Was that even possible?
Oliver Drake: CEO and savior of Orion Technology, eligible bachelor, millionaire and complete asshat.
He was stewing on his sofa when there was a knock at the door. That in itself was unusual since the doorman hadn’t called. At the same time, it was concerning. He’d dodged calls from his family for days and they were the only ones who could get up here without his permission. He hoped Harper hadn’t arrived to chew him out. He hadn’t even bothered to listen to the fifteen voice-mail messages she’d left him.
With a frown, he turned off the television and crossed the room to the front door. Peering through the peephole, he was relieved to find his father and brother there instead of his sister. “Dad?” he asked as he opened the door.
Tom Drake looked at his son and shook his head. “You look like hell,” he said, pushing past Oliver into the house with Danny in his wake.
His little brother had recovered remarkably well from his accident. You’d hardly even know he’d been in the hospital as he took off for the living room and changed the channel to pull up his favorite show. Oliver knew that when he was bored with that, he’d whip his latest gaming device out of his back pocket and play until Dad made him stop. Technology ran deep in the veins of this family.
With a sigh, Oliver shut the door behind his dad and followed him to the kitchen where he was making himself some coffee.
“I didn’t think you drank coffee anymore, Dad.”
Tom looked up at him with a dismayed frown. “It’s not for me, it’s for you.”
“I don’t need any coffee, Dad. I’m not hungover.”
His father narrowed his eyes at Oliver, taking in the robe and pajama pants he had on, the week-old scruff that had grown on his face and his bedhead. “Even if you’re not hungover, you’re drinking this,” he said at last. “You need something to wake you up.”
“I’m not sleepy.”
“I’m not saying you are. Sometimes in a man’s life, he needs to wake up and take a look at what’s going on around him. He gets too set in his ways, gets lost in a routine and doesn’t notice things right in front of his face. I was like that once. I don’t want you to end up like me.”
Oliver scratched his head in confusion but accepted the coffee his father handed him.
“Sit down, son.”
Oliver sat down at the kitchen table, trying not to think about the breakfast he’d shared here with Lucy. “I just needed a break, Dad.”
Tom reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water before sitting across from his son. “The hell you did. This is about that woman. Lucy.”
Oliver hadn’t said two words to his father about what had happened with Lucy, so his sister must’ve narc’d on him. “She’s pregnant, Dad.” It was the first time the words had passed his lips. Even days later, it felt alien on his tongue.
His father shrugged off his bombshell announcement. “It happens. What are you doing to do about it?”
“I don’t know. I’m worried I’m going to make the same mistakes you did. I don’t know that I can trust her. The whole family thinks she’s some kind of crook.”
“What do you think?”
“I…” Oliver stopped. He’d wrestled with this question since the day he’d met her. Now, he tried to answer honestly just as he knew her, not letting his fears answer for him. “I don’t think she had anything to do with Aunt Alice changing her will. These last few weeks, I’ve found that Lucy is naturally charming. I think Alice would’ve wanted to help her out and do something nice for Lucy by leaving her the estate. At least that’s my guess. But what if I’m wrong? What if she’s just like Candace? How do I know the child isn’t just another ploy to get her hands not only on Aunt Alice’s money but mine, too?”
“You don’t,” his father said simply. With a sigh, Tom ran his hand through his mostly gray hair. “I think this is all my fault.”
Oliver perked up in his chair. “What?”
“I thought you were old enough when all this happened with Candace, but I think I still managed to give you some trust issues. Listen, I was an idiot, Oliver. I got all wrapped up in your stepmother and made some choices that were pretty foolish in retrospect. But I was lonely so I took that chance. And now, years later, I would probably do everything exactly the same if I were given the chance to go back in time.”
That surprised Oliver. He thought for sure that his father regretted what happened with his second wife. “Really?”
Tom chuckled at his son’s surprise and sipped his water thoughtfully. “Yes. Despite our outward appearances, Candace and I really did have chemistry. She certainly put a dent in my finances, but it was a fine price to pay for a couple fun years and that little boy in the living room. If changing the past with Candace means that I wouldn’t have Danny, then I want no part of it.”