Easton Read online

  “For veggie burgers?”

  “I’ve got a craving. I can’t help it.”

  Easton laughed. “I got no problem with it.” He was hungry and would eat anything right about now.

  Conversations filled the car about the new baby, the new software product. When Axton and Taylor were going to have another baby. If they were going to get a nanny. Easton hadn’t held the baby yet. There had been opportunities, but he’d always passed them by. He didn’t want to hold the baby.

  She was cute, no doubt about that, but children were no longer in his future. He’d made a vow to never have kids, to never pass these genes onto anyone else. This was the life choice he’d made for himself, and he wasn’t going to change it.

  Eric pulled up at the curb of the brand-new vegan place that had opened up. Easton hadn’t yet visited, but he’d heard amazing reviews of the food.

  He entered in behind his friends.

  In the corner, he noticed a child’s birthday party.

  He ignored the chaos and sounds of kids. Since making his vow to be childless, he’d noticed kids were everywhere. He couldn’t get away from them.

  They took a table as far away from the party as possible.

  “What do you guys want?” he asked.

  Easton got their orders, and Romeo decided to come and stand with him as they waited to be served.

  The place was really busy, and the scents were spicy and garlicky. It was incredible. His mouth was watering.

  The woman in front of him had beautiful blonde hair that reminded him a little of Scarlett. This woman’s hair had pink tips at the edges, and it was no longer down to her waist. The dress she wore was blue with multiple flowers on it. There was no denying the full hips and nice, curvy thighs.

  Her ass wasn’t too bad either. It looked full and round.

  Scarlett had been a curvy girl, but she’d been confident in her body. He’d seen her in a bikini as well, and she’d been so fucking hot. Some of the girls had tried to attack her with snide comments about her weight, but to him, she’d been perfect.

  The smile as well. He would never forget that smile.

  Telling the PI about her smile hadn’t exactly helped matters as the PI told him most girls you like have a pretty smile. His PI hadn’t been helpful, not even a little bit. His sarcasm was overrated as well.

  “Thank you so much.”

  The blonde turned around, and Easton felt like his entire fucking world had collided in on itself.

  No way.

  No fucking way!

  The woman his private investigator was supposed to be finding, the one who he said was going to be so freaking hard to find, was standing right in front of him.

  “Scarlett!”

  “Easton!”

  “Coming, Mom.”

  Easton turned his head and watched as a black-haired kid with brown eyes came rushing forward. Glancing up at the banner, he saw it read “Eleventh Birthday.”

  He turned back to Scarlett, who looked shaken.

  “You two know each other?” Romeo asked.

  “Mom, you ordered the chickpea patties, awesome.” The kid grabbed the tray, and Easton heard Romeo gasp.

  “Oh, fuck. Tell me that I didn’t just see a little Easton.”

  Easton looked toward Scarlett, who was staring at him.

  “He came when you said Easton.”

  She pushed her hair off her shoulder and stared right at him. “And?”

  “That’s my kid,” he said.

  “And?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “Do you guys really think you need to do this here?” Romeo asked.

  “Why didn’t I tell you? You really want me to answer that in front of your friend?”

  “That’s my son.”

  “That is not your son,” Scarlett said. “You contributed to his DNA, but other than that, he is all mine.” Scarlett stepped right up to him. “Today is his birthday. You better not do anything stupid to spoil this for him.”

  He didn’t get to say anything else as she spun on her heel, heading toward the party of twenty kids, boys and girls.

  “Did I … what … I’m now officially confused,” Romeo said.

  “Gentlemen, could you please make your order or allow others to,” the man behind the counter asked.

  Stepping forward, Easton placed the order, and as he waited to be served his food, he looked back toward the party.

  He had a kid.

  An eleven-year-old kid.

  A son named Easton.

  “Come on, Easton,” Romeo said, grabbing his arm and helping him. They grabbed their order, but he couldn’t look away from the small group.

  That was Scarlett. The girl from camp, and she had his son.

  “What’s going on?” Axton asked.

  “Erm, I don’t know if it’s my place to say anything,” Romeo said.

  Easton couldn’t even think. That little kid. The one standing in the center of all of his friends was his son. Scarlett sat off to the side and clapped her hands. To anyone else, she looked calm and relaxed. He knew differently. She wasn’t calm.

  Her gaze didn’t once drift over to him, but he had to wonder if she was aware of his presence as much as he was of hers.

  This couldn’t be happening. Not right now. He had a son.

  He and Scarlett had only been together a handful of times at camp. He’d been her first, and when the time had come for him to leave, well, he’d made sure she knew the truth about him and about their future together.

  “That’s my kid,” Easton said.

  All of his table looked toward the little boy.

  “Holy shit, he looks exactly like you when you were a kid,” Axton said.

  “I bet he’s bossy as shit too,” Karson said.

  “How can that be your kid?” Taylor asked.

  Easton looked toward Taylor. “Because Scarlett and I had sex.”

  “He’s eleven. That must mean you didn’t wait long after Carla’s death to move on.” Taylor went pale.

  He watched her and didn’t avert his gaze. “I didn’t.”

  He wasn’t going to lie to her or pretend something didn’t happen. Those three weeks were the best of his fucking life. They were the weeks he kept trying to forget along with other emotions but everything else he pushed to one side.

  “Oh.”

  “Taylor,” Axton said.

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “I was a teenage kid, Taylor. I didn’t say to you that I spent a great deal of time mourning.”

  “You spent no time.”

  “I’m not going to do this with you. Carla’s dead. You can’t handle this shit, then go. Leave. I’m not going to pretend I was some good little mourner when I wasn’t.” He saw Axton glaring at him.

  Taylor and Axton were speaking to each other in low tones. She didn’t leave. She sat there, and he felt the power of her glare as it singed his face. The burn was very much real.

  “I’ll stick around. See what you’re going to do.”

  “I’m not going to do anything.”

  “Aren’t you a little pissed you have a son and only now finding out about it?” Karson asked. “If that had been me, I’d be up in his mother’s face.”

  “You don’t know what I did to her.”

  “What did you do?” Taylor asked.

  Easton looked her way once again. “I’m not saying what I did or didn’t do. It doesn’t matter.” He picked up his burger, taking a bite. It was pretty good, but to be honest, there was only one thing he was interested in, and she was across the room.

  The kids sang to the kid; his kid, Easton. She called him Easton. That had to mean something after all this time. He wasn’t going to believe it didn’t have any meaning.

  They were together for a short time, but she could have named him anything else. The kid looked happy though. He laughed, and Easton sat there with his friends watching as his son opened his presents.

  He loo
ked so excited and happy. His own childhood hadn’t been so lucky. His father wasn’t ever going to win awards for dad of the year. He was in jail now, but his birthdays would come and go with a gift here or there. A car. A woman. Some money. Nothing was ever celebrated with cake.

  Scarlett was doing the right thing. His son had a cake. A party. Friends. They were all having a good time.

  Had they been in the city this whole time? How long had she been close by without him knowing it? It seemed so surreal to him for this to have happened.

  “Are you okay?” Romeo asked.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” They finished their meal, and his friends left the restaurant, heading outside. He’d already told them he wanted to try to talk to her again.

  The kids were doing some kind of game with one of the waiters, and he walked over to Scarlett.

  He watched her tense up as he got close.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Just leave. Please. Easton has already asked me who you are, and I don’t want any complications.”

  “He’s my son.”

  “I think we both know why you don’t know about him. I wasn’t going to come looking for you, Easton.”

  He pulled out his business card. “Please, I want to know everything, but I also get why you don’t want me to be part of his life. I wasn’t exactly a great role model. I get it. I do. But please, will you consider calling me?”

  She stared at his card and sighed, taking it. “Fine. I’m not promising I’ll get in touch or anything.”

  “He’s really mine,” he said, looking toward Easton.

  “I think you should go. Your friends are waiting for you.”

  Easton nodded. There was so much more he wanted to say, but instead, he took a step back, giving her the distance she needed. It wasn’t easy for him to do, and all he wanted was to ask questions, to get to know his son. To find out everything.

  He left the restaurant with one last lingering look. What struck him hard was he saw it. He saw any hope and dreams of a future vanish before his very eyes.

  “I know you saw it. The boy is yours, but Scarlett can never be. I saw the ring on her finger, Easton. She belongs to someone else,” Carla said.

  It shouldn’t matter to him about the ring, and yet, he couldn’t get it out of his head. Scarlett was married, which meant he couldn’t have her. Someone else was playing dad with his kid.

  He didn’t know what he could do about that.

  Chapter Five

  Over eleven years ago

  “You’re all by yourself again,” Scarlett said.

  Easton sat on a rock overlooking a lake. All camps seemed to be set up near a lake. This one didn’t have any known predators in it, but she hated to go swimming. It scared her in case there was something evil lurking beneath the depths.

  “I just want to be alone,” Easton said.

  “Okay.” She sat down beside him.

  From the moment Easton had joined them, she’d known he was different. His clothes screamed designer and expense, and his attitude told them he was used to getting what he wanted. No one wanted to be around him for fear of pissing him off. She didn’t give a fuck if he was happy about it or not. It wasn’t her place to tell him what he should or shouldn’t be.

  “This is a nice place,” she said.

  “I wanted to be alone. Are you stupid or something?”

  “Wow, look at someone who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Forgive me for wanting to include you.” She didn’t get up though. She merely sat beside him. Every now and again, he’d turn to look her way and he’d looked pissed off.

  She simply smiled at him, offering her best comfort face. It didn’t seem to work. He looked more pissed off with her than before.

  She had to work on that.

  “Look, I’m not here to join in with everything. I don’t want to be friends. I’m here to forget about something, and the only way I can do that is to be left alone.”

  “No, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. To forget about something, you need to be surrounded by people. When you’re with someone they can help you to make new memories. Being alone helps you to dwell on the pain and suffering of everything that is happening around you.”

  He turned to look at her, and she offered him her best smile. “You’re offering to help me forget.”

  “Why not? I like to help people.”

  Easton moved in close, and she couldn’t help but notice how sexy he was. For an eighteen-year-old, he certainly seemed way more mature than she thought was possible.

  When he stroked a finger down her arm, she knew he thought this meant something else. She smiled and took his hand. “I don’t mean that, Easton. Sex is not going to make whatever it is going on in your head easier. It’ll only make it harder.”

  “I know what can be harder.”

  This guy clearly had a lot more pain inside himself than he’d like others to believe.

  ****

  Scarlett Knight walked into her large kitchen. Easton, her son, had already rushed in, probably to find Liam and tell him all about his day. She had agreed to take him to the vegan restaurant for his birthday because he’d been begging. She’d put a generous donation into one of their many charities in order to make it so they would accept their very first birthday party.

  Opening the fridge, she pulled out a bottled water, unscrewing the cap and taking a long drink.

  She was so thirsty. Her mouth was dry.

  She’d gotten her body under control, but only just.

  What the fuck was Easton doing there? She knew who he was and where he worked. She’d followed the story when it was exposed about his father’s past dealings. The entire company’s parents as well. He was still with his friends, the ones he’d talked about all the time at camp. She wondered which one was Axton and if he still had an issue with that friend and his bossy ways.

  She wasn’t going to do this.

  Her time was better spent not thinking about seeing Easton today or that her son was close to his real father.

  “Knock, knock,” Liam said, entering the kitchen.

  Her husband.

  The man she had married.

  This man, five years ago, had helped her when no one else would. It had all come with a price, and it had been a price she’d been more than willing to pay to help her son.

  “Hey,” she said, offering him a smile. “You want one?”

  “Nah, I’ll take a coffee.” Liam stood at the island, tapping his fingers on the counter. His own wedding ring seemed blaringly obvious on his finger.

  Had Easton seen her ring? Did he even care? She honestly didn’t know what to think of what was happening.

  “So, Easton came and told me today that he saw another Easton.”

  She sighed. “And?”

  “And I find that incredibly odd. Don’t you? Easton would meet another Easton. It’s not a very common name.”

  “It’s a name.”

  “Yeah, and I also know the meaning behind it. You didn’t come to look for me when you came home. Why don’t you tell me what is going on?” Liam asked.

  “Why do you have to be so …. right all the time?”

  “It’s a natural gift.” Liam jumped up onto the counter as she started the coffee maker.

  “Where is Easton?”

  “In his room, playing with all the awesome gifts. I wish I could have been there, you know that.”

  “Of course I do.” She leaned against the counter. “It was his father. Easton, the guy he saw. It was him.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah.” She took a sip of her water, not really knowing what to say about that.

  “And how did it feel to see him after all this time?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” She pulled his card out of her pocket and handed it to Liam.

  “Easton Long, and you finally saw him.”

  “I did tell you before he was one of the Four Kings.” She didn’t know why she’d told Liam eve
rything about her life. Maybe it was so he knew what he was getting into with her. She didn’t come without excess, and Easton belonged to another guy that was a lot of baggage. She had told Liam the truth from the word go.

  “I know. I guess I always imagined him coming around before now.”

  “He didn’t know I was pregnant. I also told you about that,” she said.

  Liam still held the card.

  She poured him a coffee and handed it to him.

  Liam caught her wrist, pulling her close. “I was just surprised he wouldn’t come and try to look for you.”

  “I’ve told you, what we shared at camp, it wasn’t a love match.”

  “What was it?”

  “I don’t know. Sex, I guess.”

  Liam took her hand and kissed her knuckles. He did this often, and she always found it comforting.

  “Tell me, is he cute?”

  “I think he’s cute,” she said, giggling. This was one of the many reasons she adored Liam. Their relationship was purely platonic. She would be denying herself though if she wasn’t a little sad about that.

  Not only was he sexy, but he was one of the kindest, most generous men she’d ever met, and above all else, he took care of the both of them.

  He had also been thirty-four years old, and he’d needed her. She’d been hesitant to become his wife after only a couple of weeks of knowing him, but he’d given her an offer she couldn’t refuse.

  Not only would she have everything she had ever dreamed of, there would be love and security for her son. He’d provide him with everything he needed, a father figure, a friend, a confidant if she needed it. For Scarlett, he’d be the husband to provide so long as she offered her … female services, and not sex.

  She and Liam had never had sex in all their five years of marriage.

  Liam liked to play the field. He liked men and women, but he had an image to uphold. Their wedding had been sweet, set on a little beach. Liam always told her that privacy was key. With his history, he had to keep his life private. He’d not just come out of the world a thoroughbred businessman. From the age of eighteen, he’d gone into the army, and his career had kicked off, and he’d become one of the best damn soldiers, known for getting the job done. He’d advanced, becoming an agent for the country, to serve, protect, and to make sure people could walk the streets safely. He’d made a lot of enemies, and when he’d retired, he’d built this company, which had been handed to him as a reward, along with a new identity. His past life was one he kept a secret, and she had to play the role of his doting wife, to give his credentials a firm background. She didn’t know the full extent of his past, but she didn’t need to know. Liam controlled everyone and everything. He was one of the few businessmen in the world that didn’t flaunt his success.