Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I did what?” I screech. “It was you who wanted nothing to do with her!”
Zeus turns his flaming eyes on me. “How could I say that when I didn’t even know she existed?”
“Stop it. Now. The both of you. Gigi doesn’t need to hear this.” Aunt Elle turns to me. “Cam, I’ll take Gigi to ballet. You and Zeus talk. Because it’s clear you need to.” She yanks open the door and calls inside, “Gigi girl, I’m taking you to ballet. Grab your bag, and let’s go.”
“Coming!” Gigi comes happily skipping through a few seconds later, thankfully unaware of what’s been happening out here.
Gigi looks up at me. Her happy expression dims at whatever she sees on my face. “You ’kay, Mommy?”
I clear my expression and paste on a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, baby girl. I just need to speak to the new mailman, is all, so Granny Elle’s going to take you to class.”
“He forget the mail?” Gigi frowns.
I glance up at Zeus, who’s not looking at me. His eyes are fixed on Gigi. My stomach balls into knots.
“Yeah, he forgot the mail. But don’t you worry. You go have fun at ballet.” I lean down and cup her chin in my hand. I kiss the tip of her nose. “I love you.”
“I wove you, Mommy.”
“Come on, let’s get in the car,” Aunt Elle says, grabbing her keys from the key hook by the door.
“Bye, Mommy. Bye, Mr. Mailman.” She waves and starts skipping toward Aunt Elle’s car parked on our driveway.
“You going to be okay?” Aunt Elle checks before leaving.
“I’ll be fine.” I nod.
“I’ve got my cell with me, if you need me.” She turns her eyes on Zeus. “I’ll be back in an hour. If I find out you’ve upset her again or hurt her in any way, then I’m coming after you with my shotgun. You hear me, Kincaid?”
Zeus works his jaw. “I hear ya.”
“Good.”
Aunt Elle gives me a quick hug, and then she goes over to her car and gets in.
I watch her and Gigi drive away, not wanting to look at Zeus.
When I do, his burning eyes are on me.
“She’s mine?”
“Of course she’s yours! Did you not get the memo the first two times?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I realize we’re both yelling again, and I don’t want the neighbors knowing my business.
“I’m not doing this out here with you. Come inside.”
I open the door, standing aside while he steps in. I shut the door behind him and lean against it.
He’s an imposing figure in our little hallway. Zeus was always big. But, looking at him now, in the light of day, he looks even bigger than he did five years ago.
“She’s mine? I have a daughter. How could you…Jesus, Cam.”
“How could I, what?”
“Jesus, I know I hurt you…but keeping my kid from me? How could you do that?”
“What?” I straighten up, my eyes bugging out of my head. “I think you’re a little confused here. I did not keep Gigi from you. You said you wanted nothing to do with either of us!”
“Was I fucking asleep when that conversation happened?” he yells, taking a step toward me.
Any other person might be intimidated by this move from him. But not me. I know Zeus. I know he’d never physically hurt me. Still, it doesn’t stop me from shuddering inside.
“You need to back the fuck up.” I jab my finger in his chest. “And how the hell should I know what you were doing when I couldn’t get in contact with you? I tried to call your cell, and you’d either blocked my number or changed it. I even tried e-mailing you, asking you to call me, but they all went undelivered. So, I called Marcel. I knew he would be able to get me in touch with you. He took my call. Said you didn’t want to talk to me. I told him that it was important. But he wasn’t listening, so I told him that I was pregnant. Then, he started listening. He said he’d have you call me. And the rest you know.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t know a fucking thing. What is the rest, Cam?”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“As serious as a heart attack.”
“Oh God. Jesus. You didn’t know…about Gigi?”
“No. But Marcel knew, right?”
I nod my head, watching as his face darkens like a thundercloud. “He called me back. Said that he’d talked to you. Told me he was sorry, but you’d said that you wanted nothing to do with the baby—our baby. That you’d support it financially, but that was it.”
His eyes close, as if the pain is too hard to control.
“Marcel never told you, did he?” I say softly.
“No.”
“Jesus. All this time…you didn’t know. I…” Words are failing me.
This entire time, I thought he’d walked away from Gigi, and he’d had no clue that she existed.