Filthy Beautiful Lust(19)

"I will be there," Elan says, excitement heavy in his voice.

I pull in a deep breath, trying to quiet all of the warring emotions inside of me. "See you then."





***



Elan arrives right on time, hitting the button on his key fob to lock  his Mercedes before starting across the park toward us. His eyes  immediately stray from mine over to Max. He swallows, nervously and  licks his lips. "Wow." He's looking Max over from top to bottom, no  doubt amazed at the uncanny resemblance.

Elan looks different. Older somehow. There are little lines around his  eyes and more weight around his middle than I remember. He sits quietly  on the bench beside me and watches Max plays with a set of trucks I've  brought. Max seems pretty oblivious to his presence. Elan seems  completely humbled.

He'd arrived empty handed, and I'm not sure what I expected, but I guess  it was something more than nothing. Not that gifts would make up for  his year-long absence, but maybe it'd be a small token in the right  direction-and provide something so that Max could immediately relate to  this new, strange man. Even Pace, bachelor extraordinaire, thought to  bring a gift the first time he spent time with Max.

Elan sits with his hands folded in his lap watching Max play and babble. "He's beautiful. Does he say any words?"

"Yes, Mumma and ball are all he says right now, but he knows the signs  for lots of things. Eat, milk, more, and all done." I could babble on  and on. I want him to understand how amazing Max is and that it's  entirely his fault that he chose not to be part of it. I'm still angry,  and rightly so, but I'm trying to be open for what is best for my son.

It's a strange sensation knowing I share a child with this man. We made  the little being playing between us. I feel uneasy, yet part of me knows  that being here today, introducing Elan to his son is the right thing.

It makes me sad realizing how many things Elan has missed. Max's birth,  his baptism, his first birthday, his first steps. I blink back tears. At  least he's here now. It's going to take a while for him to build a  relationship with Max. But then I realize how that's not entirely true.  Max and Pace bonded almost instantly. But then again, Pace got right  down on the ground and interacted with him. Spoke to him and showed him  things. Elan is sitting quietly beside me like he's confused. Maybe he's  still in shock.

I don't know why I keep thinking about Pace. As amazing as last night  was, I've known from the start his world and mine don't mix. And now  that Elan seems like he wants to be back in the picture, I'm more  confused than ever.                       
       
           



       





Chapter Ten


Pace





"What's new with you, man?" I ask Collins, tipping the bottle of beer to  my lips. We've already covered the topics of work and recent stock  market trends. Some emerging fund in Brazil has him all excited, and I'm  only too happy to listen while he prattles on. I'm still trying to  figure out a way to tell him about Kylie, because of course she's the  only thing on my mind. Last night was off the fucking charts. I could  barely look at her this morning without getting hard. I'd left pretty  quickly to avoid embarrassing myself.

"How's Tatianna?" I ask. I haven't seen her around in a while, though I know as a top model, she travels often for work.

He's gazing over at the musician's warming up at the jazz club he wanted  to meet at. It's soon going to be a little too loud for conversation,  but maybe that's what he intended. "Everything's good," he says, taking a  drink from his glass.

I get the sense there's more he wants to say, so I wait.

He shrugs. "Sometimes, I don't know. I get the sense that all I am to  her is a padded bank account, and all she is to me is a warm pussy to  sink into."

"I didn't know you were looking for anything serious," I say.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not."

He's not very convincing. He turned thirty this year, and I wonder if  that has anything to do with his melancholy mood and rhetorical  questions about the nature of his relationship.

When I glance over at Collins, he looks a bit lost. Fuck. I suddenly  find myself wishing Colton were here. He would know the right thing to  say at a time like this.

"Listen, if you're not happy, you can always break up with her, right?"

"It's not that I'm unhappy. I just wonder if there's something more out there."

"There is," I say with conviction.

"You?" He turns to me suddenly, his mouth curling into a grin. "I didn't  ever think I'd see the day, little brother. Who is she?"

"Kylie." Her name alone gives me a warm feeling. Christ, I'm in deep already.

"The girl with the baby who works for Colton?"

She is so much more than just a girl with a baby. Collins doesn't  understand, but I know he will once he gets to know her. "Yes. She's the  one."

"The one? Wow." His eyes widen.

I hadn't meant it in those terms, but now that the thought is out there,  I don't hate it. Shit, I could see it now all laid out before me.  Holding her warm body in my arms every night, watching Max grow …  I know  I'm moving quickly, but this woman is not a flavor of the week. I'm  usually a hit it once kind of guy, but with her, that never even crossed  my mind. I want more. I want to stick around to see where this can go.  It's entirely new and thrilling knowing there is more to discover.

"Do you want to stay and order dinner?" Collins asks, signaling the waitress for another round of drinks.

"Sure, just let me check on Kylie real quick. She broke her arm and is staying at my place."

He raises his brow, but doesn't say anything. I'm sure I'm shocking the  hell out of him. I don't even bring hookups over to my place for an  hour. Kylie could move in permanently, and I wouldn't bat an eyelash.

How are you holding up?

I wait for her reply with my phone in my hand.

Five minutes pass and nothing. Collins is reading the dinner menu, but  my stomach is churning with unease. I dial her number, and it rings  repeatedly until her voicemail picks up. I call twice more and still no  answer. Something feels off.

"Sorry about dinner, I think I'm going to have to split, man. Kylie's  not picking up her phone, and I'm getting worried. I need to make sure  something didn't happen to them."

He nods. "Of course. Go. It's fine. We'll do dinner next week when Colton gets back."

"Sure." Distracted, I rise to my feet, throw a couple of bills down onto the table and leave in a panic.

The entire drive home, I curse at myself.

She's got a broken arm for fuck's sake, and I left her alone with a one-year-old. What the fuck was I thinking?



***



I want to fucking punch something. Not only are her and Max gone, but  all their bags are too. I have no idea what could have happened in the  span of eight hours that caused her to pack up and leave. When I left  her this morning, she was curled up in my bed, looking content and  happy. I figured she'd be staying put. She told me she would. What  changed?

There's still no answer on her cell, and when I drive by her house, her  car isn't there. I don't like the thought of her and Max out there alone  somewhere. There's a hard knot in my chest and I grip the steering  wheel too tight. The only thing to do is go home and wait. But as I'm  driving past the park near her house  –  I spot them.                       
       
           



       

I park at the curb and climb out of my car.

Kylie is sitting on a bench next to a man and Max is playing in the  grass at their feet. Her posture is tense and guarded, and the man at  her side is looking at Max with full interest. A million scenarios flash  through my head, but the only one that makes sense is that this man is  her ex, Max's father. When I get closer, I see he's got the same dark  hair and olive skin tone as Max. My stomach cramps up and I stop briefly  where I can study them from a distance. Watching her with another man  makes me feel more possessive than I have in my entire life. I want to  drag her back to my home like some goddamn caveman. But I realize that's  not all I want. Standing here, in the presence of this man, I want her  to choose me. I stop beside them, my eyes burning on Kylie.

"Pace, what are you doing here?" her tone is abrupt, like I've caught her in the middle of something.

I guess I have.

"You weren't answering your phone. I was worried." I don't mention that I  also discovered her bags were gone from my place. We will discuss that  later, in private.

"I'm fine. We're okay. This is Max's father, Elan." She looks over at the man beside her and my fists curl into tight balls.

"Kylie?"

"It's okay, Pace," she encourages.