Desperately Seeking Househusband

by Ray, Marika

  I’d noticed the other day that Gabby liked to sit on her back patio and rock back and forth in her chair, a blanket over her shoulders, and a glass of wine to sip. Her backyard consisted of tall shrubs that screened her yard from the neighbors’ eyes and there was a patch of green grass, but that was it.

  While it was true that I joked a lot, I was also observant. When we went paddle boarding and drove through Redondo, she’d been enthralled with all the properties that had vibrant colored rose bushes lining the white picket fences. The word she’d used was charming. So I recreated that in her backyard.

  In the small square of dirt where a tree had been years ago and chopped down due to the roots causing problems with the patio and house foundation, I planted six rose bushes. Each one had a different color of rosebud. And a short white fence went around all six to form a rectangle.

  “Oh my God!”

  Her excited voice made me grin with a primal sense of satisfaction knowing I’d pleased her with a new little rose garden to look at when she sipped her wine at night. Gabby loved to surround herself with beauty, but she was smart enough to know that didn’t always require material things. Sometimes nature was what the senses needed.

  The slider creaked again and I could hear the cameraman schlepping behind her, trying to catch everything. I hoped Hewitt saw this episode and realized all the things he should have been doing for Gabby. But it was more than that. Whether Hewitt ever saw it or not, I just wanted to do something to get Gabby out of her head and make her smile.

  “Yes!”

  I leaned closer to the closed bedroom door. She must have found the bottle of her favorite pinot I’d gotten her. Which meant this next clue might bring her to the gift that she didn’t like quite as much as the others.

  Hey, Beautiful, you may think this gift is more for me than for you, but it’s not. You’re never up a creek without a paddle when you’re adventuring with me.

  As soon as I heard her run outside again, I ran to the guest bedroom to peer out the window. She was at the door to the potting shed where I kept all my board shaping supplies. Propped up against the door was a new paddle for her to stand up paddle with next time we went out. Hanging from the paddle was a burgundy bikini that cost more than any scrap of clothing should. But the color matched her signature nail color perfectly and I knew she’d be a knockout in it. See? Observant, baby!

  She made a face at the camera, but grabbed the suit anyway to bring it inside. I hustled back to the bedroom and listened at the door. The next note was the last one.

  Go where your heart takes you, where lines are meant to be crossed. There you will find your treasure.

  I backed away from the door and held up my sign, the one I’d crudely made with the few minutes left this afternoon before she got home. Eventually, I heard her footsteps creak on the stairs, followed by the heavy clomp of the camera guy’s footsteps. She slowly pushed the door open and finally she was there.

  Her eyes were sparking with excitement highlighting the little blush that dotted her cheeks. My scavenger hunt notes were gathered in her hands, the red nails getting lost in the bikini she held clutched to her chest. Her gaze finally dropped to the sign I held in front of me.

  Will you let me have the honor of being your dinner date tonight? I won’t even wear one of my awesome T-shirts.

  She honked a laugh and I couldn’t help but grin wider.

  “I’d love to.” She came farther into the room and cupped my face, pulling me down for a kiss. Her lips brushed mine, there and then gone, and as far as first kisses went, it was way too brief.

  If I didn’t have the damn sign between us, I would have pulled her in and made it last longer, but as it was, she let go all too soon and gestured to the things in her hands.

  “Thank you. For the after work fun, the roses, the suit, the wine. It was all perfectly spontaneous.” She winked and I vowed to do it again some time, just to see that look on her face.

  “You’re welcome.” I tossed the sign onto the bed and slid my hand behind her neck to pull her in again. One kiss just wasn’t enough. Her lips melted under mine this time, no longer stiff with the awkwardness that comes with pretending. My tongue flicked at the seam of her mouth, finding my invitation granted instantly. Gabby tasted sweet, but her mouth moved with confidence, fighting mine for dominance. Even her kiss was a contradiction.

  Which wasn’t a turn-off at all for me. More like an addiction to finding out every nuance of who she was. When we finally pulled apart, I’d lost my breath but gained clarity.

  I wanted this woman.

  16

  Rhett

  “You are stunning.”

  Gabby twirled in her black dress, the skirt flaring up to show off her perfect legs. She wasn’t tall, by any means, but she had curves in all the right places. I was a glutton for calves like hers. I wanted to trace them with my fingers, followed by my tongue.

  Bejesus. We needed to get out of here before I came in my pants again. Once was a fluke, twice would mean I had a problem.

  “Let’s take your car so we don’t get your dress damaged on the many things falling apart in my Land Cruiser. Do you mind?” I held my hand out and she slipped hers in before giving me a squeeze.

  “Don’t mind at all. Where are we headed?” We walked to the garage, trying to ignore the cameraman trailing our every move. His presence was irritating, but without him or the show, I never would have been in this position with Gabby, so I couldn’t be too upset.

  “My buddy, Austin, has this adorable restaurant he started with his wife. We actually met through some mutual college acquaintances and bonded over our love of stupid T-shirts. He likes them from random bars and I like the ones with phrases.” I shrugged. “But don’t worry, his food is high-class all the way.”

  “Wait. Do you mean Elle Fierro-Cox’s restaurant?” Gabby stopped as we got to the passenger side of her car.

  I opened the door for her. “Yeah. You know Elle?”

  Gabby smiled. “I sure do. I had to fill in for one of our reporters a few years ago to cover the grand opening of a restaurant right on the water. It was hers and Austin’s. They were so nice! We ended up having drinks together after the place closed that night.”

  She slid into the car and I closed the door. When I got around to the driver’s side, her phone started to ring from her clutch on the floor. I started the car and backed out of the garage, wondering how in the world we knew some of the same people. Me, with my network of college buddies and minimum wage earners knew the same people Gabby did with her ivy league pedigree and Swiss bank accounts. It really was a small world.

  “Oh my God, are you serious?”

  I zoomed down the street but shot glances at Gabby. She looked pale. Didn’t look like the phone call was a good one.

  “Okay, honey. Don’t worry, I’ll be right there.” She hung up and grimaced, sliding her eyes to me.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Um, Lily-Marie…my best friend? She, uh, she’s on her way to the hospital. She’s in labor.” Her hands started twisting on her lap and I hated to see her so worried.

  “Which hospital?” I reached over and held her hands.

  “Hoag in Costa Mesa.”

  I looked up and down the street and decided I needed to hang a quick right to get to Costa Mesa. I gunned it and made the turn before the light changed to red. Of course, I completely forgot about the cameraman in the car behind us, who was supposed to be following us to the restaurant. I had bigger things on my mind.

  “When was she due?”

  “Two weeks from now. I guess they say when you’ve had multiple kids, they can come a little early.”

  “Okay, well then, it sounds like she’s perfectly fine. Why are you worried?”

  Gabby shrugged and looked out the window. “Well, you had this beautiful date lined up for tonight and I’m having to bail on you. I figured you wouldn’t be too happy.”

  My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? Your
best friend is about to perform a miracle and bring life into this world and you think I care about a reservation?”

  She whipped her head over to look at me. “Hew wouldn’t have been happy.”

  I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath before answering. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not my half-brother. Not even close.”

  “I know, I just—”

  “No,” I cut her off. “Right now we need to focus on your best friend and the baby, but when that’s over, you and I will be having a long conversation. Because I need to know about you and Hew. I can’t pretend to be your boyfriend, or even think about wanting to be your boyfriend for real, if I don’t know what crap that asshole put in your head. He’s toxic and I won’t let that come between us.”

  She swallowed hard, the only sound in the silent car. She didn’t respond right away and I worried I’d pushed too hard, even though I meant every word. She didn’t let go of my hand, however, and I held onto that as a good sign.

  Just as the hospital came into sight, she whispered, “Okay.”

  My stomach unclenched and I wanted to cheer Gabby on for being brave. For as much as I wanted her, we had to clear the air where Hewitt was concerned. He couldn’t be a ghost that hovered over us the whole time we were on the show, nor could we move forward with a real relationship if he was there. I didn’t even know if Gabby wanted that, but I’d do my best to convince her.

  I slammed the car into park and we both hopped out. Gabby hobbled through the parking lot about ten paces in her high heels before I came behind her and swooped her up into my arms, princess style. She was light as a feather.

  “Hey!” She grabbed at the hem of her dress to keep herself decent. “What are you doing?”

  I gave her a look and she bit her lip. “I can’t watch you break an ankle trying to run in those shoes.”

  A grin slowly grew on her face. “My hero.”

  And dammit all if I didn’t feel like one with her in my arms. She wrapped an arm around my neck and I carried her all the way into the maternity ward where we met her godsons and goddaughter waiting patiently to see their new little sister. Milly clapped her hands enthusiastically as we came through the door.

  “Yay, Aunt Gabs! You found a prince!”

  * * *

  “Come on in, guys.” Jameson, Lily-Marie’s husband, looked a little pale and sweaty as he waved us into the hospital room an hour later. Milly, Clark, and Stein had already gone in to see their new sister ten minutes ago, the family now complete with a his, hers, and ours. Gabby explained the whole family dynamic and how Lil-Jam had come to be two years ago. The portmanteau was too ridiculous to ask about, so I carefully steered past it and kept the story going until we were called to the private room to see the baby.

  “Gabs!” Lily-Marie lay in the hospital bed, a huge but tired smile on her face. In her arms was the smallest human I’d ever seen, all bundled up with just her face exposed.

  Gabby let go of my hand and ran to the bed, scooping Lily-Marie into a gentle hug. Gabby’s dress rose high on the back of her thighs as she leaned over to coo at the baby. I shouldn’t have noticed such things in this situation, but I didn’t stop being a man just because there were kids in the room. I hung back to give her time with her best friend and tried to keep my eyes off her in that little black dress. Meeting her best friend’s family for the first time during a hugely intimate moment was not the time to be a horny bastard.

  “We named her Loni after Jameson’s grandmother,” Lily-Marie announced. “She did bring us together, after all.”

  Gabby did that thing women do where they sigh and lay a hand on their chests, like the thought of being named Loni was just the cutest thing in the world. Jameson moved to sit by his wife on the other side of the bed, his gaze never leaving Lily-Marie’s face.

  “Do you want to hold her?” Lily-Marie winked at Gabby. “Her middle name is Gabriella.”

  The room hushed. Even the kids, previously squabbling over the only two chairs in the room, seemed to sense it was a time to be quiet.

  A sniffle broke the silence. Gabby swiped her hands over her face and nodded. Ah, man. Knowing she was crying hit me in the gut like a sledgehammer. I hated when women cried. My mom used to cry all the time. After my father died. When Hewitt destroyed us. No amount of cajoling from her son pulled her out of it. The sound tore at my insides and made me feel helpless.

  Lily-Marie carefully handed over Loni and Gabby held her reverently in her arms, swaying back and forth as she murmured to her. She finally turned around and the sight of her rocking a baby with tears streaming down her cheeks broke me apart. Everything I thought I wanted out of life disappeared into thin air and the only want that remained was everything with Gabby. I wanted this exact moment in the hospital playing out again, with Gabby holding our baby. I could picture it like it had already happened, the details so vivid I was crushed it wasn’t real.

  Which was insane. I was only here as the fake boyfriend. A temporary situation that gave me no right to want anything as permanent as a baby. But the heart wanted what the heart wanted. And fuck me, but my heart wanted Gabby.

  We stayed for an hour, during which time, the cameraman called me no fewer than ten times, trying to find us, no doubt. I let the calls go, figuring Gabby wouldn’t want this intimate time on national television. A nurse finally came in and shooed us out. After hugs and kisses all around, Gabby let me pull her from the room, collapsing into my arms in the hallway.

  Her face pressed against my chest as she clutched at the back of my dress shirt.

  “You okay, Snookums?” I whispered into her soft hair.

  She let go of a shuddering breath. “I want that,” she mumbled into my chest.

  My damn traitor of a heart soared. “I want that too,” I answered lightly. She hadn’t said she wanted that with me. I couldn’t get ahead of myself.

  We fell into silence as we stood there, holding each other up as people walked by, off to see other little babies being born. I rubbed her back and couldn’t think of a better way to spend our evening.

  She finally pulled away, looking up at me with dreamy eyes. “Thanks for coming with me.”

  “Nowhere I’d rather be.”

  An awareness entered her eyes, her pupils sharpening as I stared into their depths. We both felt it in that moment, I was sure of it. A definite shift had happened between us. Sure, we were faking a relationship for the cameras, but there hadn’t been one in sight all evening and here we were wrapped up in each other for no other reason than we liked each other and sought each other out for comfort. It may have started out fake, but there was so much more beneath the surface.

  “Is this where we promise to have a baby together if neither one of us has one by age forty?” In typical Rhett style, I had to bring a smile and a laugh to the intense moment. And laugh she did, the sound a balm to the unsettled emotions swirling through me.

  “Duh. That’s how all the best romantic comedies go.”

  I kissed her forehead and led us out to the car to go home.

  “Maybe we should start with a pet fish first. See if we’d make good parents.”

  A snort-guffaw was her only reply.

  17

  Gabby

  The fire crackled in the silence between us, a peaceful backdrop to the evening while the neighborhood slept. Rhett and I returned from the hospital late that night, but I was too keyed up to sleep. I needed time to unwind and I just so happened to have a new bottle of my favorite wine thanks to the scavenger hunt from earlier.

  “I can’t believe she’s named after me.” I swirled the red liquid, the fire reflecting off the wine glass in my hand. I was in love with Loni already.

  My bare feet lay in Rhett’s lap, his fingertips absently stroking them as he sipped his wine. A shiver ran through me. Rhett put his glass down and leaned forward to drape another blanket over my lap to match the one around my shoulders. I didn’t correct him as to the cause of that shiver. The cameraman sat i
n the corner of my patio, that damn red light indicating he was capturing our conversation.

  “I can’t believe you have four godchildren and none of your own yet,” Rhett responded.

  His words felt like a knife lodged in my chest, though I knew he didn’t mean to hurt me. “Yeah. I know. I’ve always wanted to have kids. Not sure how that hasn’t happened yet.”

  He looked out at the backyard, his gaze flitting over the trees and shrubs I planted to help give me some privacy on nights like these. When I just wanted to sip my wine by the fire and contemplate life.

  “Five years with you-know-who and no kids. You ready to tell me about that yet?” Rhett finally glanced over at me, his face half in the shadow, the other half lit up by the flames dancing next to him. He was gorgeous. One hundred percent male with the scruff on his cheeks, the defined jaw, and the muscles that could be seen through a dress shirt. Why couldn’t I have met him under normal circumstances? Why did he have to be related to the one man on earth I’d ram with a shopping cart, taking out his Achilles and leaving him screaming in pain if I ever got the chance? I’d actually gotten up to fifty-two ways I’d cause him pain if I ever ran into him again. Lily-Marie had inspired me with her list of ways to find a husband. I’d improvised.

  My wine glass was half empty. Or was it half full? Did I have enough in there to get me through this tale of woes? Seemed to me I’d need more than just one bottle.

  “We weren’t right for each other, but we were both too busy with our careers to notice. Or maybe we did notice but figured that was what long-term relationships evolved to over time. The kids thing just never felt right. I can’t even put my finger on it. I just couldn’t see us raising a child together.”

  Rhett nodded slowly. “And what bullshit did he fill your head with?”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  He smirked, but it had a mean edge to it I didn’t like. “I know that guy well, remember? I know he says things that worm their way in. I’ve been deworming my own brain for years now. So, gimme your worms.”