Sweet Sins (6 page)

The hatred burned in her eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Hallelujah.

“But you and I will never be friends. I don’t ever want you to speak to me or look at me. This is none of your business and you have no right sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. When the test proves that Mike is the father, I will tell him what you did, and I can promise you, you will not be his best man on Saturday.”

The threat got under my skin. Mike would be pissed but he would understand. If the baby really was his, I’d be able to accept her hostility knowing my brother wasn’t being used. I’d do anything for him, even if that risked losing him at the same time. “Fine.”

She grabbed her purse then marched out the door.

I followed behind her, dreading this.

When we got into the room, I spoke to the laboratory scientist. “The test takes two days?” That was just enough time. According to my research, it was a quick procedure.

“That’s for mail in deliveries. For coming to the lab, about 24 hours.”

That was good news. “Can you do it quicker?”

“It usually takes a few hours and then we fill out the results the following day.”

“What if I gave you an incentive to speed things along?” I always resulted to bribery.

He smirked. “A few hours.”

I pulled out the cash and discreetly handed it to him. “Call me as soon as you know.”

Cassandra gave me a cold stare. “I want a hard copy of the results for proof.”

“You’d think I lie?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore.” She walked away and headed to the door.

On the drive home, she was silent.

I needed to make sure I got her back to the house and back to work before Mike knew anything. I didn’t want to tell him anything until I had the results. Depending on what the results wew, it could drastically change the conversation.

I pulled into her driveway then got out to open her door.

“I got it.” She stepped out and slammed the door. “Bye.”

I walked her to the door because I was still a gentleman. “Cassandra, it’s nothing personal.”

“Don’t talk to me.”

I sighed and watched her open the door.

“I’m telling him as soon as he gets home. So if you don’t want to be a coward and talk to him yourself, now is your chance.” She slammed the door in my face.

I wasn’t expe
cting her to react this way. A test was a reasonable request after what Zander just said. This was my brother we were talking about. I had to do the right thing.

When I got back to the building, I walked into my office and stared at my phone, waiting for the results to come in. It was still early in the day, so I should get the results before we clocked out. I sincerely hoped Mike would understand my actions.
If not, I might have to bring my wife into this.

I tried to distract myself through the day so I wouldn’t think about it. I caught up on paperwork and checked my emails. I had to sign off on a few contracts and
had a short meeting. But it didn’t distract me for long. When my phone rang on the desk, my heart moved into my throat.

I answered it. “Sean Preston.”

“It’s Dr. Thomas,” he said. “I have your results.”

I held my breath.

“The DNA matches.”

Relief washed through me. “You’re sure?”

“No doubt.”

“Thank you. Can you send me a copy?”

“Yep. I already sent one to Ms. Riley.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” He hung up.

Thank god. I was so glad the baby was my brother’s. That didn’t necessarily rule out the fact she may have slept with
Zander, but that wasn’t for me to decide. I stalled as long as possible, not wanting to face my brother. When I waited as long as I could, I walked into his office.

Mike was still in a sour mood, even at the end of the workday. Zander really got under his skin. “What?” he barked.

If I could postpone this until he was in a better mood, I would. But I knew Cassandra would pounce on him the moment he walked into the door. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“What?” He leaned back in his chair then spun his pen through his fingers.

“You’re going to want to kill me, and I totally understand why. But just hear me out until I’m done.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not liking this…”

“It doesn’t get better.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I knew you would never ask Cassandra to have a paternity test, so I…asked her myself.”

“You
did what?” He was on his feet quicker than I could react. “How dare you ask my fiancé that!”

“I was just trying to protect you.”

“If I want a test, I’ll ask myself.” His eyes glowed with deadly threat. I knew he wanted to punch me right in the throat.

“I got the results back—”

“What?” His eyes were wider than I’d ever seen him. “You took her to get a test done without even fucking telling me about it? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I had to know before you married her.”

“Fuck you, asshole.” His shoulders stiffened while he stared me down. “I could kill you right now.”

I knew he meant it. “I know you said you trusted Cassandra, but I had to make sure. After Zander came in and dropped that bomb on us, I had to know.”

Mike came around the desk, his hands clenching. Quick like a cat, he lashed out and grabbed me by the throat, squeezing hard. “You motherfucker. She’s my fiancé. If I wanted a paternity test, I would have asked for it. You had no right to go to her and force her to do that. This has got to be the worst shit you’ve ever pulled.”

I didn’t fight back and let him release his anger.

He shook me hard. “This is my relationship and I make the decisions, not you. Even if she did lie to me and the baby isn’t mine, that’s my mistake to make. I choose to trust Cassandra and give her everything I have. If she burns me, so be it. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He released me and pushed me against the wall. “You crossed a line.”

I rubbed my throat and coughed. “You’re my brother. I was protecting you.”

He stared me down, the rage burning. “I can’t believe you would that to my girl.”

“Dad said we should get a paternity test too.”

“I don’t care what dad said! This isn’t about him.”

“You’re telling me that her ex asking for a paternity test didn’t make you blink an eye?  He has no reason to lie!”

“All I know is that my fiancé wouldn’t lie to me.” His face contorted in pain. “If I get home and she isn’t there, I’ll never forgive you for this.”

“She knows it was all me,” I said immediately. “I told her you had nothing to do with this.”

“Even so, if you fucked up my relationship with her, I’ll never speak to you again. I mean it.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.”

“You think that means shit to me? You knew exactly what you were doing. You’re not stupid—despite what I may think. This is so fucked up. I don’t even know where to begin.”

I felt like shit, but I still believed in my actions. “Let me tell you the results.”

“No,” he snapped. “I don’t want to know.”

“What? I went through all this trouble and you
don’t want to know if you’re the father or not?”

“I don’t need to know. That test will tell me what I already know. I meant what I said, I don’t need a test to tell me I’m the father of Cassandra’s child. Maybe you didn’t trust her and thought she was lying, b
ut that’s your opinion, not mine. You had no right to force her to have the test. I’ll never forgive you for this, Sean.”

That hit me like a freight train. “Mike, I was just looking out for you.”

“Fuck you.” The venom seeped from his voice. He grabbed his bag then threw it over his shoulder. “I need to get home. I just hope she’s still there.” He walked out and slammed the door hard.

I stood there, feeling like shit.

6

Mike

I hauled ass down the country road to my house. Cassandra didn’t have a car so she was stranded at the house, but she could still have someone come get her. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t too late. She had to know that I didn’t have anything to do with my brother’s rash decision. She needed to know I trusted her and had since the beginning.

I parked in the driveway then killed the engine. Leaving my bag in the passenger
seat, I sprinted to the door then fumbled with my keys to get them in the lock. As soon as the door opened, the alarm screeched in my ears. I cursed then entered the code so the damn thing would turn off.

When everything was under control, I look
ed for Cassandra.

She was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book.

“Baby, I had nothing to do with it.” I rushed to her then got on my knees, placing my chin on her thigh. “I never would have asked you to do that. Never. Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” My hands circled her waist and I anchored myself to her.

She moved her fingers through my hair. “I’m not mad at you.” Her voice was quiet, calming me. “You didn’t know what was going on. I know.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and closed my eyes. “You should have called me. I would have beaten the shit out of my brother.”

“I handled him on my own.”

I lifted my chin from her thigh then looked up at her. “I don’t need the results. I know you didn’t lie to me. I don’t care what Zander said. He’s just saying this to break us up. It’s a pathetic last attempt.”

She smiled down at me. “I’m glad you realize that.”

I grabbed her hand and kissed it. “If you said you didn’t sleep with him, I believe you.”

“Did Sean tell you the results?”

“No. And I don’t want to know.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I trust you, Cassandra. I already know what the test says.”

She leaned down and kissed me on the head. “This is what I’ve always wanted.”

“What?” I whispered.

“To be with a man I trust implicitly, and for him to trust me back. As long as we have that, nothing will tear us apart, not now, not ever.”

I pulled her to the edge of the chair then moved between her thighs, my face pressed to her stomach. I rubbed her thighs while I sat there quietly, enjoying the silent moment. She wasn’t leaving me. She didn’t hate me. “I’m sorry about Sean.”

She sighed. “I was very upset with the way he spoke to me. But deep down, I know he was just trying to protect you.”

“He could have told me to have a paternity test. Forcing you to do it is unacceptable. This is my marriage. He needs to back off.”

“You know Sean, he’s never been normal.”

“Did he touch you?” I demanded.

“No.”

If he had, I’d kill him. “Baby, I’m so sorry about all of this. The last thing I want to do is make you question your decision to marry me. The request for the test was out of line. I never would have asked you that.”

She cupped my cheek. “First of all, only you can make me question our marriage. No one else. And secondly, it wasn’t an unreasonable request. If you asked me to do it, I would have done so in a heartbeat with no resentment. I have nothing to hide. But it pissed me off that your brother came here and forced me to do it. Our relationship is none of his business. I used to respect Sean, but that crossed a line. Just because he didn’t agree with the decision didn’t mean he had the right to change it. And I hope the results made him feel like shit.”

I already knew what they said. I wasn’t surprised. “I’m sure they did.”

“I’m not sure if I want him to be your best man anymore. It’s hard for me to look at him knowing what he did. To be called a liar to your face by your brother-in-law isn’t exactly nice. He said he didn’t trust me and couldn’t. It’s just…we’re supposed to be
a family. And families trust each other.”

I was pissed at Sean but I hadn’t had time to think about the wedding. I assumed he would be my best man because he was my brother. We’d been through a lot together. He pissed me off more times than I could c
ount, but this was different. If I ever did the same thing to Scarlet, Sean would turn his back on me. When it came to his wife, he was a different person. And when it came to Cassandra, so was I. “I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s your decision,” she said. “But he and I will never be the same—not after that.”

Why did Sean have to ruin this?
“Yeah…”

She cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry Zander tried to manipulate you.”

“It’s okay. I saw right through it.”

“I just want us to be happy. I don’t want anymore bullshit.”

“Then let me kill him.”

She smirked then ran her fingers through my hair. “Violence solves nothing.”

“Yes, it does. It’ll cure my headache immediately.”