Chapter 16

DELILAH

I quickly head to the door, Wells' cum still leaking from my pussy and the worry that we'll be caught.

No way am I meeting my dad and grandparents for the first time, and they catch me with an older man in my room, let alone their son and brother.

Hesitantly, I turn the doorknob, my hand trembling, nervous about what's on the other side. I force a smile on my face, hoping to mask my fear.

"Hi," I say softly, taking in the trio waiting on the other side of the door.

Rhonda, with her charcoal-colored hair cascading down her shoulders and glasses perched on her nose, has a beaming smile that lights up her face as she stares at me. Her husband, Roy, stands there, his arm protectively wrapped around his son, a small smirk dancing on his lips. And Jonas, my father, he looks like hell.

His salt and pepper hair, which was perfectly slicked back last night, is now in disarray and his green eyes, which I can see now match mine, are weighed down with large bags.

"Good morning, Delilah. I hope it's okay that we stopped by. If you're open to it, we'd like to chat for a bit. Just get to know you better and see where we can go from here," Rhonda says like the perfect delegate of the group.

"Yeah, that's fine. Please, come in. Derek isn't here right now. He's down at the pool, so we have the place to ourselves." I step back and allow them to come into the suite.

Rhonda and Jonas sit on the couch while Roy grabs a chair.

I stand awkwardly, contemplating if I want to sit or stand since the only open seat is the cushion next to Jonas. Am I ready to sit on the couch next to my dad? Something so small suddenly seems very intimate.

Nervously, I approach the couch and hesitantly sit down next to Jonas, my heart pounding in my chest. The room is quiet as we all take each other in. Their curious gazes fixate on me, and my eyes dance between the three of them as I nervously chew the inside of my cheek. I can't believe this is how my life is playing out.

Rhonda, once again, takes the initiative and speaks up before anyone else.

"Just in case you missed it last night, or it slipped your mind, I'm Rhonda, this is my husband, Roy, and our son, Jonas. Despite the unfavorable circumstances, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to meet you."

"That's putting it mildly," I mumble. "But par for the course with Claudia. I can't recall a single moment when she made my life easy; it has always been a struggle with her."

Jonas jerks, his shoulders slumping, and I meet his gaze with a furrowed brow, sensing the weight of his sorrow. With a gradual motion, he turns his head, and our eyes lock.

"I had no idea. I swear I didn't. If I did and knew how she treated you, I would have intervened. She's always been a bit uptight and conceited," he murmurs, his tone filled with disappointment. "But I never expected her to be cruel."

"Well, for starters, my whole life, I've been told that you left the minute you found out about me, and that unwanted feeling has stuck with me. Then add that I wasn't popular enough, or slutty enough, in school. I worried too much about school and not enough about how I looked."

"I'm so sorry," he says, his words dripping with regret.

"It's not on you. But I do want to know. If you didn't know about me, why did she move to Vermont? Why not tell you and see if you wanted to be a dad?"

"Claudia is… needy in a relationship. When we were younger, she was very clingy and jealous of anyone I talked to." He sighs and shakes his head. "If I said more than my order to the barista… I was flirting." He throws up his hands in exasperation. "Greet the old lady at Walmart… flirting. It was overwhelming," he continues, looking away, "and I decided to end the relationship."

He glances back at me with a shrug. "Then she just moved. I assumed she went for business or some scheme Drew cooked up."

"She moved to Vermont so she wouldn't be ridiculed for being a single mom." I air quote the last two words. "The minute I left for college, she moved back to Chicago."

"What did you major in?" Roy asks.

I look his way. "I have an undergrad in marketing. I do freelance marketing for companies and work at a coffee shop for extra cash."

"Why do you work two jobs? Claudia and Drew have money. They can't help you at all?" Roy pushes.

"I don't want their money. It often comes with strings attached. They didn't approve of my major or my job. They wanted me to do something with a home economics vibe: like interior design or party planning. Claudia really hates that I live in Vegas and don't even get me started on all her comments when I was dancing." My eyes widen at what I just confessed without meaning to. Now they're going to know that I'm a stripper, or was, I guess.

"Dancing?" Rhonda questions, her eyebrows shooting up.

My throat tightens as I clear it, gathering the courage to speak my truth. "Yeah. I'm a stripper. Or was, I guess." My voice quivers.

"What the fuck?" Jonas snaps.

I whip my head to glare at him, my eyes welling up with tears as I try to hold back the wave of anger.

"You don't get to condemn my choices." I cross my arms defiantly. "Being twenty-one years old, I can do as I please." I raise my chin slightly. "I enjoy dancing. I make good money and it pisses off my mother. So it's a win-win."

I sigh. "I can't strip pregnant, so I got a job at a local coffee shop and I hate it."

My fingers drum on the table. "I wish my marketing would take off, but I'm not there yet. Gradually, I am establishing a client base and a portfolio. When I can stop needing extra cash, I'll stop dancing."

"Speaking of the baby," Rhonda interrupts, breaking the tension. "When are you due? Do you know what you're having? Where is the father? Was it that nice, handsome boy who was at dinner?"

"I'm due December twelfth, but I don't know what I'm having. I wanted to be surprised. No, Derek is not the father. He's just my best friend and has been since middle school."

"Is the father in the picture? Does he live in Vegas as well?"

My eyes briefly flicker toward the bedroom where the father of my child is hiding from his family, but I quickly avert my gaze.

"Ummm. I just told him, actually. He was a hard guy to track down. Another disappointment, I'm sure, but I didn't know him. It was a one-night thing, and I finally found him, so he's only known for a few days."

"Oh."

"Listen. I can tell I'm not the person you were expecting, or perhaps what you had hoped for. I'm twenty-one and pregnant with a one-night-stand's baby. I'm an ex-stripper and I'm sure there's more you'll hate as the relationship progresses. If you want to cut your losses now, I won't hold it against you." With a sense of dread, I reassure him, "I've not known you my whole life thus far, so the rest of it won't be a struggle."

I know they have money and seem like nice people, but I can also tell that Rhonda and Roy are a little more proper, which is fine, but I'm far from meeting that standard. So I'd rather they just cut the cord now if they're going to be put off by my choices or judge me like Claudia and Drew do.

"No!" Jonas shouts, his face flushed. He quickly lowers his voice, glancing around. "I can't speak for my parents, but personally, I have no desire for that."

He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "It's a shock to know about you and what you do, but it's not anything that is going to send me running. We've just met and I've missed two decades of your life already. I don't want to miss out on anything else."

He runs a hand down his face. "It's probably going to be awkward and I bet we even argue a time or two, but I want to know you."

Jonas places a hand on his chest, his voice filled with sincerity. "I want to be your dad in whatever way that looks like now that you're grown."

"I'd like that," I reply, a smile spreading across my face.

Rhonda's voice quivers as she agrees, her eyes misting. "We feel the same."

Her hand trembles as she timidly reaches around Jonas to grab mine, her touch tentative yet warm.

"I've wanted to be a grandma for a long time," she continues softly, with a hopeful smile. "I'd love to be yours. We'll just skip tea parties and dress up and go to lunches and get pedicures."

Rhonda's expression brightens as she shifts gears, her tone filled with excitement. "We have a reservation at six tonight at the Brazilian steakhouse downstairs. Will you join us?"

She takes out her phone, fingers hovering over the screen. "And I'd love to exchange numbers so we can text if that's okay?"

I look at her, and then at Roy, who's nodding subtly.

"Okay. Yeah. I can do dinner. I'll meet you three down there at six. And my number is—" I wait for her to grab her phone and look at me. "Eight. One. Five. Nine. Zero. One. Seven. Three. Four. Nine," I tell her, making sure I don't mess it up this time.

"Perfect. I'll be in touch, and we'll see you at dinner. We can make plans to visit you or you can come to Chicago. Bring your friend."

"Thank you." I stand, preparing to walk them to the door.

Roy and Rhonda rise from their seats, their shuffling feet filling the room as they walk toward the door. As Rhonda passes me, she hesitates for a moment, before suddenly spinning around and enveloping me in a tight hug.

"It's been amazing finally having the chance to meet you. I can't wait to know you better and make you a part of our family."

"Thanks," I whisper, my voice choked with tears, her kindness catching me off guard.

She releases me and heads out into the hall, where Roy is already waiting for her and holding the door. When I turn, I am surprised to find Jonas standing silently by my side.

"Is it alright if I text you as well?" he whispers, looking at the floor.

"Of course." I smile as a lone tear trails down my cheek. I hate that Claudia has done this to us.

No, I hate she did it to him. I'm used to her brand of crazy, but Jonas is not.

"Can I tell people I have a daughter?" He averts his gaze, his cheeks turning rosy.

"Yeah. You do, don't you?" I laugh.

A faint smile graces his lips, but his eyes well up with tears, reflecting the sorrow hidden within. "Yeah, I guess I do."

Jonas leaves the suite, and I shut the door and lock it, turning and leaning against the wood as I blow out a breath.

That was not as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still awkward as hell. I'm glad I got my 'dirty little secrets' laid out now, though. Well, minus the one where I'm pregnant with their other son's baby. But we need to tell them that together, or at least have a conversation about how and when we're going to break the news to them.

The bedroom door opens, and Wells steps out, dressed and looking sexy as ever. "That seemed to go well," he says.

"It did. They didn't seem upset when I told them I strip or that my baby is the product of a one-night stand."

"They're good people. They may seem hoity-toity, but I promise they're normal people. They even curse, burp, and fart." He smirks.

I smack at him and laugh. "Well, your brother seemed a little put off by the stripping."

Wells raises a brow. "He just met his daughter and found out she's naked dancing in front of strangers for cash. Can you blame him? He's a good guy, Little Doe. He'll be an amazing dad once he gets over the shock."

"And what about us?" I ask.

"What about us?" he echoes.

"How do we tell them, or when do we tell them that this baby"—I rub my large belly—"is our baby?"