“Good morning, Miss Carlisee.”
“What the hell is going on?”
“Nice to talk to you too.”
She blew him off. “Is it true? Are you guys getting married?”
“We will be in about twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes?! What?!”
“You heard me.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing! I didn’t know you two were dating, and now you’re getting married, and I’m not there! This is a slap in my face, Jax! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Believe it or not, this isn’t about you. It’s about us.”
I never expected what he shared next.
“Miss Carlisee, I’m in love with your daughter. I have been since the first time I laid eyes on her.”
She gasped. “I knew it! You two were together back then too, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, we were.”
My jaw fell to the floor, and I slapped his arm.
I could barely process what he’d said for the first time before she questioned, “Are you getting married because you knocked her up with another one of your babies?”
My eyes widened as Jax slowly cocked his head to the side.
“You knew?”
“Of course, I knew.”
“Mom, don’t—”
“I told her to stay away from you! She’s too good for you, Jax! Ben didn’t need to have an absentee father in his life. How many bastards do you have by other women, Jax? I lost count—”
He hung up on her. With his anger focused in my direction, I awaited his wrath. I knew this wasn’t going to end well…
Some fucking wedding day we were having.
* * *
—Jax—
* * *
Trying to keep my temper in check, I asked through a clenched jaw, “Is she the reason you didn’t tell me?”
She sidestepped me. “I don’t have to answer that.”
I gripped onto her arm, halting her descent. “The fuck you don’t.”
“Let go of me!”
I pulled her closer to my chest. “Not until you answer me. Is she the reason?”