Page 76 of Takeover

“Miss Tara said I can go to the store with her next time,” Evan says. The boys return to their food. Tara inspects, praises them for their hard work, and slides the pizzas into the oven. Once that’s done, she tells me she’ll be right back. She takes Harper from me and she and Cheryl leave the kitchen.

The boys run off to play video games while the pizzas cook, and I’m left alone with John for the first time in a long time. I strip myself of my suit jacket and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. I offer one to John, but he shakes his head no. He takes a seat at the messy table and watches me.

“Is everything okay, John?” I take the seat opposite him and wait for him to speak.

He puts both hands on the table and looks me directly in the eye. “I’m just concerned about my daughter.” The easy going guy I got to know once our deal was signed is gone, but he hasn’t turned into the businessman I met either. This guy sitting directly across from me is one I’ve never met before.

“What’s going on with Vickie?” I ask while I sip my water. He narrows his eyes at me.

“I’m worried about Tara,” he clarifies.

I put the bottle down and take a deep breath. “Why would you be worried about Tara? Trust me, she’s fine. I make sure of it.”

“Don’t mess with my daughter, Bradford.”

“Excuse me?” I ask, clearly affronted by the accusation. “I love your daughter.”

He raises both hands and says, “She hurts very easily. She was the most affected when her mother left, and for whatever reason, she felt she had to take care of me and the twins. She’s going to put her all into this. She’s going to give you and Vincent one hundred and ten percent.” He waves his hands around my house. “And when things don’t work out, she’ll be devastated.”

“I think that’s one of the most offensive things anyone’s ever said to me, and I’ve been called every name in the book at some point in my life. I’m not a man who jumps into relationships, and I definitely would not involve my son in a relationship I felt wasn’t going to work out, as you say.” I look toward the living room, hoping Tara and Cheryl would return, but I don’t hear a peep.

“Look, I hear things. Last I heard, your ex wants you back. Don’t fuck with my daughter.”

“I’m divorced, John. You know what that’s like. Don’t punish me because of my ex-wife.” I stand up, ready to go change out of this suit and to leave this conversation behind.

“You dated your ex-wife for seven months before you proposed. You dated my daughter for two and asked her to shack up with you.” The accusation is clear, and all patience I had for him disappears. I turn on my heels, ready to set a few things straight with him, but the rapid footsteps of two little boys stop me. Tara, Cheryl, and Harper are right behind the boys. As soon as Tara gets in the kitchen, she sets Harper down, and the little girl wobbles over to Vincent and Evan.

“Look at how pretty the evil one looks, Dad,” Tara says.

John smiles at his wife. “We have to go. Our reservation is in half an hour.” John checks his watch and grabs his wife’s coat from the back of a chair. After a phone call to Earl, I let the Taylors know my driver will take them wherever they need to go, and after a quick goodbye, they leave.

I put my annoyance with John aside and run to change out of my suit. By the time I return, the table has been set and there are several pizzas on the counter. We eat dinner. The boys make a mess and tell jokes between bites, and Tara and I take turns feeding Harper and keeping her face cleaned.

By the time we’ve eaten and we get the kids cleaned up, I’m exhausted.

“This is a far cry from the night we had planned,” I whisper in her ear. We put on a movie for the kids in the theatre room, and while they’re distracted, I pull Tara on my lap.

“But it’s still perfect.” The second I kiss her ear, Harper walks over to us and climbs onto Tara’s lap.

“She’s so cute,” Tara says, kissing Harper’s fat cheeks. “Too bad we can’t keep her.” Harper squeals, slides off Tara’s lap, and runs back to the boys.

“It’s not so bad, Tara.” I pull her closer and kiss her ear again. “We can make our own baby.” She goes completely still in my arms, slowly turns her head, and looks me in the eye.

“What did you just say?”

“I said we can make our own baby. Grow our family.” She swallows, but the boys and Harper join us on the couch, ending our conversation. Harper crawls on Tara’s lap again and the five of us watch the rest of the movie together.

Sometime later, Cheryl and John return to take baby Harper with them, we let the boys wear themselves out in the playroom, and by the time I join Tara in the bedroom, I’m eager to sink into her.

The second I lock the door, I practically jump on the bed. I don’t know how, but our clothes are ripped off in record time. Like a hungry man, I slide into her and she moans my name.

“You’re going to take that?” Her eyes lock with mine through the mirror. She quickly breaks our stare and looks down at the package of birth control pills. She takes a pill, puts it in her mouth, and swallows it. The disappointment hits me like a punch in the gut.

“About what you said last night,” she begins.

I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. “About us having a baby. Well, these,” I say, picking up the pills and shaking them, “aren’t going to help.”

“Oh, really? Thanks for mansplaining that to me.” I catch her off guard when I swat her ass, but the hit doesn’t have much impact since she has on that hideous robe. I hold her in my arms and look at her through the mirror. She drops her smirk, bites her lip, and looks away. “About that,” she says again.

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