CANE

I’d been dreading this morning all week long. I sat at my desk, sipping on the coffee a new intern had delivered, when Cora walked in. “Sir, she’s here,” she announced, worry swirling in her eyes.

I groaned, placing my cup down and pushing out of my chair. “Let’s get this over with. Send her in.”

With a nod, Cora took off. Several seconds later, there she was.

Eden St. Claire.

Don’t get me wrong, Eden was a very good looking woman. She had smooth, topaz skin and had aged nicely. Her dark hair was straightened, reaching just past her shoulders, and large diamonds were in her ears. I’m certain with a father as rich as Gerald Miller, they were real diamonds. She was easy on the eyes—eye candy, as many men would say—but her inner flaws made her less than appealing.

“Eden,” I bellowed, stepping around the desk and extending my arm to offer a hand.

“Mr. Cane,” she said in response, grabbing my hand and shaking it. She looked deep into my eyes, a smirk on her lips. “You look great.”

“As do you.” I released her hand, gesturing to the chairs behind my desk. “Sit, please,” I said, walking back to my chair. She sat first, and I placed my elbows on the desktop while she pulled a folder from under her arm.

She placed it on the desk and opened it, peering up at me beneath lashes that were caked with mascara. “You have more tattoos since college,” she noted.

“I’d prefer that we not rehash past history. Let’s keep this professional.”

She paused, picking her head up to meet my eyes. “Do you really think I came all this way just to talk business? I mean, I knew you were a bit dim in college at times, but didn’t realize it would carry over the years.”

“Insulting me won’t heal old wounds, Eden. Look, I apologize for what happened. Trust me, I wish I’d just told you that I wasn’t going to go.”

She fixed her jaw, lowering her head and flipping through the paperwork. “Honestly, these papers would have been so simple for me to scan and send for you to print and sign, but I wanted to see the look on your face when you saw me.”

I sat back in my chair. “What did you think I would do? Get nervous?”

“Are you?” she challenged.

“Not at all.”

Her tongue ran over her lips. “I hear you are engaged. When’s the wedding.”

“Next fall.”

“Hmm.” She smirked. “Let’s hope you don’t stand the bride up at the altar like you did me at the airport.”

“Not going to happen.” I held both hands out, as if the answer were right in front of us. “She’s the love of my life.”

Her eyes narrowed as she slid several sheets of paper across my desk. “Who is she, anyway? A lot of people have been wondering who this lucky lady is.”

“Her name is none of your concern.” I grabbed a pen, reading over the first sheet. I’d read them before, but I didn’t trust Eden, and I wouldn’t put it past her changing terms to make me look like a fool in the end. I signed it after reading it, and as I went to the next sheet, Eden stood and walked around the office.

“Are you ashamed of her?” she asked, looking out the window. “Like you were ashamed of me?”

“Why do you still hold onto that anger?” I questioned, frowning. “It was years ago. We were kids.”

“Yes, but I really liked you, and you didn’t even give me a fair chance.”

My nostrils flared, and I shook my head, reading over the next page carefully before signing.

“As I recall,” I murmured, “I gave you many fair chances. Shit happens. Most people learn to let it go. We weren’t compatible.”

“You weren’t trying to be compatible,” she spat, folding her arms. She looked me over in my chair. “You just thought you were better than me.”

“That’s far from true. I assumed I wasn’t enough for you, and I let it go. Don’t tell me you haven’t met anyone after me? I’m certain you have.”

“I have,” she declared, coming closer to the desk. “And he was great. We were together for four years…but apparently I was too much for him too.”

“There are men out there who desire the things you do. Maybe you’re just choosing the wrong men.”

She scoffed, and before I knew it, she was standing at the edge of my desk, only a few steps away from me. Her hand touched my shoulder, and I glared up at her. “Eden, you need to get your hands off of me and take a seat.”

“God, I used to love that,” she sighed. “Your bossiness. The possessiveness. I always knew you’d end up being your own boss one day.”

I clenched my jaw. She started to move behind me but I pushed out of my chair, frowning. “Is this why you came? Because you think something will happen between us?”

She simply smiled. Nothing more.

“Okay, let me fill you in on something,” I snapped, taking a step closer. “I love my fiancée. I’ve been in love with her for years, and it doesn’t stop now, just because someone from my past comes knocking on the door. There is nothing between us, Eden, so just back off and do your damn job.”

“Or what, Cane? You’ll tell my father?” She gave me a smug smile. “Did you notice he and I don’t have the same last names?” She looked me over. “Yeah, it’s because he’s a lying bastard who went behind his wife’s back to sleep with a woman named Valerie St. Claire. My mother didn’t think he was worthy to have a child named after him. His wife couldn’t have kids, so of course she resents me for being a living, breathing creation of his. Every time I see her, I see the hate in her eyes, but you know what? I don’t care, because I am his only child, and I have him wrapped around my finger, and she knows she’ll never be able to get rid of me. My father already knows how I am. He knows that I like to take what I want; he’s fine with it as long as I don’t disrupt his plans.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but there was a knock on my door. Cora popped her head in, and Eden stepped back, turning her back to us and looking out the windows again.

“Sir, your fiancée is here. She said she needs to speak with you.”

I narrowed my eyes then looked over Cora’s shoulder at Kandy, who was standing in front of Cora’s desk with a small smile. She gave me a cute wave, but her eyes were full of worry. It wasn’t like her to just show up without letting me know first. Something wasn’t right.

“Send her in,” I insisted, grabbing my pen and signing the final paper. “Miss St. Claire was just leaving.” I stacked the papers to line them up then handed them to Eden with a dismissive glance. Cora walked back out, nodding and saying something to Kandy, and when Kandy came into the office, she rushed my way, throwing her arms around me. Her lips found mine along the way, and I kissed her back, groaning a little as she deepened it. “Kandy?” I breathed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just have something to tell you. You left early this morning, so I didn’t get the chance. Thought I would surprise you.” Her eyes shifted over to Eden, who had walked up to the desk to collect the papers and put them back in her folder.

“Well, hello,” Eden said to her, wearing that same smug smile she had on earlier. “I’m Eden St. Cl—”

“I know who you are,” Kandy interrupted, giving her a frosty glare.

“Oh. You do?” Eden smiled, sliding her eyes over to me. “You’ve told her all about me, huh, Cane?”

“I don’t keep secrets from her.”

“Is that your thing now? Honesty? Gotta tell ya, it doesn’t really fit you.”

“You can leave now, Eden,” I said as calmly as possible, wrapping my arm around Kandy’s waist.

“Oh, don’t worry. I was just going.” She tucked the folder under her arm. She stopped a few steps away from us on the way out, putting her attention on Kandy. “I didn’t catch your name,” she said.

“It’s Kandy.”

“You are very young, Kandy.” Eden smirked at me. “He’ll definitely end up leaving you at the altar.”

She trotted her way out, and Kandy watched her go until she could no longer see her. When Eden was nowhere in sight, Kandy turned to me with a grimace. “You didn’t tell me she was that pretty!”

“What?” I hissed. “She doesn’t look better than you, Kandy.”

“Oh, please. Bullshit.”

I walked around her, closing my office door.

“I told you I had a meeting with her today. Is that why you showed up? I thought you trusted me.” I stood in front of her, folding my arms.

“Get over yourself, Cane. That’s not even why I’m here. To be honest, I completely forgot about the meeting with your nymphomaniac ex-girlfriend.” She had that crease in her forehead, the one where I knew she was mad, but it made her look too damn cute and innocent to take seriously.

“What’s wrong then?” I reached out, reeling her in by the waist.

“Is she going to be a problem?” she asked, pointing back with her thumb. “Because if she is, I want you to know that I’m not in the mood for it, okay? And what the hell did she mean you’ll be leaving me at the altar? What kind of person says that?”

“Kandy, she is not going to be a problem, all right? She’s just trying to get under your skin. That’s it. She’s still living in the past, but I’m moving forward. You have nothing to worry about.”

She combed her fingers through her hair. “Okay…whatever. Look.” She grabbed my hands and squeezed them. “I know you said we aren’t supposed to keep secrets from each other, but there’s something I have to tell you.”

My brows pulled together. “What is it?”

Her throat bobbed, and with an exasperated breath, she dragged me to my chair and made me sit, then sat on my lap. “Okay, remember when I said was visiting my mom for lunch yesterday?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, we didn’t just have lunch. She took me to see my gynecologist again.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“Because…” She bit her bottom lip. “Okay, here’s the thing. I haven’t been feeling well the past few days. It started big time a couple days ago, when you were out of town. Lora took me to get a pregnancy test, and when I took it…it came back positive.” She looked me in the eyes, and I heard my pulse in my ears, slow and deep, as she said the words I never thought I would hear. “I’m pregnant, Cane.”