Ace

Chapter Eight

"You two know each other?" I ask motioning to Brooks and Anne.

"Oh yeah, you see we knew each other in high school and I haven't seen him since sophomore year of college." Anne says her eyes never leaving Brooks. Brooks eyes however have never left his glass of whiskey neat.

We were quiet for a bit until Alex lightens the mood and talks about his new dog and trip to Berlin he went on with his father on business.

The waiter comes over and asks me if I want anything to drink and I just tell him water. That's when Brooks finally looks up. Apparently I am known for ordering alcoholic drinks. He is the only other person at our table that speaks fluent French.

"Eau?" He questions.

"Je suis enceinte." I tell him.

He raises his eyebrows and takes a swig of his drink.

"Qui est le père?"

I get ready and answer the question.

"Ace."

He asks the waiter for another drink and tells him to keep them coming. During this whole conversation Anne and Alex made their own conversation completely ignoring us.

"Sait-il?"

"Absolument pas."

He coughed and said exactly what I knew he'd say.

"Il sera. Je ne dirai pas.

"Je vous remercie."

Alex had left me at the table when Brooks headed to the bar after Anne. Alex said he had to be at the hotel all of a sudden and that we could catch up more soon. So much for an easy going dinner. So I ate the rest of my food and looked through my emails on my phone. I scheduled a pregnancy appointment at the near hospital while I was at it. Everything was fine until Anne comes back from the bar crying with Brooks holding her up.

I stand up and help him hold her up even though he takes her talk frame into his large arms.

"What happened?"

"Well she had too many glasses of red... and then well I made her upset."

Anne was slurring her words so it was gibberish, but she looked absolutely furious.

"What could you have possibly said?" I ask.

"Well I told her I wanted to be back in Madeleine's life, our daughter's life. You're not the only one with a messed up life Ana."

I just stood there and watched as he smoothed Anne's hair and she immediately relaxed and he could comfortably get her in his arms. He was cooing to her, and saying sweet nothings in her ear. Something I never imagined Brooks doing. I guess he could see how shocked I was and asked if they could just stay at my house, and I said yes. I called Henry and he was there shortly. On the way back to my apartment I couldn't stop staring at how they interacted. Anne had come to reality a bit and was crying softly as he held her in his arms. I was about to ask him something but he mouthed later to me "later" when we pulled up at my building.

After we got Anne settled in my guest bedroom we went to the kitchen.

"I'll make hot chocolate and we can talk about this in the living room. Then you can tell me all about this secret daughter."

He nodded his head and walked to the living room.

I put the mugs on a tray with some cookies and sat on the couch facing him.

He was looking outside at the traffic through my window and said, "I met Anne Natalia Irvine when I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman at Trinity. I was with V and A eating lunch and I look over at this nerd table and I see this big bush of brown hair and the girl is gaping at me.

Of course Vince starts waving and winks at her and me and A just roll our eyes. I don't see much of her after that until 3 years later after I launched the business and it boomed while I was in college, so they asked me to speak at graduation. I was told I was supposed to take a picture with this girl named Anne who was Valedictorian of the class. It was hard to recognize her after her complete makeover. She had sleek hair and you could tell she had two eyebrows instead of one. Even now if you bring up anything before junior year she freaks out about how she looked. Anyway so we take the picture and we talk. I walk her to her car, a white Range Rover might I add. Beautiful car for a beautiful girl.

Anyway we exchanged number and talked a little over the years until I see her after we've both graduated college. We both went to Oxford in London. We met for supper one night and then one thing leads to another and... but she doesn't get pregnant with Maddie then. It took about three more months of fooling around and then she was pregnant. We both freaked but I told her I'd be there for her and the baby. I bought a house next to her parents in Fairlight Cove on the south coast of England. She moves in with me in London and we set up Maddie's nursery. Anne didn't want to know the gender so when a little baby girl came out we were all surprised. Madeleine Elodie Sterling was born at 6:23 AM on July 20. We named her Madeleine after my grandmother. She was 8 pounds and 6 ounces and was 20 inches long. She's four now and lives with Anne's parents in Fairlight Cove. After Maddie was born we disagreed a lot and the the pressure was too much and of course we hadn't defined our relationship. I was making shitty excuses and I look back now and I was such an asshole. I would've left my ass too. She got pissed af me after I came back from a bar wasted and the next day she was packing up her stuff in our bedroom. We started fighting and she ended up throwing a hot curling iron right there on my ribs by my tattoo. I still have the scar from that battle. Anyway she left for her parent's house and I saw Maddie a couple times a month and on holidays or when Anne would bring her to London. I haven't seen Maddie in 7 weeks. I'm planning for Anne and I to travel there in the upcoming weeks. I hope to get my girls back after seeing Anne tonight."

"I think she'd like that. Even though she doesn't act like it, she still cares for you Brooks."

He smirked. "I know."

I rolled my eyes at that and smiled.