“I like it, Jake. I’m sorry. It’s taken me a while to figure this all out.”
“Figure what out? We were all blindsided by Bill’s news. What makes you so special?”
“I don’t think I’m special.”
“You’re not an only child anymore,” Jake said. “Big deal.”
“I don’t miss that. I care about all of you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Ben set his beer down on the decking and faced Jake. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick all week. Me and Tammy… Well, there is no more me and Tammy.”
“Was there ever?”
Ben shrugged. “Damned if I know. We both wanted the same thing, in the beginning. I don’t know how I fucked it up.”
“Because you were thinking with your dick, bro.”
“How can you say that? I thought Tammy and I could be friends, too.”
Jake shook his head. “That would never be enough for you.”
Ben stared at him. “You don't even know me.”
Jake smirked. “Dude, I am you. Or at least I was until I had the good sense to fall for Claire. At first I just wanted her.” Jake took a long draw of his beer, and then shot Ben a crooked smile. “Good thing she loves me.”
“It's different with me and Tammy.”
“Tell yourself that.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. She ended it when I mentioned maybe wanting more.”
“Maybe?” Jake’s eyes went wide. “Jesus, you said maybe?”
“Yeah. So?”
“God, you’re so stupid.”
“Huh?”
“She loves you, Ben.”
Ben gave himself a split second to think about that. “No way. It must be the beer talking.”
“She loves you,” Jake went on. “That’s the only explanation for her pulling away and giving you the cold shoulder all week.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I only know that Claire said you’re both avoiding each other.”
“And that means love? Then you can have it.”
“I do. I can’t tell you how great it is without growing a pair of breasts, but I couldn’t stand to live without Claire.”
“We’re different. Or, we were.”
“Mmm-hmm. Friend zone and then, bam!”
Ben froze. “Yeah. Something like that.”
“You need to figure out what you want.”
“I don’t want anything.” Ben pulled another beer out of the cooler set between their chairs. “Whatever. She doesn’t want it and I’m not going to push it.”
Jake shrugged. “Seems to me you’re making a mistake there.”
“Maybe.”
“And there’s that word again.” Jake grinned. “You have to do something about that.”
Ben found a smile. “Okay, cards on the table?”
“Just you and me out here, bro.”
Ben took a breath. “I think I love her.” When Jake raised his brows again, Ben bit back a curse. “Okay, I love her. Happy?”
“Yeah. But you’re not.”
“No. I’m not.”
“Figure this out, man. Tammy’s one of the hottest women around. She’s not going to be single for long.”
“Why? What do you know? Is she seeing someone?”
“No. Not yet, anyway. She’s never dated much, from what I can tell. You’re the first.”
Ben sat back. “Seriously?”
“There’s something there for her too, Ben. There has to be.”
He thought about how weird she’d been at the office. About how sad she’d looked a couple of times in his room that last night. The way she’d loved him and wrung him dry.
“Do you really think she loves me?” Ben asked his brother.
“Only one way to find out.”
A shiver went up Ben’s spine. “I’ve never had that conversation before.”
“Man up, bro.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It’s anything but easy. Worth it, though.”
Jake’s simple words broke through to him. It was easy, loving Tammy. He had no idea how to prove it, though.
He stood. “I have to use the can.”
Jake waved at the front door. “Go for it. Do some thinking while you’re in there.”
Ben punched him in the arm and went into the house. Afterwards he was walking back toward the front of the house when Claire’s voice reached him. She was talking on her phone and her head was down.
“I’ll go with you on Monday, Tammy.”
He froze and turned around. Claire still hadn’t seen him, she was so focused on her phone call.
“It’s your first doctor’s visit. I’m going with you.”
Coldness settled in his belly. Was Tammy sick? Was that what was wrong with her?
“Why is Tammy going to the doctor?” he asked.
Claire’s head shot up, surprise clear on her face. “I’ve gotta go,” she said into the phone. “I’ll call you tonight.”
She ended the call and held the phone behind her like that could hide the fact that she’d been on a call with Tammy.
“Hey, Ben.”
“Why is Tammy going to the doctor?” he asked again.
Claire blushed to the roots of her hair. “I can’t say.”
“What’s wrong? Tell me, Claire.”
She pulled back at his intensity. “Ben, I…” She looked over his shoulder, her face registering relief. “Jake.”
“What’s up?” Jake asked.
Ben turned to him. “Why is Tammy going to the doctor, Jake?”
“How the hell would I know?”
They both turned back to Claire. She hung her head. “She’s going to kill me.”
Fear crawled up Ben’s spine. “Tell me, Claire. I need to know.”
A light came into Claire’s eyes as she stared at him hard. “Why, Ben? Why do you need to know?”
He looked at Jake, who apparently had nothing to offer, and then back at Claire. “Because I love her.”
A smile broke out on Claire’s face. “I knew it!”
Ben blinked. “What?”
“I knew it! You see, Jake? I knew it!”
Ben fisted his hands. “Tell me, damn it.”
“Tammy’s pregnant, Ben,” she said.
The floor dipped beneath him and he felt his brother grab on to his shoulder.
“Pregnant.” Ben couldn’t seem to make sense of the word. “She’s pregnant.”
Jake gave him a squeeze. “Way to go, bro.”
Ben looked at him, seeing the grin on his brother’s face. “Pregnant,” he said again.
“Yes, and you’re the proud papa,” Claire said. “Now what are you going to do about it?”
Claire looked fierce but she didn’t scare him. He knew what he was going to do. Finally.
“I’m going to make her see how perfect we are together.”
“About damn time,” Jake said.
Ben waved a hand and headed out the door. “Is she home?” he asked as he neared the door.
“She sure is,” Claire answered.
Ben got in his Jeep and drove to Tammy’s townhouse. When he got there he sat for a minute. What the hell was he going to say to her?
“Are you going to sit out there all day?”
He looked over to find Tammy standing on her porch.
He got out of the car and walked up to her. “How did you know I was coming?”
She held up her phone and he knew Claire had given her a heads-up. “Girl code,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “Women. Okay, so Claire told you I was coming over. What else did she tell you?”
“Not much. Just that you have something to tell me?”
“I do.”
“It better not be more of that ‘us’ stuff, Ben. Not if you’re only thinking their might be an ‘us.’”
“There’s an ‘us,’ all right.” He stepped up and wrapped his arms around her. “I know it’s real, Tammy.
We’re real.”
“We are?”
He nodded. “And that’s not all I know.”
She gasped. “You know about the little ravioli,” she said softly.
“The what?”
“The baby, Ben.”
He chuckled. “Ravioli, huh? I like it.”
She shrugged, ducking her head. “Okay.”
“I love you, Tammy.”
Her head shot up so fast she bumped his chin. He bit his tongue, but he didn’t care. The hope on her face took his breath.
“You love me?” she asked.
He nodded. “And you love me.”
She scoffed. “You think so, Big Ben?”
He grinned. “I know so. I want us to be a family, Tammy. I like being part of a family, and I want that with you.”
“Well, look at you.” She smiled as she came up on tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck the way he liked. “I won the prize, I think.”
“We both did. Marry me?”
“Whoa.” Her eyes searched his face, wide and sparkling. “Slow down there.”
“Why? This little ravioli isn’t going to wait.”
She laughed and hugged him tighter. “Okay, then. That was easy.”
“Easy?” He shook his head. “No way. Worth it? Definitely.”
She laughed again and kissed him, and he felt it to his soul.
Epilogue
Ben stood in front of the Craftsman house he’d designed. The first home built for the new development. It had already won a design award and was gaining attention for being a classic style with a modern sensibility while staying ecologically sound. There was even talk that a few architectural magazines wanted to feature the house, on their covers and in their pages. All of that was pretty damn good, but none of it was what he liked most about it.
The house wasn’t being used as a model, as originally planned. He’d made that decision right after holding Tammy in his arms after she’d agreed to marry him, and Mr. Forbes hadn’t balked when Ben informed him of the change. No. This was their house. Their home. A place to grow their family, starting with their little ravioli.
“What are you thinking about, Big Ben?” Tammy asked, gliding up to him in her sexy, professional work clothes.
He wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’m thinking about how I can’t wait to fill all those rooms.”
She laughed softly. “Hey, I’m not one of my sisters.” Her hand settled on the tiny bump showing through the front of her skirt. “Let’s just try this one on for size and I’ll think about a second.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
She cuddled closer and he breathed in her flowers-and-spice scent.
“My mother wants us to go up to Jersey for Thanksgiving,” she said.
He made a face of mock horror. “A Donato holiday?”
She nudged him with her hip. “Oh, you love my family.”
“I had no choice. They descended on Cypress like locusts for our wedding. They’re kind of irresistible, you know.”
“Like me?” she asked, her head tilted to one side.
He growled and grabbed her in a hug, not caring what the few neighbors thought. “Not like you. Nobody’s like you.”
“You better believe it.”
Heat flared between them. It still burned so hot he sometimes thought he might be fantasizing. But she was real. This was real. He would have the family he never even knew he wanted. His brothers and sister. His nephew and maybe more little Chapmans. His own little Chapman.
“At least we’ll miss Bill’s visit,” he said.
She shook her head. “I still can’t believe your brother invited him for Thanksgiving.”
Ben shrugged. “Rick surprised the hell out of me with that one, too. Bill’s been on his best behavior since the wedding. Makes me wonder what he’s up to.”
“Don’t borrow trouble, Ben.”
He wasn’t going to waste another minute thinking about his father. That was for sure. He had more pleasant things to occupy his thoughts. Besides, if Bill hadn’t sent him to Cypress he wouldn’t have found what he didn’t even know he’d been looking for.
It was true that he had no idea what he wanted when he’d come down here, only that he wasn’t happy with what he had before. Not in his career or in his personal life. He’d managed to figure it out though, only screwing up a couple of times before recognizing the winning cards in his hand. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face if he tried.
“Now, there’s that dimple,” she laughed.
He just hugged her tighter. He didn’t care if he had no poker face. He’d have it all and Tammy too. He was a lucky bastard and even if Tammy ever let him forget it, he never would.
He’d won it all.
About the Author
JoMarie DeGioia is a bestselling author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She’s known Mickey Mouse from the “inside,” has been a copyeditor for her tiny town’s newspaper, and a bookseller. A hybrid author, she also writes Young Adult Fantasy/Adventure stories, New Adult Romance and Paranormal Romance. She gets lost in DIY projects around the house and works out plot ideas during long runs. She divides her time between Central Florida and New England.
Discover other books by JoMarie DeGioia
The Gentlemen Undercover series, including
A Hero and a Gentleman
The Dashing Nobles series, including
More Than Passion
Pride and Fire
Just Perfect
More Than Charming
The Cypress Corners series, including
Finding Harmony
Taming Jake
Loving Cassie
The Gifted YA Fantasy/Adventure Trilogy, including
Gifted
Braunachs of the Dell series, including
Luke’s Gold
Connect with me online
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoMarieDeGioia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoMarie.DeGioia.Author
Website: www.jomariedegioia.com
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