Page 30 of The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers #2)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Levi
Burn It Down
A fter two days of giving Missy space, Levi was at his wits’ end.
She was clearly avoiding him, staying either in her art studio or in her room, all the time.
Meanwhile he was stuck sitting around waiting for his agent to gather up interest in him, and bothering Declan about when Sara would be served with the court order for the paternity test.
But with a knock at the door, it all came to a head when he found Sara, with her pregnant belly, standing on his grandmother’s front porch.
“We need to talk,” she said, holding her belly.
“I agree, which is why I’ve been trying to call you, but you keep ignoring my calls,” Levi said, stepping out on the porch and closing the front door.
Sara let out a deep breath. “I wasn’t sure what to say. But then I got served by your lawyer today and figured I couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer.”
“What the hell is going on, Sara? Why would you let Maddox think this baby is mine, but not even talk to me about it? And why would you make it all so public?”
“I didn’t. I mean I didn’t realize it would get so out of control.”
“What did you think would happen?”
“Could we talk inside? Traffic was terrible, I need to pee, and I’m starving.”
Levi sighed. “Fine.” He walked her down the wraparound porch to the side of the house so they could enter the kitchen.
“Is this the home you grew up in?”
“Yes.” He was annoyed and didn’t want to go down memory lane with her.
He showed her to the hall bathroom and got a glimpse of Missy in the sunroom at her easel.
She was studying a new piece she must have started that morning, and he wondered if she was feeling as sunny as the yellow hues on the canvas looked.
Once Sara was done, he brought her back into the kitchen and started to pull out things to make her a sandwich.
“Oh, Levi, I didn’t know you were having company today,” Gran said, walking in with a big smile like a Cheshire cat.
Sara smiled sweetly as she sat down at the kitchen table.
“Gran, this is Sara Baxter. We went to college together.”
“Hello. You’re the woman who may or may not be carrying my first great-grandchild,” Gran said. “It’s so nice to meet you.” But her accusing and playful tone put Levi on edge. He knew when his gran was upset, and it was tough to know what she’d do.
Sara had the decency to blush and stayed quiet with what looked like a fake smile plastered on her face.
“Levi, if that sandwich is for her, she shouldn’t be eating that lunch meat. There are too many nitrates for a pregnant woman.”
“Oh,” Levi said, and made her a simple cheese sandwich. “We were just going to have a quick conversation about all the gossip,” Levi said when his grandmother lingered.
“Alright, I’ll leave you two alone. Maybe Missy and I will go into town for lunch,” Gran said, just as Missy walked in.
Her eyes grew big with surprise but she recovered fast. “You read my mind, Mrs. Hart. I’ve been craving the green goddess at May’s all morning.”
“Hello,” Sara said, sitting up straighter and studying Missy with a tight smile.
“Hello.” Missy didn’t offer more.
“Missy is our artist-in-residence here at Hart House, and my companion,” Gran said. “Missy, this is Sara. She may or may not be carrying Levi’s child—she’s not sure.”
Gran did not fail to make it clear exactly what she thought about a woman not knowing who the father of her child was.
“Hello,” Missy said but barely met Sara’s eyes. “Actually, Mrs. Hart, let’s go have pie for lunch and then stop by the art supply store.”
“That sounds lovely,” Gran said and let Missy guide her out of the kitchen.
Levi felt gutted having Missy meet Sara face to face, after everything that had happened between them. And that was the first time they’d been in a room together in three days, but she didn’t even look at him.
“She’s beautiful,” Sara said.
“Tea or water?” he asked her as he took down two glasses.
“Tea please.”
Once he heard the front door close, he brought their drinks to the table and sat across from Sara.
“So why did you drive out here when you’ve been ignoring my calls and texts for days?”
“Because I needed to ask you in person if you would help me.”
“Help you with what?”
“Speak to Maddox, convince him we made a mistake hooking up and that the minute it was over I was devastated.”
Levi sat stunned. “You can’t be serious. You use me to make Maddox jealous, get pregnant, let everyone think you’re not sure who the father is, and you want me to talk to Maddox?”
She just pursed her lips and didn’t respond.
“Why would he even listen to me?”
“You can let me worry about that—just promise you’ll tell him it was a mistake.”
For the first time Levi realized how desperate Sara was for Maddox’s attention. She wanted Maddox so much she was willing to hurt him as long as his attention remained focused on her. And she didn’t care at all about Levi’s feelings, or embarrassing him, or that she’d hurt his career.
“Who sold those photos of us together four months ago, Sara? There was no press out that night. We were at a house party.”
She took a small bite of her sandwich. “How should I know? It would have been better for me if those pictures had never seen the light of day.”
“Oh really, I could swear you said Maddox got so jealous, he realized he loved you and wanted you back.”
She played with the bread on her plate. “I mean in the long run, that night has caused me more trouble than it was worth.”
Levi tapped the table and shook his head. “I see, so your plan to use me and hurt Maddox backfired because now he can’t unsee you with me.”
She finally looked up. “He’s such a hypocrite, like he expects me to have never dated anyone else before him.”
“No, I think he expected you not to use an old friend, or sleep with his teammate.” Levi laughed. “I can’t believe I actually thought you had finally decided you were into me. You played me so easily.”
“Look, I don’t need you making things worse. But if you’re willing to speak to Maddox then I’ll take this ridiculous paternity test. Otherwise my lawyer said I don’t have to. And we can wait until the baby is born.”
Levi couldn’t remember a time where he was overwhelmed with such anger and disappointment in someone he’d thought was a friend. And now he knew what Maddox must’ve felt like when he found out his teammate slept with his girlfriend.
“Okay, Sara, I’ll talk to Maddox, but you have to do the test first. Because I don’t see how me speaking to him is going to help you win him back.”
“But if I do the test then I lose all leverage.”
“Would you like my attorney to draw up a contract for us to each sign? I’ll talk to Maddox if he’ll see me, but I think you’re missing the most important part about that test.”
She shoved the plate away from her and looked at him with defiance.
“You need to prove he’s the father, because otherwise he’s going to wash his hands of you forever. You could just get him to do the test.”
But then it struck him that maybe the baby wasn’t Maddox’s.
“Unless you’re really not sure whose child you’re carrying?”
“You don’t understand our connection. Maddox needs me.”
“If you’re so sure about that and you know it’s his baby, then why drag me into this?”
“If you come back to Atlanta, then Maddox will never be able to forget what we did.”
“What you did—you used me and you hooked up with his teammate just to manipulate him.”
“Stop saying that.”
“Alright, let’s go back to Atlanta. Once you take the test, I’ll talk to Maddox, and you’ll make a public announcement that the baby is not mine.”
“And you won’t play for Atlanta?”
“I can’t believe how selfish you are or how much nerve you have to let me think I was going to become a father for a week, ignore my calls, then come to my home, and demand I not play for the one team I ever wanted to play for.”
She lifted her chin. “That is the deal if you want the results now. Otherwise you’ll have to see me in court. I wonder how tough a judge would be on an emotional pregnant woman?”
Levi couldn’t believe he’d never realized how conniving Sara was. He’d had a crush on her for years and when she started dating his teammate he’d been jealous. Now he realized he’d dodged a bullet. Almost.
“I’ll see you in Atlanta, our appointment is at ten A.M. tomorrow. My lawyer said they’ll compare my blood test to your DNA to determine if the baby is yours. But to expedite the lab results, it’ll cost you.” She pulled a business card out of her purse. “This is the place.”
“I’ll be there, and I’ll speak with Maddox after.”
“Perfect, just remember to tell him it was a mistake and you’ll be leaving Atlanta for good.”
Levi saw her out and then phoned Declan to let him know his plan to head to Atlanta to take the test. Then he packed a bag and waited for Missy and Gran to return before he drove back to Atlanta to clear his name.