“He loves you, babe, but has a hard time expressing himself. I’m going to get your brother a cab.”
The apps arrive and Abigail decides to dig in. Teddy can’t believe it. “You’re not going to help me?”
“Nope. I’m not as perfect as you think, Teddy. Right now, I really don’t give a crap what you do. I’m hungry. I hope you enjoy your life. Don’t come back, though. The Weathers’ bank is closed permanently.” She pops a chip into her mouth.
Teddy wants to say something more, but I haul him away. Like Abigail said, he doesn’t like being humiliated so he shuts up. I let him walk out like a man but once outside, I give him the bad news about his future.
“Your money is gone. Layla went and took it back.”
“The fuck she did not,” Teddy snaps.
“The fuck she did.”
“You asshole!” he yells. He loses his temper and swings.
I lean out of the way and punch him in the face. He stumbles but doesn’t fall so I hit him again. The valet yelps and jumps out of the way.
“I’m going to need a cab,” I tell the young man before throwing another punch at Teddy. This one clips his jaw good and he crumples to the ground. Blood from his mouth paints my knuckles. I place my Italian leather loafer on his neck and lean down. “Go away, Teddy. Go away until you can grow up.” His eyes bulge and water as he gasps for air. “Abigail loves you but she’s not going to bleed for you anymore. If you want back into the family, then get some help.”
“Uhhh, cab’s here, sir,” says the valet.
I give the boy a couple hundred and together we dump Teddy’s sorry ass into the back of the cab. I give another hundred to the driver. “Dump him at the Four Seasons.”
The cab roars off. I tip the valet another hundred. “We’ll need a car in about ten minutes.”
“Yessir.”
I come back in, take a seat and wipe the blood off my knuckles with a napkin. “The main course arrived,” I say cheerfully. The steak looks nice and rare. I cut up a few pieces for Abigail and place them on her plate.
“Did it hurt?” she asks.
“Ahh, I don’t know what you’re–”
“I know you hit him,” Abigail interrupts. “I saw you wipe your hand off with the napkin. Plus, I kind of wanted to hit him myself. He’s been awful. I love him, but he can be so horrible.”
“It hurt,” I assure her.
“But not too much, right?”
“Don’t worry. He’ll be at his hotel soon and be able to sleep it off.” I don’t mention I might have broken his nose.
“I’m glad we did this. It’s the right way to start out our new family.”
“Agree. One hundred percent agree.”
Abigail gives me a misty smile. “I think I’d like to go home.”
“Absolutely.” I help her out of her chair.
“What about our food?”
The waiter shows up at my side with a bag of freshly prepared steaks, roasted potatoes and steamed green beans–and an extra side of sea salt potato chips. “Got it right here,” I say, lifting the bag.
“Wow, you’re always one step ahead of me.”
“No. Beside you, babe. Always beside you.”
Epilogue 1
Abigail
“What are you doing?” Con’s voice booms through the nursery. I jerk around, quickly hiding the evidence behind my back. I give him the most innocent smile that I can before replying.
“This isn’t what it looks like.” He stands in the door watching me. “It’s really not.” Paint drips down from the brush behind my back, hitting the floor. “This paint is safe! I looked it up and everything. I even texted the doctor. I got a note!”
I knew that there was a high likelihood that Con would catch me before I could finish. I’ve been restless lately. I needed a project to do and Con has been watching over me like a hawk. It is hard to get anything by him these days. Not that I try. We no longer keep secrets from one another. This isn’t a secret though, in my book. I was considering it more of a surprise.
“You got a doctor’s note?” His lips twitch. I knew he would have a million questions when he found out. I made sure to research everything. I knew if the doctor gave me the okay that Con might actually let me finish the project.
“What are you even doing here? Don’t you have a job or something?” He only left for the office two hours ago. Now he’s back. His tie is long gone. His button undone. He looks as handsome as he did all those years ago when we first met.
“You mentioned mac and cheese four times when you were eating your bacon this morning. You made it a point to stress the fact that all mac and cheese should have bacon in it.” He holds up a bag. I drop the brush, not caring that it probably made a mess, and walk over toward him.