Cynical Heart (Heart Series)

by Lee, Vivian Rose

  “Of course,” Diz said as he approached her, took her hand, and pressed it to his lips.

  “Take your hand off her Dizzy,” Cab shouted from behind the group.

  All heads turned after hearing the furious Cab bellow, but Cat grinned. Well, well, well, she thought.

  Cab didn’t speak to anyone. He went directly to Dana, pulled her to her feet, and left the room with the stunned young woman.

  “What the hell is going on?” Duke frowned.

  “I don’t know, but I’d sure like to be a fly on that wall,” Satch laughed. Each brother bent over and kissed Cat’s cheek.

  “When do we eat?” Jelly asked, greedily rubbing his hand together.

  Cab pulled her into an eclectically styled room that seemed to be the family room, and Dana instantly liked the warm, homey feel that it had to it.

  “Dana, I think it’s time we had our chat now, and you will not be running away this time,” he said sternly.

  “I have no intentions of running,” she replied indignantly as her heart banged against her chest. Cab turned away and rubbed his hand down his face.

  Dana eyes trailed from his broad shoulders to his tapered waist and lingered on how nice his butt looked in the jeans that he wore. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from him. That arrogant, self-assured attitude of his took her breath away, but then that was always his appeal, and his chestnut complexion and beauty still made her heart skip a beat. He looked good, there was no denying that, and his button-down shirt displayed his body to be even more sculptured then she remembered. As long as she lived, she would never forget that talented sensual mouth; that one that was now posed in a thin straight line a few feet away.

  Cab turned sharply, and just as during their first encounter, he had difficulty pulling his eyes away from her. She was flawless and beautiful, even more so than he remembered, and thoughts of that night assaulted him, causing an intense tightening in his chest and a slight thickening in his pants. No woman had ever affected him just by him gazing at her face, and to his surprise, the feeling was mutual. He knew that he had the same emotional impact on her. The way they ripped at each other’s clothing was a turn on in itself, and to this day he still didn’t know what had come over him. They made incredible, smoking hot love throughout the night, and not once did they come up for air… well they did long enough to get a snack, but even that turned sexual. That night had turned out to be the best night of his life, or at least it was until he awoke the next morning to find that she had checked out. Now, he wanted to know why, but more than that, he wanted to hear it from her lips. A grumble sounded off in his chest. Just the thought of her leaving him without saying a single word still pissed him off.

  “You know Dana… I always wondered why you left so suddenly that morning and why you neglected to tell me that you were engaged,” he replied snidely.

  Surprised by his totally unexpected statement, Dana gasped.

  Cab shrugged. “A brother just wants to know.”

  Dana folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.

  “And just when do you suppose the subject was going to come up? Oh Cab, don’t stop… by the way… um-um, give it to me daddy… I have… oh, yes, yes, yes… a fiancé.”

  With Dana glaring at him angrily, Cab eyes widened. He had to press his lips together to keep from laughing at her dramatic rendition of their night together.

  “I will not allow you to make feel any worse than I already feel and you are not totally blameless. For one, we were so deep in lust that we both forgot about protection.”

  Cab moved swiftly to her. Towering over her, he glared down at her fiercely.

  “What the hell do you mean we didn’t use protection, of course we used… oh shit we didn’t.”

  “Cab, the night we met…,” she paused.

  “What about that night Dana?” Cab asked, sounding a little irritated.

  “I got pregnant,” she blurted out.

  Cab felt the air rush out of his body as if he just been gut punched. He stumbled back and sat heavily on the first chair that he backed into.

  Dana stared at him with much concern. His complexion suddenly took on a gray hue, and she wouldn’t have been surprised in the least if he passed out right now. Then he stared at her. He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. Instead, he lifted and finger a shook it at her.

  “Oh, I get it! Since you no longer have a boyfriend, I’m the next one in line to be your baby’s daddy!” He chuckled humorlessly as he came to his feet.

  Dana looked at him as if he were mad. “You think I would blame you because I no longer have a boyfriend?” She asked disconcertingly, as if she was having trouble wrapping her mind around what he had just said. An anger she had never known before slowly simmered somewhere deep inside of her and threaten to blow the lid clean off.

  Cab came to his feet. “Hey, you can never tell what a scorned woman would do,” he replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

  “You are the father!” Dana snapped.

  Cab folded his arms across his chest. “Let me see if I got this straight. You had a fiancé out in LA, but you were here in Philly screwing me, like the typical cheating woman that you are, and you want me to believe that I fathered your child? Why? Did he deny the parentage as well? I’m sorry Dana, but this just doesn’t wash with me. This can easily be your ex-boyfriend’s child or maybe somebody else’s that you met on your way home. What I’d like to know is, how did you feel when you walked in on your boyfriend screwing somebody else? I bet he was probably getting off at the same time you were. What’s do you think?”

  Her eyes now stinging from tears, Dana heard a sharp buzzing in her ears.

  “You rotten bastard,” she screamed, and before either of them knew what was happening, she had leaped on Cab and began to swing at him wildly.

  Taken completely by surprise, Cab fell back in the chair while Dana pounded on him nonstop with her small fists. In the distance, though it was of no concern to her at the moment, she could hear feet scrambling on the wood floors.

  After they heard the loud shrilling scream coming from the family room, Duke rushed into the room followed by his brothers. Stunned by what he saw, he stood there and watched as Dell’s little sister viciously attacked his brother. Suddenly coming to his senses, he reached out and grabbed her off Cab, but not before she got a few extra shots for good measure.

  Finally free of the constant barrage of her unfurled fury, Cab rose from the chair. “Are you crazy woman?” He roared.

  “How dare you call me a whore!” She screamed, struggling against Duke as her feet dangled in the air. Given the seriousness of the situation, Satch and Dizzy were trying their best not to laugh and doing a piss poor job at it.

  Cab glanced over at his brothers. “What the hell is so funny?”

  He wiped the corner of his mouth where blood had started to trickle down, and immediately felt his eye starting to swell.

  “Put me down!” Dana ordered.

  “What going on in there?” Cat shouted.

  Still with a firm grasp on Dana, Duke yelled back. “Caitlin if you get up off that sofa, I’m going to come in there and tan your beautiful behind!”

  The matter with his wife now settled, Duke got back to the situation at hand. “Now tell me what the hell is going on in here?” He snapped. The tone of his voice let them both know that he meant it.

  Dana gradually calmed down, and seeing this, Duke placed her back on her feet. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking down at her with concern.

  “I’m fine,” she stated, turned to Cab and showing her disdain.

  “How in the hell are you just going to come here and drop a bomb like that Dana and expect me to believe you?” He shouted.

  “Look! I don’t give a damn what you think, and if you ever call me a whore again, you will be singing soprano for the rest of your life. You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, and quite frankly I don’t care if you do or don’t. I did my part. Now
, I have a plane to catch.” She turned to Duke with tears flooding from her eyes. “It’s good seeing you again, but can you please have someone take me to my hotel now?” She turned to leave the room.

  “I need proof Dana!” Cab blurted out as she walked away.

  Dana turned, gave Cab the middle finger, and continued out the room, prompting Satch and Diz to fall over with laughter. Even Duke was finding it extremely difficult to keep a straight face.

  “This isn’t funny, you morons!” He shouted out angrily. “She just accused me of fathering her child!”

  Dana wiped her face with the back of her hand. She didn’t want Cat to see her tears, and in an attempt to calm herself, she took a deep, shaky breath.

  Cat looked up at her. “Dana, what wrong? What happened?”

  “Can I get a ride back to Philly please?” She asked softly as she lowered her head, her heart aching.

  “Ellington!” Cat shouted.

  Duke rushed into the room, coming to what he presumed was the aide of his wife. “Caitlin, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine, but I want to know what is going on?”

  “Now Caitlin, you know you have to avoid any undue stress right now,” Duke said.

  “Yes I do, and if you don’t want to see me stressed, you better tell me what’s going on right now! Why is Dana upset?”

  Watching as Cat’s ire began to rise, Dana felt bad that she came into Duke and Cat’s lovely home and caused trouble. She took a shuttered breath and then spoke out to clear the air.

  “I’m sorry to disrupt your home Cat. That clearly was not my intention. The truth of the matter is that I’m pregnant, and I came to tell Cab that he is the father. He doesn’t believe me, of course, and after he said some insulting things to me, I attacked him. I will not apologize for that. So, having done what I set out to do, I can now return to California with a clear conscience knowing that I did my part in making the father aware of his child.”

  “Dana honey, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave while you are upset,” Duke said.

  “That’s right Dana. After you are calmer, I will get one of the boys to take you to your hotel,” Cat said, feeling sorry for her.

  “I can’t stay here,” Dana said as tears began to flow again. “P-Please I need, I need to…”

  The others returned to the room.

  “What is she still doing here?” Cab roared.

  “Cab control yourself!” Duke yelled. “I don’t care what you believe, but you will not disrespect her!”

  “I’ll take you to your hotel,” Diz offered, casting a sullen glare at his brother.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  She then turned and faced Cab. “Don’t worry Cab, you will not see or hear from me again,” she said with determination before turning and going to the door.

  Diz shook his head. “I have never been disappointed in you before Cabel, but you lost some points with me today. I know you have this thing about women, and you really need to seek some kind of professional help for that, but if I ever hear you disrespecting another woman like you just disrespect Delco’s sister, I’m going to punch you in your face.” Having had his say, Dizzy angrily turned away.

  “Oh Cab,” Cat said, sadly shaking her head with disappointment. “I have a feeling that you are going to live to regret what you have just done here today.”

  Chapter 4

  Three months later

  The elegant Howard and Bryant families stood in the entryway of the Hospitality Room waiting to sign in. Yaz was with Zoey, Cat was at Duke’s side, and Cab and Jelly were behind them. Dizzy would be joining them later tonight after he took care of some mysterious business that he was not willing to share with his family.

  Duke scanned the room. He had attended every sports conference since he’d started HWC consulting firm, and every year the conferences had become more and more progressively elaborate. These conferences usually got pretty wild after all the allotted seminars and networking were complete, and inwardly, he had to admit that he had his share of wild times whenever he attended. However, that was before the woman who held his heart and the mother of his triplets came into his life. He lovingly glanced over at his beautiful wife and smiled. She was more beautiful, if that were even possible, after giving birth to the triplets three months ago. She had a little more weight on her that remarkably only enhanced her perfect body, her hair was longer and thicker, and she had this radiant glow about her seemingly at all times.

  Casting an eye-opening gaze around the room and noting all the opulent lavishness, Cat smiled impishly as she looked at her husband. “With all this skin on display around here, I can only imagine the kind of fun you’ve had at these conferences.”

  Duke winked and stepped up to sign in the group.

  Zoey chuckled. “It had to be big fun,” she commented. “They wouldn’t let me to come!”

  Are we going to stand in this line all night?” Cab growled.

  Zoey and Cat looked over their shoulder at him.

  “We have to sign in jack-tail,” Zoey said with a hardened roll of her eyes.

  Duke interjected. “If you want to go Cab, I will sign you in.”

  Cab cast a dejected look at his sisters. Ever since his encounter with Dana Whalen, they barely tolerated his presence. He knew they loved him, but thought that he had handled the situation all wrong.

  “Thanks Duke,” he replied before turning to leave.

  Cab weaved his way through the throngs of people waiting to sign in. He pushed his hand deep in his pockets, moving in no particular direction, but admiring the world class LA Convention Center. Known worldwide for its trademark glass and steel pavilions, its exhibition halls, towers, and lobbies gave easy access to the meeting rooms that formed a grand unified center. He wished he had booked a room in the Ritz Hotel next door, but the family agreed that they would stay in Cat’s grandparent’s 10-bedroom Bel Air mansion while they visit LA for the conference, so that they could bring the children and nannies along. They would later meet up with HWC’s LA staff before they were let loose on the conference’s exhibit’s and seminars. He dreaded that, because he was bound to see Dana Whalen, the CFO of this branch, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to be received by her. Evidently, she had mentioned their confrontation to Dell, or he would have been in Philly on the next thing smoking. He was curious about what she did tell him about the father of her child though, and deep inside he knew that there was a distinct possibility that he could have fathered her child, but there was still that one percent chance that would prove he did not. After all, she was living with her fiancé, and although he admits he was anxious to indulge in their lust for each other, protection didn’t seem that important to either of them at the time.

  He didn’t know what had come over him. In the many years that had passed since Cassandra, no woman had affected him at first sight as much as Dana Whalen did. She inflamed him. It startled him how much he’d reacted to her physically and he really couldn’t understand it even now. To this day, he could still smell the intoxicating jasmine fragrance of her mellifluous skin, and feel her lovely body beneath him making love to him with such wild abandonment that it literally blew his mind. Long story short, she made him smile when he did not want to. He may have been successful in suppressing his rampaging desire for her, but when he saw her at Duke’s wedding, and then again the next day at his house, those dormant feelings of desire for her burst to the surface. The thing that scared him the most was that she could get under his skin, and for better or worse, he would have allowed it just for the chance to be with her. But that was before her duplicity came to light and she laid this false claim of him fathering her child at his feet. She was just like all the rest, and that revelation disappointed him deeply. He wanted what Duke and Yaz had. He wanted a woman that loved him unconditionally. He wanted a woman who would give him his own children and not falsely claim that someone else’s children were his.

  Having thought on it
long enough, he returned to the Hospitality Room in search of his family. If he pushed his desire for her deep into the inner recesses of his mind, he was sure he’d get not just through the week, but even seeing Dana again. As long as he stuck to his sullen attitude where she was concerned, no matter how she made him feel or how badly he wished things for them had turned out differently, he could keep her at arm’s length.

  Dana opened the door and was mildly surprised to Dizzy Howard standing the hallway. After the confrontation with his brother three months ago, the two of them had become good friends, and unlike Cab, Diz was sweet. Apologizing for his brother’s errant behavior, he wouldn’t leave her alone that day until he was sure she was alright, and even went so far as to try and convince her that Cab really wasn’t such a bad man. He began calling at least once a week to check on her, and when she asked him why he felt obligated to do this, he simply said that he didn’t want her to go through this ordeal alone because no matter what Cab thought, he believed that she carried his niece or nephew. It was a shame that she couldn’t fall for someone like Dizzy Howard. Diz was one fine, sexy man with that sinfully handsome face of his. He had a full mouth that made smiling look easy, dark soulful eyes that were deep and pristine, and a slightly hooked nose that only enhanced his good looks. But then, all the Howard men were handsome; all except for one, and that’s because she thinks that he’s beautiful.

  “Diz, what are you doing here?” She smiled.

  “Since we’ve arrived here for the conference, I thought I’d check up on you in person,” he grinned.

  “Great. Well, come on in,” she invited, genuinely happy to see him.

  Diz looked at her with a smile of his own. “I see you are starting to show,” he commented. “How are you feeling? Are you eating right?”

  “I am, and you don’t have to worry about that. Dell is making sure that I’m eating right and not overdoing. I appreciate your concern though.”

  Dana rested her hand on her rounded belly. At five months, she appeared large, but that was only because she was so petite, and she tired easily at times because of the added weight.