Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3)

by Peel, Jennifer

  He relaxed some and hugged me back. “I know you can. You’ve always been able to.”

  “Dad, I care for Andrew. Can you please trust me?”

  A guttural noise escaped him. “I trust you.”

  He didn’t sound convinced, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. I released him and looked at the bike. “It looks great. Do you need help bringing it in?”

  “I got it. You better see to your guest.”

  I kissed my dad on the head and rushed in to find Andrew looking at the Christmas tree. He smiled when he saw me approach.

  “My dad is in the garage finishing up Drew’s bike from Santa,” I whispered. “I wanted to let him know you were here.”

  Andrew’s smile faltered. “How did he take the news?”

  I could feel my face tighten as I bit my lip.

  “That good, huh?”

  I took Andrew’s hand in mine. Our fingers interlaced perfectly. “It’s going to be great,” I tried my best to convince myself, and him.

  On cue, my dad walked in with Drew’s bike. Andrew rushed over. “Can I help you with that, Douglas?” I could hear the nerves in his voice.

  My dad looked at me and I pleaded with my eyes for him to be nice.

  “Sure.” His tone was surly. “Rachel will tell you where she wants it. I’m headed to bed.”

  Andrew deftly took the bike from my dad. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” Dad grumbled.

  “Goodnight, Dad. I love you to the moon and back.”

  “And back again?” he asked.

  I nodded with a smile.

  He gave me a small grin in return before stalking off down the hall in the direction of the bedrooms.

  Andrew picked up Drew’s bike and centered it in front of the tree for me. “I don’t think your dad likes me very much.”

  “He’s just worried. He’ll warm up to you.” I placed my hands on Andrew’s chest and smiled up at him. “I know I did.”

  He leaned in and groaned before kissing me once. “I’m really going to need you to temper your sexiness.”

  He had me smiling from ear to ear. “Let me get you a drink.”

  “How about I shower first and you meet me back here on the couch. I want to give you my gift in private.”

  “Sounds good to me. Let me show you where the guest bathroom is. This house only has three bedrooms, so you can take my room and I’ll take the couch.”

  “How about we both take the couch? I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”

  I had to think about that request. It wasn’t as if we hadn’t slept on a couch together already, but that had kind of happened naturally. I didn’t make a conscious decision to “sleep” with him.

  “Are you afraid you won’t be able to restrain yourself?”

  I wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not. I rolled my eyes at him. “Go take your shower. I’ll be waiting for you.”

  After showing him the bathroom and where the extra towels were kept, I crept over to Drew’s room to make sure I didn’t hear any noises. He usually slept like the dead, but he had been so wound up I was worried, but I relaxed when I didn’t hear a peep coming from his room. I thought about how thrilled he was going to be when he saw Andrew.

  I readied the couch with pillows and blankets even though it was warm in the house, per my mom’s preference. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was borderline.

  I dumped the warm milk Drew had poured for Santa down the drain. For good measure, I took a few bites of the cookies. They were too sweet for my taste, but I got them down. I poured Andrew and me each some ice water before sitting and waiting for him. I didn’t have to wait long. He was back out in minutes, with only a pair of athletic shorts on and a towel wrapped around his neck.

  I choked on the ice water as I took in his bare chest and rippled abdomen. I didn’t know if he waxed his chest, but I loved the smoothness of it. Breathe.

  He took delight in my obvious observance of him. “Contain yourself now.”

  “Where’s your shirt?”

  “It’s hot in here. You’re lucky I’m wearing the shorts.”

  “Remember, we aren’t alone here.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fully dressed when everyone else wakes up.” He threw himself next to me on the couch, and before I knew it, I was in his arms. “Now where were we?” His lips met mine.

  I ran my hands across his tight, bare shoulders and around his neck. He tightened his hold and intensified his kiss. It was as if he couldn’t get close enough to me as his tongue delved deeper to explore my willing lips and mouth. The earlier flame I felt was now a full-blown fire. Before we got carried away, I reminded myself I was a mother and I couldn’t lose control. We needed to take things slow. I reluctantly pulled away and leaned my head against his bare chest. My labored breathing matched his racing heart.

  He leaned back with me in his lap. He pulled my hair out of its bun and ran his fingers through my hair. “My mom says hi,” he said into the silence.

  I smiled against him. It was probably a good thing to talk about our parents. We needed a cool-down period. “I’m sorry she’s by herself for Christmas.”

  “Don’t be. She’s happy we’re together. By the way, we both loved our gifts. That scrapbook is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. And I can’t wait for us all to go skiing together.”

  “Me, either. Did you open Drew’s gift?”

  I felt him shake his head no. “I brought it with me. I wanted to be with him when I opened it.”

  “He’ll love that.” It was a simple professional baseball with a stand, but Drew had signed the ball.

  Andrew kissed my head. “I love him.”

  “I know you do, but please tell me there are no guns under that tree.”

  He laughed deeply, but kept it down. I could hear the rumble reverberate across his chest. It was the perfect place for my head to rest.

  “No guns, but there is something for you.” He untangled himself from me and went to the tree where he picked up a tiny, wrapped package among the throng of gifts. I hadn’t noticed the addition.

  He made his way back to me and sat next to me, to my disappointment. I leaned my head on his shoulder. I had this need to be as close to him as I could get.

  He handed me the perfectly wrapped box in designer silver wrapping paper.

  I took the gift and looked it over with care.

  “You’re supposed to open it.”

  “I know, but it’s been a while since I’ve received a gift from a man, and it’s the first one you’ve ever given me.”

  He put his arm around me and pulled me closer before kissing my head. “The first of many.”

  “I’m not the kind of woman that needs to have gifts thrown at her.”

  “I know that, but I’m the kind of guy that likes to give gifts to the woman in his life, so open it.”

  I smiled and tore at the pretty paper until it revealed a tiny white-lidded box. I lifted the lid to find a black velvet box. The kind of box that made my heart race. I sat up to find Andrew eagerly waiting for me to open the contents of the velvet box. “Um … Andrew … I can’t … I mean we don’t know …” I handed him back the unopened box.

  He looked between me and the tiny box that seemed to fill the room. His smile danced with amusement.

  I thought it was an odd reaction, considering I was rejecting him.

  He opened the box to reveal a stunning pair of diamond stud earrings.

  While it made my heart rate slow down, I felt foolish for my assumption.

  He kissed my lips and smiled. “As much as I feel for you, we aren’t even close yet.”

  I was relieved to know he felt the same way, but I still closed the box.

  “You don’t like them?” he asked with obvious disappointment.

  “They’re beautiful, but I can’t accept them.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I know what a pair of diamonds like that costs. They probably cost
more than my last engagement ring. I can’t return the favor. I have Drew’s college to save for and bills to pay.”

  He opened the box again and offered them to me. “I didn’t buy these expecting anything in return. I bought them because I wanted to show you how much I care about you. These are coming from my heart.”

  I eyed the sparklers again. Stunning was an understatement. Even in the dim light of the Christmas tree, I could tell these weren’t your run-of-the-mill diamonds. He easily paid a few thousand dollars for them. I made him a scrapbook and got him ski-lift passes.

  “Please,” he said.

  With great hesitation, I reached out and took his gift.

  “Try them on.”

  I took them out of the box and one by one placed them in my pierced ears. I had never worn anything so extravagant. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “They look lovely.” He brushed my lips.

  I leaned my forehead against his. “This is all so new to me.”

  “Believe it or not, me too. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And just so you know, you aren’t alone anymore. I’m here to help take care of Drew. I want to pay you all the back child support I owe you.”

  “I don’t want your money.”

  “It’s not my money. It’s money that should have already been Drew’s.”

  “Then put it in an account for him.”

  His strong hands drew my face to his. “You don’t know how lucky I feel to have you by my side,” he spoke against my lips. “Thank for being such a good mother to my son.”

  “Thank you for making me a mother.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I could get used to sleeping in his arms, or even not sleeping. There was something about laying in the arms of your man and talking for hours that was more intimate than any other physical form of affection.

  Andrew was curious to know everything about me, it seemed. “Tell me your greatest fear.”

  “Easy, losing Drew.”

  “Greatest hope?”

  “That Drew is happy and healthy.”

  “First love?”

  I made circle motions with my fingers across his chest as I thought back to high school. “Jeremy Bennett,” I sighed.

  “There’s a story there.”

  I hadn’t thought about him in a long time, even though from time to time we ran into each other when he visited his parents in Merryton. “I dated Jeremy my senior year in high school. We had plans to attend CU together, but when summer started after we graduated, something changed between us.”

  “What happened?” Andrew asked.

  I thought for a second about the sting of a first love lost. “It seems so silly talking about it now—I was barely eighteen when it all happened. Jeremy decided he wanted to live life before he went to school. He decided traveling Europe would be a better use of his time. And he decided my sister, Sydney, would be more fun on such an adventure.”

  I felt Andrew stiffen.

  “I was the boring twin.”

  “Your sister stole your boyfriend?”

  “No. We always promised each other that we would never go after the same guy, but I still lost a few boyfriends to her. It never seemed to fail—even if a guy liked me first, he usually ended up going after Sydney. In Sydney’s defense, she was loyal to me and would never give them the time of day when it happened, but it still hurt, even though I understood the appeal.”

  “What do you mean, the appeal?”

  “Sydney was the fun one, the life of the party. She had no inhibitions and she was beautiful. Maybe that’s why I ended up engaged to Brody, because he disliked her laissez-faire attitude and way of life. I thought, at least this way I wouldn’t have to worry about him chasing after her like everyone else eventually did.”

  Andrew turned and maneuvered me so we were lying down facing each other. His eyes were warm, but filled with concern. “They were idiots, all of them, especially Brody, for letting you go.”

  “Really? Even you saw the appeal of Sydney. She would have fit in your world much better than I do,” I confessed my insecurities.

  He shook his head. “You see yourself so unclearly. I see a beautiful, intelligent, capable, and loving woman. Someone that I would be honored to have by my side and introduce to my friends and associates. I see a woman who runs a successful business and is raising a terrific kid all on her own. Someone who knows her own mind and voices her opinion. A person I could be a partner with, even though I could never claim to be her equal.”

  I ran my fingers across his cheek. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I couldn’t even express how much that meant to me. I hoped I conveyed with my eyes how I felt. I leaned in and rested my lips on his with gentle pressure. He read my mood perfectly and kept the kiss sweet and innocent.

  That was, until he ran his hand down the length of my body and silky bare legs. “And did I mention sexy? You’re killing me.”

  I snuggled my way back against his chest again and rested my head. “We should try and get at least a few hours of sleep. Drew will be up before we know it.”

  He kissed the top of my head. “You and I are going to make this work out. Goodnight, gorgeous.”

  I believed every word he said as I listened to the steady beat of his heart. It was the perfect lullaby to fall asleep to. Even so, sleep was hard to come by as I lay against his bare chest, thinking about us and where this was all going. I still couldn’t believe he drove down here. He had tried to get a last minute flight, but couldn’t. And he figured driving was probably better anyway in case anyone recognized him.

  His breaths were deep and relaxed. They hummed against my ear. How did I find myself in this enviable position? How did I find myself falling for my son’s father?

  I maybe slept two hours. I was on edge, thinking Drew would wake up and find us together. Around five, I untangled myself from Andrew.

  It didn’t go unnoticed. He reached out for me and pulled me right back to him. “Where do you think you’re going?” His voice was gravelly and deep this early in the morning. I found I enjoyed it, along with a hundred other things that made him who he was.

  For a moment, I breathed him in and reveled in the comfort of his arms. “Drew could be up at any moment.”

  “Then I guess I better kiss his mother before I can’t.”

  “I think she’d like that.”

  His warms lips found mine. His kiss was slow and tender, like he was savoring every moment. Several times his lips left mine, only to find their way right back.

  “We’re going to get caught at this rate.”

  “It would be worth it.” He skimmed my lips with his.

  “Are you really ready to open that door?”

  He barely lifted his lips off of mine. I could see in his eyes he was actually considering turning the knob. “I can’t tell him and then ask him to keep it a secret. I want him to know how proud I am to be his dad. We’re almost there.” He released me and together we found ourselves in upright positions. He put on his t-shirt.

  I leaned against him and closed my eyes. I was exhausted, though my blood was pumping pretty well. I wouldn’t mind a wake-up call like that every day.

  He took my hand and held it tight. “If I win, will you come to my swearing-in ceremony?”

  I thought about it for a second or two, about what that would mean and how dating Andrew was going to change my life. How I was going to find myself in situations I never had before. I had to think about whether he was worth the discomfort they might cause from time to time. “Yes,” I agreed.

  “You will? I thought I was going to have to convince you.”

  “It makes me nervous, but I want to support you.” I wanted to be with him.

  I think I was about to get another kiss, but we heard a door open and my favorite kid—and his trusty sidekick, Jake—came running down the hall. Andrew and I separated. I ran my fingers through my hair to try and straighten it out some. I wasn’t sure what state it was
in after Andrew had had his hands in it all night.

  Andrew stood up, ready to greet his son. He didn’t look too disheveled.

  Drew rounded the corner. His eyes first went to the tree. He smiled, but when he turned and caught a glimpse of Andrew, his smile engulfed his face. He ran to his father. “Andrew!”

  Andrew caught him up and fiercely hugged him.

  It was a beautiful scene. I should have thought to record it. Then I could watch it later when my eyes weren’t so blurry.

  But as happy as Drew was that Andrew was there, he was still eight years old, and Santa had come. “Did you see my new bike?”

  Andrew let go of him, disappointed he was playing second string to the gleaming new bike. How did he think I felt? Drew didn’t even acknowledge me. Maybe that was a good thing. He didn’t think twice that we were both there together.

  Andrew stood back near me as we watched our son admire his new ride. I could tell he was having a hard time not touching me. He kept reaching out to me, only to pull back. We kept grinning at each other, the way only new couples do. I hated that we had to hide it, but it was for the best. Drew came first, last, and always.

  I left Andrew’s side and sat down next to my son in front of the tree. I pulled him to me and got my own hug out of him. He took up my whole lap. “Merry Christmas, little man.” I kissed his head.

  “Mom. You’re kissing me again.”

  I squeezed him tighter. “Get used to it.”

  Andrew joined me, but not too close. I could still feel his warmth, though, and smell a lingering clean scent from his soap.

  Drew was a good distraction. “Can I ride my new bike now?”

  “It’s only five thirty in the morning. Let’s at least wait until the sun is up. Why don’t you check out your stocking?” I grabbed my phone to snap some pictures.

  Andrew leaned in close to my ear for a second while Drew was preoccupied with his stocking. “You know, you can kiss me anytime. I won’t complain.”

  I pushed him away.

  I enjoyed the scene in front of me. I always loved Christmas, but this year was better with Andrew. I could never have imagined feeling that way when he first burst onto the scene, but as I watched Drew and him interact, I almost forgot why I was ever worried about him. When I saw the tears in his eyes when he opened his son’s small but heartfelt gift, it was like I was getting a glimpse of what our lives could be like. A peek into what a life with Andrew would be like.