He shook his head and pulled me toward the front door. “Because the delivery is for you, not me.”
“Me?” I asked, surprised.
“Yup. Close your eyes and keep them closed until I say so. I’ll lead you.”
I closed my eyes but instantly opened one. “You promise not to let me trip?”
“Del, you really think I'll let you fall?”
I closed my eye. “No, just don’t go to fast.”
“Gotta trust me.”
Jay lead me out the front door, and it felt like we stopped when we got to the end of the sidewalk where it met the driveway. “I don’t smell anything.”
“Uh, you shouldn’t,” he laughed. “What the hell do you think the surprise is?”
“Obviously something that doesn’t smell.”
“I think that’s a good thing,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Surprises were not my thing.
“Just one more second.” Jay’s hand didn’t leave my arm, but I could hear him fiddling with something.
“Now?” I asked impatiently.
“Lord have mercy, Del. Two minutes ago you, didn’t even care what the surprise was and now you need to know.”
“Because I want pizza,” I complained. The man teased me with ordering pizza and now he was making me wait.
“Open your eyes, Del.”
My eyes sprung open and sitting in front of me was the shiny SUV we had test driven days ago. “What?” I gasped.
“It’s yours, Del.”
My jaw dropped, and my knees felt weak. I grabbed onto Jay’s arm. “What did you just say?”
“She’s all yours, Delaney. Your car isn’t safe for you to be driving it back and forth to Hilltop almost every day. You need a more reliable car.”
“So you bought me one?” What universe had I fallen into?
Jay had bought me a car.
And not just any car.
A real nice, really pretty, new car.
“Jay...” I didn’t know what to say. This was absolutely insane. “You bought me a car.” That was about the only thought that was going through my mind.
“I want you and the baby to be safe. Driving around in that death trap worried the hell out of me anytime you went anywhere.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the SUV. “Get in the driver’s seat.” He opened the door and motioned for me to get in.
I hopped into the car and rested my hands on the steering wheel.
“Del, you look like you’re about to throw up.”
“You bought me a car!”
Jay took a step back and smiled.
“Why do you look so happy?”
“You’re funny, Del,” he chuckled.
“Jay.” I pointed to the steering wheel. “You bought me a car.”
“I’m the one who bought it, Del. You don’t need to keep telling me.”
I dropped my head to the steering wheel and closed my eyes.
The man had bought me a car because he was worried about me and the baby being in my old car.
So sweet and so unexpected. I had planned on getting a newer car before the baby came, but Jay had beat me to the punch with a beautiful, roomy, SUV.
“You bought me a car,” I whispered.
“I’m a little worried you’re about to flip out on me.”
I turned my head but kept it resting on the steering wheel. “I’m in shock.”
“I can tell that, Del.”
“It’s so pretty,” I whispered. “It has heated seats and a camera that shows me where I’m going when I’m backing up.”
“It does,” he laughed.
“I shouldn’t accept this, Jay. I should tell you to take it back.” I shouldn’t even be sitting it right now.
“Says who?” he asked.
“I have no idea, but I know there are people somewhere who wouldn’t ever dream of taking a car as a present.”
“It’s not a present,” he insisted. “I want you and the baby to be safe. Think of it as giving me peace of mind when I’m not with you.”
“Is that how you’re going to play this?” I laughed.
He nodded and stepped closer. He rested his hand on my thigh. “Del, you and I are the only ones who matter when it comes to making decisions.”
“And the baby,” I added.
“And definitely the baby. I don’t give a rat’s ass if Susan Can'tMindHerOwnBusiness in Timbuktu thinks you shouldn’t have this car. I want you to have it, and that should be all that matters to you.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled. “It even smells amazing,” I whined.
Jay shut the door, and I lifted my head off the steering wheel. “What are you doing?” I called.
“We’re going to get pizza.” He rounded the front of the SUV and got in the passenger seat. “If after we go get pizza, you tell me you don’t want the car, I’ll take it back with no questions asked.”
“You can do that?” I asked. I had never bought a car from a dealership before. My last car I bought from a guy who had it for sale in front of his house.
“Yes, Del, but don’t worry about that.” He set the keys in the cupholder. “Hit the button and let’s go.”
“Button?” I looked where one would normally stick the car key and saw there was just a button that said start/stop. “This thing is like a spaceship,” I muttered. I pressed the button, and the beautiful car came to life.
I loved it already, and I hadn’t even pulled out of the driveway.
*
Chapter Eighteen
Jay
“We can take Millie to the party.”
I grabbed the pan of fruit pizza and looked at Delaney. “Who?”
“Millie, the pretty Cadillac you bought me.” Delaney grabbed the keys from the hook by the door and remote started the car.
“You do know it’s like seventy degrees out right now. You don’t need to warm up the car, Del,” I laughed.
She grabbed the pan from me. “It’s like a new toy. You can’t blame me for playing with it.”
“I got a toy you can play with after this party tonight,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes and marched out the front door. “Grab the taco dip and let’s go, boy toy.”
I grabbed the pan from the counter and closed the front door behind me. “Does that mean we get to play when we get home?”
She laughed and pressed the button on the key fob to open the back hatch. “We’ll see.”
I set the pan next to the taco dip and pulled her into my arms. “That sounds promising.”
“Well, I do need to continue to thank you properly for Millie, don’t I?”
I nuzzled her cheek. “Pretty sure you thanked me properly three times last night.” One of those times was with a blowjob that was out of this world. Delaney’s mouth was like a little piece of heaven.
“I just want you to fully understand just how much I love this car.” She wound her arms around my neck and sighed. “Plus, I wasn’t sure if we would have time for each other the next couple of days with your family in town.”
Yesterday, Leelee and Kurt hadn’t gotten to Leeds Square ‘til after nine, and I had told her we would see them at the party instead of driving to the hotel to see them then. Leelee wasn’t exactly excited about that, but she said she got it.
“Leelee is not going to keep you from me,” I insisted.
She patted my chest. “Keep telling yourself that, boy toy.”
“Is that my new nickname?” I laughed.
“If the shoe fits,” she laughed. She reached up to press the button to shut the hatch and took a step back. “Get in, I’m driving.”
She gleefully walked to the driver’s side and slipped inside.
Delaney loved the car and, thankfully, didn’t tell me I needed to take it back. Though I sure as hell wouldn’t have done that.
She honked the horn and must have rolled down the window. “Get in, loser, we’re going to the party!”
Delan
ey was happy as hell, and I had been the one to put that smile on her lips.
Now all I had to do was make sure it stayed there.
*
Delaney
“I’m pretty sure I just OD’d on taco dip.”
Jay grabbed my plate and swiped his chip through my leftover dip. “Pretty sure you ate three pounds of it,” he laughed.
“I was nervous,” I whispered. “Leelee was watching me too closely.”
Jay dropped his plate on the ground and grabbed his beer. “She knows something is up.”
“What?” I gasped. “How the heck does she know something is up?”
“Because she’s my sister?”
Jay and I were sitting at one of the tables Brooks had set out on the patio by the pool. Leelee and Kurt had sat with us while we ate but had just gotten up to get drinks. Things seemed to be going well, but I was extremely nervous. She had asked where Jay’s car was, and he explained we had driven my car. He thankfully didn’t say he had bought the car for me. I’m pretty sure Leelee would have asked him what the hell he was doing.
He was right saying that she very much had the attitude of not caring what anyone thought and would say what was on her mind. Kurt, her husband, was one of the most laid-back guys I had ever met. He talked to Jay most of the time about the race team and how he thought the season was going.
Before meeting Jay, I barely knew drag racing was a thing, let alone a huge sport.
“Are we going to tell her?” I whispered.
“Planned on it,” Jay drawled.
He didn’t seem stressed out or anxious at all. “Jay,” I hissed.
He looked over at me. “Del, calm down. She’s my sister, not some evil person. She’s gonna have some questions, but she’s gonna be happy for us.” He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Trust me.”
Leelee and Kurt walked back over to the table. She set a beer in front of both Jay and me. “I got you each a beer,” she said simply.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out. I slapped my hand over my mouth, and Jay’s jaw dropped.
“Well, shit, babe. You were fucking right.” Kurt slapped Jay on the back and laughed. “She totally pinned you for knocking her up.”
“I figured she knew something was up,” Jay laughed.
“He did,” I squawked.
“Though we didn’t plan on telling you like that.” Jay pulled me close and rested his hand on my stomach.
“I panicked.” I did. Totally and completely. I couldn’t drink that beer, and I didn’t know what else to say besides blurting out I was having a baby.
Leelee still hadn’t said anything yet. She stood on the other side of the table watching Jay and me.
Kurt stood up and was shaking hands with Jay while I sat there trying to not fidget under Leelee's inspection.
“You’re different,” she said softly. She pulled the chair out next to me and sat down.
“Um, okay.”
She grabbed the beer she had set in front of me and popped it open. “Guess you won’t be needing this.”
“Yeah, no,” I laughed nervously.
Leelee sat back in her chair and smiled. “You’re different from any of the girls Jay has ever been interested in before. I mean, you’re pretty and look like them, but you’re different.”
I got it. I was different. But was that a good thing?
“Stop scaring her,” Kurt called to Leelee.
She flipped him off. “I’m not scaring her. She’s having my niece or nephew, okay?”
“So that means you should be smiling and not looking like you’re sitting down to an investigation,” Kurt laughed.
Meg, Remy’s mom, shouted from across the pool, and we all turned to look at her. There was a bright pink flamingo float in the water, and she was standing on the side of the pool with her arms raised over her head.
“Here we go,” Kurt chuckled. “I was waiting for Meg to let loose.”
Cyn was already in the pool floating on a large float in the shape of a donut. She was holding the flamingo and encouraging Meg to jump in the pool. Lo and Rigid were both sitting at a table by the pool shaking their heads. They even knew they couldn’t control their wives all of the time.
“Mom, would you just get in the pool like a normal person?” Remy called. He was standing by the grill with a spatula in his hand while Harlyn held a plate next to him. The difference between the two of them was Harlyn was also yelling for Meg to jump into the pool.
“This chick is my role model,” Leelee laughed.
I glanced at Leelee and smiled. “She does seem pretty amazing.”
“You don’t even know the half of it. I’ve heard stories that will have you rolling with laughter.” Leelee took a sip of her beer. “Cyn is pretty cool too. I think the two of them egg each other on.”
“Get in the pool!” Remy shouted.
“I don’t think Remy appreciates the greatness that is his mom,” I whispered.
“You would be completely right,” Leelee chuckled.
Meg, who was wearing the most gorgeous black one piece swimsuit I had ever seen, finally jumped into the pool, where she managed to land on the flamingo, but the waves in the pool flipped her off and sent Cyn flying off her donut.
“Ah, my donut house,” Cyn called.
Meg surfaced and was spitting and spewing water all while she laughed her ass off.
Lo and Rigid didn’t move from their chairs and just watched their wives with amusement in their eyes. Both of Cyn’s kids were off at summer camp so Cyn and Rigid were enjoying their time being alone.
“That woman right there is goals,” Leelee laughed.
Jay sat back down on the other side of me and grabbed my hand. “You okay?” he asked softly.
I glanced over at Leelee, who was looking at Jay’s hand in mine. “Um, I think I’m okay.”
“I like her,” Leelee announced.
Jay laughed and shook his head. “Gotta say, Lee, it didn’t really matter if you did or didn’t.”
A smile spread across Leelee's lips. “And that right there was the right answer, Jay.”
*
Chapter Nineteen
Jay
“Raincheck on the hot monkey sex?”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Delaney laughed.
I shrugged and locked the front door behind us. “It seems like a fitting description.”
Delaney dropped her car keys on the counter and kicked off her tennis shoes. “I would think you’re getting sick of me, but I have to say, I am completely exhausted and fine with a raincheck.”
I kicked off my shoes and emptied my pockets on the counter. “Oh, don’t worry, Del. I plan on cashing that raincheck in the morning when I know I’ll be rested up.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Did you have a good day?”
It was half past midnight, and the fireworks show Meg and Cyn had put on was more than amazing. Who would have thought two chicks in their fifties could put on a show that would rival the fireworks show the town put on?
“The best. I ate too much, spent time with you, and got to meet your family and friends. I’m deliriously happy.” She rested her hands on her stomach and sighed. “Though I gotta say, baby and I are ready to fall into bed.”
“Then let’s get you up those stairs and tucked in.”
I followed Delaney up the stairs and felt my dick stir in my pants as I watched her ass. Down, boy. “Next time we decide to not have sex, maybe I should be the first one to walk up the steps.”
Delaney laughed and looked over shoulder at me. “Am I teasing you, Mr. Perez?”
I patted her butt and sighed. “You sure as hell are, but I can wait to have you ‘til morning.” I reached the top of the stairs and swung Delaney up in my arms. “Mama and baby need their rest.”
She wound her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. “Amen to that,” she muttered.
Delaney’s eyes fluttered, and I
knew she would fall asleep in my arms right there. “Stay awake two more minutes for me, mama.” I set her by the door of the bathroom, and she quickly did her business.
“I think I can make the walk across the hallway without you carrying me,” she laughed when she opened the door and I was still standing there.
She brushed past me and turned the light on in her room across the hallway. “You do know when my mom comes back, we’re going to have to stay at your house, right?” She shimmied her shorts down her legs and pulled her shirt over her head.
“I know, Del.” I had already talked to Remy and Frankie about it. They didn’t have a problem with Delaney being over more seeing as they were barely at the house anymore. Remy was over at Harlyn's ninety percent of the time, and when we weren’t on the road, Frankie was always with Brooks at his mansion in the ritzy part of Leeds Square. “Frankie plans on moving in with Brooks next month, and Remy is never really at the duplex either.”
“So we’ll have the place to ourselves mostly,” she sighed.
I tossed her one of my shirts, and she slipped it over her head after she took her bra off. She climbed into bed while I got undressed and pulled the covers up to her chin. “My bed smells like you,” she whispered.
I stripped down to my underwear and crawled into bed next to her. “That’s because this is where I belong.”
“Oh, is it?” she laughed.
I gathered in my arms, pulled the covers over both of us, and she relaxed into me. “You gonna tell me this isn’t where I belong?”
She laid her hand on my chest. “No. I’m good with you right where you are.”
“So am I, Del.”
Right here with Del in my arms is exactly where I belonged.
*
Delaney
My eyes snapped open, and a wave of nausea washed over me.
Oh hell.
I hadn’t been nauseated for two weeks, and suddenly, I felt like I was going to upchuck my cookies all over Jay and my bed.
I slid out from under his arm, and as soon as my feet touched the floor, his arm reached out for me. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just have to use the bathroom,” I whispered.
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