Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Draven was sitting in the back in a private booth. The place was active, and Antwone found himself tensing up. This was not a good place to be meeting. If anything happened, a lot of civilians would suffer.
Draven didn’t look too happy, which could only mean this trip was not a social call, which was a shame.
Arriving at the booth, he slid inside.
“This was unexpected,” he said. “What’s happening?”
Draven stared at him. “Is there anything you need to tell me about?”
Antwone looked toward his brother. Even though he was The Boss, over the years, he had confided in him about certain decisions, but not all of them. Only the ones that could eventually affect Draven.
“No.”
Several seconds of silence passed and then Draven nodded.
He reached into his jacket pocket, placed Antwone’s own personal cell on the countertop, and slid it toward him.
“How did you get that?” he asked.
“It dropped out of your jacket the other day.”
Antwone didn’t reach for the cell, although he was tempted. He wasn’t going to do it in front of his brother. He’d been in a state of panic the last couple of days as he’d not been able to find it.
“Do you want to tell me anything?” Draven asked.
He simply looked at his brother. There was nothing that came to mind, so he waited.
“Did you even listen to the message?”
Antwone wanted to attack his brother. How dare Draven invade his private life. It wasn’t something he’d ever done to him.
“Are you ready to order?”
He would recognize the sound of that voice anywhere, and Antwone turned to the woman who had approached the table.
Candice was there, but she was working. She had on a waitress uniform. Her blonde hair was tied back, but he also noticed the heavily pronounced pregnant bump. She had yet to look at him, but after she finished writing on the notepad, she did look up. The moment she did, she looked pale.
“Antwone.” His name fell from her lips but she didn’t sound, nor look happy. She stepped away from the table and before he could stop her, she turned on her heel and ran.
He turned his attention back to his brother. “She is why you can’t find anyone.”
Antwone refused to answer that and got to his feet, following Candice’s footsteps, heading toward where she went. She had gone into the back of the diner, where there was a sign saying STAFF ONLY.
He ignored the warning and entered the room to find Candice staring at her locker. There was no one else in the room.
When the door closed, she turned toward him. “You shouldn’t be in here,” she said.
Six months he’d gone without seeing her, and in that time, he had missed her. He’d missed her so fucking much and as he stepped closer to her, he saw her take a step back. Tears shone in her eyes and he saw the way her hands clenched.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.
“What? You expect to say nice words, kind words, and that would be it. All is forgiven?” she asked.
He sighed. “You’re pregnant.”
“And you left. What do you expect to happen when you have unprotected sex three times with a woman? She gets pregnant.” She put her hand on her stomach. “What are you doing here?”
“I…” He couldn’t tell her who Draven was. “It’s a business meeting. What are you doing here?”
“I work here.”
“What about the bar?”
“My boss didn’t think having a pregnant woman serving a bunch of drunk men was appropriate. He fired me after finding out I was pregnant.”
Antwone’s hands clenched into fists. He had no idea and hadn’t even thought about the risk of pregnancy. He was angry at himself for not thinking about it. Condoms and protection were the last things on his mind when he decided to have one night with her and then leave. He didn’t mean to fuck it up.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What for? For lying? For having one night with me? For ignoring my calls? For ignoring the voicemail I left? What exactly are you sorry about?” she asked.
“You’re carrying my child.”
“I know.”
“This changes everything, Candice.”
“No, it doesn’t. This changes nothing. You left, and as far as I’m concerned, we are done. Finished. You can see your child, but when he or she is born, we’ll come to some agreement that will be suitable for you. Until then, I don’t want anything to do with you.” She folded her arms across her chest.
She looked so fiery and passionate. Now that his brother knew, there was no way he was going to let her go. Candice was his woman. She carried his child.
And this changed everything.
****
Anger filled Candice as she paced the length of Antwone’s living room. The man had some nerve. She wanted to scream and shout at him, but all she could do was pace.