For the Sake of Their Son (The Alpha Brotherhood #5)(15)
Author: Catherine Mann

And yet Elliot’s reaction the next day had made her realize there could be no future for them. Her euphoria had evaporated with the morning light.

She’d woken before him and gone to the kitchen to make coffee and pile some pastries on a plate. The front door to his suite had opened and she’d assumed it must be the maid. Anyone who entered the room had to have a key and a security code.

However, the woman who’d walked in hadn’t been wearing a uniform. She—Gianna—had worn a trench coat and nothing else. If only it had been a crazed fan. But Lucy Ann had quickly deduced Gianna was the new female in Elliot’s life. He hadn’t even denied it. There was no misunderstanding.

God, it had been so damn cliché her stomach had roiled. Elliot came out of the bedroom and Gianna had turned paler than the towel around Elliot’s waist.

He’d kept his calm. Apologized to Gianna for the awkward situation, but she’d burst into tears and run. He’d told Lucy Ann there was nothing between him and his girlfriend anymore, not after what happened the night before with Lucy Ann.

But she’d told him he should have let Gianna know that first, and she was a hundred percent right. He’d agreed and apologized.

That hadn’t been enough for her. The fact that he could be seeing one woman, even superficially, and go to bed with another? No, no and hell, no. That was something she couldn’t forgive. Not after how all those men had cheated on her mom with little regard for vows or promises. And her mother kept forgiving the first unfaithful jerk, and then the next.

If Elliot could behave this way now, how could she trust him later? What if he got “swept away” by someone else and figured he would clue her in later? She’d called him dishonorable.

And in an instant, with that one word, a lifetime friendship crumbled.

She’d thrown on her clothes and left. Elliot’s engagement to Gianna a month later had only sealed Lucy Ann’s resolve to stay away. They hadn’t spoken again until the day he’d shown up in Carla’s yard.

Now, after more impulsive kisses, she found herself wanting to crawl right back into bed with him. Lucy Ann powered the stroller closer to the party and their quarters, drawing in one deep breath of salty air after another, willing her pulse to steady. Wishing the urge to be with Elliot was as easily controlled.

With each step, she continued the chant in her brain, the vow not to repeat her mother’s mistakes.

* * *

Wind tearing at his tuxedo jacket, Elliot watched Lucy Ann push the stroller down the planked walkway, then past the party. He didn’t take his eyes off her or his son until he saw they’d safely reached the palace, even though he now had bodyguards watching his family 24/7. His family?

Hell, yes, his family.

Eli was his son. And Lucy Ann had been his only real family for most of his life. No matter how angry he got at her for holding back on telling him about Eli, Elliot also couldn’t forgive himself for staying away from her. He’d let her down in a major way more than once, from his teenage years up to now. She had reason not to trust him.

He needed to earn back her trust. He owed her that and so much more.

His shoulders heaving with a sigh, he started toward the wedding reception. The bride and groom had left, but the partying would go long into the night. It wasn’t every day a princess got married. People would expect a celebration to end all celebrations.

A sole person peeled away from the festivities and ambled toward him. From the signature streamlined fedora, he recognized his old school pal Troy Donavan. Troy was one of the originals from their high school band, the Alpha Brotherhood, a group of misfits who found kindred spirits in one another and their need to push boundaries, to expose hypocrisy—the greatest of crimes in their eyes.

Troy pulled up alongside him, passing him a drink. “Reconciliation not going too well?”

“What makes you say that?” He took the thick cut glass filled with a locally brewed beer.

“She’s returning to her room alone after a wedding.” Troy tipped his glass as if in a toast toward the guests. “More people get lucky after weddings than any other event known to mankind. That’s why you brought Lucy Ann here, isn’t it? To get her in the romantic mood.”

Had he? He’d told himself he wanted her to see his friends settling down. For her to understand he could do the same. But he wasn’t sure how much he felt like sharing, especially when his thoughts were still jumbled.

“I brought Lucy Ann to the wedding because I couldn’t miss the event. The timing has more to do with how you all colluded to pull off that kidnapping stunt.”

“You’re still pissed off? Sorry, dude, truly,” he said, wincing. “I thought you and Malcolm talked that all out.”

“Blah, blah, blah, my good pals wanted to get an unguarded reaction. I heard.” And it still didn’t sit well. He’d trusted these guys since high school, over fifteen years, and hell, yeah, he felt like they’d let him down. “But I also heard that Lucy Ann contacted the Brotherhood over a week ago. That’s a week I lost with my son. A week she was alone caring for him. Would you be okay with that?”

“Fair enough. You have reason to be angry with us.” Troy nudged his fedora back on his head. “But don’t forget to take some of the blame yourself. She was your friend all your life, and you just let her go. You’re going to have a tough as hell time convincing her you’ve magically changed your mind now and you would have wanted her back even without the kid.”

The truth pinched. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Okay then. Here’s a bit of advice.”

“Everyone seems full of it,” Elliot responded, tongue in cheek.

Troy laughed softly, leaning back against a wrought-iron railing. “Fine. I’m full of it. Always have been. Now, on to my two cents.”

“By all means.” Elliot knocked back another swallow of the local beer.

“You’re a father now.” Troy rolled his glass between his palms. “Be that boy’s father and let everything else fall into place.”

A sigh rattled through Elliot. “You make it sound so simple.”

Troy’s smile faded, no joking in sight. “Think how different our lives would have been with different parents. Things came together when Salvatore gave us direction. Be there for your son.”

“Relationships aren’t saved by having a child together.” His parents had gotten married because he was on the way. His mother had eventually walked out and left him behind.