They aren’t going to quit until they know. I can’t even get angry, because they’re just worried about me, and I’m already feeling guilty about the family secret I’m hiding. “I got a letter from a lawyer. A guy from a firm called Jones & Jones.”
Then I tell my brothers the broad strokes of what happened between me and Jo. They don’t need the details of our night together.
Court whistles. “So what you’re saying is, she doesn’t want to be…Jo mama.”
“Har, har, har. At least she didn’t leave me fifty dollars on a hotel nightstand.”
“Yeah, but my woman isn’t going to hire a famous divorce law firm to get rid of me.”
“Famous divorce law firm?”
“Jones & Jones.
It’s one of the best in the state…if not the best,” Tony says.
Huh. So it’s not some strip mall outfit, which is something of a relief. Jo and her cousin aren’t totally incapable, even though they shouldn’t have bothered.
“Are you going to let her marry her fiancé?” Tony asks, leaning closer.
The idea is revolting, even though I’m not certain why it bothers me so much. It isn’t like Jo and I professed undying love for each other. And if she’d tried to use the baby to squeeze money out of me, I wouldn’t have reacted well. But she didn’t… And perhaps that’s why her engagement turns my stomach.
Along with the fact that I want to be a proper father to the baby.
You don’t have to marry the mother to be a good father, my mind whispers.
Perhaps not. But I detest the idea of my child calling some other man “Dad.”
“Is there another option? Drag her away, kicking and screaming?” I ask with a calmness I don’t feel.
Tony shrugs. “That’s what Court did. Of course, you want to make sure it’s the right girl first…”
Court ignores him. “It’s your baby.” He points at my stomach, as though I’m the one with an occupied oven.
I shrug, not wanting to discuss possible solutions with him. He’s too young and idealistic, and he isn’t going to understand. He thinks love matters, happiness matters, and the world can generally be a nice, bright place if you just try. And I’m happy he believes that, because I’ve done my best to shield him from the influence of our parents, especially our mother.
But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the truth of how the world truly works.
Love makes people crazy. They do terrible things in its name.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out, grateful for the interruption. It’s Yuna. What could she possibly want? She isn’t inviting me to another party, is she? Or does she plan to grill me about my meeting with Jo at Starbucks?
On the other hand…didn’t she already interrogate Jo?
“I have to take this. Business.” I get up and leave my brothers in the study, heading toward the room I always stay in when I’m in L.A.
“Edgar speaking,” I say in my most professional tone, in case anybody’s eavesdropping. You never know.
“Edgar Blackwood!” comes Yuna’s stern voice. “You have to save Jo! Or I’m sending ninjas after you!”
Chapter Eleven
Edgar
Save Jo? Ninjas?
Jo was perfectly healthy and safe when I left her. I doubt that changed at her girls’ night out.
I raise an eyebrow at Yuna’s dramatic threat, then enter my room and shut the door before I answer it. “Aren’t you Korean?”