Regrets & Revenge (Foster Family Book 2)

by Zavi James

“It is,” I agreed. “A piece of paper isn’t going to change that.”

  “Legally it will.”

  “I’m sorry, love. Are you planning to kick me out and leave me homeless?”

  “No!” she exclaimed. “Of course not.” The she added as an afterthought, “As long as you behave.”

  “When have I ever behaved?”

  “You’re impossible,” she muttered under her breath.

  “I didn’t catch that.”

  Mia gave me the middle finger and I let out a hearty laugh. I’d missed this. Missed having her by my side and reminding me that, no matter who I was or what I was capable of, she wouldn’t put up with the shit I gave her. Mia was the only person, other than Dante, who didn’t hesitate to call me out, and it was thanks to her that Lydia and I had smoothed things over.

  I hadn’t been able to stop myself from asking Lydia if she’d known the truth. If Mom had ever confided in her or if she’d had some inkling that something wasn’t quite right. She hadn’t. Lydia was just as floored by the news as I was and that solidified the fact that she was worth more to me than my mother.

  “What do you want to look for first?” I asked, steering Mia into a baby boutique. The place was crammed floor to ceiling with anything a child could need, and I had no idea where to begin.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

  “I’m honored you’d choose your first child to be with me,” I told her. She punched me in the arm, and I wrapped it around her and pulled her tight into my side. “Let’s look at clothes.”

  We meandered toward racks of clothes and I could feel Mia tense under my touch before she left my side for a closer inspection. Her fingers flicked through items and I watched her carefully. I’d never lose her from my side again. Death would be the only thing that could pull us apart, because I refused to let anything else come between us. Soon we’d be a family, a solid unit that neither of us had had the pleasure of experiencing. Mia and I would learn from the mistakes in our lives and ensure we didn’t repeat them so our son would grow up with a brighter childhood than our own.

  “Luc, have you seen these?” Mia asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I took a few steps to stand behind her and looked down at the white onesie in her hand. “He’s going to be tiny.”

  “Babies usually are.”

  “Are we going to be able to look after him?” Mia turned around suddenly and looked up at me, panic written all over her face. “I am two months away and I haven’t gotten him a single thing. I’m probably the world’s worst mother at this point.”

  “Stop. You are not the world’s worst mother. We’re first time parents. Give yourself some credit. You’ve been growing him for seven months while dealing with a few issues.” That was putting it lightly. “We’ll figure it out together. Boy’s going to need clothes, a stroller, a crib, some bottles. Let’s start with that.” I tried to think of everything Carmen and Emilio’s place had been filled with after they had Santiago. “You can double check for anything else with Carmen tonight.” The mention of Carmen seemed to calm her down; advice from a seasoned mother being more valuable than mine.

  With her nerves in check, Mia and I visited store after store, taking recommendations from assistants on what would be best for our son. The last item was a car seat, something Mia had thought of last minute in her worry of how to bring him home from the hospital. With the box in my arms, we turned away from the cashier to be greeted by Jonah and Katia Shultz walking through the department store.

  “Lucas!” Jonah grinned at me. He stuck out his hand and then, realizing I couldn’t grab it, dropped it to his side. “Preparing for fatherhood, I see.”

  “There’s a lot to be done before he gets here.”

  “A son?” Jonah asked, eyebrows moving toward his hairline. “Congratulations. To both of you.” He offered Mia a smile and I was grateful that Jonah hadn’t made it any more awkward than necessary. He was a decent man, by our standards, who kept his nose out of trouble that didn’t concern him.

  “Thank you,” Mia replied. She had tucked herself in close to my elbow and seemed a little uncomfortable.

  “Don’t let me stop you. We’ll see you soon,” he said and stepped away with his wife.

  I caught Katia’s words, speaking before they were out of earshot. “Luc better get a paternity test once she pops that baby out. You know everyone thinks it’s Gabe’s.”

  “Katia,” Jonah hissed, and the rest of his scolding was lost as they walked further into the store.

  I understood now why Mia had seemed uncomfortable at the sight of Katia. When I looked at my girlfriend, she had turned a violent shade of red and her jaw was clenched. “Love,” I ventured, but she took off without a word, storming ahead and out of the store. Following behind her, I managed to catch the door with my elbow and found her waiting by the car. “Mia.”

  “I just want to go home, Luc.”

  I sighed and let her into the car, placing the car seat in the trunk with everything else. When I hopped into the driver’s side, Mia was still livid, her hands balled into fists on her lap. She didn’t need any prompting before she started.

  “They’ve all thought that it’s Gabe’s baby ever since he took me to church,” she spat. “They think I’ve tried to get my way to the top by having sex with anyone and everyone. That’s why I left. Did you know that? I left because I’d agreed to marry you, fell pregnant with Gabe’s baby, and didn’t want you to know.”

  “You kept yourself busy.” The look she shot me made me feel sorry for my son and any future trouble he found himself in. “It doesn’t matter that that’s completely ridiculous and Gabe would have been six foot under if that had been the case.”

  “Take a breath, Mia. Stress isn’t good for you,” I reminded her, but she was on a roll.

  “I’ve never said more than two words to Katia in my life, barely spoke to her when you introduced us at the engagement, but she’s happy to tell all and sundry exactly what she thinks of me, whether it’s truth or not.”

  “But we know the truth.” Apparently, it didn’t matter.

  “It’s fine for you. You can do as you please and no one will say a word, but I’m being touted as cheap and easy. I’m not taking a paternity test, Luc.”

  “I never asked you to.”

  “I’m not taking it to prove anything to anyone.” Mia let out a deep breath, finally running out of steam.

  “Ignore them, Mia. They’re not important.” A small lie to keep her sweet for now. This would prove to be an obstacle in my plans. For both our sakes, I’d need to find a way to squash the rumor.

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Dante

  Flopping down on the couch, I let out a breath. If anyone asked me, I would profess that moving a body was easier than moving to a new house. Luc dropped down beside me and closed his eyes. The last of the boxes had been moved in and it was all official. Luc’s absence from work had been explained in the form of the new property that had Mia’s signature drying on the deed.

  “I never thought the day I’d see you move out of Charlie’s,” I said to him. The most surprising thing to me had not been that Luc and Mia had gotten back together, or even that they had picked up where they’d left off, but that Luc was selling his childhood home. Most of our memories of Charlie were held within those walls and I’d thought Luc would hold onto it as part of his portfolio. Never to be sold, never to be occupied by another inhabitant, but a memorial to his father.

  Turning his head, Luc opened an eye and said, “Too much ahead of us to keep looking back.”

  “Oo, how profound!” I squealed, surprised at his view. “Put that on a fridge magnet for Christmas please. Oof!” Luc had smacked me in the stomach, and I doubled over. “You’re a prick!”

  “So are you.”

  Just over a week, Mia had been back in Luc’s life, and I’d witnessed the way he’d changed again. There was more ease in his movements, Lydia was back in his employment, and our relation
ship had improved. Mia was his better half in every way imaginable and that only boded well for our future plans. “Have you told her yet?” I asked.

  “Told me what?” Mia asked, making me jump.

  “Jesus.” I clutched at my chest. “You’re going to need to wear a bell if you come into a room that quietly.”

  “Sorry.” She kissed the top of my head as she passed behind the sofa. Luc tipped his head back, never taking well to being excluded, and Mia dotted a kiss on his lips. “What do you need to tell me?” She came around the sofa and perched herself on the edge of the coffee table in front of us.

  “It’s nothing to worry about right now.” Luc straightened up and looked at her. Mia didn’t look like she believed him.

  “You can’t just spring it on her, Luc,” I said, leaning back again and putting my feet on the table. Mia quickly brushed them off, forgetting that she’d put a hole in my couch not so long ago and that my offense barely compared. “I think the both of you need to exercise some honesty going forward.”

  He turned his head to look at me. “How did Tori take it when you told her we’re planning to murder her father?”

  I flinched at the words and felt the nausea sour my tastebuds. It was a little hypocritical for me to be discussing honesty and offering relationship advice when I was hiding the mother, or father if you wanted to be clever about it, of all secrets from Tori. “That’s a little different and you know it.”

  “I won’t blame you if you decide to back out, but I need to know sooner rather than later.”

  There were fleeting moments when it was just Tori and I that the guilt constricted my heart and lungs. I wasn’t sure I’d felt, truly felt, guilt since my childhood; in trouble at school, mischievous at home with Mama to reprimand me. These days the trouble was so much more pressing that the guilt had even been frightened off. Until now. The deep desire to confess everything to her often sat on the tip of my tongue and was only overridden by the reminder that there was a bigger picture. Tori knowing of our plans would lead to me losing my family because Xavier would never let this lie if he found out. And my family took precedence.

  “I told you before, you don’t have to worry. I’ll be with you whatever you need.” Then I considered the options and added, “Unless you fight with Mia, then I’m taking her side.”

  “Traitor.”

  “He knows who feeds him,” she said with a smile before turning to Luc. For a split second I wondered if I should leave the room and give them some privacy to have this conversation but Mia dove in before I could move. “You want Xavier’s position when he’s gone, don’t you?”

  Luc quirked an eyebrow and even I was surprised that she’d cut right down to it. Mia had walked into our lives without a clue about what went on. We’d seen her flinch and recoil over jobs that didn’t even cause us to bat an eyelid. Mia cried while we slept peacefully over the stunts we pulled to get by in life. Yet somewhere along the way, Mia’s soft soul had started to harden. She was sharper with her words, quicker to think her way out of situations, and beautiful to watch.

  “And what if I did?” Luc rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

  “Wouldn’t you be happy just living your life, knowing you’ve gotten rid of Xavier?” she asked in return.

  I mirrored Luc’s position and Mia’s eyes moved to me. “Sweetheart, what’s the alternative? You said yourself Gabe’s already set his sights on it. He’s not going to make life easy if he gets it. And if he doesn’t take it, then we’re at the risk of someone who isn’t too fond of us moving in and life becomes a little less cushy.”

  “That’s a dangerous game to play.”

  “Not if we play it right,” Luc said, taking her hand into his. “We need to make sure people trust us. Favor us.”

  “Luc’s done enough work for the family that they know he’d be able to take it on. Plus, Charlie’s legacy is a big help,” I chimed in.

  “Carmen said we’d have her family’s support,” Mia admitted in almost a whisper, looking between us.

  “You have been busy,” Luc said, moving to the edge of his seat. “You and Carmen talking about future ambitions?”

  She started to turn pink. “We were discussing the state of our relationship and it was brought up in conversation.”

  “It’s not enough to have support from the outside.”

  “Though it does help,” I butted in.

  “It’s this family, our family, that needs to be convinced,” Luc concluded.

  “That’s easy for the both of you. I’m not sure how I’m meant to help with this,” she said.

  “You would just need to slot yourself in with the wives.”

  “Attend a few events, host a few of your own,” I laid out for her. “It’s better for us to have couples than put marriages on the line. Once we have them on our side, we’ll be golden.”

  “Have you both been walking around with your eyes closed?” Mia asked us. “People don’t like me. Actually, you know what? People hate me. How are you planning to pull this off?”

  “You’re underestimating the amount of sway Luc’s got,” I told her.

  “You’re overestimating the amount of sway I have.”

  Luc tugged at Mia’s hand so that she left her seat on the coffee table and sat on his lap instead. “Mia,” he said gently, one hand on her stomach. It was still strange to see the way that Luc became an entirely different person when he was with her. “Think of our family. You want them safe, loved, wanting for nothing? That’s exactly what they’ll have if we do this.”

  She seemed to chew over the words. Luc was offering things that any parent would want for their child and all Mia had to do was agree. “You’d do this to Tori?” Mia whispered to me, her train of thought leading her in a different direction.

  “I’d do what’s necessary to keep my family protected.”

  Mia dropped her head into her hands and Luc threw me a glance. She was always going to be the wild card where this plan was concerned. But I knew Luc well enough. If Mia refused now, he would try again later. He wasn’t going to compromise on this, because Luc wanted it all. The wife, the family, the power. Mia was simply the timer on all of this. She’d decide if we went ahead now or later. She lifted her head, running her hands through her hair, and let out a shaky breath. “You’re asking for a miracle, but I can try. I can try and win them around.” Luc pulled her in for a kiss. Our fate had finally been steered onto a path instead of hanging in the balance. As they broke apart Mia said, “You should give Dante his gift.”

  “What gift?” I asked.

  “You have time to rethink,” he said, ignoring me. “Because once we tell him, that’s it. We’ll never be rid of him.”

  “Why do you want rid of me?”

  Mia laughed, “You never want rid of him. Just give it to him, Luc.”

  He sighed heavily and dug in his pocket before tossing something in my direction. I fumbled before I caught it, sharp teeth digging into my skin. When I opened my hand, a key sat in my palm. “What is this for?”

  “This place. Mia thought you’d need a copy for when you want to see your Godson.”

  I was still looking at the key when those words hit me, and my jaw dropped. “Are you being serious?”

  “I guess now more than ever we’re going to need someone who we can trust to look after him in case anything happens.” Mia’s eyes were glassy with tears, the reality of the situation hitting home. She was under no illusion that this would be a simple life without danger. “You’re not going to let us down, are you?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head. “No, boss. I’m not going to let you down.”

  “We can’t make you blood,” Luc told me. “But that’s never mattered to me. You’re my brother and this kid is going to need you just like we do.”

  “He’ll have me for life.”

  “Thank you,” Mia said. “Now before I end up a complete mess, are you staying for dinner?”

  �
��Of course.” I pocketed the key. “We’ve got some planning to do.”

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Mia

  “I’m sorry we won’t be able to make it down for your birthday, Mia.” Carmen’s face filled the screen of my phone as I sat, feet curled beneath me, on the couch. Cerb lay on the floor in front of me, watching me with his dark eyes.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’d rather not do anything.”

  “Why not? An entire night with the attention all on you.” Carmen was a true born and bred socialite who adored the chance to take center stage. I wasn’t as keen on the idea.

  “Exactly. An entire night of everyone waiting for me to slip up,” I told her. Luc had been trying to convince me to have a party, but it seemed a brash move for someone with my history. Wouldn’t it be better for me to ease into it with an event that was lower key?

  “Luc wouldn’t invite anyone that was waiting for you to fall on your face. You’d be with friends.”

  “His. Not mine,” I reminded her. My friendship circle was considerably smaller and part of it was miles away.

  “They won’t be yours if you hide away for the rest of your life. Go and show them that you’re back and that you’re here to stay. You and that baby are a permanent part of the family.”

  “Actually, speaking of babies, I have a question for you. Maternity clothes. I don’t think my jeans and baggy sweatshirts are going to cut it here.”

  “I’ll send you a list of names.” Carmen grinned. A list of names. No longer a department store with generic brands, because that wasn’t enough. I’d be given the individual designers to peruse through and figure out what I liked best.

  “Thanks.” I hesitated for a moment. “What about other stuff?”

  “Such as?”

  “Catering? Event planning?” I was trying my best not to say much, but the look on Carmen’s face said that she had cottoned on to why I was suddenly curious to bolster the staff repertoire.

  “You’re better off asking someone closer to home,” she told me. “Every family has different tastes.”