skin meeting skin. His head jolted to the side from the force.

  “You are quite an over achiever,” she began her eyes filling up and her lips wobbling in a tearful smile. “Trying to be Reno Sr. and Pierre, two of the people we hate most in this world. Don’t worry, though, you are doing quite well impersonating them both. They’d be so proud.” She turned around and left the bathroom banging the door closed behind her.

  Reno cursed stepping into the shower stall for a cold shower. After all the promises he made, he was breaking each and every one of them. He was becoming his father and now, Loraine’s worst nightmare. He punched at the tiled wall and cursed again.

  After his short shower, he quickly dressed and went looking for Loraine. He didn’t have to go far, just across the hall. He slowly opened the guest bedroom, well, Tyler’s bedroom now, and found her sleeping beside Tyler. But she wasn’t really asleep, he could hear her sniffing and he felt like an ass for making her cry. She lay on her side, one arm over Tyler and his stuffed animal- side by side on their backs- and the other hand was combing through the curls of his hair.

  “I promised him his father would love and protect him. That he wouldn’t ever be alone again. That he would be happy with us. The Reno I know and love would prove me right, not make me out to be a liar. But you aren’t him,” she spoke softly, her hand moving to wipe her tears before she laid it back over Tyler. “Take a room at the resort and stay there until you decide to be him again. Until you do I don’t want to see you here. I’ll tell him you had to go away for work but you’ll be back, hopefully soon.”

  Reno’s hand tightened around the doorknob. He wanted to point out the obvious—that this was his home and she was just a guest here but instead he said, “You are searching for something, Lori. That trip to Paris, to here, your two degrees you haven’t put to use and now motherhood. How long before you realize Tyler isn’t it? That he’s just another phase? How long until you decide you don’t love me anymore, that I was nothing more than a distraction until you leave and start searching again? What happens to Tyler and me then?”