Getting Off Easy

by Erin Nicholas

  It wasn’t Emily.

  It wasn’t Megan or Kylie, either.

  That left one woman. The woman from the W state.

  The hardest one to find, of course.

  Just then the alarm went off, and all of the guys jumped into action.

  James was relieved. He definitely needed something to take his mind off of the woman from the club. The woman who, by process of elimination, had to be Isaac’s mom.

  Not that taking his mind off her took much.

  He remembered her least of all the women on the baby-mama list.

  “Wow. She’s… great.”

  Harper laughed as she and James made their way down the steps.

  “She is.”

  “She… showed up with a binder,” James said.

  Sophie had indeed showed up with a binder. With dividers. Where she’d written down all of her notes about caring for Isaac tonight. In fact, she’d made James and Harper feel a bit inept when they’d been unable to answer some of her questions. Like how many ounces he ate at a time. “Until he’s done,” had been James’s answer. And what time they put him down. “When he falls asleep,” James had told her.

  She’d given a little, “hmmm,” sound and noted it in the binder.

  Then she’d offered to leave the binder with any notes she made while they were out and for them to add to over the next few days until they needed her again.

  It was a not-very-subtle-at-all hint that they really needed to start paying more attention.

  It was also pretty clear that Sophie had been mildly disappointed that Harper hadn’t had a binder already started.

  Well, Sophie didn’t know what it was like to be a new mom to a two-week-old who had showed up, literally, without warning. The nine months of pregnancy would have been heaven to a planner like Harper. Everything would have been in its place, she would have had a plan B and a plan C for everything, and damn right she would have had a binder. A whole shelf full of them.

  Harper grinned. “She’s the perfect choice for babysitting.”

  James opened the gate that led out of their courtyard to the street. “Yeah, it’s really nice that she can come to him rather than us needing to take him somewhere.”

  Harper nodded. “That will be easier on all of us.”

  They turned toward Frenchman’s Street, the famous street where the oldest and best jazz clubs in the city sat nestled together. They held hands and chatted casually as they wound their way through the crowds in the Quarter.

  He told her about the two calls they’d gone out on. She told him about her first night with Isaac alone.

  It had been hectic but fine. They’d done the eat, sleep, diaper, repeat routine throughout the evening, interspersed with some reading out loud and singing. There had been about forty-five minutes of fussiness, but she’d gone to the piano and plunked out the melody of "Heart and Soul," the only song she knew, while holding him. He’d quieted right down. The look of happiness on James’s face when she’d told him about it had been enough to melt her heart and panties at the same time.

  The guy really was into this baby.

  And she was really into both of them.

  He hadn’t asked her about getting married, again. She was surprised but appreciated that he was giving her time. He’d been at work, of course, and the first thing they’d talked about when he’d come home was that Emily was not the mom. Then he’d gone to bed. So they hadn’t had a lot of time to talk about things like committing their lives to one another forever. But Harper found herself anxious to have the conversation. If he didn’t bring it up tonight, she would.

  But right now, he seemed excited to be on his way to the club, and she found herself caught up in his enthusiasm. She knew it wasn’t about finding this next, most mysterious woman. It was about the club. The music. Clearly, this was a great love of his and she was excited to see him in his element. The fact he’d stayed away from it since Isaac showed up said a lot about his commitment to his son. He was willing to put his second job—that was clearly more of a passion than work—to the side, to be there for Isaac.

  Just one more thing to like about him. As if she needed any more.

  “I’ve never been to the clubs down here,” she said as they crossed over to Frenchman’s.

  “Never?” he asked, clearly shocked. “Why not?”

  “It’s intimidating down here,” she admitted, looking around.

  Overall, the vibe here was different from the neon and craziness of Bourbon Street or the touristy feel of Decatur and Jackson Square. This area was clearly all about authentic people, food, and music.

  The streets were narrower here, and the buildings were crowded together. People milled about from one doorway to the next, but the pace was a little slower here. Some of the doorways led to clubs, some to restaurants or bars. Some were restaurants with the club upstairs. There was limited capacity in all of them, so there was spillover onto the sidewalks and streets, but there was no escaping the trumpets and pianos. For those who couldn’t make it into the clubs or didn’t want to pay the cover charges, there was a jazz band on the opposite corner playing live and seemingly having the time of their lives.

  For those who did make it inside, there was always another place calling to them. People came and went in a steady stream it seemed.

  “Nah, nothin’ to be intimidated about,” James said, his grin wide. “Everyone’s the same here. You love music and food, you fit right in. Come on.”

  He turned them into a doorway that was painted dark blue. It was narrow and almost hidden between an art studio and a café. The big man at the door—clearly the bouncer—cleared a path for him. “Hey, Reynaud,” he greeted.

  “Hey, Bill, what’s up?”

  “Not much. Been a bit.”

  “Been a little busy,” James said, tucking Harper up tightly against his side.

  “Nice.” Bill gave her a wink. “You’ve got your hands full with this one.”

  She nodded. “You have no idea.” She doubted that Bill knew this one came with a dog and baby.

  “He don’t bring ladies here to see him play,” Bill said.

  “No?” Harper looked up at James.

  “Always plenty inside waitin’ on him, though,” Bill said.

  “You tryin’ to get me in trouble?” James asked him with a grin.

  “Absolutely,” Bill told him.

  “After I brought you beignets last time?” James asked.

  “Beignet. One. You ate the other two on your way over,” Bill said with a chuckle. “Payback, man.”

  “Wow, really glad I didn’t eat all three. Who knows what you might spill to her,” James joked.

  “I might tell her how you washed dishes for Betty last week,” Bill said with a nod. He focused on Harper. “No girl wants a guy who's had his hands in dirty dishwater so an old lady with bronchitis can go home and get some extra rest, right?”

  Harper stared at him. “I—”

  “And I might tell her about the time you saved someone’s life.”

  “Come on, now,” James said, starting forward.

  Harper stopped. “You saved someone’s life here?”

  “He sure did.”

  “Wow.”

  “Ah, I do that life-savin’ stuff all the time,” James said, almost looking embarrassed. “Firefighter, remember?”

  “Of course, I remember,” she said. “Why do you think I’m sleeping with you?”

  He gave her a grin that made her heart flip. He seemed proud of her teasing him. “Right.”

  “So what was it? A heart attack or something?” she asked Bill.

  “Nah. Dragged her in, made her eat dinner and listen to the band, then got her up on stage. Got her a job cleaning up. Got her off the streets.”

  Harper processed all of that. Then she turned her attention to James. “You didn’t jump in and carry someone out of a fire or do CPR or something? You got someone off the streets?”

  He shrugged. “She’s incredibly
talented, and we needed a female voice. I really did it for the band.”

  Harper tipped her head. “Uh-huh.”

  He sighed. “She’s just a kid,” James said. “Sixteen. Foster home was terrible. She kept running away.”

  “So it really wasn’t about you being a firefighter. It was about you being an amazing guy.”

  “But I would never tell a girl he brought around all of that,” Bill broke in. “She just wants a good time in the bedroom, so she doesn’t want to hear all of that.”

  Harper gave him a smile. “Yeah, I’m really glad you didn’t tell me all of that. Might make me look at him as more than just a hot guy with a big hose.”

  Bill snorted. “Yeah, and how you react might show me what kind of person you are.”

  She nodded. “Might act as a test or something.”

  “Might.”

  “Okay,” James broke in, finally nudging her through the doorway. “Thank you so much for protecting my virtue,” he told Bill. “But I’ve got this.”

  “Of course you do,” Bill said, giving Harper a wink. “I wouldn’t dream of getting involved.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Harper stepped into the dark club, feeling James right behind her. He had to be. There wasn’t a lot of space on the other side of the threshold. But she really liked when he was close.

  “I love that you have such close friends.”

  He chuckled, and she felt it vibrate through her. “He’s never done that before.”

  “No?”

  “Well, I’ve never brought a woman here before.” He brushed her hair to the side and put his lips against her neck.

  She shivered. “Right, you meet them once you’re in here.”

  He chuckled again and wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t remember a single one.”

  She smiled and turned in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re so sweet. And… such a liar.”

  He ran his hands down to her ass and brought her up against him. “I’m serious. You’re the only one now.”

  She loved that he’d said that. She didn’t believe him totally, of course. It was the kind of thing a playboy charmer would say. But she did believe she was different. She did believe he wanted to be with her. She did believe all of this was different for him. He didn’t have what he had with her with anyone else. They were parents together.

  That thought rocked through her.

  They were parents.

  This did not just happen to feel different from the other people they’d dated. It had to be different. They had to be different. Isaac needed them to be different. That meant doing things differently, in every way, than they’d done before.

  Harper pulled back and looked up at him. “Yes.”

  “Yes, you’re the only one?” he asked with a grin.

  “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  He froze. His eyes widened. Then his eyes got even wider. She felt his hands squeeze her ass, and he leaned in. “Say it again.”

  “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “Harper…” He trailed off, shook his head, then kissed her. Deeply. Hotly.

  She arched into him, tightened her arms around him, and kissed him back.

  He didn’t lift his head until someone bumped into him. “Damn, Harper. That’s amazing.”

  She grinned, a thrill shooting through her. “It feels right. I know neither of us really expected any of this, but this is where we’re supposed to be. You and me and Isaac. A family.”

  His smile spread. “I said the very first night with him that he’s the best wingman I’ve ever had.”

  She laughed and hugged him. “I want this. I want you. And him. All of it. So much.”

  “It’s all yours. We’re all yours.”

  She took a deep breath. “I love that.” Then she took his face in her hands. “I love you.”

  He gave a little groan. “God, I love you, too, Harper. I really do.” He kissed her again, hot and deep.

  But a moment later, they were pulled apart by a hand on his shoulder. “James!”

  He gave her a hot look that spoke all kinds of promises about what he wanted to do later now that they’d confessed their feelings, and she’d said yes to his proposal. But he turned. “Hey, Ray.”

  A tall, lanky man with dark skin and sparkling brown eyes clapped James on the shoulder. “You’re playin’ with us tonight.”

  “Nah, I’m just here to hang tonight.” James pulled Harper up against his side. “Wanted to show the place off to my fiancée.”

  Fiancée. Wow, she really loved that word suddenly. Two weeks ago, that would have freaked her out, but now it made her feel hot and possessive and like he’d just staked a claim. She would have never guessed that she’d like that, but she really, really did.

  “I wasn’t asking,” Ray said with a huge grin. He looked at Harper. “But nice to meet ya.”

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  “Ray’s our bass player,” James said.

  “And I can tell you that you want to hear this one play,” Ray said. “I mean, me too. I’m awesome. But James, too.”

  Harper grinned. “I’d love to hear it.”

  “Be careful,” Ray said. “James gets whatever he wants after he plays. Drinks. Other gigs. Panties.”

  “I’m really regretting bringing you here tonight,” James broke in.

  Harper laughed. “I’m willing to lose a pair of panties in here tonight.”

  James leaned in to growl against her ear. “Don’t tease me, Professor. I know the way to the back office, and it’s got a lock.”

  “You ever take anyone else in there?” she asked.

  “Never.”

  “Then why don’t you get up on that stage and try to impress me?” she asked. “We can talk about the panty status when you’re done.”

  “Try to impress you, huh?”

  “Well, you did have to get a baby before I’d really date you.”

  He nodded, his eyes narrowed, but his lips were curling. “You are a little harder than most.”

  He gave her one more quick kiss then steered her toward a table up front. There was another woman already seated there.

  “This is Neveah,” he told her, pulling out a chair at the table.

  The other woman gave her a huge smile. She had gorgeous, long, jet-black hair and deep, chestnut-brown skin and was wearing the most beautiful multicolored wrap dress. She extended her hand. “Hi.”

  Harper took it as she slid into the chair next to her. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too. I’m so glad to see James back playing tonight.”

  James leaned in and kissed Neveah’s cheek. “You didn’t miss me,” he teased. “You’ve only got eyes for the big brute with the trumpet.”

  Harper checked out the trumpet player. The guy was definitely big. And extremely good looking. He was a few years older than James and looked like he could have played football with his build. The trumpet looked like a toy in his huge hands. He glanced over at them and smiled when he noticed James. Then he gave Neveah a wink. The other woman laughed.

  “Yeah, well, I thought it was polite to mention that I noticed you were gone,” she said to James.

  “I appreciate that,” James said with a laugh. “That’s Anthony. Nev’s husband,” he told Harper. “I think she’s with him because of the lips. God knows he’s not as funny as he thinks he is, and he’s an accountant when he’s not here.” He rolled his eyes to show what he thought of that.

  Neveah laughed again. “Oh, those lips are definitely part of it.”

  Just then another man joined them. He was tall and lean and at least in his sixties with plenty of white peppering his short dark hair.

  “And this is Joseph,” James introduced. “Anthony’s dad.”

  Harper shook Joseph’s hand, too. “It’s really nice to meet you all.”

  Joseph took the chair across from her. “You too.” He gave James a look. “You better get up there.” He inclined
his head toward the stage.

  “So you can start talking about me to Harper?” James asked.

  “Yes,” Joseph told him without hesitation.

  James shook his head. “Maybe I’m not playing tonight.”

  Joseph scoffed. “Even if you don’t start out up there, you’ll be there two songs in. Just get your ass up there now.”

  James grinned and looked down at Harper. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Of course.” She looked at her table companions. It was really interesting meeting people who knew and hung out with James. She was sure she was going to enjoy this. “I mean, you’ve been talking really big about this piano for months, but all I’ve heard is you tinkling on it through the window.”

  “Tinkling, huh?” he asked. He straightened, nodding. “Okay, Professor. You asked for it.”

  She grinned watching him get up on stage, shake the hands of all the other men, exchange a couple of hugs, and then take his place on the piano bench. He shot her a look that was part flirtatious and part challenge. Oh, she was ready for whatever he thought he had to show her.

  “So how do you know James?” Joseph asked as the other men took their spots.

  “Oh, we’re neighbors,” she said. “I live across the landing.”

  “You’re the lady taking care of Amos’s olive tree,” Joseph said with clear surprise.

  “Yes.” Harper smiled. “Helping, anyway.”

  Joseph nodded. “Yeah, we’ve heard about you.”

  “You have?”

  Neveah smiled. “I’m not sure James even realizes how much he’s talked about you, actually.”

  Harper felt her heart give an extra beat at that. “Really?”

  “You also take care of Fred,” Joseph said.

  Harper didn’t even bother correcting the dog’s name. “Yes, I do.”

  “And you teach at Loyola, and you speak French, and you drink tea, and read romance,” Neveah said. She laughed lightly. “Yes, we’ve heard of you.”

  Harper shot James a glance. He was laughing with one of the guys who was leaning on the piano. He looked completely at ease behind the instrument, and she felt a little flip in her stomach. She knew he was a musician, and she had heard him on the one in his apartment, but she was about to see yet another side of him. She couldn’t wait.