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2024-03-07 13:33:11ALINE
I was running late, and if I didn’t make up the time, I wouldnever hear the end of it from Freedom. And it wasn’t even my fault.Freedom had sent me a text thirty minutes ago saying that she’d gotten discharged from the hospital and was on her way to the airport. Then she’d asked if I’d needed her to do anything. Sure that I had everything under control, I’d told her not to worry about it. I’d taken care of it all.Except I’d made the mistake of calling Mom and Dad instead of texting to let them know that Freedom and I would be on our flight soon. They’d known about Freedom being in the hospital, and I’d been surprised that they hadn’t flown over here as soon as I’d gotten off the phone with them that day. They’d also surprised me by not constantly calling me to check on us. Until I’d called them this morning, I’d thought it was because they’d trusted me to take care of things on my own.Now I knew th
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The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 118
EOINAlec was frazzled enough that he’d referred to this beingEvanne’s eighth – instead of ninth – birthday at least three times in the past two hours, but I’d never seen him happier. He’d always loved Evanne and had never hidden it from anyone, but even just a year ago, he hadn’t looked as comfortable as he did right now. For example, my uptight brother was smiling at a pair of third graders who almost knocked over the punch bowl.I knew a lot of it was due to the woman with him. Not Keli, though she had helped plan the party and was around, trying to make up for all the shit she’d put him through. No, it was Lumen Browne who’d made the difference. Everyone here could see it.Maybe I should’ve felt sorry for Keli, seeing the man she clearly still wanted in love with someone else, but after all the shit she’d pulled, I didn’t have any sympathy for her at all. I’d always be glad that Alec had met her because Evanne was
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 119
ALINEI was thirsty, and I had to pee.Those two thoughts were the first indication that a significant amount of time had passed. And then my brain asked the next logical question, which was: passed since what?For a few panicked seconds, I couldn’t remember, and then it came back with horrifying clarity.Three men with guns pulling me from the taxi I’d been taking to the airport. Shoving me into the back of a van. A hood over my head. Wrists restrained. An awful, jolting ride that seemed to go on for days.I’d tried talking to them, telling them that I was an American teacher on my way home, but they’d ignored me. At first. Finally, one of them had snapped what I’d assumed meant shut up because he’d slapped the side of my head when I’d said that I didn’t speak much Persian.The van hadn’t had any seats, and with my hands bound in front of me, I’d had nothing to protect me from being flung all over the p
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 120
EOINI’d flown up with my parents and some of my siblingsyesterday, but I didn’t plan on flying home with them tomorrow. That was why I’d gotten a hotel room instead of taking Alec up on his offer of staying at his house. I planned on spending a couple extra days up here, some because I planned on joining Alec in chaperoning a class trip Evanne’s class was taking next week, but more because I wanted some distance to make a plan.I’d meant what I’d said to Alec about doing some sort of security or investigative work, but I hadn’t come up with anything more than that. I didn’t know if I wanted to try doing it on my own or if I wanted to look for an entry-level job somewhere. I didn’t know where I wanted to live.But those were things I planned to think about tomorrow. Tonight, I had something else in mind, and it was the other reason why I’d decided to stay in a hotel instead of at Alec’s.When I’d asked the de
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 121
ALINEI’d never realized how aware I’d always been of time as awhole. Years and months and weeks. Days. Hours. Minutes. I still knew what year and month it was, and I was pretty sure that a full week hadn’t gone by, but that was about all I knew. I was unsure, not only of the day but the date as well.I’d been taken on Friday, November fifteenth. I knew that for certain since I’d been on my way to the airport. I liked to think I would’ve known it anyway, but I wasn’t anticipating similar future circumstances with which I could make a comparison, so there wasn’t a point in dwelling on that particular thought.What I definitely didn’t know was how long they’d had me. Everything that’d happened to me would have been understandably disorienting on its own. Taken altogether, it was overwhelming.Kidnapped. Blindfolded. Bruised from the rough drive. Sporadic food and water. Thrown around. Yelled at in a dialect I didn’t know. Kept in a place without windows.That last one was re
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 122
EOINI counted last night a success. Nothing to brag about, but it’dbeen what I’d needed. A simple fuck to make sure I could actually do it and get us both off, which I had. Even better, I hadn’t needed to find a way to tell Yvonne that I didn’t want her sleeping over. A few minutes after we’d finished, she’d used the bathroom to clean up, then had gotten dressed and left with a simple thanks for the good time and thanks for your service.I’d slept pretty well afterward too. It’d only taken me a half hour to fall asleep, and I’d only woken up once with a nightmare I couldn’t really remember. When I’d gotten back to sleep after that, I hadn’t woken up until a few minutes ago, and it was already six-thirty in the morning.Now, I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, my hands folded behind my head, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do today. It was Sunday, so I was leaning toward research and enjoying the q
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 123
EOINI KNEW A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD CALL MY FAMILY SNOBS FOR HAVINGour own plane – multiple planes, actually, when counting the entire family as a whole. Much of the reason we practically owned our own fleet had less to do with us not wanting to fly commercial and more to do with practicality since we had business all over the world.For example, a flight that took a little over two hours in the air meant around twice that amount of time spent. I understood why there was so much security, and I agreed that it was necessary, but in situations like this, waiting in line for who knew how long would’ve driven me crazy. With a private plane, that wasn’t an issue. I was able to be in Los Angeles and on my way to Cain’s apartment two-and-a-half hours after I checked out of my hotel.When he opened the door, his face was so grim that, for a moment, I thought the girl we were supposed to rescue had been killed. Instead, he steppe
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 124
ALINEDr. O’Keefe’s first name was Hammond, which was apparentlyhis mother’s middle name. He’d never been married, and his entire life had been dedicated to his work at Signature Care Emergency Center. Dana had come to Houston from Dallas and was a single mom to a now-adult daughter named Shannon. She hadn’t said where her daughter’s father was, but something about the way Hammond had softened when she’d said she was a single mom made me think that whatever had happened had been traumatic enough that it still hurt.They’d been here the longest, a little over a week before I was taken, though none of us could really say for certain. They confirmed that our captors never kept enough of a schedule for us to figure things out. Whether that was intentional for that specific reason or simply how they ran the place, we didn’t know.All of us had done ransom videos, but none of us had heard anything about the status of our ransoms, wh
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law 125
EOINI definitely wanted to meet Freedom Mercier.I’d once seen Cain reduce a smartass private to tears with two sharp words and a glare.Freedom had kept him on the phone for forty-three minutes, arguing about why she wasn’t going to fly back to L.A. without her sister. He’d gone back to what I assumed was his bedroom to make the call, so I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but every once in a while he’d get loud enough for me to know he was still talking to her.Any woman who could go toe to toe with Cain was someone I wanted to meet…only under the right circumstances, though, because I had a feeling Freedom could be fucking scary if she was pissed.And if she was anything like her sister, I could see why Cain had immediately agreed to help her. I had a feeling the Mercier women were the kind who stuck with a man.Even from far away.Like halfway around the world away.I’d watched Ali
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EOINI’D JUST BEEN READY TO CALL ALINE WHEN A TEXT CAME THROUGHthat she was coming back and we needed to talk. I went back and forth between anxiety and relief while I waited for her. We couldn’t keep doing this.Our lives were linked, and we didn’t have the luxury of waiting until we had our shit figured out before deciding to start a family. The baby was on the way, and no matter what she and I disagreed about, I had no doubt that we were on the same page when it came to being the best parents we could be. To do that, we needed to work this out sooner rather than later.Since I didn’t know if Aline had her key, I unlocked the door and then spent the next fifteen minutes or so pacing from one end of the living room to the other and back again.When she came in, I wanted to just blurt out an apology and explanation, but I also didn’t want to come on too strong. How the fuck did people do this? How did they know what to say or how to say it? I didn’t know the ans
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EOINTHE MOMENT THE WORDS CAME OUT OF ALINE’S MOUTH, I COULD SEEthat she wanted to take them back. Not because she regretted accepting my proposal or didn’t want to live with me, but because blurting it out like that had been like dropping a bomb.Now, we were just waiting for it to explode. I could read it on their faces. I read it on her face too. She realized the impact of what she’d done.And then Freedom turned on me, her expression furious.“What the hell did you do?!” She pointed at me, her clear blue eyes flashing. “How dare you take advantage of her when she was upset! Out on her own for the first time and vulner–”“We’re engaged,” Aline cut her off, clearly deciding to get it all out now that things were in motion for a confrontation. “And I’m pregnant.”Freedom’s jaw dropped, and her face went white. Aline’s jaw tightened. “So, back off.”“What?”The word came out as a whisper, confirming for me that Aline had never spoken to Freedom that way before.“Eoin is m
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EOINIF I DIDN’T QUIT SNEAKING LOOKS AT ALINE, SHE WAS GOING TO CATCHme and want to know what the hell I was doing. Then I’d be put in the very awkward position of either lying to her and her figuring it out or telling the truth and pissing her off. Neither scenario ended well for me.She’d agreed to tell my parents about our engagement and the baby, and I was going with her tomorrow to spend Christmas Day with her family. Both of those were things that I wanted, but I kept feeling like some other shoe was going to drop and ruin it. That she’d suddenly recognize the fact that she could do so much better than me and decide that, while she might want the baby, she didn’t want me along with it. Or she’d think about how pissed Freedom was going to be when she saw me and realize I wasn’t worth the headache.Death wasn’t the only thing that could take someone away.So, I kept watching her, paying close attention to every expression, to every shift in body language.I’d been worried at Marti
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EOINTHE SCENT OF PEACHES WOKE ME UP, AND IT TOOK A MOMENT FOR MEto remember why my bed smelled like fruit. Aline. My eyes opened, my need to reassure myself that she really was here greater than me wanting to sleep a little longer. Once I saw her, I couldn’t look away.We were both on our sides, her back to my front. Her body was curled up, making her look even smaller than she was, and a surge of protectiveness went through me. I slid my hand from her hip to her stomach, wondering when I’d be able to feel the changes to her body, when the baby would start to move, how big it was right now.Was it a boy or girl? Would Aline want to know before or have it be a surprise? When would we be able to tell?I had a lot of research to do, I realized. I wanted to do this right, and that meant not leaving everything up to Aline. Some of the questions colliding together in my brain were the kind that she and I could talk about. I could find the answers for all the others myself. S
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EOINI PUT MY PHONE DOWN ON THE COUNTER AND GOT A BEER FROM THEfridge. If I wasn’t driving anywhere tonight, I didn’t need to worry about how much I drank. If I couldn’t be with Aline, taking care of her, getting a little drunk sounded like a good idea. Not so much that I’d be hung over tomorrow, but enough to take the edge off.It was a hell of an edge. Pregnant.I was going to be a father.Maybe. Aline could decide to terminate the pregnancy, but after how her parents had struggled to have kids, I didn’t think that was going to be the route she took. If she did, I’d be there with her, but even as shell-shocked as I was right now, I was hoping she’d have the baby.My baby. Fuck.I needed to sit down, but the few chairs I had were covered with shit from my storage unit. The floor would have to do. I leaned back against my refrigerator and took a long drink.I’d never really thought about being a father. My parents never pressured any of us kids about giving them
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EOINI DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY ALINE WOULD – AGAIN – THINK I DIDN’Twant her. I knew her family was really overprotective of her, but I couldn’t imagine that translating into any type of emotional abuse. She was a certified genius and one of the most selfless people I’d ever met. And she was gorgeous. The fact that she’d been a virgin – barely even kissed if Freedom had been right about that too – confused the shit out of me because she had to have had guys all over her.Just the thought of any other man near her made my arms tighten around her. I still had my hand in her pants, could hear her ragged breathing slow and even out…and I was jealous of men I didn’t even know, men who might not even exist.Men I didn’t want to exist.I wanted to be it for her. The only man who’d ever know what she looked like when she came.Shit.The thought should have terrified me, but it didn’t. Even though I was painfully hard, I was content to stand here, holding her, rubbing her back with my free hand.
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ALINEEOIN’S PLACE WAS GORGEOUS. AND HUGE. NOT AT ALL WHAT I’D BEENexpecting, even after he’d told me that he’d leased a condo rather than an apartment. I’d already known that he’d come from a wealthy family, so it wasn’t the cost of a place like this that surprised me. It was more that this didn’t seem like the sort of place that a single, not-quite-thirty, former military man would live. This was more of a…family home.A beautiful one, but I was starting to feel like seeing all of it, being here with him while such a large question was looming over us, was untethering me from reality. I had experienced this strange disconnect only a few times in my life, most of them recently.“Hey.” His hands were on either side of my face, his skin hot against my cheeks. “It’s okay.”I looked up at him, and then his mouth was on mine, firm pressure without being aggressive, and the contact sent a wave of warmth washing over me, pushing away thoughts of anything else.This man could distract
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EOINMY BROTHER, ROME, HAD OUTDONE HIMSELF WITH THIS CONDO, ANDI’d made a point of telling him that when he’d met me there before I’d gone to pick up Aline this morning. I hadn’t, however, told him about what was going on.I wanted her to meet my family. I knew that by now, but I didn’t want it to happen with a question mark over our heads. So, until we got those test results, only Alec knew that this was a possibility. No matter what happened, though, I wanted her to see my new place because, at some point, I planned for it to be our place.Some of my tension had left when Aline had told me that she was okay and that the IUD debacle hadn’t been my fault, but it’d been such a small bit that as we moved into Playa Vista, my stomach was one giant knot of nerves. Most of it was because we still didn’t know for certain whether or not she was pregnant, but there was still a part of it that had to do with how she felt about my new home. I wanted her to love it.I took her hand as we w
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ALINEI DIDN’T KNOW IF I’D THROWN UP FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO BECAUSE Ihad morning sickness or if it’d been nerves, but either way, it hadn’t been pleasant. I’d been able to force down some crackers, and they’d helped with my upset stomach, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to completely quell my anxiety until I had the results of the blood test. Even if I was pregnant, the waiting was far worse than either answer would be.Eoin seemed to share my sentiments as he arrived nearly twenty minutes early, and apart from the drive, hadn’t been able to sit still. Even in the car, he’d been moving, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel or on his leg, flipping through radio stations, that sort of thing.The latter would have annoyed me normally, but nothing about this situation was normal. And if I were to be entirely honest, I didn’t mind the radio being on because neither of us had said more than a few words, and I preferred the background noise that prevented a total awkward silence betw
