I sighed in resignation as I pulled into my sister’s driveway and parked behind my parents’ car. I’d tried to decline the dinner party invitation, but Miranda had been adamant that I needed to be there. The front door was open, so I let myself through the screen door and called out a greeting as I shrugged out of my jacket.
“Donny! You came!”
“I said I would. But I’m only staying if you stop calling me that,” I threatened playfully, accepting a hug of welcome from my big sister. I had long ago resigned myself to tolerating the nickname, but I was never going to stop complaining about it.
“Time to get over it, bro. You’ll always be Donny to me. Everyone’s in the living room, but we’re still waiting on a couple of Gabe’s work friends.”
“Did he do the cooking? It smells amazing, so I know it wasn’t you.”
“Ugh,” Miranda landed a slap to my shoulder. “Not you too. Come on.”
I followed her into the living room, waving casually to my parents and Miranda’s in-laws. There were a few other people in the room, but only one of them caught my attention. Maybe it was the way the light bounced off her long, blonde hair or the familiar, silky tone of her voice as she spoke to Gabe’s mother. Maybe my brain had hard-wired itself to look for her in every room I walked into, no matter how hard I’d tried to stop. Maybe it was all of those things. But whatever the reason, I held my breath as the woman turned toward me, and I found myself staring into the same hypnotic blue eyes I’d been dreaming about for months.
It was her.
I watched her mouth fall open in shock and felt my own expression transform to mirror hers. Miranda was talking somewhere nearby, but her words of introduction were completely lost on me. Emma—if that was indeed her name—seemed to do a better job of putting the pieces together, however, and her beautiful eyes brightened with understanding. The strange energy I’d felt the first time I’d met her was humming in the air around us again, and I wondered if she could feel it too.
I felt my sister’s curious gaze, but I didn’t give her a second glance as I stepped toward Emma and took her hand. To my relief, it took only a gentle tug for her to follow me out of the living room and down the hall to the bathroom. I closed the door quickly and backed her against it, seizing her lips with a frenzy I couldn’t contain.
God, she tastes like heaven.
Time itself seemed to grind to a halt, as though we were suspended in one infinite moment and nothing existed but the two of us. The taste of her was just as intoxicating as I imagined, and my hands explored the perfect curves of her body as I moved them from her hips to her hair. She clung to my shoulders and returned the kiss with equal fervor, giving me hope that perhaps I’d drawn the wrong conclusion about the way we’d parted.
Fuck. How many times had I fantasized about her this way? How many hours had I spent imagining how she’d feel in my arms, against my skin… My heart thudded a little faster in my chest as the kiss intensified, full of desperation and hunger.
And possession.
There was no doubt of that. I was laying claim to her without uttering a single word, ruining her for all other men with every caress of my lips and tongue. My cock ached for her as I shifted my hips and pressed it against her. She moaned in surrender.
A knock on the door was all it took to bring reality crashing back. We panted rapidly, gasping through a slight wave of dizziness at the sudden renewal of oxygen. I rested my forehead against hers as I returned to earth, silently cursing my sister’s untimely interruption.
“What’s going on?” Miranda asked through the door. “Is Kennedy okay?”
Kennedy?
“I’m fine. We’ll be out in a minute,” she answered. Her voice was shaky, and she was still trying to catch her breath, her gaze darting between my eyes and mouth.
“Kennedy?” I challenged with a smirk I didn’t bother trying to conceal. At the moment, I was far more worried about concealing my hard on. She cringed apologetically.
“I can explain. It wasn’t personal…”
“I’ll hold you to that. Among other things.” I glanced at the door and back at her, and I didn’t miss the way her breathing faltered. “No running off after dinner. I don’t care if I have to torture my own sister to get your number. Your real number. I’m not letting you get away this time.”
“I’ll give you the real one,” Kennedy promised, failing to hide a timid smile. “I’m so sorry.”
My lips found hers again, moving slower this time.
“Apologize by letting me take you out for drinks after dinner,” I suggested once I’d pulled back to let her breathe again. She opened her mouth to reply but seemed momentarily flummoxed. Some kind of silent battle waged in her blue eyes, and I frowned at her hesitation. “You can’t seriously be thinking about turning me down.”
“It’s not that,” she said quickly, nibbling her bottom lip in a way that made it very difficult to tame my erection. “I’ll tell you what… Let’s go have dinner, and if you still want to go out after it’s over, then I’m yours for the night.” Her cheeks pinkened as she belatedly heard the double entendre of her own words, and I grinned wickedly. “I mean—”
“Oh, no. You can’t take it back now. Come on.”
I leaned down to brush my lips against hers one last time before opening the bathroom door to escort her out. My heart was still pounding in exhilaration as I guided her to the dining room with a hand at the small of her back. She felt warm beneath the teal cotton of her wrap dress, and I took a moment to admire the way the color contrasted against her skin.
Hell, I thought, stifling a groan as I forced my eyes away from her. At this rate, not even my mother would miss the tent in my pants.
I was still spinning from the unexpected thrill of seeing my mystery girl again. Kennedy. The name suited her so much better than ‘Emma.’ Miranda had mentioned her many times in the past, but despite their long friendship, I’d never actually met her in person. I shook my head in wonder at the twist of fate that brought us together in the cafe that day. What were the odds?
When we reached the dining room table, I pulled out an empty chair for her and settled into the one on her right, relishing the magnetic charge still resonating between us. As far as I could tell, Kennedy was feeling it too. I smirked a little when I noticed her hand tremble as she brought her water glass to her kiss-swollen lips.
This had better be a quick dinner. If we weren’t out the door and headed somewhere more private within an hour, I wouldn’t be accountable for my actions.
“So…” Miranda drawled expectantly, glancing back and forth between us. Gabe was watching us curiously as well. “You two know each other?”
“We met last summer,” I grinned, unable to take my eyes off Kennedy. “We just didn’t realize we had a common acquaintance.”
“I probably would have if you’d told me your last name, but Miranda always calls you Donny. I never realized it was short for Donovan, so I just didn’t make the connection,” she explained.
“I didn’t realize I’d left that part out, but at least I gave you the correct first name.”
“I know. I truly am sorry about that. I’m an author, and I have a… unique brainstorming process.”
“Hold on,” Miranda interrupted, still watching us with keen interest. “You mean the guy you fake numbered last summer was Donny?!” She laughed in delight as Kennedy’s expression grew even more embarrassed. I huffed in a half-irritated, half-playful manner.
“If it weren’t for that stupid nickname you refuse to drop, she might’ve figured it out before now,” I pointed out, coming quickly to Kennedy’s defense. Miranda was still giggling, but she conceded the point with a shrug.
“That’s hilarious, though. I think it may be time to find a new writing trick, Kenn.”
“How does it work exactly?” I asked as everyone began passing the serving dishes around. Miranda and Gabe seemed to be the only ones paying attention to our strange turn of events. Everyone
else was absorbed in their own conversations.
“I go to different places, usually small restaurants in different neighborhoods. I have a name in mind when I begin, but that’s it. The rest comes from the environment. I try to immerse myself in the character and imagine what they might be like, how they might dress, what drives them, and so on. When I have to give a name, like at the coffee places, I use the fictional one.”
“Why didn’t you just correct me when we started talking?” I pressed, somewhat skeptical. I’d spent months trying to convince myself that I’d misread her.
“I should have, but I… I figured you’d think I was crazy. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m sorry,” she apologized again.
I waved off her apology and smiled as our gazes held for an immeasurable moment. I could feel my sister’s eyes on us frequently while dinner progressed and conversations flowed around the long table. Each time I managed to pull my eyes away from Kennedy’s face long enough to glance in Miranda’s direction, she either looked nervous or seemed to be avoiding eye contact. But I just didn’t have the presence of mind to give it much thought.
My attention was riveted on Kennedy for the entirety of the meal, and the fact that I didn’t end up wearing most of my food was truly impressive. I soaked up her presence, memorizing each shift in her tone and expression. She was warm and polite to the rest of the guests, but her eyes darted back to mine often, and the sexual tension seemed to intensify with each glance.
As dinner began to wind down, I noticed she’d begun to fidget in her seat, somehow mirroring my sister’s nervousness. It confused me, but before I could find an opening to bring it up, Miranda and Gabe were standing up and calling for everyone’s attention. I looked away from Kennedy reluctantly.
“We’re so glad everyone could come this evening,” Gabe began, wrapping an arm around my sister’s shoulders. “Whether you’re a friend or a family member, you’re all very important to us, and we wanted you all to be the first to hear some exciting news.”
The sense of anticipation grew stronger around the table, and everyone’s eyes were bright with interest. Except Kennedy’s. Her expression held a slightly different sort of excitement, but there was no time to try to make sense of it. Miranda was bouncing a little and grinning from ear to ear as she continued the announcement.
“I think at this point, everyone here knows how long Gabe and I have been trying to have a baby. A few months ago, we decided to try surrogacy, and… It worked! We’re having a baby!”
Cries of joy and congratulations rang throughout the room, and I wasn’t the only one who’d promptly stood up to exchange hugs. Kennedy was on her feet too, but I got to Miranda first. I held my sister for a long moment, feeling overwhelmed with happiness for her. Motherhood was something she’d wanted for a very long time, and I knew she’d be a natural. Judging by our parents’ faces, they were just as surprised as everyone else in the room. Apparently, Gabe and Miranda hadn’t told anyone they were even considering surrogacy, let alone moving forward with it.
Questions came from all directions, but Miranda shooed everyone back to their seats. As I sat down again, I realized Kennedy had remained standing next to my sister. She was smiling as brightly as everyone else, but she seemed to be avoiding my gaze. I didn’t like it.
“There’s actually a second part to this announcement,” Miranda said, addressing the room again. This time, Gabe had stepped back slightly, and her arm was around Kennedy’s shoulders. “Our surrogate is none other than my dearest friend, Kennedy Brighton. We’ve officially hit the twelve-week mark, and the baby is due at the end of August!”
What?
Murmurs of happy surprise filled the air once again, but I was too stunned to hear anyone’s actual words. Sonogram pictures were being passed around the table, and multiple people were bombarding Kennedy with questions about her pregnancy symptoms. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment at being the center of attention. Miranda and Gabe were fielding questions as well, but I couldn’t seem to process any of it. My eyes were glued to Kennedy’s face. She seemed determined not to look at me.
After ten minutes of this, I rose to my feet as discreetly as possible, taking advantage of the chaos to step outside into the cool night air. I inhaled deeply as I stepped onto my sister’s wide front porch, my head reeling.
Surely, this was a joke. The universe couldn’t really be that twisted…
Forty-five minutes ago, I’d been ecstatic and amazed to have found my coffee shop girl. I’d envisioned a round of drinks and a long night of getting better acquainted, maybe in more ways than one. Now I didn’t know what the hell to think. Drinks were out of the question, of course, but that was the least of my worries.
I was thrilled beyond words that Miranda’s dream of motherhood was finally coming true, but did her surrogate really have to be the first woman I’d found genuinely interesting in… Hell, how long had it even been? Fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on me, and I sure as fuck wasn’t laughing.
Would she even want to go out with me now? Could she? Was it allowed? I had no idea how surrogacy worked, but I assumed there were rules of some sort. My thoughts drifted back to the kiss we’d shared just before dinner, and I couldn’t help but smile a little in the darkness. There was no denying the fact that she was interested, pregnancy or no. I’d felt her arousal, her surrender. If the circumstances had been different, who knows what might have happened between us in that bathroom?
Of course, her refusal to commit to drinks made a lot more sense now. What remained to be seen was whether she’d been giving me an easy out or reserving one for herself. I flopped into one of the padded outdoor chairs and rubbed my hands over my face with a long sigh.
What now?
It was beyond strange to think that the woman I’d been fantasizing about for months was now pregnant with someone else’s baby. And not just the child of another man but of another woman as well. My sister. That baby was my family. Could Kennedy and I really find our way forward through a situation like this? To be honest, I wasn’t sure which part of it made me more uncomfortable. Was it the fact that she was pregnant at all, or was it that it was my sister’s baby she carried?
For a brief moment, I allowed myself to consider a different kind of scenario. One in which Kennedy was carrying a child she’d created with another man during the months we’d been apart. A hot pang of jealousy twisted in my gut, and I knew instinctively that my reaction to a situation like that would be rather different. I could be a pretty possessive guy under the right circumstances, but with a surrogacy, there was really no place for jealousy. My feelings of discomfort were my own to deal with.
That discomfort wasn’t likely to dissipate either. If anything, it might actually get worse. My apprehension grew as I pictured the changes her body would go through in the coming months. I’d never been intimate with a pregnant woman and knew next to nothing about pregnancy in general. Could I really pursue her now? Should I? It was impossible to determine which path would make me a bigger ass. Trying to date her while she was pregnant or refusing to date her because she was pregnant.
Fucked either way.
I sighed and attempted to consider things from a different perspective. Pregnancy was a health condition. Granted, it came with a set of very unique challenges, but at the end of the day, that’s what it was. A temporary one, at that. Would I run away from her if she’d had some other health condition? Even a permanent one?
I closed my eyes briefly, and Kennedy’s image flickered behind them. I pictured her as she’d been the day we met, smiling at me as we’d danced those first hesitant steps of courtship in a crowded, sunlit cafe.
Forgetting her isn’t an option. It had been six months since we’d met, and I was every bit as hungry for her as I’d been that first day. That first moment my eyes had locked with hers. I’d lost count of how many times I’d pleasured myself with her in my thoughts, and my multiple attempts at finding someone else had only proven my inability
to get her out of my head. So, where did that leave me?
She wouldn’t be pregnant forever. Kennedy would have the baby and give it to my sister, and her life would be her own again. But that was a good six months away. Would I be able to wait until she was free of the situation?
I gazed blindly across the moonlit front yard of my sister’s home, and it wasn’t until the door opened some twenty minutes later that I managed to focus on something other than my own circuitous thoughts. Kennedy stepped out onto the porch, her eyes lowered as she searched through her purse for her keys. She was stunning even in the dark, but I couldn’t help but notice a slight droop to her shoulders that hadn’t been there when I’d left the dining room.
She didn’t appear to have noticed me as she continued down the steps, and for a moment, I considered simply letting her go. But while my brain knew that was what I should have done, my mouth had other ideas.
“You may not be able to drink, but I hope you don’t think I’m just going to let you get away again.”
Kennedy spun in her tracks to stare at me, clearly startled, and I realized she must’ve thought I’d left the party without even saying goodbye. She didn’t know me well enough to know better. Not yet. I could see her nervous insecurity plainly in her expression, but when she spoke, her tone carried a surprising note of reassurance.
“It’s okay.” I walked toward her slowly as she began to ramble. “I won’t hold you to anything. I understand that this changes things, and I knew what I was getting into. You don’t have to pretend to still be interested. I mean, it’s not like anyone would blame you for running as quickly as possible in the other direction…”
Chance Encounter (Fates Aligned Book 1) Page 4