Page 87 of Mistletoe Mistake
A hint of a smile appeared on her face. She thought she had me, but she had no idea what I was really thinking. “Yes. Of course there is.”
“In that case, call my office in New York and they'll arrange for you to take her to a doctor of my choosing for a paternity test. But I won't just give you money, Samantha. If I really do have a daughter, I want to be part of her life. My lawyers can discuss custody arrangements after the tests are completed.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief, making it clear she hadn't been expecting that. “You can't be serious. You don't want...”
“Don't tell me what I want.” I cut her off once again. “You have no idea. And don't think you can hide from me either. If you don't call my office, I will track you down. I let you go before, I didn't bother trying to find you, but that time you only hurt me. I won't let you use my daughter too, if she truly exists.”
"You can't take her from me." For the first time, I really believed she might actually be telling me the truth. The fear in her eyes looked real, but we couldn’t go back now. She’d put the idea out there, and I would see it through.
"That's not what I said, but if what you're saying is true, then that's exactly what you did. You took her from me, and I won't let you keep doing it. You chose to come here tonight, to try to squeeze me for just a little more, but I'm not the same man who fell for your lies. I've changed, and it's time you did too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my date and the woman that I actually care about."
Leaving her speechless in my wake, I left the room. As soon as I turned back towards the ballroom, Gemma appeared at the other end of the hall, flanked by Holly and Jackson.
Just the sight of her lifted my spirits, but she had said she’d wait for me in the ballroom. Had something happened? I walked towards her, wanting to make sure she was okay, but all I could see in her face was concern for me as she came up and took hold of my hands.
“Are you alright?” she asked first.
I could feel her support enveloping me like a warm, gentle breeze. “Yes. I need to tell you about it, but I'll do it back at the hotel. Are you ready to go?”
She gave my hands a firm squeeze. “Definitely.”
After retrieving our coats from the coat check, we were almost at the door when a voice called out from behind us. “Gemma.”
I recognized her father's voice immediately. Gemma told Holly and Jackson to go ahead, and she and I turned together to face the Earl. He glared at both of us as he moved closer, his voice lowered.
“I warned you to come alone tonight. Not only did you disobey me, but now I've just been told that you caused a scene with Edwin and Annabel?”
She had? I looked down at her in surprise, and when our eyes met, I could have sworn she was trying not to smile. What a shame I’d missed it.
“You're the one who should be embarrassed,” she said to her father, taking me by surprise once again. “Why would you invite them to your party in the first place after what they did to me? If that's who you'd prefer to spend your time with, then it's fine with me. I won't come back.”
Pride coursed through me, hearing her stand up for herself that way. It also clearly shocked her father, taking the wind right out of his sails. Whatever threat he'd been planning to give her, she'd obviously just outmaneuvered it. He sputtered for a moment before settling on a new line of attack.
“Whether you're in this house or not, you're still a representative of this family. And I won't have you out there doing God knows what...”
That was more than enough. I knew that Gemma was capable of standing up to him herself, but she shouldn't always have to. I wanted her to know that I would always have her back too.
I took a step towards the Earl, forcing him to step back. “If you truly believe that Gemma represents you, then you should consider yourself damn lucky. And if you can't see the brilliant, successful, charming woman in front of you for what she is, then it's your loss.” I turned to Gemma. “Shall we?”
She smiled up at me. “Absolutely. I'm finished here.”
Without a word of goodbye, we left the party for good.
~Gemma~
I felt almost giddy in the taxi on the way back to the hotel. I couldn't believe that I had just spoken to my father that way, or that I had shut down Annabel and Edwin either. It felt like it had happened to someone else, like I had been watching someone else's life rather than my own. It almost didn't seem real, except for the firm grip of Cole's arm around me as we sat in the car, reminding me that no matter how unlikely it seemed, this was reality.
When we arrived back at the Lytton, Holly and Jackson headed for the hotel bar to grab another drink and talk a bit more. That evening marked their last night together too since Jackson would be leaving the next day, along with Cole. I didn't know yet when Cole would be back, but I knew he would; Jackson returning was less certain. He and Holly might not see each other again, and I felt bad that nothing was going to come of their obvious attraction. But that was their choice, I supposed, just like I had made the choice to jump in feet-first to whatever the future held for me and Cole.
At that moment, all I wanted to do was make the most of our night, the last one we’d have together for a while. However, I knew something had happened at the party, something that woman had said to him that he'd promised he would tell me about, so I asked him about it as soon as we were in the door, before we moved on to anything else.
“Annabel said the woman at the party was your ex. Was she your fiancée?”
He exhaled deeply as he removed his coat and his suit jacket, making himself more comfortable. “That's right. That was Samantha.”
Although I had guessed it, a sudden fury raged through my veins on his behalf. How dare that woman turn up after what she'd done to him? And what did Annabel have to do with it? “I can't believe Annabel invited her. It's one thing for her to stick her nose in my business, but she had no right...”
Cole cut me off with a smile, placing a gentle finger to my lips. “I think we're in agreement about how terrible Annabel is. We don't need to waste any time on her, but I do have to tell you what Samantha said. Let's sit down. Do you want something to drink?”
