Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Hannah?” the little boy called.
I shifted my gaze to him and it hit me straight away. He was a mini version of Rex. A gasp escaped my mouth. I turned to stone as Rex appeared behind them.
“Come on, guys,” he said.
Nausea rose up my throat. I stood frozen on the spot in disbelief. Rex was cheating on me! And not just cheating. He had a child as well. He was playing happy families behind my back. I staggered back and the movement must have caught the corner of his eye because his head whirled around in my direction.
“Willow,” he uttered. His face was white with shock. Obviously, he had never imagined I would show up unannounced.
I raised a hand in the air. “It’s okay. I’m just sight-seeing.”
Then I turned and fled, running as if I was in a flight for my life. Oh God. Oh God! What a fool I was. The pain that started in my chest was spreading to the rest of my body. What was the matter with me? You would have thought that after Steven I’d learned my lesson. But no, of course not. I had to fall in love with the next man who gave me a bit of attention.
I desperately needed to be alone. To think. To actually process what I’d seen.
I became aware of Rex’s footsteps on the sidewalk gaining ground, and his voice. “Willow, stop. It’s not what you think,” he shouted.
That stopped me in my tracks. Burning anger coursed through me. It was one thing to be cheated on and another to be turned into a fool. I whirled around and faced him. My chest rose up and down as I gasped for air.
“It’s not what I think?” I sneered. “Really? That’s what you’re going with?”
“Listen to me—” he began.
But I cut him off. “Is that why you’ve been keeping me away from your house?”
A gust of cold wind blew hair into his eyes and he pushed it aside impatiently, before nodding. “Yes.”
That rendered me speechless. I’d expected some form of denial. To my horror, tears sprouted in my eyes.
“That boy is my son. His name is Kayden,” Rex said, speaking fast. “And the woman is his nanny. Her name is Hannah.”
I stared at him, wanting so much to believe what he was saying. I said the first thing that popped into my head. “Why is she dressed like that if she’s a nanny?”
He let out a frustrated laugh. “I don’t fucking know. When we interviewed her, she dressed nothing like she is these days. I just ignore it because she’s very good with Kayden. I figure she’ll get tired of it when she sees it isn’t working. Willow, listen, a woman could walk around my house naked and I wouldn’t be interested if that woman was not you.”
“You said, we interviewed, who’s we?” I whispered.
He frowned. “Kayden’s mother and I.”
“Where is she now?”
“With her man.”
A shaky smile pulled at my lips. “Really?”
“Really. Now, come on. I want to introduce you to Kayden, then I’ll tell you how he came into my life.”
It dawned on me just how many secrets he had been keeping. “And why didn’t you tell me all this?”
He sighed. “Because I only found out about his existence while I was at Bison’s Ridge, and I didn’t tell you because I was in shock. It was too much even for me to process. Then when I did process it all, I found it hard to tell you, because I didn’t want to put you off. You didn’t seem too anxious to be around children.”
“I said that?”
“Yes, you did. At dinner, the Mexican restaurant,” he reminded.
“Oh, that!” I said airily. “I was a different person then. I’ve changed a lot since that day.”
He took my hand. “My God, your hand is frozen. Come on, let’s go back up to the apartment and warm you up.”
I was shaky but oh so relieved as I followed Rex. The nanny and Kayden were standing by the entrance staring at us.
“Hannah, this is my girlfriend, Willow,” Rex said, holding my hand.
Hannah smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.”
I was used to that and I understood exactly what was going on. She had seen an opportunity. A single dad and a billionaire to boot. I was going to have to get used to women making eyes at Rex. If I turned myself upside down every time a woman made eyes at Rex, I was going to be a very unhappy woman.
I turned my attention to Kayden. He really did resemble his dad. Instinctively, I crouched down to his level.
“Hi,” I said.
He smiled shyly.
“I’m your dad’s friend. My name is Willow.”
“Willow,” he repeated. “Like the tree?”
I smiled. “Exactly like that.”
“It’s Mommy’s favorite tree. She said it looks sad.”
Rex signaled to a burly man in dark jeans and a leather jacket who was standing a few feet away. “Follow them to the park,” he instructed. Then he patted his son’s head. “Ray will push the swing for you today, okay?”