Serenity (Inevitable #5)(103)

Matthew was both startled and shaken to realize that Sasha was crying, given the way her voice had broken on her last sentence. She was always the strong one, always the sensible one, and he had no idea of how to deal with her sudden vulnerability.

"Sweetheart." He massaged the back of his neck, feeling the muscles there already beginning to bunch up with tension. "I know there's no possible way I can make this up to you, and you should definitely be very, very angry with me right now. And I know I've had to say this way too often as of late, but I'm so sorry, Sasha."

She gave a little sniffle, obviously struggling to gain control of her emotions. "I know you are," she told him quietly. "But that doesn't make this any easier. You'd better go, I won't keep you any longer."

"Wait." He forestalled her before she could end the call. "Look, why don't you still go out to dinner and then the ballet? I'll call the restaurant and give them my credit card, you can order whatever you like. And I'll have the tickets messengered over to you on my way out. The concierge can take care of that. I realize it isn't the same thing, but maybe you could ask Julio or Chad to go with you. That way you can still enjoy your evening." 

"You're right. It's not the same thing at all," she chastised him. "And Chad and Julio are in Las Vegas this weekend at a wedding. But I suppose I could ask one of the other teachers from the studio if she'd like to go to the ballet with me. She used to study ballet so she'd probably be interested. Not the dinner, though. That was supposed to be something special for us. I don't want to go if you're not with me."

"We'll go another time," he promised. "I swear to you, Sasha. And I will make this up to you, one way or the other. Look, you're right, I do need to go, but I'll make sure these tickets get delivered to you within the hour." He paused briefly before telling her in a husky voice, "I love you so much, Sasha. I hope you know that."

"I do, yes. Good night, Matthew."

She ended the call without echoing his sentiments,, and the disappointment in her voice was so heart wrenching that this time he wasn't able to suppress his anger and frustration as he hurled his phone against the wall.





"It's about goddamned time you got here. Once again you've forced me to deal with all of this crap by myself."

Matthew didn't even spare his enraged ex a glance as he walked inside the foyer of the house. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not here for you," he retorted, walking briskly in the direction of Hayley's room.

Lindsey, however, stayed right on his heels, not an easy task considering that even inside the house she insisted on tottering around on those ridiculous stilettos. He wondered vaguely if she'd been getting ready for a night on the town, given her attire of short, tight black skirt, sheer gauzy white blouse, and wearing so much makeup that his fingernails would come away filthy if he raked them down her cheek.

Hayley's bedroom was an untidy mess as usual, but Matthew figured that was the least of her problems at this point. She was curled up in a fetal position on her bed, a fleecy throw pulled up nearly over her head, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She glanced up as he entered, and gave him a watery smile.

"Hi, Daddy," she whispered miserably, holding out her arms to him.

As he eased himself onto the bed and pulled her into a hug, it occurred to him that Hayley hadn't called him Daddy in years, probably not since her tenth birthday when she'd decided that wasn't cool anymore, and wondered for a moment at the timing of this sudden change.

"Hey, baby," he murmured instead, stroking his daughter's long, silky hair. "You doing okay?"

Hayley shrugged. "Not really, no. This has been kind of a shock, you know?"

Matthew gave a short, sardonic laugh. "Yeah, no kidding. I didn't even know you had a boyfriend, Hayley. Have you told him that you're pregnant? And who is this guy anyway? Your mother and I are going to need to get his parents involved, figure this whole situation out between us."

"No!" exclaimed Hayley. "Dad, no! I - I mean, oh, God, this is going to sound so awful, I'm not even sure how to say this. But I don't - oh, God - "

"What she's trying to say," interjected Lindsey tersely, "is that she doesn't know who the father is. You don't think I've been trying to pry a name out of her since I found that damned test, Matt?"

Matthew stared at his daughter in horror. "What does your mother mean you don't know who the father is? Jesus, how many boys have you had sex with, Hayley - two, three, more?"

Hayley's pale cheeks reddened. "This is so embarrassing," she groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Do we really have to talk about this now?"