Baby Be Mine (Spinsters & Casanovas Series Book 1) (32 page)

CHAPTER 27

This was utterly and undeniably stupid.
Hunter had officially become a stalker, adopting the old-fashioned
style of trailing his prey. Even worse, he had to disguise himself
as an old blind man, complete with sunglasses and a walking cane.
Not to mention the wig he’d bought from the party store. It
continued to itch his skull like a plague of swarming locusts. He
just wanted to throw the damn thing away.

So she wanted to confess that much, right?
Hunter seethed in anger. Over his dead body. She had absolutely no
right to date another guy when he, the father of her child, was
hiding outside between the many bushes, stalking her, staring at
her making googly eyes with his cousin inside the restaurant. His
eyes were about to drop out of their sockets.

It had all began after the hospital visit
when Hunter and Max had accidently met. Hunter couldn’t control his
curiosity when Max told him it was his own cousin she had wanted.
So that was what it was? All that time, she was pinning after his
cousin. Well, she wasn’t going to get him. What a devil she was,
pregnant with his baby and still trying to seduce Anton. So Hunter
had blackmailed Max into helping him stop Clarice. Hence, they came
up with this elaborate plan at the grocery store, where he had
forced Max to carry all the many fruits and vegetables he’d bought
for Clarice.

He couldn’t understand why he needed to stop
her, though. Maybe it was his conscience. It was his baby after
all. He felt a sense of responsibility. Plus, there was also the
fact his avocado was his goddess, which really drummed it in for
him. Now he understood why every time he dreamed about his faceless
goddess, it ended up being Clarice. And also, there was the added
bonus that if he could stop her confession, she might look his way
and maybe sleep with him again so he could sleep soundly for
once.

Yeah, keep thinking that, Hunter.
Because even he couldn’t understand this foreign feeling developing
inside him. Truth be told, Clarice was the first woman he truly
paid any attention to; heck, he’d even volunteered to stoop as low
as dressing as an old blind man just to stop her.

And then there was Fern, who had accidently
seen him coming out of the party store with a bag full of
accessories. She was curious and asked him for the whole story, not
relenting until he told her everything, except for the pregnancy
bit. He wasn’t ready to spread the news just yet. But now she
wanted to join in the fun too. Although, Hunter hadn’t a clue as to
what Fern’s intentions were.

Fern realized she couldn’t have Anton
getting close to Clarice, since every time Anton was near Clarice,
or Caroline for that matter, she experienced a niggling jealousy
sprouting within her. She wanted Anton to notice her, and having
the other girls near him, he would always neglect her. Although,
she would never hate Clarice—the girl was such a kind soul—but that
Caroline, no way in hell would she let Anton be with her.

“Are you going to just hide in that bush and
stalk her or are you going to take action, big bro?” Max asked,
ruffling the bushes.

“Fern says if you two continue to hide
behind that bush, someone will find it suspicious and call the
police,” Fern said, laying a hand on Hunter’s shoulder.

“Jesus, Fern.” Hunter glared at his friend.
“You almost gave me a heart attack.” He turned back to Clarice and
Anton, his eyes glued to the scene as they smiled at each other
right before him. “Don’t sneak up on people like that. You were
supposed to wait in the car until I signaled for you.”

“Fern is too granny. You’re in here too, so
you’d be dragged along with us. And stop talking in third person.
If you want Anton and Clarice to believe in your character, you
have to act the part,” Max said.

“Fe—I got it.” Fern nodded to Max.

“Good. Are we ready, then?” Max asked.

“Yeah, but you go first since you’re the
grandson,” Hunter urged Max.

“All right, watch the pro.” Max smirked,
wiggling his eyebrows, ready for some good acting. He then donned
his dark sunglasses. “This is how you act.” He came out of the
bushes, and with his cool gait that he’d perfected in the mirror
all last night, he walked to the entrance of the restaurant.

“Wait!” Hunter jumped out of the bush and
pulled Max back by the collar.

“What?” Max scolded, turning to face Hunter.
“I’m about to perform some magic here.”

“Can’t you just tone your outfit down a
bit?” Hunter whispered, staring at Max’s long black wig, baggy
jeans, and oversized hoodie. “Why do you have to wear that wig? You
look like a punk.”

“Yeah? And you’re supposed to be a blind old
man so shut up and act like a good blind grandpa would,” Max said
just to irritate Hunter.

The truth to the long black wig was he was
obsessed with his favourite anime show,
No.6.
He wanted to
be like Rat, with his long black hair tied back in a ponytail. What
harm was there in donning your favourite anime character in your
daily life anyway? It was only cosplay. It just spiced up his life
even more. And God knows how he’d prepared for this day. He’d been
practicing his Rat persona since they’d concocted their plan at the
grocery store. Now he had to get back in character all over
again.

“You rascal.” Hunter seethed. “Wait until we
finish this—”

“Grandpa, here we are,” Max shouted loudly,
announcing their presence.

Clarice and Anton stared casually at the
three strange patrons. With all three wearing sunglasses in the
restaurant, they looked like three blind mice standing at the front
entrance.

Clarice saw the old man with grayish-white
hair, wearing dark shades, with a walking cane, his back bent a bit
as if he’d suffered from arthritis throughout his hard years.
Beside him was a kid, about Max’s age, wearing sunglasses too, with
long black hair tied back in a ponytail. He looked almost half
Asian. Then there was the woman. It was so hard to determine her
real age, but the grey hair gave off an old vibe. She looked very
high class based on her clothes, from her Prada heels to her
one-piece dress by Dolce and Gabbana and her Gucci handbag. The old
lady exuded elegance, but again, she wore sunglasses like the rest
of her family, the lenses so large it was hard to distinguish any
facial features. They were a strange family, yet they reminded her
of someone, especially that blind old man and that young guy.

“Strange family, aren’t they?” Anton voiced
her opinion out loud.

“Mmm.” Clarice smiled, watching the
eccentric group still standing at the door.

Clarice didn’t know for sure because of
their large, dark glasses covering their eyes, but she had an
uncomfortable feeling that all three directed their stares in her
and Anton’s direction. Even stranger, when the waitress tried to
seat them, they refused outright and opted to seat themselves right
next to their table instead.

Clarice turned back to her meal, having seen
enough of the strange family. She had a more important task to deal
with right now. Her heart drummed a frantic beat.
This is
it.
She must tell Anton about their baby. She didn’t know if he
would be pleased. Heavens, he might not even remember that night in
Queenstown at all.

It was all her friends’ fault for beating
into her head that she needed to tell him. The guilt was eating her
alive. She finally succumbed and phoned Anton to have a private
meeting during one of this lunch breaks. It was best to clear the
air. Then she wouldn’t feel guilty or regret anything. Now here she
was, perspiration dotting her forehead at the impending event about
to unfold before her.

“Anton, I—”

“Would you pass me the salt, Cory?” Hunter
shouted.

Clarice glanced to the table next to them
again, unable to finish her sentence. They spoke like they were
also deaf.

“What,
Ojiisan
? I
can’t hear you. Speak louder,” Max shouted across the table, adding
in the Japanese word for grandpa for effect.

“How loud must they speak?” Anton muttered
under his breath. “They sound like they’re using a microphone
already.”

Clarice just smiled and leaned her face
closer to Anton’s, then whispered, “I think they’re a cute family,
don’t you?”

“Cane, where’s my cane, Cory?” the old man
shouted. “I feel like hitting someone in the head. I can’t help
it.”

Hunter was gritting his teeth. What the hell
was wrong with her? Trying to kiss his cousin right in front of
him. So she wanted to confess to his cousin so much that she’d even
resorted to kissing him right in front of the man who fathered her
baby. No way would he allow it. And Anton, his cousin, he was
smiling like the cat who’d just been given a grand prize rat. If
only he had that cane in his hand right now, he would bonk the hell
out of his cousin’s head. “I said where’s my cane?” Hunter shouted
even louder, angry, as he watched Clarice smiling at Anton.

“Obaasan, help Ojiisan with his cane. I’m
busy drinking my lemon juice,” Max shouted to Fern, who was sitting
closer to Anton.

Fern was also seething through her teeth
when she saw Anton and Clarice this close. How was her plan going
to work if his attention was elsewhere? She didn’t blame Clarice
for attracting him, but it was Anton she wasn’t happy with. So she
picked up Hunter’s cane and poked Anton in the ribs.

“Oowww,” Anton growled, turning to the
high-fashion grey-haired lady. Anton, being the sensible one, only
stared at the old lady and forced a polite smile, though his face
was flustered. But he thought it must be an accident. She must have
eye problems like her husband.

“I think your husband is on the other side
of the table,” Anton said.

“Oh, Fe—I… I… thank you, young man,” Fern
said. That was a close one. She almost spoke in third person
again.

“Cory, where’s my cane?” Hunter wanted to
laugh his head off. He’d never seen Anton so flustered before,
especially staring at Fern dressed up as an old woman. Then he
thought of an idea. He wobbled out of his chair and pretended to
find his way to the cane while grumbling to Max. He knew where he
was going since he could see perfectly well, but when he reached
Clarice’s table, he…

“Ahhhhh.” Hunter cried out and fell. “Help
me.”

And where did he fall? Right onto Clarice,
where his head nestled nicely on her lap.

Oh hell!
Hunter thought. It was damn
comfortable. Even his extra soft custom-made pillow at home didn’t
provide that much cushion to support his head. Damn, how was he
supposed to sleep on his pillow from now on?

“Sir?” He heard her speak, shaking him from
his comfort.

“Good God, Grandpa?” Anton said, coming
around to Clarice’s side. “Are you all right?”

I’m fine down here. In fact, I’m enjoying
my time very much, so leave me alone.
Hunter kept silent as he
felt his cousin heaving him up. But he wanted to stay in this
position a little longer, so he put all his energy into trying to
make himself as heavy as possible so Anton would give up his
task.

“Good God!” he heard Anton say. “This
grandpa is heavy.”

Hunter couldn’t help but smile a sneaky
smile.

“It’s all right, Anton,” Clarice said,
smiling.

Clarice looked at the old man in her lap.
She felt a connection with him she couldn’t describe. She felt she
could trust this man. This was odd because he was just a stranger.
Maybe she had this trust for him because he was blind. Her hands
itched to caress that rough stubble forming on his chin.

This old man was contradictory in all
aspects. The blind man had grey-white hair, which was the normal
pigmentation for most elderly people, but his skin looked so
youthful, like that of a man in his early twenties. Perhaps she
needed another eye surgery. But to appease her curiosity, she
lightly stroked that cheek.

Hunter just wanted to purr like a cat. Why
did Clarice have to touch his cheek? Her finger pads felt just
right when they grazed his rough stubble. He could get used to that
every morning.

Fern, who was on the other side, saw the
whole fiasco and understood immediately what Hunter was doing, so
with the goal of helping her friend, she pretended to walk with the
fake old lady’s gait and when she got near Anton, she swooned right
into his arms. Except she miscalculated her distance and fell onto
the chair instead and accidently hit her forehead on the corner in
the process.

“Ow!”
God, that hurts.
Immediately,
Anton came to her side and rescued her from her embarrassing
situation, which put a smile on her face again.

“Grandma, are you okay?” Anton asked in a
worried tone, Clarice all forgotten with the grandpa sleeping on
her lap.

“My weak knees,” she said as she rested her
head against Anton’s shoulder when he picked her up. “They’re
playing up again.”

Max, who was busy sipping his lemon drink,
watched the whole hilarious scenario. It was so entertaining that
he almost choked on his drink when began laughing.

On one side was Hunter, trying to gain
Clarice’s attention by pretending to fall and then practically
falling asleep on his cousin’s lap. On the other side was Fern,
acting like she was a damsel in distress by swooning on her Prince
Charming. God, he should pull out his iPhone and film the whole
scene just to watch again and again. And then out of the corner of
his eyes, he saw a waiter approaching them.
Oh shit. Game
over.
He had to get them out of there fast.

“Oh, I think my grandma and grandpa aren’t
feeling well. They must be suffering from their love sickness,” Max
said, standing up. “Please excuse them.”

This comment made Fern and Hunter snap up
their heads. Hunter woke from his delirium and simply rose out of
Clarice’s lap, and Fern seemed to have the strength in her legs to
stand again. Hooking his arms around the two people, Max led them
out door again, a perfect exit for a strange family.