Diesel

“What’s up?” Brett walked into my office with a package under his arm.

I glanced up from my laptop. “Just working.”

“Bullshit. We both know you don’t work.” He grinned before he fell into the chair facing my desk. “How’s your lady?”

My lady. I liked that. “She’s doing well. Gets stronger every day.”

“I’ve been waiting for her to kill you, honestly.”

“Why?”

“She must be going crazy staying at home all the time. And if you’re her only company…” He shook his head. “That’s gotta be brutal.”

I grabbed the pen off the desk and considered throwing it right in his eye. “You gotta death wish today, Brett?”

“I just like pissing you off.”

“So yes?” I teased.

He set the box on my desk. It was wrapped in black paper with a black bow.

I eyed it without touching it. It wasn’t my birthday or Christmas, so I didn’t know what it was for. I cocked an eyebrow and asked the question silently.

“It’s for Titan. I think she’ll like it.”

“What is it?” I took it in my hands before I placed it off to the side.

“Luxury driving gloves. Made of premium leather from my favorite Italian designer, they’ll be perfect when she hits the open road again. I also had her new last name etched into the material.”

It was a thoughtful gift, so I felt like an ass for being annoyed by it.

“What?” Brett picked up on my mood.

“You know how I feel about reckless driving…”

“Titan isn’t a reckless driver. She’s always in control of her destiny. She just got herself out of a difficult situation and lived to tell the tale. You don’t need to worry about that with her.”

“And it might make her more anxious.”

“She’s gotta get better sometime. Now she has something to look forward to.”

“And the last name…not sure about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t decided if she’s taking my last name or not.”

Brett chuckled like it was a joke. “I can’t see you giving her a choice in the matter.”

“I don’t want to give her a choice…but you know how she is.”

“Not a pushover?” he asked. “I thought that was why you liked her.”

“Love her,” I corrected him. “And it is…I just don’t want that to apply to me.”

He chuckled. “Of course you don’t…”

I would like her to take my last name, but I understood why she would be apprehensive about it. All of her life’s work was tied to her last name. Even Thorn called her Titan on a daily basis. Not only were her businesses tied to that name, but it was also an essential part of her identity.

Could I really ask her to change all of that for me?

When we had kids, they weren’t taking her last name. That was something I wouldn’t compromise on. She wouldn’t want to have a different last name from her kids, so that wasn’t something she would enjoy.

It would be a difficult conversation, but one that was necessary. “How are things with Vincent?”

He shrugged and took a long pause before he responded. “Better. With such a dramatic change like this, it’ll take time before it begins to feel normal. But he asks me to lunch once a week, and we talk about cars and sports…nothing too heavy.”

“That’s good.” When Brett had walked into that restaurant to join us for dinner for our engagement celebration, I knew everything would be okay. Brett was a lot more forgiving than he let on. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever see him as a dad, but…”

“You can still be family.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged again. “I think Mom would want that, you know?”

I nodded. “Definitely.”

“And he seems genuine about starting over. He’s not the kind of man that apologizes just for the sake of doing it…”

“He’s not.” My father rarely apologized, so if he did, he meant it.

Brett adjusted his leather jacket before he rose to his feet. “Let me know if Titan likes the gift.”

“Why don’t you give it to her yourself?”

“I don’t want to bother her.” He walked up to my desk and gave me a fist bump. “When she’s better, we need to have that engagement dinner.”

“We will. I know she’ll get excited about it.”

He gave me a thumbs-up before he left my office.

Less than two minutes passed before Thorn called my cell.

I answered immediately, knowing he might have something important to say. He was running an empire that would jointly belong to me shortly, and he had an intimate relationship with the woman I loved. I would always share her heart with him, but I was okay with that. “What’s up?”

“She told you about Bridget?” he asked bluntly.

“Yeah.” It’d been a few days since we last spoke about it. Titan was clearly uncomfortable with the subject, and she shut it down the second she finished telling me about it. She wanted to bury it and move on.

“The woman looked just like her, man.” He sighed into the phone. “It’s her.”

“You think so?”

“It was like looking at Titan in the future…”

I stared at my computer screen without reading the email I was halfway finished with. The brightness of the screen irritated my eyes, so I shut the laptop. “She doesn’t want to know.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that.”

“She also said she didn’t seem dangerous.”

“I don’t think she is. She seemed like a mother concerned about her daughter. This isn’t another Bruce Carol nightmare…” His tone naturally dipped the second the man was mentioned.

Better not be. I’d never laid a hand on a woman, but I’d rip her apart if she was a threat to my future wife. “She says she doesn’t want to know if it’s her mother because it doesn’t change anything. Doesn’t want her in her life regardless. But I want to know…for myself.”

“I’m curious too.”

I glanced at my top drawer, where the information sat in a manila folder. I’d had my private investigator track down all the information so I could get my answer. Titan didn’t want to confront the situation, but I needed to know. “Do you want to know?”

Thorn was quiet over the line, absorbing the powerful words I just said. “You figured it out?”

“I had my guy dig.”

“Did he find something?”

“Does that mean you want to know?” Once I answered him, we would both be part of a secret Titan wasn’t privy to. It was her business, but we were both butting in.

Thorn sighed over the line. “Yeah, I want to know.”

I didn’t need to open the folder again to see the answer. “It is.”

Another sigh filled my ears as Thorn processed my answer. “I knew it…”

“Yeah.” My investigator had dropped off the information that morning. I didn’t hesitate before I ripped the packaging and took a peek inside. Maybe it was wrong for me to pry into Titan’s life, but I couldn’t just sweep it under the rug the way Titan did. I knew Titan was set on her decision, but she couldn’t remain ignorant forever. If Bridget showed up again, I wanted to know everything about her.

“Fuck…are you going to tell her?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“She might get mad if she knows you kept it from her.”

“I’m not keeping anything from her. She doesn’t want to know, but I can’t stay in the dark with her. If this woman tried to contact her once, she might do it again. I need to know everything so I can be prepared for it.”

“Makes sense.”

I couldn’t anticipate the way Titan would feel once she knew the truth. Her mother abandoned her twenty-five years ago, and now she’d walked into her office like she had the right to inquire about her well-being.

She’d given up that right almost three decades ago.

“That’s crazy,” Thorn said after a minute of silence. “I never thought that woman would walk back into Titan’s life. Maybe she wants money. Her daughter is a billionaire.”

“It’s possible. Her husband makes a pretty good living and she’s a housewife, but they’re nowhere near Titan’s caliber.”

“Then I’ll keep my eyes peeled for her.”

“Alright.”

Jessica spoke through the intercom to Thorn, and I could hear her voice over the line. “Ms. Alexander is here.”

“Thanks,” Thorn said to her before he returned to me. “I’ve gotta go, Diesel. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.”

“No problem. Quick question before you go.”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of Ms. Alexander?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, turning serious.

“I mean exactly what I said. You think she’s the right partner for Titan?”

“Not a doubt in my mind, man. I think Ms. Alexander and Titan are going to be two peas in a pod. They’re so much alike it’s disturbing.”

“And she’s a trustworthy person?”

“Do you ever really know?” he countered. “But I’m willing to bet she is.”

“Alright, thanks. I’ll let you go.”

“Talk to you later.” He hung up.

I set my phone down then got back to work.

---

When I stepped inside the penthouse, it smelled like dinner. A fragrant aroma filled the air, smelling of pot roast and fresh carrots. Titan usually had dinner ready when I came by, but since she’d been injured, I’d been the one taking care of our dinner plans. “Something smells good.”

She came out of the kitchen in jeans and a black button-up blouse. Her hair was done, makeup was on her face, and she wore a smile. “Your favorite.”

“Are you talking about dinner or you?”

She moved into my chest and wrapped her arms around my neck. She greeted me with a kiss that she never shared with anyone else. It wasn’t the kind of embrace she used to give me when we were just fucking. It was full of longing, love, and just a splash of lust. Her fingers moved slightly into my hair, and she gave me some of her tongue.

Great way to be greeted after a long day at the office.

I squeezed her hips but then forced myself to let go, knowing I couldn’t handle her in any way that wasn’t utterly delicate.

She pulled away, that model-like smile on her lips. “Missed you.”

“Missed you.” Sometimes I couldn’t believe I got to come home to this every day. I couldn’t believe this incredible woman was waiting for me, missing me while I was gone all day. My fantasies about women used to be only about sex. I never imagined a life like this. But now it was a dream I’d never even hoped for, and that made it so much more valuable. “I thought I was in charge of making dinner.”

“I can handle it. It gives me something to do.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel great.”

“Excited for tomorrow?” We had an appointment with her doctor. They were going to take a look at her wound and determine if she was ready to remove the stitches that had been inserted almost a month ago. So far, her recovery had been uneventful—in a good way.

“You have no idea. If he doesn’t take these stitches out, I’ll do it myself.”

“I wish I knew you were joking.”

She smiled before she turned away. “You know I’m never joking.”

I stripped off my jacket and hung it over the back of the couch. Then I removed my tie and opened the top button of my collared shirt. “I saw Brett today.”

She spoke to me from the kitchen. “You did? How is he?” She carried the dinner plates to the dining room and set up everything for our meal. Then she retrieved the pot roast along with the silverware.

“Good. Things are going well with my dad.”

“That makes me happy.” She brought a bottle of wine and poured me a glass.

“You don’t need to do that, baby.” She still couldn’t drink, so I refrained from doing it around her.

“It won’t be much longer, Diesel. I’m fine.”

I set the gift on the table. “He wanted me to give this to you.”

“A gift?” She smiled as she sat down and picked it up. “I wonder what it is…”

I sat across from her and dished the pot roast onto my plate. The beef was tender and covered in a delectable sauce. Potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms were included. She made a side of broccoli that was sautéed in olive oil.

She ripped open the gift wrap then looked inside the box. “Wow…these are nice.” She pulled out the black leather gloves and examined them under the light of the chandelier. “This stitching is incredible.” She examined the name on the side, and instead of growing disappointed, she smiled. “That was thoughtful of him.”

I nodded to the card. “Looks like there’s a note.”

She picked it up and read it out loud. “Sis, these are made for a badass, and you’re definitely a badass…” Her eyes softened as she read the letter again, this time, in silence. Her eyes shifted back and forth as she took in the message. “Aww…that’s really sweet.”

“He’s a good guy.”

“He’s a sweetheart.” She folded the note and set everything off to the side.

“He’s never bought me anything except a lap dance, so you should feel special.”

Her eyes narrowed, immediately jealous.

I shrugged, unable to keep the smile off my face. “Long before you, baby.”

She turned to the pot roast and scooped the food onto her plate. “How was your day?”

“Good.” I thought about my conversation with Thorn but didn’t mention it. “I’ve been thinking about our wedding plans.”

“Yeah? I thought men didn’t think about that sort of thing.”

“Well, I do.”

She smiled. “I’m a lucky lady.”

“You want to do a quick courthouse thing?”

She made a disgusted face. “Uh, no. I’ve always wanted to get married outside.”

“So you want a big wedding?”

“No. I want fewer than twenty people to be there.”

“Good. Me too.”

“Let’s do it on a beach somewhere,” she said. “I love Thailand. How about there?”

“It is a beautiful place.”

“And we can start the honeymoon right away.”

I grinned. “I do like the sound of that.”

“I’m getting old, so I need to put my ovaries to use while they’re still functioning.”

Other men might be put off by that, but I certainly wasn’t. “You want me to knock you up right away?”

She pushed her food around on her plate, her eyes watching her movements. “Depends. How do you feel about that?”

“Whatever you want, I’m in.”

“Yes, I know,” she said with a chuckle. “But what do you want?”

“I’ve always wanted a family. You know that.”

“So you want to start now?”

“Sure. I know you’re almost thirty-one, so you’d be thirty-two by the time the baby got here. Then we’d want to have another…so, yeah. We should get started.”

“Wow, that was easy,” she said with a chuckle. “I thought I would have to talk you into it more.”

“Nope. I’m excited to get you pregnant. I’m excited to be a dad. I’m excited for all of it.”

“Even though we won’t have much time alone together?” she asked. “Everything has moved so fast, you know?”

“We have our whole lives, baby. Besides, our love will grow. I’m not worried about it.”

“Great.” She finally took a bite. “Then I’m excited.”

“I’m excited too.” I was thirty-five years old, fifteen years older than when my father had me. I wanted to still be young when they were adults. If I waited too long, I might not have the energy to run around with them. “Which brings me to my next point…”

“Why does that sound ominous?” she asked, taking a bite of broccoli.

“Because we’re going to argue.”

“I thought you liked it when we argued?” she teased.

“In certain contexts…”

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Diesel.”

I’d already imagined the conversation before it even started. She would fight me every step of the way. She would give me her reasons, and while they were legitimate, it wouldn’t bring us closer to a solution. “Your last name.”

She stared at me after she heard me speak. Then she turned her attention back to her food, eating like she hadn’t heard me at all.

I knew she was gathering her thoughts, considering how to respond to me. “I guess we’ll have to come to an agreement about this…” The response was vague, but it told me exactly what her stance was on the matter.

“You know what I want.”

“Yes.”

“So, we can argue in endless circles about it, or we could come to a compromise.”

“I don’t think I can change my last name, Diesel…” She stopped eating and set her fork down. She’d hardly eaten her food, but that was how her eating habits always were. I’d given up trying to push her to eat more. “It’s my identity. It’s my father’s legacy. If I had a brother, it would be different. But I don’t…”

“I understand, baby. I’d be open-minded to it if it were just the two of us…but it’s not gonna be the two of us much longer.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“My children will have my last name.” I didn’t want to be harsh, especially when those tactics didn’t work on a woman like her. But I wasn’t going to compromise on this. “And I’m not doing a Titan-Hunt hyphen. Some people do that, but the second name always gets dropped. And even if it was Hunt-Titan, it still doesn’t sound great.”

“I think Hunt-Titan is the best compromise we’re going to find.”

I took a deep breath, steadying my anger the best I could. She was injured and recovering, and I shouldn’t get her worked up right now. Her blood pressure would go up, and she would get upset. That wasn’t good for either of us. “No hyphen. Hunt will be their last name. You know I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m not going to let that go. If you really want, their middle name can be Titan. But that’s the most I’m going to offer.”

“These kids are half mine, Diesel. I don’t think it’s fair that you demand they carry your last name when I’m the one who created them, who gave birth to them. It’s an old sexist practice.”

“Even if it is, it’s a tradition that’s not going to disappear. It’ll be confusing for them as they age through life. By having a hyphen, it indicates they have two allegiances—to their mother and father. By having a single last name we all share, it unites us as a family.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, but she didn’t display that aggressive look she sometimes wore. “Then why don’t you change your last name to Titan?”

I wasn’t even going to respond to that. I just stared her down, my pissed-off expression doing all the talking.

“It’s sexist that I’m expected to take your last name.”

“And it would be sexist for a man to take a woman’s last name. It goes both ways. No matter what sex gets their way, the other sex will be disappointed. But that’s how it works. And there’s no way in hell I’m taking your last name, especially in our society. If you thought I was a man who would actually make that sacrifice, you wouldn’t be marrying me. We both know it.”

She didn’t blink or reposition her body in the chair. “Then where does that leave us?”

I admired her strength and aggression, especially in a world as cold and cruel as ours. That’s how she survived and persevered. But in this situation, it really bit me in the ass. “Our children will have my last name. And you need to take my last name too.”

“I need to?” she challenged.

“You aren’t going to want to have a different last name from your kids. Trust me.”

“I suppose I could do Titan-Hunt.”

I shook my head. “Baby…”

“You have no idea how difficult this is,” she whispered. “My whole life I’ve been Titan. Now that I’ve fallen in love, I have to walk away from all of that?”

“But you’re inheriting a very powerful last name. It’s not a step down.”

“It’s not about that, Diesel.”

“We’re combining our lives together. We’re becoming one person. I want to hear people call you Mrs. Hunt. I want to hear those words every single day. I want us to be the Hunt family. But that doesn’t ruin your legacy.”

“It ends it. I’m the last one who carries the name.”

“Family lines die out all the time,” I said gently. “But the legacy doesn’t change. Your father will always be proud of you because of your accomplishments, not because of the credibility you bring to his last name.”

She looked away the instant her father was mentioned.

“Titan can be their middle name,” I said. “The name won’t be lost.”

“No one cares about middle names.”

“Not true,” I countered. “The legacy still carries on. You can change your middle name to Titan too.”

“I’m not doing that.”

We’d reached a stalemate, and it didn’t seem like we could move forward. We couldn’t even move backward. We were just stuck. “Baby, I want you to take my last name for a reason other than convenience. I want us to be husband and wife. I want us to be joined together in every way possible. I know this is going to last until the day I die, so I’m not worried about doing this for nothing.”

“I’m not worried about it either.”

“Then just consider it.”

She shook her head slightly.

“Consider it with an open mind.”

She turned her gaze back to her food and didn’t look at me. Her arms were still crossed over her chest, and in this light, she looked phenomenally beautiful. If she actually became Mrs. Hunt, that would be the sexiest thing in the world. It would suit her perfectly. “I’ll think about it…”