Loving You: Mpreg Romance (My One-Night Stand Series Book 2) Read online

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” the man said to him. Ethan heard honest sincerity rather than pity in his voice.

  Over the past couple of years, Ethan got tired of hearing those words, more so for the fact that they actually thought James took his life. Although his words were sincere, Ethan had to wonder with all the empty seats in their section, why the guy was sitting next to him.

  But instead of saying as much, and risk insulting the man, he said, “Thank you.”

  “Want to talk about it? I know about the loss you’re feeling. My mom died a couple of months ago.” The guy seemed nice, but Ethan was not the let’s share our thoughts and feelings with a complete stranger type of person.

  “No thanks,” he muttered. “And, I’m also sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.”

  “The good thing is you still have your dad.”

  The guy shook his head, “I never knew my father, he died before I had the chance to meet him.”

  “Oh,” was all Ethan could say. They were silent for a few seconds. It seemed neither knew exactly what to say to each other.

  “Like I said if you want to talk about it, I’m willing to listen, we have a couple hours to kill if you feel like talking. Plus, it’s kind of my job actually.” The man reached into his front pocket, pulled out a business card and handed it to Ethan.

  Ethan looked down at the card and read, Richard Kaisson, grief counselor and his number underneath. “Thank you,” he said, pocketing the card, still not sure why the guy was still sitting next to him.

  Their conversation went no further as the man closed his eyes and relaxed in his seat. Ethan looked away from the guy, back down to his phone and scrolled past the pictures of his dad and deleted most of the ones of Sean.

  He got to a picture he had forgotten he took. It was of his mother and Sean, the first time they met at her favorite restaurant. Ethan had introduced Sean to his mother and surprisingly, they got along. Even explaining his suspicions of his mother being the cause of his father's death hadn't dampened Sean's relationship with his mother.

  During the entire dinner, Ethan had felt like the third wheel. Sean and his mother had spoken around and at him. It was if they were flirting with each other. He was upset and embarrassed that neither of them noticed when he left and returned to the table. He was only needed when Simone insisted that Ethan take a picture of her and Sean, to commemorate their new friendship.

  What do you think now, Mother? The bastard cheated on me. But then again that might earn him more brownie points in her eyes.

  He remembered all too well the argument that he and Sean had had that night. Ethan had been seriously irked that both his boyfriend and mother had ignored him, and Sean had insisted that he was just overreacting. The whole thing had left him feeling like a child, just wanting his mother to recognize and appreciate him.

  Putting his phone away, he slumped down in his seat and then closed his eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the other passengers around him.

  He opened his eyes, sitting up in his chair when the attendant finally came by. Ethan ordered the strongest drink they served on the plane. He tried not to dwell on the fact that he was running away again from his problems rather than facing them. He and Sean were officially over, but it seemed his ex-lover somehow missed the memo.

  He didn’t want to imagine the number of times that Sean had possibly cheated on him while he was always traveling back and forth from Chicago to New York. After his father's death, Ethan had quit his job as a pediatrician, working at one of the most prestigious hospitals and taken over running the charter school his father had started in New York. Ethan had never regretted it since. Even when his mother pressured him to sell the school, he told her no. That was part of his father’s legacy, and he wanted to continue his dad’s dream.

  He enjoyed being a doctor and knew that he made his father proud to see him graduate from medical school. He was certain his father would have been equally as proud that he took over the position as head of Ravenwood Academy Charter School.

  With the Academy currently out on vacation, Ethan had planned to spend his free time with Sean, finally planning their wedding. That ship had fucking sailed. Instead, he was bouncing around, unsure of what to do and not ready to go back home to New York.

  Despite the past couple of failed relationships, Ethan considered himself a very good looking guy and he knew he had a lot of great qualities. Any man should man should be lucky to want to be with him. He was young, successful, and even without his family's money, he had his own personal wealth. Ethan had learned to invest his money wisely at a young age, which had enabled him to take a couple of months off before starting college. Ethan mentally admitted he had flaws like any human being, but he was definitely not the sole reason for his failed relationships.

  The sound of a baby crying brought a small smile to his lips. One day he would like to have children. While some still continuously criticize Morgan Leap, Ethan thanked him for his ingenuity. Ethan loved kids and wanted a bunch of them, and being able to carry them himself made him happy. His love for children was also one of the main reasons he was ok with taking over his father’s position.

  He loved seeing the smiling faces of the parents and children he educated. Many doubted his ability to take on the enormous responsibility of running Ravenwood, because of his age, but with the encouragement of Marilyn Hamilton he was proving perfectly capable. He owed a lot to Marilyn, who was a force to be reckoned with. She had held his hand until he was ready to stand on his own.

  Smother to Christen and his brothers, but Wonder Woman to me.

  A jolt caused Ethan to open his eyes, he hadn’t realized he’d closed them and sat up in his seat. He looked at his companion, who remained unmoved. Slumping further down into his chair, Ethan set his thoughts to something else, specifically his trip to Vegas.

  Las Vegas.

  He hoped that getting away and staying away for a little longer would give him some perspective on what he wanted to do with his life. Ethan disliked complications in relationships. And Sean cheating on him just complicated everything. He would rather break things off and walk away then argue. At times, Ethan felt disconnected from himself and everyone around him because of his ability to cut individuals who had hurt him out of his life.

  He smiled. I plan on getting drunk and staying that way for the entire weekend. Who knows, maybe I will get laid, and Sean will certainly be nothing but a bad memory. As the saying goes what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

  ** ** ** ** **

  Ethan’s plane landed in Las Vegas, and he stupidly turned on his phone, which instantly began to ring. Ethan answered without looking at the caller ID while making his way towards the airport exit, he didn’t need to; he knew exactly who it was. “Stop calling me,” he said, answering the phone.

  "Finally, you answer your fucking phone," came an irritating and unwelcome voice.

  Ethan sighed, getting into the first cab that he saw waiting outside the exit. Covering the mouthpiece, he gave the name of the hotel he was going to be staying before speaking again on the phone. "What do you want, Sean?”

  "Where are you?" he asked.

  "Where I am is no longer your concern, remember you ended our relationship.” Ethan decided he was getting a new phone number, something he should have done weeks ago. “You know, Sean, if you wanted out of our relationship all you had to do was tell me. Cheating was beneath you.”

  "But that's just it, I don't want out. Come on, Ethan…” Sean began, “it was the first time.”

  “You mean the first time you got caught,” he interrupted.

  “Come on, Ethan, you don’t want to give up on a good thing. Did you forget we’re engaged to be married?”

  Ethan scoffed at the last statement. “I feel like we have been over this one time too many.” Ethan didn’t want to argue with Sean and tried to remain calm. "Look," Ethan continued. "It's over," he stated with a finality in his voice, looking in the r
ear view mirror, hoping the cab driver was not paying attention to his call.

  "But I love you,” Sean said. “Believe me, it was one little mistake." Ethan wished he could have heard just a tiny bit of sincerity in Sean’s voice in order to believe him, but the apology sounded forced.

  “You call cheating on the man you love one little mistake, Sean? As if it is something to quickly sweep under the fucking rug. Did our relationship mean that little to you?” Ethan didn’t raise his voice, he remained in control, but his anger was not unmistakable.

  “Come on, princess, get over your little temper tantrum and fucking forgive me already,” Sean demanded. Sean always called him that when he felt Ethan was acting like a ‘diva’. He'd always hated that fucking nickname; it sounded more like an insult than a pet name.

  Ethan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Listen, I’m going to tell you one more time. And God, I really hope you get it this time. Sean, it's over. Please don’t call me anymore.”

  “Ethan, wait!” Sean began, but Ethan, deciding that he would rather not hear any more of Sean’s lies, hung up the phone.

  He was coming to his senses in regards to his relationship with Sean. Granted, he was kind hearted, most would call him a pushover and Sean took advantage of his kind nature, but no longer would he let a person do that to him. Looking down at his phone, he was tempted to throw it out of the window, but Ethan realized he still needed his contacts for work.

  The driver dropped him off at his destination, and Ethan gave the cabbie a big tip for having to bear with his conversation. It was pretty early when he checked in. All Ethan wanted to do was relax for the rest of the day, he decided to take a shower. Once he got out of the shower and dried off, he crawled into bed naked and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

  Later that night, he woke up feeling well rested and with one thing in mind; having some fun and lots of it. He called down to the front desk and ordered room service. On the recommendation of the concierge, Ethan decided to go to a club called the Oracle. The need to be around people who had no idea who he was sounded just great, even if it was merely for a couple of hours. Dressed in his best clubbing outfit, he examined himself appreciatively in the mirror and smiled. Even in his current mood, he looked damned good.

  Ethan reached down to pick up his wallet and realized he was still wearing his engagement ring. He took it off, and got ready to place it on the dresser, then thought better of it and slid it into his pants pocket.

  Maybe there’s a river nearby I can throw it in.

  The minute he walked into the club, Ethan wasted no time heading straight for the bar. He didn’t take the time to look at the decor nor did he pay attention to what music the DJ was playing. Pulling out a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket, he waved it in the air, getting the bartender's attention immediately.

  “What’s your poison, cutie?” the good looking bartender asked, eyeing Ethan up and down. He quickly read the bartender’s name tag, Charlie. The bartender was definitely handsome and tall, with a short cropped hair, and a set of interesting tattoos on both his arms. On any given day Ethan would have flirted with Charlie, but right then he had one objective in mind.

  “Well, Charlie, why don’t you surprise me. I’m in the mood to be a little adventurous,” Ethan told him immediately, “and keep them coming, when this,” he said, putting the one-hundred-dollar bill on the bar top, “runs out, let me know.”

  “You got it,” Charlie replied, taking his money and fixing him a drink he had never heard of but tasted so damn good.

  Once he had his first drink in hand, Ethan turned around and inspected the club and its party goers. He watched the mix of couples dancing, laughing and drinking.

  The club, from what Ethan could see, used to be a warehouse. It had two levels. Stairs in various parts, lead to the upper level, where tables and chairs went all the way around the railings. Downstairs was all for dancing and mingling. The music was pumping, and everyone seemed to be having fun, something Ethan was ready for. He was ready for anything to happen; it was the night he would take his life back.

  He quickly gulped down the rest his drink and immediately Charlie had another one waiting for him. Feeling the beat of the music, Ethan skirted his way over to the dance floor. He began to dance to whatever song was playing, dancing by himself, not caring if anyone joined him or not. After a few songs and a couple of shots, courtesy of other club hoppers, he was sweaty and slightly buzzed. He felt fucking great. He walked over to the bar and Charlie, the ever-efficient bartender, was there to take his request.

  Charlie leaned against the other side of the bar closer to him. “So, enjoying yourself, gorgeous?”

  Ethan smiled after putting down his drink, “I am.” He leaned closer to Charlie and looked up into the man’s dark eyes. “You make excellent drinks.”

  Charlie bowed his head slightly, “I aim to please.” Ethan threw his head back and laughed as Charlie cleared his throat and pulled back, then grabbed the towel and began wiping down the bar top. “So where are you from?”

  Ethan snickered, “New York.”

  “Are they all as gorgeous as you in New York?” Ethan felt his face get warm. Who the fuck was this guy kidding? His pickup lines were so lame they might have worked if he had a lot more to drink.

  Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when someone stepped up behind Ethan and sandwiched him between the bar and whispered in his ear. The voice was smooth and velvety as the man attached to it. “Fancy seeing you here.” Ethan shivered and closed his eyes. He knew that voice anywhere. Before meeting Sean, there were times he dreamt of the man and his deep baritone voice whispering in his ear, drawing sweet moans from him.

  Feeling a bit sober, Ethan turned around, and their eyes connected his meeting those bright green eyes. Their faces were so close to each other that Ethan had to lean back a bit, putting some space between them. Slowly and without shame, he let his eyes travel from those piercing green eyes down to the man’s broad chest, stopping at his crotch, and moving back up again.

  “Well, well, it’s Tyler Hamilton.” Ethan said with a wide smile. Ethan had always had a crush on Tyler ever since the first time they met.

  “In the flesh,” Tyler responded.

  Ethan guessed Tyler had a right to be cocky. He was sexy as hell. The dark suit with a white shirt he was wearing looked like it was made for him and likely was. Tyler was not a small man in stature, Ethan guessed he was about six one, and two hundred and fifty pounds of hard muscles. He had naturally olive skin and wavy black hair and recently, over the past couple of months, he’d been sporting a neatly trimmed beard. Ethan took a sip of his drink, hoping that it would calm his racing heart.

  He understood why men and women threw themselves at Tyler. From what he knew of the middle Hamilton brother, Tyler dated men or women with little substance in the brain department. It made Ethan a bit angry that Tyler always looked at him as Christen’s best friend and maybe another brother, rather than a potential lover.

  “Well, isn’t this a surprise, what are you doing here?” Ethan asked.

  “I could ask you the same thing.” Tyler tilted his head, studying Ethan. “What are you doing here?” He asked, looking around.

  “What does it look like? I’m having fun, what else…”

  “Uh huh,” Tyler responded, not believing him. “Well, are you? Having fun that is?”

  “Yes, Charlie has been an excellent host.” Ethan turned around and winked at Charlie, who was still standing behind him, watching their interaction.

  “That means we did our job, by making you feel welcomed in our little establishment,” Tyler smiled.

  “You own the club?” he asked surprised. “I had no idea Hamilton Enterprise was in the clubbing business.”

  “They aren’t,” Tyler said, shrugging his shoulders. “This belongs to Charlie and me.”

  That completely surprised Ethan. He never saw Tyler as the type to step fro
m behind his father and twin brother’s shadow. Tyler seemed the type to follow directly behind them, doing everything they asked of him without question. It was one of the reasons he and Tyler disagreed each time they saw each other.

  “Surprised?” Tyler questioned.

  “A little,” he admitted. “I had no idea you wanted to do things on your own. I thought you worked for Hamilton Enterprise.” Ethan had heard what a shark Tyler was in the boardroom when it came to acquisitions of other companies. Ethan wondered if the same zeal carried over to the bedroom.

  “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Tyler said, leaning closer to him. Tyler abruptly pulled back as if remembering who he was. Ethan’s eyes travel up and down Tyler’s body, admiring him appreciatively.

  Tyler raised and eyebrow before asking, “See, something you like?”

  Cocky bastard, thought Ethan. God, he is handsome. Ethan mentally pictured Tyler without his clothes on and hoped his body language didn’t display his thoughts. He studied Tyler a bit more; Ethan couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was off with Tyler. There was a sort of dark, dangerous aura to him, something he’d never noticed before.

  “So are you here alone or do I finally get to meet the elusive fiancé I have heard so much about?” Tyler asked, cutting into Ethan’s thoughts.

  Seriously, did he have to ask about Sean?

  Ethan did not answer the question. “Buy me a drink, Tyler,” he requested instead.

  Tyler raised an eyebrow and looked at the empty glass in Ethan’s hand. “Haven’t you had enough?”

  “Not nearly enough,” Ethan muttered. “I came here to have fun and let loose,” he said a bit louder.

  Not deterred at all by Ethan trying to distract him. “Where is your fiancé, shouldn’t he be the one buying you a drink?” Tyler questioned. “And getting loose with?”