It was the fact that Julia was the mother of a baby. A one-month-old baby.
I lifted my fingers and started counting. I worked on complex computer programing, and my brain was malfunctioning so badly right now that I had to resort to finger counting.
“What are you doing?” Rock turned toward me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I’m genuinely concerned.”
“When did Julia give birth?”
He tilted his head. “Well, it was one month ago, so August fifth.”
I shook my head. “No, it couldn’t be. That would make it less than forty weeks.”
“Huh?”
“So, she got pregnant what? In November? Maybe even late October?”
Before I slept with her in early December. I was fine. It wasn’t my baby. If I had impregnated Julia, that baby would be born in September, not early August.
Rock tapped his chin. “I’m not sure. I didn’t know Laura back then. But I know the baby was born a month early. Had to spend five days in the NICU. Laura was very concerned for a while. She refused to leave Julia’s side then.”
I winced. “A month early.”
I glanced back over at Julia, who was now talking to someone I didn’t recognize.
I wasn’t there for her. I wasn’t there for our baby. I was a dirtbag.
Chapter 8
Julia
“WHO’S THE HOTTIE TALKING with Rock?” I asked my sister.
Since giving birth to Nathan, I discovered whatever filter I had—or as my sister puts it, decorum—got pushed out with the placenta. I won’t even hide the fact that I was staring at him.
But he was staring at me too. It wasn’t the usual I’d like to fuck that MILF type of stare I had received a few times over the past month. His dark brown eyes, framed perfectly by his glasses, locked on me like a frightened animal on a dark road with headlights careening toward it.
I smirked and turned back to my sister. He was wise to be fearful. What I would do to his body might require medics afterward. His dick would never be the same once I rode it Julia-style.
“One more week,” my sister reminded me.
“How can I be expected to wait that long for a good dicking?”
Laura gasped and glanced around the room. “Keep your voice down. This is a birthday party for a baby, not a bachelorette party.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not even Nathan’s one-month birthday, it’s his five-week birthday. But you made me move it because you had that big reception to cook for last weekend.”
She rolled her eyes, but I wasn’t done.
“When the doctor said I could resume sexual intercourse after six weeks of giving birth, I think it was more of a suggestion.”
Laura pursed her lips.
She had broken up with her dirtbag ex-boyfriend Beau, who was cheating on her with our cousin Sangi. I called that one.
She left working for Beau’s father and came back to her hometown of Castle Ridge. Now she was working for Rock, her fiancé, in The Blue Spot resort’s restaurant, and that was the best decision she ever made. I had never seen her this happy in my life.
I glanced over to the hottie. He was counting on his fingers. Not a good sign. While I was horny and a little lonely for male companionship that wasn’t a newborn baby, I wasn’t about to sleep with a man solely for looks.
I had done that once in the past. It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. If they knew they could get any woman they wanted, they rarely worked for it, both in and out of the bedroom.
“That’s Rock’s brother, if you must know.”
I shook my head. “That’s not Joke’in James.”
I had met James once when I went to visit Laura at her new job as head chef of The Blue Chip. It was one highlight of my life. I had watched his VidTube channel for years and was a huge fan.
Another highlight of my life wiggled itself into my head: Wonder Dick.
I sighed.
I missed Wonder Dick. He gave me so many orgasms, and each one was more magnificent than the last. I tried to recreate what he did to me with my dildo, but it wasn’t the same.
He was like a fairytale prince with a grandiose cock that disappeared into the night.
“Not James. The middle brother, Monty. He’s working at The Blue Spot for now. Actually, I wanted you to meet him. I heard he’s looking for an assistant.”
A year ago, I would have run for the hills if my sister brought up working for a billionaire. But since having Nathan, my priorities have changed.
It was imperative that I provided for my son. Rock had been helping a lot with paying my medical bills, but he wasn’t Nathan’s father. I didn’t want to be a burden on him.
As a mother, it was my job to make sure my little bean was taken care of, both physically and financially. If it meant sucking up my pride and working for the man, so be it.
And if it meant I’d be working every day with eye candy wrapped in a suit, I would make that sacrifice.
“Is he the dumb one?”
I knew it wasn’t nice to ask, but the man looked like he was about to hyperventilate, counting with his fingers.
“Monty?” my sister asked with a snort. “Oh, no. He’s hella smart.”
I gave my sister a lopsided grin. “Look at you. Using lingo from this century. I think you getting engaged to Rock was a good thing.”
She shrugged. “It’s the kitchen staff. They teased me mercilessly when I told them I once had a pet rock when I was little that was a hand-me-down from Mom.”
“I’m just glad someone is bringing you into this century. Anyway, maybe it’s time to meet this hella smart guy.”
If he was intelligent, which I had my doubts, then working for him would be a good thing. I could learn a thing or two from him and then work my way up.
I used to turn my nose up at responsibility, but maybe it wasn’t all bad. I liked the idea of ordering people around and saying things like, “I need that on my desk by lunch.” Or something fierce like, “I’m the boss. Do as I say, or you’re fired.”
Laura guided me around the couch to where Rock stood with Monty. Rock turned, and his grin grew when he laid eyes upon his future wife. Monty stiffened. Again, it appeared he was fearful of us.
“Monty, I’d like you to meet my sister Julia. This is her son’s party.” My sister turned toward me, waving at Monty. “Julia, this is Monty, Rock’s brother.”
I held out my hand. He gazed at it for a moment before Rock elbowed him in the side. That snapped him out of his frozen state.
Monty reached for my hand, his jaw clenched as he stared past me. I wondered if he was on the autism spectrum like Jami.
“It’s nice to meet you, Monty. Laura told me such wonderful things about you.” I pulled my hand back, but he appeared upset by that, shaking his head while I tried to move away.
The handshake turned more into a tug-of-war contest where I was losing, badly. He yanked me forward with tremendous force, and I plowed right into his chest.
“Monty,” Rock yelled at his brother.
His grip was firm as I tried to remove my hand. And that was the moment my vagina woke up and told me to like this guy. Because the smell of his woodsy scent, mixed with his firm grip on my hand, caused my body to react. My vagina was confusing this with a sex act. Bad timing, libido.