Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
“Did he?” Janeen asks, her eyebrows going up. “I mean, how ”
“He’s the reason Kent was arrested, Janeen,” I say to her through gritted teeth. I mean it’s not really her fault, how would she know this? But still, I’m frustrated. “He set it all up! Ivan is behind all of this ”
“Really,” Janeen says sarcastically, crossing her arms and giving me a dubious look. “Seriously? It’s all Ivan’s fault? Kent did nothing to deserve to be arrested. He’s completely clean.”
I hesitate then, realizing that…well, yes, Kent broke several national and international laws, but…
“Precisely.” Janeen says, smug.
I turn and give my sister a nasty look. “You don’t know the whole story, Janeen,” I snap. “You weren’t there.”
“Damn right I wasn’t there,” Janeen says, shaking her head at me. “Because you have pushed me and dad further and further out of your life, getting completely wrapped up in this Lippert bullshit! So much so that you were in a police raid tonight you could have been killed!” Her face pales then, and she raises an anxious hand to her cheek, clearly picturing it in her mind. I hesitate then, leaning forward, seeing her point.
“Okay,” I sigh. “You’re right. I get it. But Janeen,” I shake my head again. “He’s…it’s…”
“Whatever it is,” Janeen says, her voice tense as she glances at dad clearly implying that maybe what I’m going to say next is not something dad wants to hear “all I know is that I got a really nice phone call from a good-looking blonde who has a lot of sexy tattoos and clearly cares about you, Fay. And from my perspective? It looks like he put a lot of effort into getting you out of a very bad situation.”
I glance at Daniel, who has his head turned towards us just slightly, clearly listening but pretending he’s not.
“The Lipperts are my family, Janeen,” I say, looking at my best friend and then back to my sister. “And yours now,” I continue, putting a hand on my stomach. “Whether you like it or not.”
Janeen frowns at me for a second, but then looks down at my hand and goes white. Her eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen them when she looks back up at me. She glances quickly at dad who is, thank god, oblivious and then mouths some words to me: are you fucking serious?
I shrug then, tears springing to my eyes.
Janeen leans back in her chair, giving an agonized groan and covering her face with her hands. I watch her for a few long moments as she stays precisely like that, clearly processing the news that I’ve barely had time to work through myself. Then, slowly, she drags her hands away from her face and looks at me again.
Slowly, she cocks her head to the side and points at the back of Daniel’s head, clearly asking if he’s the father. I shake my head no, scrunching my face in distaste, and she groans again before heaving with a long sigh. Then she turns to me and mouths another single word:
Kent?
Slowly, I nod.
Janeen’s eyebrows go up, almost as if she’s impressed. And, seeing the tears starting to drip down my face, Janeen clicks her tongue and goes into big sister mode. She scoots across the back seat to wrap her arms around me, drawing me tight against her and making soft shushing noises to me as we drive down the long empty highway to the coast, letting me silently cry myself out into her shirt.
“It’s okay, baby,” she murmurs against my hair, just once. “We’ll get it all sorted out. Though I have to admit, if you had made me lay a bet on which one of us was going to get knocked up by a mafia guy who was in jail…”
I can feel her shake her head and I laugh, just a little. At that, Daniel looks over his shoulder at both of us, his face clearly worried and pained.
“You okay?” he asks, looking only at me probably not yet ready to face Janeen’s wrath.
“Nope,” I reply, giving him a tight little smile. “Are you?”
“No way,” he says with a sigh, sinking back in his chair. “Not at all.”
“Well at least we’re on the same page,” I sigh. And then we all ride in silence the final few miles to our house, listening to the oldies station dad picked out.
I close my eyes and rest my head against my sister’s shoulder, seeking sleep oblivion
But it evades me.
Instead, I just think, and scheme, and plan.
Just as Kent taught me to do.
When I walk out of my bedroom the next morning Janeen comes over to me with a glass of orange juice â?? what I always started my day with as a kid â?? but I barely notice as she places it in my hand because I am too busy gawking at the incredible view from the second-story living room of my house.
My house.
â??Oh my god,â? I murmur, walking over to sliding open the glass door that leads to an expansive back deck. Janeen comes with me, smirking a little, as we both look over the silent ocean that seems to stretch for miles in front of us. â??Is thisâ?¦is this a private beach?â? I breathe.
â??Itâ??s supposed to be,â? Janeen says with a little sigh. â??But you canâ??t really stop people from walking up and down it. Nor would I want to â?? the beach belongs to everyone, not just Mr. Lippert.â?
I give Janeen a little glare before I continue to turn and stare around the gigantic, far too beautiful house with its incredibly high ceilings and walls covered in windowsâ?¦
â??This place,â? I murmur, shaking my head and taking a sip of my orange juice. â??Itâ??sâ?¦unbelievableâ?¦â?
â??I know, right?â? Janeen says, grinning at me a little wickedly. â??What did you do to Mr. Lippert that made him this happy â??â??
â??Ew, Janeen,â? I say, glaring at her again before walking over to the empty kitchen. Weâ??re both up before dad and Daniel, which I guess is good â?? because I know Janeen and I have some stuff to talk about that Iâ??d prefer dad not year. Not yet.
â??What!?â? she says, chasing after me and laughing a little as I move to the coffee machine and pour myself a cup of the pot Janeen already made. â??Seriously, Fay, Iâ??m impressed with your work. Mr. Lippert must be-â??
â??Stop calling him that,â? I mutter, starting to get mad. I know my sister is teasing me, and that Iâ??ve got a lot to answer for, but honestly.
â??Fine,â? she says, leaning against the counter with a smirk, â??Mr. Baby Daddy.â?
â??Janeen!â? I gasp, swatting at her with my free hand, which she easily evades, laughing at me.
â??What, thatâ??s also no good?â?
But when she sees me take a deep breath, and my face go red â?? which it usually does when Iâ??m holding back tears â?? Janeen rolls her eyes and sighs.
â??Fine, Fay, Iâ??m sorry,â? she says, not meaning it. But I accept it nonetheless. â??But honestly, what were you thinking, getting knocked up? Didnâ??t you â??â??
â??He had a vasectomy, Janeen,â? I explain with a sigh. And then, as fast as I can â?? my eyes always on the door that I know dad is right behind I tell her the whole story.
â??Wow,â? she says, genuinely shocked at the end of it. â??That is someâ?¦soap-opera level drama, Fay. Who knew you had it in you.â?
â??I knew,â? Daniel says, coming up the stairs now, his hands in the pockets of his pajamas that dad loaned him. I smile to see him and then laugh when I notice that the pajamas are somehow simultaneously too short and too baggy around the waist. We both turn to him as he comes into the kitchen. â??Fay has been nothing but a delightful source of drama since the moment we met her. Kept us on our toes.â?
â??Excuse you,â? I say, giving Daniel his own little glare as I turn towards the coffee machine to get him a cup. â??But I did not ask to be carried out of a strip club on your dadâ??s shoulder â??â??
â??Is that what happened?â? Janeen gasps, grinning at me and shoving my shoulder playfully. â??Fay Thompson! Naughty girl!â?
We all laugh a little, and I admit â?? it does my heart good to be laughing with my sister and my best friend and not concentrating on theâ?¦much bigger questions at hand. At least, not yet.
â??So,â? Janeen says, turning her wicked grin on Daniel now as she looks up at him. â??Youâ??re the gay one, right? Whereâ??s your boyfriend?â?
Daniel blinks to hear Janeen say it so blatantly, but then he smirks, glancing at me. I grimace a little, realizing that I never told himâ?¦well, just how much I filled Janeen in, over the weeks.