stay,” I offer, looking back to Bethie.
She smiles sadly, shaking her head. “I want to. Maybe I can just hang out with Holden, help you with him?”
Bethie’s tone is almost begging. I nod my head once. Actually, having her help me with him would be amazing. I didn’t really like the idea of leaving him in the bedroom alone. He’s a good boy, but he’s two and curious.
She lets out a sigh of relief. Taking her hand in mine, I give her a gentle squeeze. Together we inhale a deep breath and let it out before we make our way to the people who are waiting for us. Landry immediately knows that something is up, but thankfully he doesn’t say anything. At least not yet.
LANDRY
By the time Bash and Hansen arrive, Laurent is practically three-sheets to the wind and Bethie looks seconds away from throwing up.
It’s going to be a great fucking night.
Honestly, I couldn't care less about whatever drama they have going on. The only thing I care about is Tennessee and Holden. We all sit down and I’m thankful that I went ahead and had the meeting catered.
The food is hot and fucking great, but I’m ready to get this done. “Dad, what’s happening here? Why did you invite us all here, together?” Lucinda asks, her gaze shifting over to Tennessee, then back to meet mine.
“Did any of you tell your mother about me and Tennessee?” I begin.
Laurent, Lawrence, and Lucinda share looks with one another. Usually, I can tell when they’re conspiring, but I don’t see it in this moment. Right now, they’re looking at one another as if they’re trying to guess who told. Which means that none of them probably did.
“I don’t think any of them did,” Hansen announces.
All of us turn our attention to him. He clears his throat, looking from me, to Tennessee, then back to me. I watch as he licks his lips, then takes a drink of water before he begins to speak.
“Susan had a PI follow you. It’s how she found out about Tennessee and since she already knew the basics about her, it wasn’t hard for this PI to dig around. She dug much deeper than I ever did,” he says, his gaze focused on me and nowhere else.
Arching a brow, I hope that he doesn’t go into detail about that, especially since I haven’t told Tennessee about that little thing that I had Hansen do when we first started seeing one another. I don’t want to tell her, never really did. Maybe one day, but not today.
“Oh god,” Tennessee moans. “She spied on me, on my past?”
Hansen clears his throat with a grunt and I instantly feel sick. Fuck. She’s never going to be okay with what I’ve done. That just means that she can never find out. With a small shake of my head, I jerk my chin toward him to continue.
“She did and when she did, she found out about Holden, about how he was conceived and who his biological father is.”
Nobody speaks. My children stare at us, Lucinda is judging as she tends to do, but she doesn’t know the circumstances and I hate that we have to tell everyone what they are. Sliding my hand across to Tennessee’s lap, I lace my fingers with hers. She grips my hand as if it’s a lifeline and I let her, feeling like a fucking heel.
“Funny how she could find him, but I didn’t even know who the hell he was,” Tennessee snaps.
“Honey,” I murmur, squeezing her hand again.
“No,” she whispers. “No.”
I can hear her voice crack and I know that she’s on the verge of tears. She’s tried to stay strong during all of this, but she’s breaking. I don’t blame her either. This is fucking bullshit and I’m the cause of it all.
It’s my fault.
If I hadn’t ever pursued her, none of this would have happened. If I had waited the way I knew in my head that I should have, then fuck me, this wouldn’t be happening. But then she wouldn’t be in my life, house, and in my bed. I wouldn’t have all of the joy that she and Holden bring to me each day, either.
“The man, whoever he is, he drugs my drink at a party, takes me upstairs and rapes me. He disappears, I never see him again and weeks later I find out I’m pregnant. No. She doesn’t get to find him. She doesn’t get to bring him back into