“I can’t face Lady M or Ben.” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m a horrible person.”
“We’re both horrible people.” The hurt and guilt in her eyes gutted me. It was the first glimpse I’d gotten of the girl Karma had been. I squatted between her legs and filled my hands with her ass cheeks.
“I never thought we’d be like this. Never thought I’d have to face your family.”
My gaze traveled over her beautiful face. The sadness and longing in her blue depths stripped me raw. This woman, she’d left me empty and broken, but I saw now that I’d done the same to her.
“It’ll be okay, baby.” I cradled her face in my big hands. “Yes, everyone will be angry, but it’ll be okay. I won’t let anyone give you shit or hurt you.”
“I can’t.” She dropped her head as if the weight of her actions crushed her. “When everyone was out of sight, I never considered how they’d feel. I was young, Abe. Heartbroken, pregnant, and alone to figure out how to care for my child.”
“I wish you would’ve told me.”
“Oh yeah? Well, I wish I hadn’t heard you grunting and that chick mewling. Those sounds tormented me. I’ve had hundreds of disgusting dreams about you fucking women right in front of me. I couldn’t escape it.”
I had no words. All I could do was wrap her in my arms and hold her.
“To keep from falling apart, I pushed thoughts of your family out of my head. All of them except you. You were never far from mind, not with Nova having your eyes and stubbornness.”
I smiled as she let me comfort her. Her mind-numbing scent surrounded me. I absorbed it into my soul, fighting the emotion building inside me.
“You honestly didn’t fuck that chick?”
“No, I didn’t.” I caressed her cheek.
“Son of a bitch.” She wrapped her arms around me and held on for dear life. “I hate your brothers.”
“You have every right to. Just give me a chance to make it up to you and Nova.” My chest squeezed tight as we finally made some progress.
“Nova is going to be so confused.”
“We’ll deal with it together.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. She thinks Ste—” She snapped her mouth shut.
“She thinks what?” I peered at her when I felt her body turn rigid in my arms.
“Nova thinks my ex is her dad.” A tear rolled down her face.
I instantly released her. “What the fuck did you say? My daughter thinks another man is her father?”
“I didn’t tell her he was her dad. I just never corrected her when she called him dad.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” I launched to my feet and paced. “I could strangle you.”
“I know. But she was only three when he moved in with us.”
“And why haven’t you told her the truth?”
“I don’t know. Because I thought you cheated on me, and I wanted to hurt you.”
“Fuck!” I grabbed my head between my hands. The universe was testing me. I didn’t think I could handle another blow and not explode.
“I’m sorry.” Karma came to me and placed her hand on my chest. “But you need to understand the mindset I was in. I’ll tell Nova the truth.”
“We’ll do it today.”
“Today? That’s too soon.”