I open the envelope slowly and pull out the card—and as I do, something falls onto the floor.
Jonas bends down and picks it up—and when he straightens up, glory be, he’s holding a poker chip in his palm, his eyebrow raised.
Relief and excitement flood me. Thank you, God. Kat’s not a heartless terrorist—well, yeah, she is—but she’s also the woman of my dreams!
I hastily open the notecard and read, my heart racing, my dick tingling.
“Hello there, my darling, beloved Playboy,” the card reads. “The doctor said my sex drive might increasedramaticallydue to pregnancy hormones. Well, guess what?She was right! I’m excited to see your new house one of these days, I really am, and I sure hope you didn’t go to too much trouble with dinner tonight—because there’s been a change of plans, baby! Tonight, my beloved, sexy,beautiful Playboy, we’re going to fulfill one of your all-time sick-fuck fantasies. That’s right, honey—I hope you like windows—wink!—because you’re about to fuck one any which way you please.” Kat writes the name and address of a nearby five-star luxury hotel plus a room number. “Hurry up, my gorgeous, well-hung Playboy. Your window’s waiting for you—along with her selected window dressing (another wink!). I guarantee you’re gonnalovehow dripping wet this window is you when you get here, baby. XOXO Kat.”
I look up from the note, my eyes bugging out. I’m rock hard. Oh my God.
“Good news?” Jonas asks.
“Call Sarah,” I say abruptly. I grab my suit jacket off the back of the loveseat. “A romantic dinner for two just fell into your lap, bro. Enjoy.” I call out to Dax over by the musicians. “Hey, Dax. Nice to meet you, man. I’ve gotta go—I’ve got an unexpected dinner date with your diabolical sister. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to talk another time.”
Dax waves. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll have a chance to talk one of these days, Josh—maybe at the hospital when Kat gives birth to your baby?”
I stop dead in my tracks and turn around to face him, my cheeks instantly burning.
Dax shoots me an evil smile that reminds me so much of his heinous sister, it freaks me the fuck out. “Don’t worry, Sir Faraday,” Dax says, still smiling. “Kat didn’t tell anyone else in our family about your little ‘oops’—it’s just impossible for her to keep a secret from me.” He winks.
I swallow hard, words failing me.
“I won’t say a word to anyone,” Dax adds. “I promise.”
“Thanks,” I manage to say.
“I’m actually gonna enjoy watching you guys tell the fam.” He chuckles. “Ought to be extremely entertaining.”
My stomach flips over. “Yeah. Should be a real blast.”
“So, yeah, looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, huh? Assuming, of course, you’re planning to do more than write checks and attend your kid’s birthday parties once a year?”
“Hey, Dax,” Jonas says stepping forward, his muscles visibly tensing. “Josh would never—”
“I got this, bro,” I say, putting up my hand. “Dax, I’m gonna do a whole lot more for this kid than write checks and attend birthday parties. I’m gonna be this baby’s father in every sense of the word—every single day for the rest of my life. You can count on it.”
Dax’s face softens. “Good.” He shifts his weight. “Sorry. Just looking out for my sister.”
“Understandably,” I say. “I’d do the same.”
Dax beams me a genuine smile this time, without even a hint of evil. “You better go, man,” he says. “My sister’s not exactly patient.”
I chuckle. “That’s an understatement. She’s hell on wheels, bro. But I wouldn’t have her any other way.”
Dax nods, seemingly pleased with that answer. “You better go.”
I hug my brother goodbye—nice to know he was ready to beat the shit out of Kat’s little brother for me, if necessary—gotta love Jonas—and stride into the kitchen.
“Change of plans,” I say to the chef. “My brother and his fiancée will be dining tonight—so let the booze flow, after all.”
The chef says something but I don’t catch it. I’m too busy grabbing the keys to my rented Ferrari off the counter and racing out of the kitchen.
“Wait, Josh,” Jonas yells at my back, just before I make my escape through the front door of my house. “Hang on just a sec.”
I stop, though it pains me to do it.
I turn around to face my brother. “Jonas, please, I gotta go. Kat’s waiting, man.”
