Bad Boy's Lust (Firemen in Love Book 1) (22 page)

“Of course there is. He thinks by turning us into step-siblings, he'll scare us away from getting married.”

“He was planning this wedding
before
he knew about you and I. Unless... Someone tipped him off beforehand.”

“But who? I never told anyone. Heather only found out because of...” I cringed, remembering those girls on his lap without meaning to. “Anyway, nobody else knows.”

“I kept my mouth shut, too.” Finally, he offered a smile and wink. “I never kiss and tell. It's just not polite.”

I groaned. “Jokes about your sexual conquests aren't what I want to hear right now.”

“Sorry, Pink.” He slung an arm around me. “I'll try to do better. I've just been a jackass for so long, it's hard to change my stripes.”

Hard, or impossible? I mulled it over as we walked outside to the pool area. Leaves floated on the water's surface; it hadn't been properly cleaned in months. Of course, there was nobody out here for a swim.

“I've been thinking of what we can do to gain new tenants – or to keep ours from bailing to dad's fancy-pants Hidden Cove.”

“You've been thinking?”

We sat side by side on one of the old, falling-apart benches. A big wood splinter nearly stabbed me in the butt.

“Aside from the obvious – repairing stuff, updating crappy outdated appliances, new paint jobs – we need to make Shady Acres a place people want to come home to.”

Had Jayce seriously been giving this actual thought?

He pulled a folded, tattered piece of paper from his pocket. On it, he'd written a numbered list in his sloppy handwriting.

“Here's some of the ideas I came up with. We can have weekly pool parties in the summer, complete with a cookout for the residents. We'll supply hot dogs and drinks. Maybe a little music. It'll be a great way to get the community together while giving the kids something to do.”

I stared at the pool. It was always empty, and nobody used the grill either. Now I imagined the water full of laughing children while their parents got to know one another over hot dogs and beer.

Would it work? It had to. People loved free food, didn't they?

“We've got that little rec room on the first floor, too,” he continued. “We could get a projector and play movies. Pop some popcorn. Wouldn't be too expensive, and it'd score us some serious goodwill.”

I perused the rest of his list. Add a sand pit with volleyball net. Put a few treadmills and a TV in one of our empty rooms. Hold community yard sales in the bazaar area for residents to sell their old things. Have food and clothing drives for the less fortunate residents of Shady Acres.

Tears came to my eyes as I read. Jayce inched closer. Cradled me in the nook of his arm.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Not this time.” I nuzzled his shoulder. “You came up with these ideas all by yourself.”

“Yeah. Well, I had a little input from the guys at the station, but that's pretty much all me. I've been staying up half the night thinking on it.”

No wonder he looked so tired. He wasn't up and out partying; he was taking responsibility for once in his life.

“But why? Your father?”

“It's not only that. This place is mine now. I just can't let it fail, you know?” He gazed at me. “And then there's you. I can't let you down, either.”

Jayce's words were usually honeyed, sweet things he said to get a girl's pants off in the heat of the moment. Not this time. I saw it in his eyes.

“This means a lot to me.”

He squeezed me tighter. “Does it mean enough for you to forgive me?”

“I might forgive you, but I can't forget what I saw that night.” I bit my lip. “And I can't forget the things you said to me. That we weren't a couple, so I shouldn't be upset.”

He kissed my forehead. There was that warm, familiar melting feeling I had missed so much. It felt so right, too, to be back in his arms again. Almost as if that's where I belonged.

“What I said was very stupid. Maybe we weren't a couple, but you had every right to be mad.” He picked me up and dropped me into his lap. “When I said there was only one woman I wanted – you – I meant it.”

“But there were girls all over you.”

“I was doing shots. Not thinking clearly, but I know that's not an excuse. I should have pushed them away.”

“I know I've got no claim to you, but... If I hadn't shown up at the club, I think you would have slept with them. I'm sorry, but thinking about you screwing other people makes me sick.”

His jaw set. “I haven't slept with anyone but you since our first time together.”

The confession sounded unbelievable. Jayce Reinhard, the man who couldn't go without sex longer than a few days, had been keeping it in his pants this whole time?

“Why?”

“It wasn't for lack of opportunity. I could have – but I just didn't want to.” He shrugged. “I'd look at some other woman and feel so bored. None of them compared to you.”

I longed to believe him. Wanted to know that I was the only woman in his bed. The only one on his mind. I wanted him to be
mine,
and nobody else's.

“This isn't exactly how I planned it. I wanted it to be more romantic. For you, I mean. You love stuff like that.”

He sank his hand into his shirt pocket and pulled something out. Somehow, I knew what he was holding before he even showed me.

His fingers opened, and in his palm sat the most beautiful ring I had ever seen: copper and turquoise, encrusted with diamonds on the outer band. I looked from it to him, waiting for an explanation.

“I didn't know what kind of ring you wanted, and they were all thousands of bucks at the store, and you know we firefighters don't get paid
that
well.” He held it up to the light. “So I hope this is okay. I chose this one 'cause I thought you'd like the colors.”

The sun reflected off the diamonds, sending a prism of rainbow light across my lap. Jayce picked this out just for me. He actually thought of somebody besides himself for once. He
listened
to me.

“So how about it, Pink?” He gently took my hand. “Wanna go get married?”

“When?”

“Now. No more putting it off. No more delaying it. This has to be done, and we both know it.”

I shivered as he stroked my palm. “Is that the only reason?”

“No, it's not.”

He didn't say more. Didn't have to.

I wanted to say yes so much, but if there was a baby inside me, it changed everything.

Yet I couldn't turn him down.

“All right. Let's do it.”

He slid the ring on my finger, and it fit perfectly.

I reached out to kiss him, but our sweet moment was interrupted. Somebody cut through the pool area with a bag of stinky takeout food in hand. Onions, spices, odors my poor tummy couldn't take for long.

I bolted out of Jayce's grasp and hurled in the trashcan. Yeah, how romantic! He just asked me to marry him and here I was, dry-heaving in front of him. Real sexy.

“Hey, you okay?” He put his hand on my back. “You feel so warm.”

I finished puking and went to the bathroom to clean up. When I got out, Jayce handed me a towel for my face.

“I'm fine. Just something I ate.”

He raised an eyebrow. “This isn't the first time you puked in the past week. A couple nights ago, you were so loud, I could hear you through the wall.”

“You were listening to me vomit?”

“C'mon, Pink. The walls are so thin you can hear somebody sneeze. Point is, I hope you're not getting sick. You know I can't take care of business alone.”

If he suspected pregnancy, he didn't show it. What would he do if he found out the truth? Call off the wedding? I wouldn't blame him.

But if we were going to get married today, he wouldn't be able to back out that easily. Oh, I
so
wasn't ready for this.

“If I were getting sick, would you take care of me?” I tried to make a joke of it. “I require someone to tuck me in, make chicken soup, bring me tissues and ginger ale...”

“Anything you want. After all, that's what a good friend does.” He brushed the gross hair out of my eyes. “And a good spouse, too.”

“Thought you said this was all to save the property. That you'd be a 'fake husband,' nothing more.”

He shuffled the dead leaves with his shoe. “Nothing wrong with getting practice for the real deal.”

“Didn't know you were planning on marrying for real, either.”

“I hadn't planned on it, but I'm getting kind of sick of the hump-em-and-dump-em game.”

“Charming. Never thought those words would come out of your mouth.”

He hugged me from behind, and his lips found my neck. Just one kiss – he knew where, on the curve just above my shoulder – and my insides felt like jello again.

“What's that? I heard 'come' and 'mouth.' Your wish is my command.”

Some of the tenants, a prudish, religious old couple, passed by with their shopping and gave us a look of disapproval. I laughed and pushed Jayce away.

“Save it for the bedroom, okay?”

“Oh, all right. I can't
wait
to consummate our marriage. You've kept me waiting far too long.”

I boldly grabbed for his crotch as I went back inside. As expected, he was completely hard for me. I couldn't lie; it was a serious ego boost to know he wanted me that much.

The look on his face when I ran my hand over his cock was priceless.

“Must have been pretty good if you've hung on this long.”

“Only the best I've ever had.” He swatted me on the butt. “I got a couple things to take care of here. Meet me at the town hall in twenty, and we'll do this thing.”

I smiled as we went our separate ways. Maybe there was hope for the guy yet. Still, what about
us?
Was there an “us” at all?

Sure, he was starting to grow up. Becoming more responsible. Doing what had to be done.

Didn't mean that he was ready to commit. Once he realized how much effort even a “fake” marriage needed, he'd likely run for the hills soon as he could.

I took the back way around to the parking lot. Didn't feel like facing Heather or telling her what Jayce and I were doing. Later, after the deed was done, we'd come clean.

With twenty minutes to spare, there was one thing I had to do first. I pulled into the first grocery store I found, then tossed a pregnancy test in my basket. I had to know the truth. Couldn't keep hiding from it forever.

I also grabbed a few bags of chips and some chocolate bars, because if I was pregnant, a serious dose of comfort food would help me cope. I'd love a stiff drink, too, but that would sadly be out of the question for the next eight months.

On the way to the register, I passed a shelf of Spanish olives and paused. My mouth watered. Those sounded
so good.

I normally hated olives. Threw a jar in the cart anyway.

I laughed at the odd craving and rubbed my tummy. “Maybe I don't need to bother with the test after all.”

After paying, I hurried to the restroom with the test. The privacy of my own home would have been far better, but I couldn't stand to wait another minute.

I peed on the stick, like the instructions said. They also said I should wait five minutes for results, yet the little blue plus sign appeared in less than thirty seconds.

I waited and waited, thinking maybe it was some kind of error. But it didn't change. It confirmed what I already knew.

I was pregnant with Jayce's baby.

“I should tell him. It's his kid. It's the right thing to do.”

Except I'd never been so scared in my life.

Scared that he'd freak out and tell me to get rid of it. Scared that he'd call off the marriage and I'd lose Shady Acres.

Scared that he'd leave me to handle this alone.

I always thought I'd be joyful and smiling on my wedding day. Instead, I was crying over a pregnancy test in a dirty public restroom.

I threw out the test and ran for my car. Ten minutes to go. Luckily, the Waco courthouse wasn't very far from the store, because I was so queasy with worry and morning sickness that I could barely drive.

“I'll tell him. I really will.”

I would tell him, all right – but it wasn't going to be today.

For now, this pregnancy would have to be my secret.

Chapter 18 - Elle

Was this it? Was this the day my life would change forever?

It already had, of course – knowing I'd be having a baby seriously knocked me for a loop. Getting married on the same day? What a double whammy.

This was supposed to be a fake marriage, but it sure didn't feel that way to me. I played with the ring on my finger and hoped Jayce felt the same.

Hoped, beyond all logic, that he had somehow changed for me.

“We wouldn't be breaking up if not for you. Don't give me that attitude!”