The Anchor (19 page)

“Is there a dead body in this thing, or what?” Joey grunts as he and Parker carry my shoe trunk inside Edie and John’s house.

“Be careful with that,” I warn. “That trunk is filled with my shoes.”

“This is all shoes?” Joey asks, and his eyes widen in disbelief.

I only brought what I thought was a necessity. Most of my belongings will have to go in storage until Parker and I find a place. We decided to move the essentials today and we’ll move the rest some time later this week. Hopefully Dierk will be able to help me out.

“Might be time to get rid of some of these,” Parker manages between breaths as they shimmy the large wooden box through the front doorframe.

“What?” I gasp in mock horror. “Get rid of my babies? Never!”

Edie laughs from where she stands in the kitchen sipping a glass of water. She came up from the stables just to check in. “I don’t think I’ve owned as many shoes in my entire life as you have in that box.”

“That’s because you borrow all of mine,” I point out.

“More like you force me to wear them,” she debates.

“True,” I concede.

“Well, if we have a girl she’ll have plenty of mommy’s dress up clothes to wear.” Parker half laughs.

My stomach clenches with his words as I watch Joey’s face twist in confusion. “If you have a girl?” he asks, looking back at me.

Cutting my gaze to Parker, I don’t bother trying to hide my anger. He just outed me to Joey. There’s an apology in his eyes. He didn’t mean to do it. But he did, and I’m pissed. I hadn’t told anyone other than Edie, Parker, and my father about the baby. I assumed John knew, but that was a given. When I’d told Joey I needed help moving, I simply explained my father and I were on the outs. Joey, being the beautiful, simple soul he is, didn’t ask why. He just said, “Should I come now?” That’s why I love him dearly. He’s the friend that’s always there.

Looking to Edie, I take in her thoughtful expression; she’s biting her lip as she watches me in sympathy. She knows exactly what just happened.

Parker keeps moving, forcing Joey to continue on to the guest room as they lug my trunk.

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag now,” Edie sighs as she sets her glass in the sink and heads toward me as I stand frozen in place. “You were going to have to tell him eventually.”

“I know that, but not in this way,” I grumble and walk around the sofa, flopping down on it.

“I have to get back down to the track. Trish has to leave for a doctor’s appointment soon.” Trish is one of Edie’s employees. I nod once in understanding as Edie squeezes my shoulder. “It’s Joey. The only thing that will happen is he’ll be even more protective of you.” She tries to reassure me. Then she leaves. The sound of Joey and Parker’s voices drift through the house, but I can’t make out what they’re saying to one another. Just as I’m about to get up and try to sneak down the hallway to eavesdrop, I hear heavy footsteps so I remain seated.

Joey rounds the couch and kneels down in front of me. His shaggy hair sticks out from under his baseball cap as his brown eyes stare up at me. He inhales a long breath and lets it out through his nose. “You need anything . . . anything at all, I’m here for you. You got it?”

I want to cry. Fucking Joey. Always the sweetheart. “Got it,” I manage. Then he stands, leans down, and kisses the top of my head before he roughs my hair, making me squeal in fake protest. A minute later, he’s gone without another word.

“I’m sorry,” Parker begins, his hands shoved in his pockets. From his sullen expression, I truly believe he is sorry. “You guys are so fucking tight-knit here . . . I thought he knew. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, my anger quickly fading. When I glance over at the clock set on the mantel above Edie’s fireplace, I stand. “We should get going.” There’s no point in crying about spilled milk, as Daddy Bud used to say. Joey knows now. So what? I’m not going to waste my last little bit of time with Parker being pissed. I should’ve known Joey wouldn’t have judged me like my father did.

“I hate leaving you right now,” he murmurs against my neck.

“I hate that you have to go,” I admit, squeezing and pressing him to me. His arms tighten around me and he pulls in a long breath. That’s when I realize he’s tensing. “Are you okay?”

“Honestly,” he sighs. “I’m worried if I leave you, you’ll start thinking . . . then you’ll start overthinking. Then you’ll say we can’t work out. And I know it’s early. I know we have a shit-ton of things to figure out, but . . . I want this to work out.” His hands squeeze my arms in emphasis. “I want you.”

And there it went. My heart just melted and dribbled to the floor with his admission. When I pull back from him, his gaze hones in on mine and I try to hide the tears threatening to break free and give him a reassuring smile. “I promise, Parker. I’ll try, for us.” Then placing a hand over my belly, I add, “For all of us.”

Am I scared? Hell motherfucking yes, I’m scared. But I know all too well what it is to grow up with a parent missing in action. It sucks. My child deserves better. Maybe I wouldn’t just jump into this thing with Parker like I have if he was some kind of deadbeat, but he’s not. He’s amazing. He’s more than amazing. He’s more than I deserve. And . . . he makes me happy. He makes me feel like everything really will be okay.

Taking his finger, he tilts my chin up and gives me a chaste kiss. “You’re going to fall so deeply in love with me. You won’t really see it happening. One day, you’ll just wake up and you’ll be neck-deep in it.”

“Is that so?” I tease. “No doubt you’ll fall first,” I singsong as I head to the door to grab my purse from the hook. “If you haven’t already,” I add.

“It’s too easy not to,” Parker says, from across the room. My chest tightens. “You were meant for me to fall for. You’ll see.” And with that, he makes his way across the room and leads me out the door.

At the airport, we hug good-bye and Parker kisses me before getting on his knees and kissing my belly. People around us smile and point and my face heats with embarrassment. But I don’t stop him as he says good-bye to my abdomen, even though I think it’s kind of ridiculous.

When he stands again, he kisses me, hard, picks up his carry-on, and walks away.

It’s been two weeks since I left Nikki in Holly Springs. I haven’t even had a chance to look for a job in the area because work has been so fucking crazy. My absence didn’t go over well and I’ve been brownnosing since I got back. The night I got back I found an email from Paul reminding me that the New York State Bar was coming up the last Tuesday and Wednesday in February. It’s months away, but the application deadline is in a few weeks. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll be moving to North Carolina . . . hopefully soon, and I’d already passed the state bar there. I’d replied to his email, letting him know I needed to speak with him about something important. I got an automated reply saying he was unavailable for the next several days. I still haven’t heard back from him.

I’ve been working late hours and have barely had a minute to breathe, but Nikki and I manage to text most days and talk on the phone at least once a day. This isn’t ideal when I’m trying to woo her into a relationship with me.

I can tell it’s beginning to wear on her. Her text this past Wednesday pretty much spelled out she was feeling forgotten.

You can’t come back this weekend either?

I’m sorry, beautiful. I’m swamped.

There was a long pause and I imagined her sitting there, staring at her phone, thinking about how right she was that this wouldn’t work out.

Finally, I couldn’t take the wait anymore so I text her again.

I miss you. I miss those gorgeous eyes of yours, your dirty little mouth, and I miss how relaxed you make me feel. I’ve barely slept since I got back.

Nothing for five minutes, and then:

I miss you, too. We miss you.

I closed my eyes and sighed. This situation sucked. I need to be with her, but I’m stuck. I text her back to get a good night’s sleep and then I got online and started looking for jobs near Holly Springs.

I finally make it back to North Carolina and somehow manage a three-day weekend. I took a red-eye and land in Raleigh-Durham International Airport a little after two in the morning. John agreed to pick me up. I didn’t want Nikki driving so far so late. She’s just now wrapping up her first trimester, but she’s still exhausted.

My eyes are dry as I ride the escalator down, dreaming about the cup of coffee I’m going to make John stop and get me. But coffee is soon forgotten as I catch sight of Nikki waiting for me at the bottom, holding a sign that says, ‘Baby Daddy.’

The grin that takes over my face is almost painful. Her long, blond hair is down, billowing over her shoulders and she’s wearing this fitted trench coat with black hose and heels. Why is she so dressed up?

When I hit the main floor, I drop my carry-on and sprint to her, picking her up and hugging her tight. She laughs and squeals as I twirl her before setting her on her feet and threading my fingers in her hair, pulling it so her head tilts back and her eyes focus squarely on mine.

“I told you not to drive. You should be sleeping.”

She smiles up at me, almost dreamily. “I couldn’t wait one more minute to see you.” I swallow hard, the happiness her words bring me feel almost choking.

“Damn, you’re beautiful,” I growl before kissing her, hard. Her arms tighten around my neck as her searing kiss presses back, challenging me. She wants me just as badly as I want her. Finally, she pulls away and with a breathless sigh, says, “Car. Now.”

We speed walk to the car, holding hands, giving each other knowing looks as we move. My fatigue has vanished as desire and excitement pumps through me. This woman revives me and calms me all at once. We make it to the car and stop in front of a large SUV; a Ford Expedition.

“Whose car is this?” I ask as I glance around looking for her Audi.

Nikki pops the back with the keyless entry and says, “I’ll explain later. Right now, I want you.” When I toss in my carry-on, I notice the second and third row seats are laid down. “Get in,” she orders as she climbs in and gives a small tug on my shirt. Grinning, I climb in and close the back door. She’s already undoing the tie of her coat. The lights from the parking garage overhead are dim, but it’s enough to see her perfect body in lace lingerie, with a black garter belt and thigh highs.

Fuck me.

My dick is rock hard in a second.

When her coat is off and tossed aside, she crawls toward me, her stare honed on me, her lower lip caught between her teeth. “I’ve missed you,” she purrs as she runs one hand up my leg. Flipping around, I scoop her up and lay her back. She giggles as I stare at her, her long hair fanned out, her perfect, smooth skin soft, and her amazing smile on display. The lingerie she’s wearing is a one-piece, and it looks fucking amazing on her.