Crash: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (7 page)

I woke up to diffused sunlight streaming through my bedroom windows. I groaned and pulled myself out of my bed. Lifting my cell phone from the bedside table, I checked the time. It was still fairly early in the day. For that, I was grateful.

I was getting used to the fatigue of long hours at the hospital, but there was nothing worse than sleeping until right before I had to go back. It just made it that much worse. I trudged to the bathroom and turned on the water in the magnificent standup shower.

Slipping out of my bra and panties, I stepped in under the stream of warm water. I let out a sigh of pleasure. The shower faucet sprayed water down over my hair and skin. It felt so damn good.

There were high end shampoos, conditioners, and body washes already stocked in the shower. I used the ones that seemed like they would work best for me, lingering in the shower longer than I usually would have. Hot water never seemed to run out.

When I stepped out of the shower, I pulled a fluffy white bathrobe off the hook on the wall beside the shower and wrapped it around my shoulders. The towels stocked in the bathroom were no less luxurious than anything else. I dried my hair and walked out into the bedroom. My mom had already had my things brought over from my old house, and they had been hung in the closet and folded into the dresser.

I found some comfortable clothing and hastily got dressed. Then I finished my hair and makeup and slipped into a pair of tennis shoes. Out in the hallway, I could smell the faint scent of bacon and toast. I followed it to the dining room where a buffet of breakfast and coffee was set out against the wall opposite the windows.

My mother and Don were sitting at the table. Don was reading a newspaper and my mother was reading an iPad. They seemed so content and comfortable with each other, sitting in silence as they individually read the news or social media.

My mother looked up at me and smiled. “Good morning, Harper. I wasn’t sure if you would make it to breakfast or not. Selena said she heard you come in late last night.”

“I got in at three in the morning,” I said, picking up a plate from the buffet.

I scooped up scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast along with some mixed fruit. It was all expertly prepared by Gloria, the cook, no doubt. I poured a glass of orange juice and brought my things to the table to sit opposite my mother with my back to the view of the ocean.

“Thank you for your help yesterday at the hospital,” Don said.

“It wasn’t a problem,” I said. I didn’t want to admit that it was a huge problem. It was the biggest problem I’d ever had in my entire life. Not only was the man who I’d slept with in Brazil going to be my stepbrother, he was also going to be the father of my child.

A wave of panic hit me suddenly, and my hand began to shake as I held my fork. What was I going to do? What would happen to me if I had a baby? I couldn’t possibly tell my mother and Don who the father was. I couldn’t tell anyone. What would they think of me? What about my career? There’s no way I could make it through my resident schedule in the ER, being pregnant or having a child.

“Now that we’re all here,” Don said. “I wanted to talk to you about the Crash situation.”

“I think it’s wonderful that you found out that you have a son, Don,” my mother said. “I know you always regretted not having a child of your own.”

Don reached over and took her hand in his, giving her an affectionate smile. “I’ve offered to let Crash stay here at the house since he is between places right now. His mother just died, and he had to clean up all of her things and vacate her house. From what I understand, he’s been overseas for quite some time. First with the military and then doing his mixed martial arts fighting in Brazil. Weren’t you just in Brazil recently, Harper?”

“Yeah,” I said, not elaborating.

“Anyway, he was there fighting for a year, so he doesn’t have a home per se at this time. I’ve told him that I could help him get into any occupation he chose, but he insists that he wants to continue fighting. I’m not going to tell him how to live his life. But I do want the opportunity to get to know my son.”

“Totally understandable,” I said, pushing the eggs around on my plate. I certainly didn’t feel very hungry now.

“So, we’ll all be living here together. One big happy family,” my mother said.

“Sounds great,” I muttered.

“That was the other thing I wanted to tell you about. It shouldn’t be any cause for concern, but since Crash is my only child, I feel obligated and responsible for him now. I missed so much of his life. He grew up poor, and I can’t help but want to make up for that. So I am considering changing my will to leave him half of my estate upon my death. I just wanted you to know that, honey. You will be my wife so it is something I should share with you.”

“Oh, Don,” my mother said. “I think that’s wonderful. Even if I were to outlive you, what would I even do with all that money?”

“So you’ve known Crash for one day, and you’re already making him your heir?” I asked.

“Well, I want to get to know the man first. From what I can see, he’s a strong, independent, resourceful person. He loved his mother to a fault. I can already see that he is the kind of man who would honor my estate. But I’m going to give it a little time before I change the will. Like you said, I’ve only known him for a day. I don’t know his character yet. Who knows what could come up? If I find out that he is not the man I believe him to be, I’ll leave him a much smaller sum.”

My knees began to shake under the table. Now there was a billion dollars on the line for Crash. It wasn’t just my good name that was at stake anymore, it was Crash’s inheritance. My parents could never know what happened between us in Brazil. No one could ever know that the baby inside my womb belonged to my soon-to-be stepbrother. It could jeopardize everything, for either of us.

“Are you all right, honey?” my mother asked, noticing that I was shaking. I tried to get myself under control and force myself to smile.

“I’m just tired. It’s normal. All first-year residents are sleep deprived,” I lied.

“Maybe you should go back to bed before your next shift,” my mother suggested.

“No, it’s fine,” I said. I began shoveling food into my mouth, wanting to end the conversation.

I had way too much to think about. Was I going to let Crash’s baby grow inside my womb? Having it would surely destroy my future. It would destroy Crash’s chance of inheriting his father’s wealth.

All his life, he had believed he didn’t have a father. I couldn’t imagine taking something like a billion dollars from him. Not because of a one-night stand we had in a foreign country while drinking margaritas on the beach. I just couldn’t do that. I couldn’t do that to anyone.

I finished my breakfast and excused myself. I needed to clear my head. I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do. I walked out the back door of the house and made my way down the trail towards the beach. Seagulls squawked overhead and ravens burst from the dunes into the sky. Little seabirds skittered along the sand and the waves lapped against the shore.

The late morning sunlight glinted on the breakers, the water blue, gray and white as it churned from sea to land. It was all so beautiful, so different than the beaches in Brazil.

Even Southern California couldn’t compare to the tropics of San Paulo. Especially in winter. Even LA got cold. I walked along the private beach, bending every once in a while to pick up a little shell or a smooth piece of beach glass. I rubbed it between my palms, trying to bring myself back to the here and now.

But it wasn’t any use; my thoughts were dark and turbulent, like the ocean during a storm at night. I believed that women should have a choice as to what to do with their bodies. But the baby inside me was mine. It wasn’t a hypothetical question or a political one. It was flesh and blood: growing and alive. It was my baby, or it would be, if I let it bloom inside me.

How could I terminate my own child? Even if having it would ruin everything I’d ever wanted? My thoughts turned and burned inside my mind until the outer world was invisible to me. It was no wonder that I didn’t see him until he was standing right in front of me.

“Good morning, sis,” Crash said. His glinting blue eyes and his brilliant white grin shone down on me like the morning sunshine.

I put my hand over my eyes to shield them from the light, looking up into Crash’s handsome face. The gash he’d had over his eye in Brazil was mostly healed, but it looked as if he had never had it properly stitched or bandaged. A scar was already forming that he would have for the rest of his life. A new scar to join the others that already marred his skin.

I could see a scar on his bicep that twisted the tattoos there. There was another scar that ran down his neck all the way to his shoulder blade. The man had lived a brutal life, so different from my own middle-class existence of honor rolls and carpools.

“Please don’t call me sis,” I said, my voice muted under the sound of the crashing waves and the breeze.

“What should I call you? Fuck buddy?”

What an asshole. I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

“Definitely don’t call me that,” I said. “No one can ever know what happened between us. Ever.”

“Why the hell not? Who fucking cares? I don’t care.”

“You might change your mind about that,” I said.

“Why the hell would I change my mind? I don’t care what other people think about me.”

“Has Don talked to you yet this morning?” I asked.

“Yeah, he said hi up in the house. I asked where you were. Said I wanted to thank you for doing the DNA test yesterday.”

“He hasn’t said anything about his will?”

“No.” He narrowed his eyes and a line appeared between his brows.

“Well, it really isn’t my place to tell you this. But Don informed me and my mom this morning that he was considering leaving you half of his estate. Don is worth a fortune. He said he isn’t going to change his will until he knows what kind of man you are. Do you really want to risk losing what could be a billion dollars just to mess around with me?”

“I don’t need Don’s money,” he said, moving towards me. He gripped my upper arm and tried to draw me closer, but I pulled away.

“I’m not going to be responsible for you losing your inheritance. Don’t try to make me responsible for that just because you have some lingering attraction for me. We both know that this is meaningless, just like every other girl that you’ve ever been with.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he said in a husky voice.

“I’m sure you say that to everyone, too,” I countered, taking a step back from him.

I could feel the heat of his body and smell the scent of his skin. Every instinct in me wanted to throw myself into his arms and burst into tears. My body was compelling me to tell him that we were going to have a child together, that he was the father of my baby.

That instinctive, hormonal part of me wanted to have some kind of assurance that he and I would be together forever. That he would take care of me and hold me through the difficulties of life.

That weak bitch needed to shut the hell up. There was no way that I would ever say any of that to Crash. Admitting that would only mean torment and pain and shame. I knew he couldn’t love me. And allowing myself to believe that could destroy everything, for both of us.

“No, I don’t,” he said, taking a step towards me.

I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, barricading myself from him as best I could.

“Do you really expect me to believe that? I know what kind of man you are. I could tell from the moment I met you.”

“You can believe whatever you want, baby. But the truth is, I can’t get you out of my mind. Believe me, it’s fucking with me. I haven’t had my dick wet since our night together.”

“Am I supposed to be complimented by that?”

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment. It’s a statement of fact.”

“I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that information.”

“Look, I know you’re freaked out about the whole stepbrother thing. But I also know that night in Brazil was the hottest fucking thing you ever experienced in your life. All I’m saying is maybe we should have a repeat performance. Get it out of our systems. Then you can go your way, and I can go mine.”

“Wow, what a generous offer,” I said with a sneer. I brushed past him and started charging up the beach back towards the house.

“Wait a minute,” he said, hurrying up behind me. “I didn’t mean it like that. Fuck. I have no idea what I’m doing here. I don’t do relationships.”

I turned to him with a frown, my arms still crossed. “You and I do not have a relationship.”

“Harper, I can’t stop thinking about you. Every time I close my eyes, I just see your hot little tits. I remember the feel of your ass in my hands. Jesus, I’m getting hard right now.”

“I don’t need to know about your erection,” I said, not looking at him.

“Please, at least go out with me. Let me buy you dinner, take you somewhere nice.”

“I can’t agree to that right now,” I said. “I need to get back to the hospital. I’m too busy to think about this right now. You’re putting me in a very awkward position.”