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CHAPTER 34
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Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 35
“You were out there, calmin’ yourself down. I had no intention of interrupting you,” Mom interrupted with a stern look. “You sure as hell need it after yesterday.”I ignored the annoyance that showed in her voice and walked past her into the house. “What time is she picking Milka up?”“In an hour,” Mom replied. “Leah texted me.”“Okay.” I kissed Milka’s head and placed some toast in the toaster. “She okay?”“Leah? She’s fine.”“You know I mean Chloe.”“How do you define ‘fine’?” she asked with an eyebrow raise. “Would you say you’re fine right now?”I’d take that as a no.My toast popped, and I spreaded peanut butter across each slice. I bit into it, the crunch satisfying, and leaned against the counter. The silence was tense and awkward.Until Aiden came in the front door looking like he slept outside all night.“Aiden!” Mom snapped. “Where have you been?”“Lay off it, Mom.” He went straight upstairs. Hopefully to shower.Titus snorted, walking into the kitchen. “Hey, bro, at least t
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 36
“Milka? Milka, baby, please take your fingers out of your nose.” I sighed and reached forward to dislodge them.She screamed and smacked the sofa. “No!” She immediately shoved them back up.“Milka hudson!” I pulled them out. “Do it again and you’re on the naughty step!”She stared at me defiantly and shoved two fingers of her other hand back in her nose.“That’s it. On the step.” I removed her fingers for the hundredth time today and lifted her by her armpits.I deposited her on the step and set the timer. I left it on the counter and went back into the front room, dropping to the sofa with a heavy sigh and rubbing my temples.Three days of this back-and-forth thing with Conor was driving me mad. Not only did I miss him ridiculously, Milka did, too, and she was making it known with bad behavior. Three hours of sleep last night had left my patience paper-thin, and I was ready to leave her in her crib and let her scream it out.She was screaming on the step, so it was not like there’ll
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 37
Hopefully.I stood slowly and tiptoed into her room, dipping to grab her bunny off my bed. I eased her into her crib, holding in my exhale when she went down without stirring. I spinned on my toes and started her CD player, letting Conor’s voice fill the room, and back out slowly.Slowly and silently.I pulled the door shut behind me, but before it even clicked, she screamed.I yanked it towards me anyway and rested my forehead against the door. “Please, Milka,” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. “Mama needs sleep.”“No, no! Dadda, Mama, Dadda!” she sobbed.I thumped the door with my forehead in annoyance because, goddammit, now I was exhausted and crying.And I gave up. I absolutely gave up.I walked into my room, grabbed my phone from under my pillow, and dialed Conor’s number. I pressed Redial until he picked up.“Hello?” he groaned groggily.“Conor?”“Chloe? What’s wrong?”“She won’t sleep,” I said thickly. “She’s been up all night, crying for you. I can’t . . .”I pinched the b
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 38
“Respect and forgiveness don’t always go hand in hand. I understand.” I covered his hand with mine. “I wouldn’t forgive me or respect me, you know?”“But I do.” He tightened his grip on me slightly. “I do respect you. Shit, how many times have you done a night like that since she was born? How many times have you held her while she cried or taught her a new word? How many times has she screamed your name because she needed you, huh?”I shrugged a shoulder and averted my eyes.“Milka is amazing—strong-willed, yes, but amazing—and that’s because of you.” He tugged my face so I had to look at him again. “You. It doesn’t matter what you did, because what you’ve done since makes me respect you.”“Then at least hate me. C’mon, you gotta give me somethin’ I want.”“Never.” He lowered his face to mine and brushed his nose along mine. “I can’t hate you, Chloe. I tried. I tried so fucking hard, but I love you too damn much.”“It would be easier if you didn’t.”“Oh, yeah.” He pulled back, runnin
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 39
“Whoa, what did I do?” Chloe exclaimed.“Not you! Her!” My sister practically growled and shoved the magazine at us.I took it and looked at the article. It was the one about us, the one confirming Chloe as my “baby mama.” I scanned it and looked for the part where it says who they interviewed.“Son of a bitch!” Chloe shrieked. “I told you!”“Mama bad! Bad!” Milka cried.Chloe slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Mama forgot.”Dad came in then and stole Milka from Aiden. “Sand?” he said, and Milka suddenly forgot about Chloe’s slipup.Chloe watched as Dad grabbed the bucket and shovel from the kitchen cabinet and disappeared outside. No sooner had the back door shut than she blew up at Aiden.“I swear, Aiden, if you ever sleep with that girl again, I’m going to personally carve your balls off with a plastic picnic knife!” Chloe shoved his shoulder. “Hell, you speak to her, and I’ll do it. She can fuck with me, but she doesn’t get to play games with my daughter.”If I thought she was
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 40
And now, looking at Chloe, watching her stare out of the window to where Milka was playing with Dad on the beach, I wondered if there was going to be a romance to go along with that scandal at all.************** ******************* *************** *******************Chloe’s head poped up in the tree house. She gave me a weak smile and climbed up, then sat next to me. She stared out of the window to where Milka was playing on the beach.Our daughter was running circles around my family on the sand. Bray already had to go change clothes because he underestimated the splash power of a toddler in the shallows.At least that put a smile on Chloe’s face. She had been stone-faced since that morning, her stare scarily intense. I didn’t blame her. I could practically taste the fear radiating off her. I could see the uncertainty whenever she moved, because her hands trembled, like she was freezing and couldn’t warm up.I rested my arm over her shoulders and snatched up her hand. Her fingers s
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 41
He nodded. “Just as much. We’ll just do what we said. Keep Milka at our house tonight, then try and sneak her back through the woods tomorrow.”Yeah. That insane idea.“Great,” I mumbled into my hand.Another night alone in the house didn’t appeal to me. It was too big, too creaky, too full of memories. I didn’t want to be there alone, not for a second. But I didn’t have a choice, it seemed.“Hey, you don’t have to leave her, y’know?”“Yeah? And where am I going to sleep?” I raised my eyebrows.“Well . . .”I looked at him flatly. “In your bed, really?”“I was goin’ to say Leah’s room.”“Sure. I believe you.” I turned away, ignoring the spark of desire that ignited in my lower stomach.“Geez, a guy thinks with his dick for five seconds and it’s wrong.”“Inappropriate! Not wrong.”“So you’re sayin’ I can think of you naked?”“Like you need my permission!” I snapped.“The shorts don’t help,” he admitted. “I try not to, but it’s hard.”“Oh, I bet it is.” I folded my arms across my chest
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 42
“You don’t have any jiggly bits.”“Yes, I do. I have jiggly bits and stretch marks.” I grabbed some of Milka’s clothes out of Dad’s drawers.“It didn’t bother you when I was carrying you up the damn stairs not so long ago.”“It was dark,” I offered lamely. That, and I was too consumed by him to think about the flub for even a second. “My body’s not perfect, and it’s sure as hell not what you’re used to.”“You think I care about perfect?” He sounded half angry and half confused.“I do,” I said softly.I swallowed and grabbed Milka’s bag. Conor stepped up behind me, grasping my hips, and pulled me back. I could feel his dick, hard, digging into my back, and his breath cascaded over my neck.He ran his hands up my sides, following the curve of my waist, and back down. He slid them around to my stomach. I inhaled but he didn’t falter. His hands eased up my stomach, hovering just below my breasts, then fell back down.“You’re right,” he whispered huskily in my ear. “I do care about perfect
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Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 130
I was kind of annoyed at his short response, but I was equally amused at his smugness about it. And his amusement—damn, I wanted to laugh while I slap it off his handsome face.For the first time, it stroke me that this fake relationship could be rather dangerous.I stayed quiet as we drove down the country road that’ll take us to Percival Town, a couple of miles up the coast. I had been before—it was the stereotypical little beach town, more so than Santa Monica, even—but it wasn’t my favorite place. For one, the size of the town and its population made Santa Monica looked like a minuscule village unworthy of a supermarket or school of its own, and almost everyone who lived there acted like they were from a city, when they were not.We also had a high school football rivalry, so that could play in, especially since I was head cheerleader and may or may not have gotten into a catfight with Percival’s head cheerleader in senior year.Who also happened to be Titus’s girlfriend at the tim
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 129
IVANA“You’re going out with Titus James? Like on a date? Or out out? Or just as friends?” Sussy’s eyes bugged out of her head. “And you didn’t invite me?”I paused from applying my mascara and looked at her incredulous expression in the mirror. “Come right on into my room, Sus. It was okay. I only might have been naked, or you know, masturbating or something.”“That’s gross.”“So is your obsession with Dirty J.” I gave her a sarcastic smile and went back to my makeup. “But no, it is not a date.”“Uh-huh . . .” she trailed off, and when I screwed my mascara brush back into the tube, she shoved her phone at me. “Then why does Twitter say you’re his girlfriend?”I shrugged and brushed my bangs out. “I saw this meme on Facebook that said Abraham Lincoln once said you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”My sister looked at me like I was dumb. “The Internet was invented after Lincoln died.”“Precisely. It’s called sarcasm.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed my phone from the
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 128
“You really want me to say it again?”She rubbed her hand down her face. “Are you insane? She hates you!”I smirked.“Titus . . .” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, obviously not that much, but a fake relationship? Do you even know what you’ve gotten yourself into?”“Yep,” Aiden replied for me. “Because unlike the rest of us, he’s the only one who’s had a successful relationship.”“As evidenced by the fact I am currently single,” I drawled sarcastically at my big brother. “Get a load of that success!”“Don’t be a little prick.”“Every big prick needs a little one.”“Dollars!” Milka shrieked, stomping across the room with her hand out and her chubby fingers clenching in a “gimme” motion. Dutifully, we both dug dollar bills out of our pockets and handed them over. “Tankoo.” She narrowed her bright blue eyes, then pointed at the space between us. “No fight! Bad Uncy Aid and Uncy Titus!”Chloe smiled behind her glass of juice.“She’s real bossy, you know that, right?” I looked at Chloe. “She’s
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER127
TITUSHoly. Shit.I was never, ever fucking putting this chick on the back of my bike ever again.If her arms around me wasn’t bad enough, it was her tits pressed solidly against my back and the fact I knew her pussy was rubbing my ass. Fuck. And in the tiny shorts she was wearing right now? It was a mega mindfuck.In fact, it was a fuck, fuck, fuck, kinda situation.As in why the fuck did I kiss her this morning? Why the hell did I bring her close just to shut her ex up? I shouldn’t give a shit. I should’ve taken the damn coffees, paid, and gotten the hell outta Dodge. But no. I had to plant some fucking seeds in Dodge, didn’t I? And then I had to water them by telling that douchebag that I’m her boyfriend.I had the funniest feeling that wasn’t gonna go down well.In fact, I was almost certain it was gonna go down like a shit ton of loose bricks in an earthquake.Still, though—I could feel her arms wrapped around me tightly, holding her body flush against mine, and it was different
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 126
“I always wondered what it’d be like to fuck you. Now I know.”“Isn’t this a conversation for your right hand?”“No, but it could be for yours.”“Only if that hand is around your neck.” I snatched said hand out of his and placed it on my hip. “What do you want? Why are you here?”“Come with me,” he said, his shoulders rising and falling. “Please?”“A James boy saying please? Did I die and go to hell? ’Cause y’all sure ain’t goin’ to heaven.”His lips twitched. “Vanny.”I took two steps away from him.“Ivana,” he corrected himself. “Come on. Just for ten minutes.”“Take me home,” I demanded, turning back to him. “Let me get changed, and then I’ll consider it.”He took a deep breath, his eyes intent on me as he obviously considered it. “Fine.” He grabbed my hand once more and tugged me between two buildings and onto Main Street.I shielded my eyes from the sunlight before sliding my sunglasses down as we stepped from the shadows created by the alleyway, almost falling after him. He led
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 125
“A frying pan to the face? Sure. Be my guest.”“Coffee, Ivana. I’d like to keep my job.”“Nah, it’s okay. I’ve gotta face him sometime.”“Ken!” She yelled into the kitchen at the chef. “Keep the fryin’ pans away from Jessie here!”“Yes, ma’am,” he called back, laughing.I might have a temper.“Y’all are like pins and needles in my ass,” I mumbled, finishing my coffee and putting the mug into the empty dishwasher. Adrina’s laugh rung through the café as she danced her way to the front door with the key dangling from her pointer finger.Chelsea was the first person through the door, and I blinked harshly. “Don’t look at me like that,” she hissed, stalking toward me. “You didn’t come home last night, did you?”“Say it a bit louder, Chels. I’m not sure my mom heard you.”She rolled her eyes and, glancing at the people behind her, ordered. “Latte, please, to go.” One more glance as I grabbed the takeout cup and she continued, “Why didn’t you text me? You should have texted me!”“Dude, seri
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 124
IVANAIt shouldn’t bother me.But, really, he must have a serious lack of class to just disappear while I slept.What kind of son of a bitch is Titus James? He’s sure as hell a disrespectful little shit, his sexual promises be damned. The fact he delivered on them can be damned, too.He’s real lucky I’m the kind of girl who sticks to her word. When I said no stories, no second times, no whatever it was I said while under the influence of cosmos, I meant it.As long as we never have to see each other again. That’d be fabulous. So basically, Santa Monica needed to expand by another few thousand people. Several thousand would be great. Like, twenty thousand.The chances of this happening are, I know, slim. But a girl can dream. A girl’s gotta dream if she wants to stay sane.A last-minute tour for Dirty J. would be epic. An impromptu concert on Mars would be even more epic.Jesus, what the heck was I thinking? Sleeping with Titus James? Did I have a temporary lapse in sanity last night?
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 123
Blondie’s smile dropped. “Yeah. Why? She your assistant or somethin’?”I smirked. “No, but I’m hirin’.”“Well, how about this.” She stepped forward and ran her finger down my arm. “I give you my number, and when you’re ready to interview, you can call me.”“Or how about you come back here this time next week and if I’m standing right here, you’ll know you got the job.” My lips tugged up even more.Agreeing to call a girl.Fuck. That.That was an amateur move.“Well played,” she whispered in my ear before stalking past me, making sure her tits brush my arm. Her hard, fake tits.I prefer real.The bathroom door opened and I looked up straight into the eyes of . . . my little sister. Leah took a deep breath and held her hand up at me, touching two fingers to her temples. Her ponytail swung as she shook her head. “Aw, hell no. I am not going to think about the fact that I just helped one of my best friends out of Spanx so she can fuck my brother.”She opened her eyes, and I scratched the
Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER 122
TITUSIvana Lawson reached back and grasped my forearm firmly, shoving my arm away from her like I was fire and she was gasoline. “I mind you touching me,” she replied. “What’s takin’ so long?” she yelled to the bartender.“Chill out, Ivana,” I murmured, moving closer to her and meeting the bartender’s eyes. “Can you hurry with that, babe?”She nodded and within two seconds, a cocktail glass full of perfectly red-pink liquid was placed in front of us.“That’s—”“And a bottle of Budweiser, thanks,” I demanded before she said the price. “Put it on my tab.”“I can pay for my own drink,” Ivana argued, her eyes sparking with defiance.“Sure you can, but that don’t mean you’re gonna.”“It means I will.” She riffled in her purse and slammed a ten into my chest. “Thank you, Titus, but no thank you.”I took the crisp bill from her hand and crumpled it up, crooking my finger in the collar of her dress. She gaped at me in disbelief as I pulled the fabric from her body and dropped the balled-up n
