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Rotten, arrogant, bastard!
Everything she’d ever discovered about Vince Buchanan was true and yet she’d somehow been blinded to the plain truth. It was her own damn fault for being so gullible and a closet romantic. She dashed angry tears from her eyes and dressed quickly, hating him for awakening a part of herself that she hadn’t known was there and yet craved all the same. She stared hatefully in his direction, until he gestured with a curt motion to hurry up and then she flipped him off.
“Is that an invitation for angry sex when we return?” he asked with a smirk and she wanted to throw something at him. “No? That’s a shame. Angry sex can be hot.”
“Fuck off.” She shouldered past him, too wounded and shamed to offer anything more scathing. Her mind was screaming at her for being so stupid as to allow Vince past her mental defenses when she clearly knew him to be a wretched human being.
They rode in the Towncar to the hospital and it was difficult to forget what they’d done on this very leather last night. In fact, Emma took a delicate sniff, was that sex she could smell? Oh good Lord, please no. Could her mortification be any worse than it was now? Maybe her brain was playing with her nose. With as many women as Vince dallied with, he probably had instructions to his driver to swab the seats regularly to avoid leaving any tell-tale evidence behind. Ugh. The thought made her queasy. She was just one more notch in his belt. Nothing special or different. Had she thought that she would be? Maybe a little. The truth stung.
“You will be on your best behavior around my family,” he instructed as the Towncar pulled into the hospital parking lot. “Do you understand?”
“I’ll just wait in the car so as not to feel compelled to ruin your family get-together,” she countered sweetly. He scowled and she followed with a small smile. “I mean, there’s no need to explain our awkward relationship to anyone. I would imagine it might look bad for you.”
“They already know about you and nothing I do surprises my family.”
“Oh? Do they know you’re holding me hostage? Prisoner? And that to compel my cooperation, you’ve kidnapped my sister as well?”
“Yes.”
Her mouth snapped shut. Of course they knew. Wretched bastards, the lot of them. “Ugh. Whatever. You’re all going to hell.”
“Maybe. But in the meantime, you will behave yourself. Got it? This is a big day and I don’t want it ruined for Penny.”
“And who is this Penny?”
“Dillon’s wife.”
“And if I don’t behave?” His menacing glower actually sent an excited shiver down her spine. Even when he looked mean enough to strangle kittens in his spare time he was ridiculously handsome. Oh, damn her hormones. He was pure evil with an angel’s body. “Oh fine. I’ll behave myself but not because you’re ordering me too but because babies are a blessing no matter who their parents are. So you can stop glaring at me like that.”
“Good.” They climbed from the Towncar and entered the hospital, detouring to the gift shop where Vince attempted to pick out a present but after several moments of total uncertainty, ended up looking less formidable and more panicked. “I have no idea what to buy for a baby,” he admitted, looking to her with what looked like a plea for help.
She ought to let him twist in the wind for being such an insufferable jerk but in spite of herself, she sighed and decided to help. “The present isn’t for the baby, it’s for the mom. Here,” she walked over to the large walk-in freezer and selected the biggest bouquet there and thrust it at him. Then went to the stuffed animals and picked out a generic brown bear with sweet eyes. “And pair it with this. So you have something for mom and something for baby. Done.”
Vince nodded as if her explanation made sense and approved of her selection. After paying, they headed for the maternity ward. They rounded the corner and saw the balloons festooning the entrance to the room and suddenly, it occurred to Emma that she was about to meet the entire Buchanan clan as if she were a girlfriend or something more permanent than the true circumstances. A sadness pulled at her when she found herself wishing that it were true. Was this neediness a consequence of mind-blowing sex? She’d never felt this intense pull toward anyone in her life. Not to mention, she’d never been so insanely attracted to the same man she wanted to murder in the same breath. The whole situation was confusing. Even now, the idea of angry sex had begun to have some appeal. And that was plain crazy! One thing was for sure, she was going to have to gird her female loins because her hormones were dancing a lively tune that was hard to ignore, no matter all the good reasons why she ought to run as fast as she can in the opposite direction of wherever Vince was standing.
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Vince didn’t know why he brought Emma along when he could’ve easily dropped her off with Laird but the idea of being separated from Emma didn’t appeal to him at all. He wanted her around to keep an eye on her, he told himself but deep down he knew that might be horseshit. He supposed if he was going to lie to himself, he ought to, at the very least, come with something more inventive.
When he looked at Emma, a hunger he’d never known curled itself around his insides and squeezed really hard, but instead of feeling as if it was killing him, it made him yearn for more. Weird, wacky shit — and he wasn’t happy about it. For a while he’d dabbled in illicit drug use and the way he felt about Emma reminded him of that time — intense, frightening and addictive. He wanted more of her. He wanted to know everything about her, from the mundane to her innermost secrets. Like that’s going to happen. She looked angry enough to spit nails in his direction.
Not that he blamed her. He’d been a dick. That was his specialty, of course. Breaking hearts, being heartless, either/or take your pick, he excelled in both.
But as he entered the hospital room, intent on making a perfunctory visit and then splitting with Emma, the moment he saw Dillon holding a tiny bundle, tears streaming down his brother’s face, everything slowed to a stop and became almost surreal. They were all there, Nolan and his wife and daughter, Dillon, Penny and the new baby.
“There he is,” Penny acknowledged with a tired smile, motioning them into the room. Her gaze moved to Emma with a faint question but she let it go and he was grateful. Penny was the only one who might raise an eyebrow and give him a ration for his actions. Thankfully, it seemed giving birth had taken the fight right out of her for the moment. Vince hugged her and pecked a chaste kiss on her cheek before pulling away and handing the gifts to her. Penny accepted the flowers and smiled. “Beautiful. Can you put them on the nightstand for me?”
“Of course,” Vince said, hastening to move them for her. He propped the bear up next to the lamp and moved to Dillon to peek at the baby. “Well? Boy or girl?”
Dillon looked at Vince with such pride as he answered, “A boy” that even Vince’s throat closed with emotion. “Robert Dillon Buchanan. Isn’t he perfect?”
Vince peered at the tiny bundle and before he could protest, Dillon put the baby in Vince’s arms. “Wait,” Vince said, terrified that he might break something so small and vulnerable. He shot an uncertain look at Emma and her small, almost reluctant smile shot something pure and sweet straight to his heart. For a blink he imagined what it might be like to be holding his own son in his arms and he never knew such unimaginable pain. What kind of father would he possibly make? He was corrupt to the core — willing to do whatever suited him to get his way — just like his own father had been. The baby made a cooing sound and yawned, his tiny fingers flexing beneath the blanket without a care in the world and Vince handed the baby back to his brother. “He’s perfect,” Vince agreed, his voice choked. “I’m sorry I missed the big event. I’ll put an extra ten thousand in his college fund for penance.”
“That’s not necessary,” Penny said, chuckling, then gestured to Emma. “Aren’t you going to introduce your friend?” She didn’t wait and if she saw the look Nolan and Dillon shared, she chose to ignore it. “Hi, I’m Penny. I’m sorry Vince has terrible manners but then he’s not known for his charm.”
“I’m Emma Winters,” Emma said, introducing herself. “Congratulations on the new baby. He’s precious.”
“Thank you.” Penny smiled with pure joy and then returned to Emma, which was Vince’s cue to make their exit. Penny would dig and dig until she found the answers burning up her brain because that’s just how Penny was. “So…you’re the girl who was attacked at the club?”
Vince glared, unable to believe Penny had just gone for the jugular like that. “Penny, you should rest. We’ll let you get some shut eye.”
“I’m not made of porcelain and if I was, pushing my sweet bundle of joy out of my lady parts would’ve broken me so don’t act all defensive with me. I know what’s going on. I need to know how Emma is doing. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to talk to her. In fact, why don’t you all go get a coffee or something while I chat with Emma for a minute.”