Cherri's P.O.V.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!” Dad screamed, from the door that had been flung wide open.
I quickly scrambled for my bra, along with a vest top and a pair of pyjama shorts that I had been wearing the previous night.
“Urm... hi Dad....”
Dad stared at me murderously. Jake looked panic-stricken and fearful, not once looking at me as he did up the buttons on his shirt and slipped on his trousers.
“Uncle Riccardo, I... it’s not what it looks like... I can explain... I—“
“WHAT THE HELL IS IT THEN?” Dad was shaking in anger.
He shut his eyes and exhaled deeply. Oh sh*t, he was angry!
“I think it’s pretty obvious what just went down here Dad, I’m not going to even try and hide it.” I shrugged, trying to make light of the situation even though I knew I was in some pretty deep sh*t right now.
“KIMBERLEY!” Dad shouted, his eyelids still shut
Moments later, Mom appeared in the door frame.
“What is it? What’s happening?”
Jake and I exchanged nervous glances before sheepishly looking at Mom
She looked us up and down and gasped.
“You didn’t?” Mom’s voice shook. I looked down at the floor and nodded
“Oh God...”
“I’m going to kill him!” Dad lunged for Jake who quickly stepped backwards, his eyes wide in panic but I stepped in front.
“Riccardo, no!” Mom screamed
“You will not hurt Jake, Dad! Do you understand me?”
Dad sighed and ran a hand through his hair looking pained, “Mierda Cherri! You’re eighteen! You’re just a little girl! You’re my little girl....”
I shook my head, “No Dad, I’m a legal adult, I can do whatever I want without consent and you know that!”
Mom gripped Dad’s shoulders, looking into his eyes pleadingly, “Rick, this had to happen, you know it did.”
“But I didn’t think it would be so soon!” Dad’s voice caught in his throat as he looked away from me.
Mom massaged his shoulders, “I know baby, this is going to be hard for you, of course it is.”
Dad stared at me, unconvinced.
“I love him Dad.”
Dad scoffed, “You can barely even spell love! You don't know what love is!"
“Yes I do!” I shot back, “Love is feeling something that no one, absolutely no one can replace, love is waking up to the person that you want to share your life with, love is letting someone be the missing piece of your jigsaw. So YES Dad, I know what love is because I’ve seen it all my life, with you and Mom.”
Mom’s face softened and Jake wrapped his arms around my front.
Dad’s eyes snapped to Jake’s hands, his arms around my waist, and he let out a frustrated growl, banging his hand against the wall, “I can’t deal with this right now! I need some time, to think things through.”
He stormed out of the room; Mom gave me an apologetic look before following Dad out, closing the door behind her.
“Do you want me to go?” Jake looked like one of those cute little sad puppies and it made me want to cry.
I’d just had the best time with Jake ever and I never, ever wanted it to end.
“No Jake! Please don’t go...” I replied, “I want you to know that tonight was the best night of my life. No regrets. Okay?"
He smiled, his finger tracing across my cheek, before he softly kissed my lips, “I love you so much Cherri.”
“I love you too Jake... and sorry about my dad.”
Jake sighed, “He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”
I rubbed my nose with his, “I’ll talk him out of it, I promise.” My hand went around his back, slipping into his back pocket.
“Cherri, you’re so damn hot. What I’d do to take you back to bed right now.” He growled, his eyes filling with lust
I giggled, “Dad would really kill you then.”
“I’ll take the chance.” He kissed me again and I laughed against his lips.
He sighed, “I better go before your Dad gets his chainsaw out.”
“Don’t over react Jake. He’d never hurt you, you’re his godson. You know Uncle Juan’s daughter Eva has moved to the UK, Aunt Rosa and Uncle Christiano move around a lot with Xavier and we hardly see Uncle Kain, Aunt Annalisa and Charlotte, they live in D.C. You’re the closest thing to family we’ve got.”
He groaned, “That makes everything 10 times worse.”
“It’s okay Jake. Dad’s just over reacting, everything will be alright, I’ll talk to him okay?”
Jake nodded
“And by the way Jake, you’re missing a button.”
Jake looked down at his shirt and frowned, “You’re getting me a new shirt.”
I gasped, “How did you know it was me?”
He laughed and smiled knowingly
“Come on, I’ll make you coffee or something.” I suggested
I quickly stripped my sheets, dumping them in the wash before taking his hand and dragging him down to the kitchen
Mom was sat on the kitchen counter. Changed out of her beautiful gown, she wore a black shirt and jeans, sipping coffee and talking on the phone.
“No Sep, we just walked in... yes Sep, Jake’s here right now. No Sep!” Mom laughed, “Rick didn’t kill him, but he was damn close! Anyway honey, I’ll call you back later, I need to go and sort Rick out. Okay honey, bye.”
“Mom?”
Mom clicked the phone back on the hook, turning around and smiling, her vision fixed on mine and Jake’s interlaced hands. She was smiling like crazy.
“Hey honey, hi Jakey, do you want some coffee?”
“Do we have any espresso? I could really do with a bit of energy right now.”
Oh God, that came out wrong!
“Yeah,” she smiled, “Top shelf, third unit as usual. Jakey, you want anything?”
He shook his head and put his hands in his pockets, shuffling awkwardly, “No thanks Aunt Kim.”
Mom sighed, “It’s okay Jakey, no one is holding this against you, it isn’t anyone’s fault. You both wanted it to happen, so it happened. Simple as. Rick’s totally over reacting about this.”
Jake looked down nervously again. I wrapped my arms around him and he looked startled before he put his hands on my waist. I went on tiptoes and kissed his forehead.
“It’s okay Jake. We’ll be okay, I promise.”
Ding Dong.
“Don’t worry Mom,” I said, as she went to get up, “I’ll get it.”
I walked over to the door and opened it.
The woman at the door was tall, a couple of inches taller than me, she was also very beautiful. She was blonde with long eyelashes and full pink lips. She looked a bit older than Mom but she really did look like a model as she gave me a small smile.
“Mom!” I shouted, “I think someone’s at the door for you.”
Mom appeared in the hallway, the smile completely vanishing from her face.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?”
*****************************************************************************************************
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?” Mom screamed at the woman in our doorway.
The woman stepped in, running her tongue over her teeth, “I’ve come to speak with Riccardo.”
Mom scoffed distastefully, “You have no right! 20 years and you just shack up on our doorstep? Uh-uh, no way, I’ve had your card marked from the start you little b—“
“Just stop this!” I interjected, “Who are you anyway? What are you doing here?”
The woman smiled, “Oh, how rude of me! I’m Sofia. Sofia Reed. I used to be known as Mrs Sofia Miller, oh, and before that Mrs Sofia Alonso, but I bet your father has explained that one already. You must be Cherri, I mean, you look exactly like him....”
Mrs Sofia Alonso?
“Wait a second...” I gave her a confused look, “You’re... you’re Dad’s ex-wife?”
Dad was married before Mom? Wow. Completely shocked.
“You got it in one honey... now, where is my ex-husband these days?”
As if on cue, Dad walked downstairs, his head hung low, a pained expression on his face, raking a hand through his hair. After what had just happened with Jake and I, I wasn’t surprised. But from the look on Mom’s face, this bombshell would be sure to make him go over the edge.
Dad’s eyes flickered upwards, going wide in recognition and he almost tripped over on the bottom step.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Darling Riccardo, how brilliant to see you after all these years! You haven’t aged a day.” She kissed his cheek but he pushed her away
“Get out of my house Sofia. Get out now.”
“Aw Rick! What a way to treat a guest! How could I possibly leave without giving you your gift?!”
“Where the hell is it then?” Mom said through gritted teeth
“That’s the beauty of the gift Kimberley.”
“Look,” I said in agitation, “Please can you just give my Dad the gift and leave? We’ve really had enough trouble tonight without this. Please.”
Sofia laughed, “Persuasive. You’ve definitely got the Alonso streak.”
Mom scoffed, “Get to the goddamn point.”
A slow smile stretched across Sofia’s face, “I have a son, nearly 20 he is now.”
“Your point exactly?” Dad sneered, “Your personal life is none of my concern.”
“He’s yours Riccardo.”
Dad frowned, “Oh come on Sofia, be serious. 20 years ago? I was with Kimbe—oh sh*t...” he swore
Sofia laughed, “One night stand’s can really amount to something, can’t they Riccardo? It was good, as it always has been, truth be told it was always good with you Riccardo, I’ll give you that. A woman could hardly say no to Riccardo Alonso in bed.”
Dad’s eyes filled with fury and rage.
“Rick, this isn’t true is it?” Mom whispered
“Of course it isn’t true!” Dad snapped, “Sofia has a husband of her own, or have we forgotten that in this merry little game that we seem to be playing?!”
Sofia scoffed, “Nick Miller is a total b*****d. I divorced him a long time ago. Last I heard, he’s shacked up with some red-head in a mountain village up in Canada.”
“So where have you been all these years?” Mom asked, “Why have you come here now?”
“Oh, here and there. When Logan—that’s his name—was born, I moved to London, Logan grew up there. But naturally, he wanted to know who his father was so I caved in. Moved back to NY two weeks ago, did some background research. It wasn’t too hard to locate you, what with all the press leaked info. Made my way here A.S.A.P.”
“Enough with the chitchat Sofia, where’s your proof?”
“Dad!” I hissed
“No, no Princess, I’ll see the boy, I’ll know if he’s mine.”
“Mr Alonso,” Jake said, appearing from nowhere, “Are you sure that this is the best idea?”
“Don’t you dare try my patience Jacob,” Dad snapped, “I’ve heard and seen enough from you already.”
He wrenched open the door and we all followed him outside.
Sofia’s blacked out Mini Cooper was parked on our driveway.
“Logan! Logan, honey! Come out here!” Sofia beckoned with her hand, blipping the car door open with her keys.
The door of the car slowly opened.
One foot appeared, then the other.
The figure slammed the car door.
Mom groaned and turned away.
Tall, brown-haired, tanned, handsome. This guy looks too familiar!
I glanced towards Dad whose face was a picture of horror.
“Mum?” he said in his British accent, “What the hell is going—holy sh*t! You’re my Dad aren’t you?”
I looked at Logan and gasped. His hair, his face, his jaw, everything, it was all Dad... it was like looking at twins....
I gulped.
“No sh*t Sherlock.”
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MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Guess who's back? It's the character we all love to hate Riccardo's ex-wife SOFIA! I knew you wouldn't be expecting that... or Logan, Rick and Sofia's son! I feel so evil! But not guilty, not at all!
But that's NOT all folks! Next chapter- reactions! Riccardo to Cherri and Jake, Riccardo to Sofia and Logan and all importantly... Kimberley to Riccardo! :D
I can't stop smiling!
B. X