Facing West (Forever Wilde 1)

I rested my elbows on the table before dropping my face into my hands and groaning.

“I’m falling for the wrong guy, Hudson. What the fuck am I going to do?”

Chapter 27

Nico

When Griff and his mom had pulled up to the house, I’d raced out to greet them. Seeing my sweet best friend was enough to make me burst into tears like a fool. I’d just gotten the news from Honovi about West being the baby’s father, and I was already on the verge of a full-blown breakdown.

Different thoughts had swirled through my head after hearing the news. West lying to me. Pippa not being mine to care for anymore. Me sleeping with my sister’s… what? Boyfriend? Hookup? Baby daddy? Ugh. Just the thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

So when I’d heard the crunch of tires on gravel outside, I’d gone running. I got to Rebecca first and flew into her arms.

“Oh, baby,” she cooed into my ears. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry about your sister, Nico.” I cried in her arms and hugged her back for all I was worth. That woman had been there for me as much as she could have for at least ten years. When I’d thought I’d broken my leg one time after being clipped by a taxi on the sidewalk, it was Rebecca who’d taken me to the hospital for X-rays and stayed with me while the doctor explained it was just a deep bruise. When I’d opened my tattoo shop, it was Rebecca who’d asked to have the honor of getting the first tattoo. We’d all been floored and adamantly refused to let her get one. But the gesture had made me feel loved and supported all the same.

“Thank you for coming,” I said, pulling back. “I’m so glad you’re here. Wait till you see Pippa.”

Rebecca was nuts about her grandbabies, and I knew she’d see Pippa as just another one of hers. She excitedly asked where the baby was, and I pointed her to the nursery and suggested she get Pippa up from her nap in her crib.

“Fair warning, she has a runny nose,” I called after her. “It’s gross.”

She scoffed at me, making a comment under her breath about this not being her first rodeo. After Rebecca hurried into the house, I turned to Griff. Years of unspoken communication said all that needed to be said, and I felt my tears come quickly at the love shining out of Griff’s face.

“I could kill you right now,” he said quietly with a sweet smile that contradicted his words.

“Griff,” I whispered, my voice cracking on the name.

And then he was there, holding me tightly and whispering words into my ear about how it was all going to turn out fine.

I cried into his shoulder for who knows how long before I heard another car pull up.

West.

The one man I never wanted to fucking see again. The fucking jackass who couldn’t be bothered to tell me what the hell was really going on with Pippa’s custody situation and parentage. The guy who had the audacity to sleep with me after sleeping with my…

I couldn’t even finish the thought. If I did, I would surely lose my lunch all over the porch. So instead, I’d lashed out at him. I’d gone flying at him with all the sadness, betrayal, and anger I felt.

It wasn’t until later when Griff and I were sitting at the kitchen table and Rebecca was playing on the floor in front of the sofa with the baby that I finally realized why I was being so unreasonable.

I really liked the motherfucker.

Griff was trying to ask me a question.

“Why didn’t you give him a chance to explain? Don’t you realize Adriana could have put him down as the father without telling him? And that it’s entirely possible that this man is not actually Pippa’s biological father?”

I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to admit it.

He continued. “Why are you so quick to assume he is? It’s almost like you want to believe he’s the father.”

“Who else would it be?” I snapped. I heard Rebecca chuckle from her spot on the ground.

Griff’s eyes sparkled at me. “A one-night stand. An old boyfriend. A coworker. Any other man in the entire fucking world or even a sperm bank.”

His lip turned up in a knowing grin.

“What?” I said. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You like this guy, and you’re trying to sabotage it. What you’re seeing on my face is the sweet, sweet smugness I usually only feel when Sam is wrong and I am right. Which, let’s be honest, doesn’t happen very often.”

“True story,” Rebecca murmured.

Griff’s eyes cut to his mom. “Really, Mom? Loyalty—ever heard of it?”

“Just speaking the truth, kiddo.”

“I’m not trying to sabotage it,” I insisted.