The Naked Truth (5 page)

“Hi, Mrs. Smith,” Abigail greeted the director of
the school.

“Ms. Reese, it’s good to see you. I wasn’t expecting
to see you in today. Let me call back and have them bring Hailey up.”

Abigail chuckled. “Tuition’s due. I always come in
on this day.”

“Oh, well, I figured since your paid up for the next
few months…”

“Wait, what? Is my account mixed up with someone
else?”

“No. A gentleman came by and took care of it. I
figured you knew.”

Josh hadn’t been lying when he said he’d take care
of Hailey. “Oh, yeah, I forgot. Silly me.” Hailey came running through the
front doorway and clung to her mother. “Well, we’ll see you next week.”

Abigail picked Hailey up and toted her outside to
the car. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Josh at the moment, but if he did
help out with Hailey’s expenses, perhaps she wouldn’t have to strip any longer.
She’d at least go Saturday since she’d made a commitment, but after that, she
wasn’t so sure.

“Mommy,” Hailey called from the back seat.

“Yes, honey.”

“Did you get the tests back?”

“What test?”

“The one with that man, Mr. Carter.”

Leave it to her daughter to remember such a thing. “Oh,
yes, he did.”

“Are we related?”

Abigail sucked in her breath and then slowly let it
out. Her daughter was much too smart for her to lie to. “Yes, honey, you two
are.”

“Good, ‘cause I really like him. I want him to come
over more.”

Abigail tried to contain her emotions, but it was
hard. Having a child could do that. They were so pure and understanding. “Well,
we’ll see what he wants to do.”

Hailey didn’t say anything else. She looked out the
window for the rest of the drive home.

* * * *

Josh climbed out of the cab in front of Abigail’s apartment.
He had missed them both so much he’d fueled up his jet and flew back to North
Carolina as soon as he could. He wanted to surprise her and Hailey and hoped it
wasn’t too late. It was a little after seven on Saturday. He’d tried calling
earlier, but hadn’t gotten them. Hopefully they didn’t already have plans.

He knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman he
didn’t know. “Hi, is Abigail here?”

“She’s working,” the older woman said.

Something in his gut told him he wasn’t going to
like where this conversation was headed. “Where is she working?”

“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say at this moment.”

Hailey peeked her head around the lady. “Hi, Mr.
Carter.”

“Hi, sweetie, I was coming over to see you and your mommy
tonight. I miss you both.”

“Mommy’s working like she does every Saturday,”
Hailey confirmed his fear.

“Oh, I forgot. You be good for this lady, okay?”

“I will.”

He smiled until his back was to them and the door
was closed. Anger boiled through him. Had he not promised to take care of her?
Did she not believe him? It wasn’t like he’d just abandoned her. He’d left her
a message explaining why he left. It wasn’t like he was never coming back.
Unless she thought that? No, she couldn’t. He was positive he’d been making his
feelings to her known.

Either way, he was calling Freddy and letting him
know he wasn’t pleased. But after the phone call with him, he learned that she
wasn’t stripping at his place. Instead, rumor had it she was the star act at
one of the slummiest places in town. Abigail couldn’t be that desperate, could
she? There was only one way to find out and that was to go into the shithole
and see if she was there.

The cab arrived back quickly and when he made it to
the strip joint, he asked that the driver wait on him and to keep the meter
running. His plan was to go in there, yank her out, and take her back to her
place. The mother of his child was not going to be doing this for a living.

He was asked to pay a cover charge when he went
through the door. He pulled his wallet out and slapped the twenty dollars in
the bouncers hand, feeling disgusted with himself as he entered the rat hole.
He made his way through the place, looking for the office where the owner might
be.

Then the loudspeaker announced they had a new act
and his stomach went into knots. Abigail was about to come out on stage.
Jealously tore through him knowing that all these men were going to be looking
at her, fantasizing about her, or worse. He took his spot at the end of the
stage. He wanted to be the first person she saw when she walked out.

The music started and the men began to holler. The
curtain moved a little and then she came through. Abigail was a sight. She wore
a sexy sailor costume, her blond hair tightly curled, and her lips bright red.
She slowly strutted down the stage and then froze when she caught his eyes. He
could see the panic set in on her face and the next thing he heard were the men
booing at her and yelling for her to strip.

She spun around and marched off the stage. There was
yelling backstage and then she came back through the curtain, tears running
down her face. He reached his hand out to her, but she glared at him and he
swore he could see smoke coming from them. She hopped off the stage, but then a
scrawny man appeared, stopping her in her tracks.

“Hey, what’s going on? I told you to get your pretty
little ass up on that stage and strip,” a man demanded. “You’re making a fool
of my club. If you don’t get up there and give the show promised, I’ll ruin
you. Do you hear me?”

“You’ll not talk to her that way.” Josh pushed her
behind him. “I’ll have this place shut down by Monday.”

The man laughed. “Yeah, right. I’d like to see you
try.”

“Let’s go.” Josh took Abigail’s hand and led her out
of there. “I’ve got a cab.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” she yelled.

“Why?”

“I’ve now lost two jobs because of you. Go back to
New York and leave me alone.” Abigail stormed off toward the parking lot.

“Abigail,” he called after her but she kept walking.
He wasn’t letting her out of his life again. He ran after her. “Dammit. Stop,
please.”

Finally at her car, she did. “Leave me alone. I’m fine
if you want to be there for Hailey, but you can’t dictate my life. If you don’t
like it, that’s fine. But I’m doing the best I can.”

“Why do you have to strip though?”

“It pays good. I can’t help it men think with the
head between their legs and are willing to give money just to watch me dance.
That’s them. But because of men like that, I’m able to pay my bills and have
money set aside each month. I have a college fund started because of those types
of men.”

“But, I want to support you so you don’t have to.”
Did she understand?

“You can’t just waltz right in here and expect me to
change my life. Don’t you get it? You can’t buy me like you do everything
else.”

Buy her? He wasn’t trying to buy her. He was trying
to love her, but it wasn’t coming across that way to her. “I’m sorry,” he
finally said. “I didn’t mean to disrupt your life, but you haven’t let me in.”

“You’re right. I’ve been doing this alone all these
years and it’s hard for me to have someone else wanting to help.”

“And I do, want to help. I want you and Hailey.”
Josh gazed at her. His heart rate sped up as he craved reaching out and
touching her. He wanted to comfort her.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that just yet.” Her
words ripped at his heart.

“I understand. How about you fly back with me? We
can spend some time together and I can show you around the city.”

Abigail shook her head. “Hailey has school.”

“It’s pre-school. But if you’re worried about her
missing work, we’ll bring some with us.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Fair enough.” He could settle with that for now.

“I need to get home.” Abigail’s eyes burned into his
and he wondered if she was looking for an excuse not to.

Josh stepped closer and she didn’t move away.
Reaching out, he pulled her to him. “I’m here for you,” he whispered before
placing his lips on her cheek.

Her face slowly turned into his and her lips were
inches away from his. Her eyes stared up at him, causing him to lose all focus.
He had to have this woman. His hand wrapped around her neck, tilting it up, and
his lips captured hers. Only this woman could fight with him and then heat him
up.

“Get the hell off my property!” a man’s voice shouted
from behind them. Anger flooded him that his kiss with Abigail was ending much
too quickly.

Abigail pulled away first. Josh spun around to see
the club owner coming their way with the bouncer.

“I’m going to call the cops if you don’t leave this
instant,” the owner ordered.

“Get out of here,” Josh said, directing the command
to Abigail.

She didn’t argue. As soon as Abigail was out of the
parking lot, he turned back to the men standing there watching him. He thought
about saying something to them, but then changed his mind. These men weren’t
worth the tongue lashing.

Chapter Six

Abigail and Hailey had been in New York for almost a
week now. Abigail still couldn’t believe she was actually here. She had been
back and forth about the decision, but every time she looked at Hailey, she was
reminded of Josh. And as angry as she was, her heart still beat rapidly when he
crossed her mind.

Since arriving, they had been to more places than
she could imagine visiting. Josh had taken them to the zoo, museums, parks,
restaurants. All the places were kid-friendly and Hailey had loved it. He’d
even hired a nanny for while they were there so Abigail could get a break as
well. It had been wonderful.

They had yet to tell Hailey that Josh was her
father, but Abigail knew it would be soon. Hailey knew they were related but
didn’t yet know how. And it wasn’t fair to keep this from her. Josh had made it
clear he wasn’t going anywhere. He also told Abigail daily that he wanted them
both. And the more time Abigail was spending with him, the more she wanted it
just as much as he did.

She couldn’t help but wonder though if she had told
him about Hailey years ago, would she be here in New York now? Would she have become
that hotshot lawyer she’d always dreamed of being? Or even have her own firm?
Would she have another child? And most importantly, would she be as happy as
she had been these last few days?

Abigail sighed loudly. It was getting to be too much
with all the
what ifs
. Tonight Hailey was staying in with the nanny and
Josh was taking her out. She couldn’t wait to spend the evening with just him,
but knew they had to discuss telling Hailey he was her father and their return
to North Carolina. Abigail would love to stay here but knew she couldn’t. It
would be much too easy to be here and things had never been easy.

Glancing in the mirror, she added her lipstick. Her
hair was styled with big bouncy curls. She wore a simple red dress that Josh
had delivered. He’d wanted to treat her all evening. She was positive he had
spent more than she made in a week on this dress.

She was satisfied with her appearance. In her room,
she slipped on a pair of black heels and grabbed the matching clutch purse.
After leaving her room, she went to the next door down and found Hailey with
the nanny.

“Mommy, you look beautiful.” Her daughter’s eyes lit
up.

“Aw, thank you sweetie. Come give me a hug. I don’t
think I’ll be here when you go to bed tonight.”

Hailey wrapped her arms around Abigail’s waist. “I
love you, Mommy. Have fun.”

“I will. And you have fun with Ms. Janet.” She
winked at the older woman.

“We’re going to have popcorn in bed and watch a
movie.”

Abigail laughed. “That sounds like the perfect
evening.” She kissed the top of Hailey’s head. “Love you. Be good.”

“Bye.” Hailey returned to the nanny.

Abigail smiled, feeling at complete peace and then
headed for the stairs to see if Josh was ready. As she walked down the long,
winding stairway, she caught a glimpse of Josh in his study. The door was open.
He wore a dark suit, and sat on the side of his desk on the phone. As she
stepped onto the tiled floor, her heels clicking, he looked in her direction
and held a finger up, letting her know he’d be with her in a moment.

She watched him, beside her self at the attraction
she felt for this man. They’d shared a few kisses throughout the week, but she
was craving more. Much more. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go
before she snuck into his bedroom at night and had her way with him.

“What’s put that smile on your face?” Josh asked as
he closed his office door.

“You.”

He offered his arm to her and she grabbed ahold of
it. “I like seeing it. Let me know what I did so I can keep doing it.” He led
her to the front door. “Ready?”