Chapter Four

Three Months Later

(Maxie's POV)

"I just really wanted to see you tonight," I whined into the phone while cleaning off my desk. "And you promised that we were going to find a reason to sneak away for a couple days before Ethan's wedding."

"I know, babe, but it's Dante's birthday."

I rolled my eyes. I was being denied alone time with my boyfriend because of some ridiculous tradition we had all started years ago that we would spend our birthdays at Jake's. Of course, it did not help my mood that Dante was the reason my romantic getaway was being obliterated. It had been over a week since Lucky and I had snuck an evening alone together, and with Kristina and Ethan's wedding only two weeks away, I knew that our schedules were going to get even more hectic.

Situations like this made me even more frustrated that we were still sneaking around. We went two weeks without speaking after our argument on Christmas, and even though we had reconciled, I was still outspoken about my desire to tell people about us. I couldn't understand what Lucky was so afraid of – and why he didn't realize that Lulu was going to be furious with both of us for keeping our relationship from her for so long.

"You know… there are rooms above Jake's," I mentioned seductively. If I was not going to be able to whisk him away for a mini-vacation, I would at least find an opportunity to get him alone for a few minutes.

"Then let's put one to good use," he replied. "I'm going to run home for a shower quick after my shift, so I'll meet you there in two hours, ok?"

"Are you sure you don't want company for that shower?"

"You do realize I have to work for another hour… you're killing me here."

"Good. You can show me how much later," I grinned. "Love you."

I turned around and noticed that Lulu had walked into our office at some point during my conversation. My heart rate increased a little, but I was much better at lying than Lucky was. She probably didn't hear much of the conversation, but even if she had, I could find an explanation.

"Love you, too. Bye."

"Yeah… uh, bye," I mumbled, hanging up the phone and approaching Lulu. She was wrapped up with something on her computer and barely noticed me. I felt confident she had not paid any attention to my conversation.

"If you're worried about the flowers for Kristina's wedding, don't be. We had a great meeting with Jay today, and he is totally on board with our designs," I started, figuring that I could distract her from any memory of what I had been discussing. "And the dresses will all be delivered tomorrow. I'm going to need you to rally the other bridesmaids and get them to Marta for alterations ASAP."

It was evident that she was not paying any attention to me. She was completely wrapped up in whatever she was working on.

"Earth to Lulu…" I started, moving behind her back and reading her computer screen over her shoulder. She was staring at a seating arrangement for the PCPD Ball, which had become her sole project based upon its scheduling only one week after Kristina and Ethan's nuptials. We had an agreement that I would lead on the wedding if she took the ball. I had done it for my father the year before, and after that experience, we made it a policy that when it came to taking on family members as clients, we would cover for one another.

"Is there something wrong with the ball?" I asked, leaning down and speaking right into her ear to get her attention.

"What?" she questioned, snapping out of her daze. "No… everything is fine with that."

"Then what's with the silent treatment?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just distracted because I got this in the mail today."

She handed me a large manila envelope addressed to her from Greece. I pulled the contents out and read the hand-written note on the top of it.

Lulu,

I understand why you have been so hesitant to speak to me after everything that has happened. But you're my little sister, and I really want you to be a part of my life.

Elizabeth and I are expecting a baby in a few weeks. We have already scheduled a baptism, and I would love nothing more than to have you as our baby's godmother. I have made all of the travel arrangements for you. You will find the information here.

I hope that you can be with us so that you can meet your new niece or nephew.

Love,

Nikolas

"That bitch is having Nikolas' baby!" I exclaimed, immediately focusing on how this news was going to affect Lucky. He was going to be devastated to learn that his first niece or nephew was going to be a product of Nikolas' affair with his ex.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell Lucky," Lulu vocalized what I had been thinking.

Images of Lucky's pain flashed in my mind. There was no way I was going to let Elizabeth Webber cause him any more harm, let alone jeopardize my relationship before it was even out in the open. "Are you sure you have to tell him?"

She shot me a look that verified how ridiculous my idea had been. "You want me to keep this from him?"

"Well, it's not like you're going to go to Greece for the baptism, right? You could just shred the whole thing and pretend it never got here," I proposed, gathering the documents that had been in the envelope and carrying them towards the shredder.

"Maxie!" she shrieked, jumping out of her chair and pulling the paperwork from me. "That's not going to make this all go away!"

"You can't tell me you're seriously going to use this trip…"

"Of course not," she affirmed, opening the bottom drawer of her desk and shoving the envelope to the back. "But I'm not just going to pretend I never saw this. I love Lucky, and I would do anything to protect his feelings. But wouldn't it be better if he heard this from me than from anybody else? I want to keep this letter as proof for when I talk to him."

I knew that I was being selfish, that Lulu should tell Lucky about everything. Chances were that Lucky would only be more open to being with her publicly if he knew there was no hope left with Elizabeth, but finding out the truth could send him back into the depression that he had just recently gotten over. Convincing Lulu to keep this secret from Lucky for a little while longer would protect Lucky's heart.

"You're probably right," I sighed, taking a seat on Lulu's chair.

"Probably?" she repeated. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, I admire your honesty, but what if telling Lucky about Nikolas and Elizabeth's baby just makes him more reserved? Weren't you just telling me how much you wished he would get out more? He was destroyed when he found out about their affair… he could go right back to that place."

She leaned against the desk and exhaled. "That's true. But if I keep this from Lucky and he finds out, he's going to feel so betrayed."

"I'm not saying that you should keep it from him indefinitely," I clarified, "Just wait to tell him until he finds his own happiness, you know? Once he's moved on."

"I guess I can give it a little time," Lulu agreed.

All I needed was a little more time to convince Lucky that we were perfect together, and that we could go public. She would break the news to him when the time was right, and not a minute before.

"Then we're agreed," I smiled, standing up from the chair. "Let's get out of here. We can go to my place, order some Chinese food and get ready before we head to Jake's."

"Actually, I have dinner plans already."

Now I was intrigued. "Really?"

"Don't do that," she groaned. "Johnny called this morning. He's in town for a few days, so we're going to grab a bite at Kelly's."

I could feel the pout forming on my face. Lulu was going to get out of attending Dante's boring birthday gathering in order to have hot sex with a man who was not even her boyfriend. All I wanted for the evening was to have some alone time with my boyfriend, granted he was a secret boyfriend, but still. It didn't seem fair.

"Well, if you're not coming to Jake's for Detective Boring's birthday, then I'm out too."

Lulu shook her head at me. "I'm not skipping out on Dante's party. I will be there, I promise."

(Dante's POV)

I glanced at my watch and groaned, signaling to the bartender for another drink. Some birthday this was turning into. After getting called in four hours early to my shift and dealing with a boatload of paperwork, I was looking forward to having a few drinks with friends followed by a quiet night at home. The plan was to meet at Jake's at 9, but I had been sitting by myself for forty-five minutes without any sign of the friends who were supposed to meet me.

I was not incredibly surprised that Lucky was late. He had not exactly been the model friend over the past several months. I had a feeling that a woman was involved, but no evidence up until this point. Besides, if he had finally met somebody, who was I to demand more of his time? It was better for him, and for Lulu for the matter, that he find someone to be with.

Lulu… the thought of her put my stomach in knots. It had been months since we kissed, and we had not spoken about it once – not that I was sure how I would broach the subject. Still, I was unable to suppress any feelings I had for her.

Even so, Lulu took every opportunity she could to push me toward my siblings. I remained insistent that I was happy without the truth about my paternity coming out, but Lulu didn't seem to believe me.

The most irritating part of it was that she was so sneaky. Whenever we were hanging out as a group, we would "run into" Michael or Kristina. It was as if she had rekindled a relationship with her cousin att the exact same time she found out he was my brother. And with Kristina's pending wedding to Ethan, every attempt she made to bring me closer to my sister was under the guise of pre-wedding activity.

So it should not have even surprised me when I turned around on the barstool to see Michael and his girlfriend, Starr, enter the bar. He looked around before approaching me.

"Dante… happy birthday."

"Thanks," I shrugged, reaching forward to shake his hand. "But how did you know it was my birthday?"

I knew what his answer would be before the words escaped his mouth.

"Lulu mentioned that you all come out for birthdays and invited us for a few drinks. Speaking of Lulu… where is she?"

"No idea," I sighed.

(Lulu's POV)

I pulled up in front of Dante's building and parked my car, formulating my apology in my mind. The night had completely gotten away from me, and by the time I got to Jake's, everybody was gone. I had not planned on spending so much time with Johnny. In fact, my plan was to set up a time with him for the next day when we would be able to talk about our arrangement.

In the months since I had last seen Johnny, a lot had changed, including my feelings for Dante. We had shared only one kiss and not discussed it since, but that encounter alone was enough for me to realize that I wanted more than a casual hookup once every few months with an ex-boyfriend. However, as we were eating dinner, Johnny gave me the impression that he might be interested in more, and I had to be up front with him about my feelings. Needless to say, that conversation was lengthier than anticipated.

I grabbed Dante's birthday gift – a Yankees jersey – out of my backseat before entering his building and riding the elevator up to his apartment. I glanced at the time on my cell phone and realized that he could very well be asleep. I hoped that he'd give me a chance to explain my absence from his party.

I knocked on Dante's door and held my breath, silently praying that I was not waking him up. A surge of regret shot through my stomach. I had already missed his birthday celebration. Showing up on his doorstep uninvited in the middle of the night was a far cry from an apology.

Before I could follow my impulse, the door flew open and we came face to face. He was wearing only an old pair of blue sweatpants, which I noticed immediately as I tore my eyes away from his chest. I looked for signs of interrupted sleep - messy hair, tire eyes - but he seemed wide wake. In fact, upon a secondary look, I realized he was dripping sweat.

"What do you want, Lulu?"

His short greeting gave me an answer to the question of his anger.

"I..." my voice came out cracking. I cleared my throat and continued. "I have your birthday present."

He gestured to the clock on his microwave across the small loft. "It's not my birthday anymore, so you can save it for next year."

I had seen Dante upset before, but he had never directed any real anger towards me. True, he had shown irritation toward me before, but that was different. He was being really cold to me.

"Can I come in?"

He rolled his eyes and stepped aside. Once I was inside and the door was closed, I noticed the punching bag on the other side of the door. He was probably picturing my face on that punching bag. The thought made my stomach turn.

"It's a little late for a workout, don't you think?" I commented.

"It's a little late for a lot of things..."

That was definitely meant as a dig, but I couldn't be sure against what exactly. I placed my gaze on his eyes. "I am so sorry that I missed your birthday, Dante."

"Don't worry about it," he scoffed. "It's not like anyone else did."

"Nobody came?" I questioned in shock. Maxie had told me she would meet me there, and Lucky would never bail on his friend like that. I felt even more terrible knowing that he sat in Jake's alone on his birthday.

"I didn't say that," he explained, crossing the room and taking a swig of an open beer on his counter. "At first, it felt like that. But then Michael and his girlfriend showed up."

Michael and Starr…I cursed under my breath and felt my cheeks turn crimson. I had completely forgotten my invitation to them. I thought having Michael there on Dante's birthday would give them more of a chance to bond, but without me there to push their interaction, I was sure it was awkward.

"I'm sorry... I should have mentioned something. Last time I saw Michael, it just sort of made sense to invite him..."

"Of course it did," he groaned. He had already expressed his frustration at my interference with his siblings on many occasions. I wished I would have listened sooner.

"Look, it's late and I have to work in the morning, so let's skip the drawn out apologies. Besides, I wouldn't want to keep you from Johnny for too long."

Johnny? Where did that come from? The way his name rolled off Dante's tongue spoke volumes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I shot back, unable to hide the defensiveness in my voice.

"That is where you were tonight, right? With Johnny?"

"Well, yeah, but... How did you know that?"

He shot me a look that made me feel completely stupid. It left me feeling offended, angry and vulnerable all at once. "Maxie finally showed up when I was leaving. She told me about your date tonight… said it must have gone better than you expected if you were still on it."

His attitude was harsh, but maybe I deserved it. I had been a pretty terrible friend to him. "It wasn't a date... wait, is this about Johnny? Is he the reason you are so pissed off?"

"No, Lulu... I don't really care what you do with Johnny. In fact, I don't really care what you do at all."

His denial was less than convincing. "If it's not about Johnny, can you please explain it to me? Because you aren't exactly being hospitable."

"Oh, my apologies. By all means, Lulu... How can I make your night better?"

I deserved his anger, maybe even a little bit of his contempt. But I was not going to stand there in his apartment and let him treat me like some self-centered brat. I gave myself clear instructions – apologize one more time and walk out the door. Only I was not great at listening to my rational self, so before I moved an inch, I gave him a piece of my mind.

"What do you want from me? I said I'm sorry!"

"You keep saying you're sorry, Lulu, but you're not doing anything to change. Every time I turn around, you are trying to set me up with my siblings, as if I'm just going to decide that it's time to blow my whole life apart and accept Sonny as my father. And I dealt with it! Because you're my friend, and in some twisted way, I was okay with it, as long as it made you happy! But tonight was important to me, and you didn't even show up! Instead, I spent the evening in weird silence with a brother who doesn't even know we're related, and you didn't even show up! You couldn't spare a moment of your day to even send me a text message! I don't know… I guess I thought I deserved that much."

"Everything I have done has been for you!" I argued, reliving the difficult conversation I had just experience with Johnny. "And, yes, I should have called. But if you would just let me explain…"

"Save it," he sighed, crossing the room and opening the front door to escort me out. "Goodnight, Lulu."

The fact that he thought he could just dismiss me made my blood boil. I was furious with him for denying me the opportunity to apologize. And, to think, I had come here hoping to build more out of our relationship. But even amidst my anger, I felt the sting of tears edging the surface.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice softening in defeat.

"Stay the hell out of my life!" he erupted, obviously having held that in for longer than was healthy. And I had my answer. There had been a glimmer of hope that we could have been more than friends, but I squashed it. I bit my lower lip to keep my tears at bay and walked out the front door, promising myself that as painful as it might be, I would not look back.