"That's my fucking daughter?" he hisses at her, and it's done with such fury that Gracen shrinks back until the door stops her. "I have a fucking daughter and you never thought to fucking tell me?"
Marek takes a step toward her and I honestly don't know what he'll do, so I jump between them. I put my palms to his chest and give him a little shove back. "You need to dial it back, buddy. Before you do something stupid."
He's not dissuaded and he merely leans his head to the right to look past me. He points an accusing finger at her and I notice it's shaking. "There is no good reason that bitch should have kept that secret. I had a right to know."
Jesus, this is fucking whacked. I don't even know what to say, because Marek did have a right to know.
But his outrage apparently prompts Gracen to her own fury. She pushes her way right in between us and pushes Marek in the chest. My arms fall away and I stand poised ready to break up what could turn into a physical fight.
"You have no right to stand up there on a pedestal, Marek Fabritis, and act like you've been wronged," she yells at him furiously. Her face is beet red and her eyes are filled with tears. She blinks once and they fall, and she rubs at them with the backs of her hands as she continues. "You left me. You didn't want a relationship with me, and in case you have forgotten, your exact words, you asshole, were, 'I don't want the responsibility of a relationship. I don't want to have to take care of someone other than myself right now.' So I took what you said at face value, you smug, self-righteous prick, and I made a decision not to let my daughter's heart get broken by a daddy who didn't want the responsibility."
I cringe internally over those last words, and Marek seems to deflate, taking a step back from Gracen as he looks at her almost blankly.
Gracen on the other hand is still red with fury and her chest is heaving with indignation while tears continue to course down her face.
"What's her name?" Marek asks so softly I can barely hear him.
Now it's Gracen who deflates, and she looks like she could just melt into the floor with exhaustion. Still, her voice is stronger than Marek's when she answers, "Lilly."
"Lilly," he murmurs to himself, as if testing the weight of it on his tongue.
All three of us jolt when the door flies open, and this time there's a hulking bear of a guy standing there who I'm going to guess by the tuxedo is Gracen's fiance. He's as tall as Marek and me but twice as thick, especially in his belly area. Still, it looks like if a fight were to break out, he could get some good punches in before Marek could take him down.
And I've seen Marek on the ice. The fucker fights with uncontrolled fury.
"What the hell is going on, Gracen?" the guy asks as his eyes lock on to Marek with clear distaste. "Lilly said there were two men here in the room, and everyone in the church is waiting."
There is no mistaking the clear condescension in his voice as he talks "down" to Gracen, and I know in that instant Marek is right. This guy is a patronizing dickhead.
Gracen doesn't respond, but brings one hand up to her forehead where she rubs the bridge of her nose. I guarantee you she's sporting a massive stress headache right now.
"Get your shit, Gracen," Marek says with quiet command. "Get Lilly. You're both coming with me."
Gracen's hand falls away and her head snaps up to look at Marek in disbelief. Owen takes a step toward her and holds his hand out. "Gracen...come here to me. You and I are getting married, and it's happening right now."
"She's not fucking marrying you, and I'll be damned if you think you're going to raise my kid," Marek growls as he takes a step toward Owen.
I immediately place myself in his path, stiff arming him with a hand to his chest. Thankfully, he halts.
"Gracen," Owen says in a placating tone. "We love each other. This is our big day. Don't let him ruin it."
I watch Gracen's face closely. A sign that what Owen just said is true. That they love each other. I don't get a single bit of acknowledgment in her blank gaze back at him.
"Gracen," Marek says, and his tone is not placating. It's hard, ruthless, and not receptive to any argument. "You either come with me right now, or so help me God, I'll use every dime of the considerable fortune I have to take Lilly away from you and you'll never see her again."
I cringe again, this time visibly, and I can't control the groan of dismay that comes out of me. "Marek...dude. Not cool."
"Make your decision, Gracen," Marek says with so much ice in his voice that I have to suppress a shiver. He pushes past me and opens the door. "I'll be waiting in the car. You have five minutes to decide."
And with that, Marek walks out the door and slams it shut behind him.
I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose, trying to forestall a headache that's forming. I'm going to spank the shit out of Josie for even thinking this could be a good idea.
Chapter 24
Josie
I step into my house and immediately lock my eyes on Reed. I missed him today while he was off gallivanting in New York with Marek to stop a wedding.
"Hey, you," I say in a tone that comes out all sugary sweet because I'm happy to see him. "Thought you'd be waiting for me naked in bed."
I walk in and shut the door behind me. Reed sits up on the couch and scrubs his hands over his face, and damn...he looks really tired. He just flew in a few hours ago, and I had been finishing my shift at the hospital. He'd sent me a simple text saying he was back and he'd tell me all about the trip when I got home.
"Sorry," he says in a gruff voice that definitely sounds fatigued. "Guess I lost track of time."
I think I might hear a tiny bit of anger in his voice, but I can't be sure, and besides, I know he was only mildly annoyed at me for suggesting the trip with Marek. He even told me at dinner last night that it was definitely best that Marek confront this situation head on.
Reed leans back against the cushions and kicks his feet up on the coffee table as I walk toward him. His eyes follow me but he doesn't open up his arms to me like I would expect him to. It makes me feel off balance as he just quietly watches me.
I try to brush off the weird feeling and sit on the opposite end of the couch, folding my legs up under me. "So, tell me everything that happened. Did Marek stop the wedding?"
"Yeah, the wedding got stopped," Reed says as he rolls his head on the cushion to look at me. The disgust in his voice has me frowning at him.
"That doesn't sound good," I say hesitantly.
"Apparently Marek has a daughter he knew nothing about and discovered this little gem of information during the whole stopping-the-wedding process."
"What?" I exclaim in surprise as I sit up ramrod straight.
"He confronted Gracen privately, and then this little girl walked into the room, and you could tell at a glance she was Marek's. A big fight ensued. Then Gracen's fiance came in and another fight ensued over whether Gracen was going to get married. Marek basically ended the fight by telling her if she didn't get Lilly--that would be his daughter--and leave with him right then, that he would use all of his money to take Lilly away from her and she'd never see her again."
"Oh no," I say in dismay, feeling complete empathy for both Marek and Gracen in this situation. "Surely he didn't mean it."
"Oh, he meant it," Reed says as he sits up and turns to face me. "He gave her no choice. And she apparently wasn't willing to see if it was a bluff."
"So she came back with him?" I ask as my gaze swings around Reed's living room, as if I expect them all to pop out from behind a chair or something.
"No," he says tiredly. "Marek stayed back to get Gracen and Lilly packed up. He's going to drive them down in Gracen's car."
"So she's just up and leaving her life there? With only a day to do it in?" I'm completely bewildered over Marek's behavior. He's so carefree, funny, and kind. He seems like sort of a dick now, to be honest.
"Apparently," Reed says, and the disgust I hear in his voice is clearer. I don't think he agrees with the way Marek is handling it either. "No c
lue what he intends to do with them once he gets here."
"Does Lilly even know that Marek is her father?" I ask, and then think to ask something else. "How old is she?"
Reed shrugs. "I guess around three. Gracen had found out she was pregnant literally the day that Marek broke things off with her. She didn't tell him because he didn't want the responsibility of a relationship, or something like that. I don't know. It's all so convoluted and I don't think anything good is going to come of this."
There's no doubt Reed is really bothered with this and a flush of guilt sweeps through me because I set all of this in motion. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have meddled and pushed Marek to go there."
Reed's chin jerks inward and his eyebrows shoot up before he shakes his head at me. "This isn't your fault, Josie."
"If I would have stayed out of it, you probably could have talked him into ignoring it," I point out.
"And Marek would have never known he had a daughter," Reed counters, and I know he's right. His voice goes soft when he adds, "But this is going to be hard for him. He's not used to having that responsibility. He's going to have to build a relationship with his daughter, and he's missed out on three years of figuring out how to be a dad. Going right into the hockey season, and having a rocky relationship with Gracen, this could be disastrous."
"This is a big year for you guys," I murmur as I think about all they are facing as defending two-time Cup champions. The pressure is immense this year, especially since their team is still pretty much intact and expectations are they will do it again.