Vincent

I couldn’t think straight.

I kept pacing in my penthouse, downing nearly a full bottle of wine over the course of an hour. My eyes kept shifting back to my phone, waiting for a call or message from Scarlet. She was with Colin right now, talking to Lizzie about the real reason they divorced ten years ago.

Colin had seemed sincere in his apology, but that didn’t make me stop hating him.

I would always hate him.

No amount of time would ever make his actions acceptable. There was no forgiveness for something that appalling. The idea of letting Scarlet be in an enclosed space with him set my teeth on edge.

It reminded me of Isabella. I wasn’t there to protect her. Now it was happening again… I wasn’t there for Scarlet.

After what seemed like an eternity, the phone finally rang.

“About fucking time.” I answered and placed the phone against my ear. “Sweetheart, how did it go?”

“It played out exactly as I suspected,” she said with a sigh. “Lizzie stormed out once she realized what her father did. Said she never wanted to speak to him again…and she apologized to me.”

“Is he gone?”

“Yes, he already left. He’s pretty down.”

Like I gave a damn. “You want me to come over?”

A smile formed in her voice. “Why do you think I’m calling?”

Despite the stressful day, I smiled too. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

My driver dropped me off at her building, and I took the stairs to her floor. Before I could knock, she opened the door and greeted me with a hug.

I held her in my large arms and squeezed her against me. My hand touched her soft hair, and I smelled her perfume. My face moved into her neck, and I felt her pulse right against my lips.

She squeezed me back, her fingertips dragging down the back of my jacket.

I held her that way for a while, finally feeling sane now that I could embrace her in my arms. That asshole was gone, and she was in the same perfect condition as I’d left her. “I’m sorry things didn’t go so well.”

“It has to be this way.” She pulled away so she could look up into my face. “But Lizzie will get through it. I’ll talk to her again and guide her back to her father. I don’t blame her for storming out because it’s a lot to take in. She thought she knew her father…and then realized she didn’t know him at all.”

“Yeah, I’d be devastated too.”

“It’s a new beginning…baby steps.”

“I’m glad she apologized to you.”

“Me too. And I told her about you…she wants to meet you.”

“Really?” I asked.

She nodded. “And I know you aren’t going to like this, but…I would really like it if we could all have dinner together.”

“Of course, we can. I’ve been looking forward to it.”

“No…I mean with Colin.”

I didn’t like that one bit. “He’s not in your life anymore, so I don’t see why he needs to be included.”

“Because we’re starting over. Colin wants to marry this woman, and I want to be with you. It would be nice if Lizzie could have both of her parents in the same room at the same time. He seemed really sincere in his apology. He started crying in front of his own daughter…”

“If you expect me to ever pity that man, you’re wasting your time.”

“Vincent, please.”

I didn’t want to cooperate. I wanted to know Lizzie but not to spend time with that shithead. But I also wanted to make Scarlet happy. She’d been patient with me from the beginning, and she was great with my sons. She understood my pain over Isabella and never cared about sharing me. I should do the same for her and understand they were still a family, even if they were divorced. “Okay…but only because I love you so damn much.”

Her eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” She moved to her tiptoes and kissed me, her mouth pressing against mine.

I squeezed her into me, taking everything I could get.

“I’d offer you dinner, but I don’t want dinner.”

“I don’t want dinner either,” I said against her mouth. “Unless you’re the main course.”

---

A week later, Scarlet finally convinced Lizzie to have dinner with both of her parents—and me.

I was nervous as hell.

I’d never done this before, met a girlfriend’s child. There was so much pressure on the situation. I needed Lizzie to like me because I adored her mother. It would hurt me if my sons didn’t accept the woman I loved.

I had to make this work.

We arrived at the restaurant hand in hand. Lizzie was already there sitting at the table alone with a basket of tortilla chips and a cup of salsa. Her arms were crossed, and she didn’t look comfortable at all. But she looked just like her mother, exceptionally beautiful.

“Hey, honey.” Scarlet reached the table first and smiled down at her daughter.

“Hey, Mom.” She stood up and hugged her mom, giving her a long embrace that probably wasn’t normal. When she finally pulled away, she looked right at me.

I lost my footing for a second, but I recovered my confidence instantly. “Lizzie, it’s nice to finally meet you.” I extended my hand.

She took it without smiling. “You too.”

“Your mother has told me a lot about you… She’s told me everything, actually. She’s very proud of you.”

“Thanks. She’s told me a lot about you too.” She was taller than her mother and exceptionally thin. If she didn’t want to be a nurse, she could be a model instead. She was lucky she’d inherited her mother’s beauty. “But I already know who you are. I see you on TV a lot…you’re kinda famous.”

“Unfortunately,” I said with a smile.

“My mom told me you bought Platform since her boss was a jerk to her.”

I hadn’t anticipated her knowing that. My smile faltered. “I enjoy making your mother happy. It’s a hobby of mine.”

“Well, thank you. My mom is an incredible woman, and she works really hard. It’s nice to know someone can take of her for a change.”

This was going a lot better than I expected. “I want to take care of her for a long time.”

Lizzie finally smiled before she turned back to the table. “So you have three sons, huh?”

“Yes.” I sat across from her while Scarlet sat beside her daughter. That meant I’d have to sit directly next to Colin, but I’d rather be the one than Scarlet. And Lizzie wouldn’t want to sit beside him either. “They’re all grown men. My middle one just got married and is starting a family.”

“That’s exciting,” she said. “My mom has pestered me about grandkids a few times…”

Scarlet shrugged. “I’m not getting any younger.”

“Your mother tells me you’re a nursing student,” I said. “That’s a very noble profession.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I really enjoy it. You’re there with the patient through every step of their recovery. I enjoy having that intimate kind of relationship. Doctors are in and out…but you’re always there.”

“That’s great,” I said. “Your mother is very proud.”

“Well, she would be proud of me no matter what I did,” Lizzie said with a laugh.

Scarlet smiled and wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. She kissed her on the forehead then squeezed her into a hug.

Lizzie let the touch linger even though she was uncomfortable.

I liked watching the happiness in Scarlet’s eyes, seeing the way she loved her daughter the way I loved my kids. That was one thing we had in common. Our hearts lived outside our bodies when it came to them.

Scarlet pulled away and rubbed Lizzie’s back. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

My eyes softened at their interaction, seeing so much of Scarlet in Lizzie it was like they were sisters. She was much younger than any of my kids, so I saw her as more of a child than an adult, even though it was a ridiculous thing to think.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet your father,” Scarlet said. “He’s excited to see you.”

Lizzie immediately tensed at the mention of her father. “I don’t know, Mom. I can’t believe he did that to you.”

“It was ten years ago,” Scarlet said gently.

I didn’t give a shit how long ago it was.

“It doesn’t matter, Mom,” Lizzie whispered. “It was wrong.”

“Yes,” Scarlet said. “But I want you to forgive him. He’s your father, and I would never want you to hate him.”

“How can you be so calm about it?” Lizzie asked.

“Because I know he’s sorry,” Scarlet said. “I know he’s not the same man. You shouldn’t punish someone for who they used to be. It’s irrelevant at this point. I would much rather we be a family than be separated.”

She was far too kind.

Lizzie sighed. “It’ll take me some time to feel that way…”

“That’s okay,” Scarlet said. “Baby steps.”

Colin arrived a moment later, doing the walk of shame as he entered the restaurant. He didn’t greet Scarlet or try to hug Lizzie. He just sat down, bringing the awkward tension with him.

I would never shake his hand or make him feel welcome around me. He would always be on eggshells in my presence, a shadow of a threat constantly on his mind. I wouldn’t raise a hand or cause problems on Scarlet’s behalf.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Colin finally said to Lizzie. “I’m glad you met Vincent. He’s a nice guy.”

I wore the same expression, but I felt the surprise in my chest.

“Yeah,” Lizzie said. “I like him a lot.”

Now my heart thudded again, this time with excitement. My eyes immediately went to Lizzie’s face, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. Then my gaze shifted to Scarlet.

She was grinning at me—the happiest woman in the world.

---

“She adores you.” Scarlet sat beside me in the back seat of the car as my driver took us back to my place.

“That’s a little strong…”

“She does.” Instead of sitting against the other window, she sat beside me in the middle of the seat. Her hand was on my thigh, her nails painted vibrant red. “Colin mentioned your conversation in the bar to Lizzie. That’s how it got started. I told her I’d been seeing you for a while, and I told her what you did with Platform… She was impressed. She knows you care about me to do all those things.”

Now I got even more satisfaction from yelling at Colin. “That’s good to know.”

“I’m so relieved…you don’t even know.”

“You really thought she wouldn’t like me?”

“She never gave any of my old lovers a chance.”

I tried not to get jealous when she mentioned the other men she’d been with. It was ridiculous to feel that when I’d been married to the love of my life. Completely hypocritical. I swallowed the emotion and pretended it never happened. “I’m different. I wasn’t going to give up until I had her seal of approval.”

“You’re right…I should have assumed.” She linked her arm through mine and rested her head on my shoulder. “I’m excited that we can both spend time with her. I want you to be part of her life.”

Scarlet seemed certain she was spending her life with me. But honestly, I felt the exact same way. The only reason why I didn’t ask her to marry me was because it seemed too soon. Maybe in a few months, I would reconsider the idea. But for now, what we had was perfect. The fact that it was enough for her meant a lot to me. She never applied the pressure, but she always showed her commitment. “I just got my first daughter… I wouldn’t mind having a second.”

My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, so I glanced at the name on my watch. It was Diesel. If it were someone else, I would have just ignored it because it was past seven. I answered. “Hey, Diesel.”

“Hey, Dad. What are you doing?”

“I’m heading home with Scarlet. What are you doing?”

“I wanted to see if you could stop by. Jax and Brett are here too. We have some news.”

I grinned because I already knew what the news was. I could barely contain my excitement. “We’ll be right there.”