It may be crazy but I've made up my mind. I'm putting the past behind me because my future is with this man and I'm done pretending otherwise. I pull back and look him in the eyes. "I love you," I say again. I can't help the smile on my face.
"I love you, too." He's grinning just as wide as I am. He wraps his arms around me and holds me to his chest, leaning his chin on the top of my head. I sink into his embrace and I feel safe. Just for a moment, I forget to be afraid. Just for a moment, I have absolute faith that everything will work out. For Sophia and the baby. For Ben and me. I've been back in Copper Heights for a few months now but honestly, this is the first time it feels like I'm home.
Right then, I hear the squeal of the hospital’s side exit swinging open. My head snaps in that direction. My father bursts outside, running the cuff of his sleeve over his wet eyes.
My heart sinks.
Ben's arms drop from around me as I rush off toward my dad.
"Any news?" I ask anxiously. "Is something wrong?"
My mind quickly travels to dark, dark places. My stomach spins into a tight knot. I don't know if I'll be able to handle it if my sister or my niece don't make it. I reach for the railing right beside me and I feel Ben's hand settle on the small of my back.
Dad's weak gaze moves to Ben's face before darting back to me. He speaks slowly, almost looking like he's in a daze. "The surgery's over." He lets out a hard breath. "Sophia's resting and the baby's in the NICU."
My chest collapses and my shoulders buckle as I let go of a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "They're okay?" My voice comes out high and hopeful.
My father kind of shrugs as if he’s still in disbelief. "They're okay." From the way he says it, I can tell he's almost afraid to let his guard down. Almost like he's scared God might change his mind.
But I chose to cling to my optimism, my rose-colored glasses. I collapse into my dad's arms and let out a long, heaving sob. Then, I turn to Ben and he puts a kiss on my forehead. "That's good, Gigi," he whispers encouragingly. "They're okay."
I see the hard look that Dad throws Ben's way. But now isn't the time for their ugly feud. All I care about is Sophia and the baby. "Can we go see them?" I slide my fingers through Ben's and give his hand a rough, excited squeeze.
"Yeah, we can go see them." My father pivots in the direction of the door.
I follow after him, pulling Ben along with me but he resists. I glance back at him. "You go on without me," he says quietly. "Go be with your family."
Family? In every way that counts, Ben is my family. But his eyes tell me that he wants me to have this special moment with my sister.
Rising onto my toes, I kiss him on his cheek. He glances over my shoulder and gives my father a look of defiance before he plants his lips squarely on mine and takes what he wants. I guess he's sending Gianni Gallo a message, loud and clear. I hate being a pawn in their game but at the same time, I feel a tiny jolt of satisfaction. "I'll come find you after," I tell Ben as I loosen my grip on his hand.
Dad and I take the elevator up to the maternity unit where a nurse tells us that Sophia is sleeping. So we head down to the neonatal intensive care unit. After submitting to the scrutiny of a big, burly nurse who looks like she moonlights as a nightclub bouncer, Dad and I are allowed admission into the room.
Right by the window, there's one tiny, little baby lying in one tiny, little incubator. "Ooohhh!" I coo as I tiptoe closer with my hands clasped over my chest.
"Isn't she precious?" My mother is beaming as she hovers close. I don't think I've ever seen her so somber and reverent.
I slide my gloved hand into the incubator and the baby takes hold of my finger. She's got herself a hell of a grip. She's strong. A Gallo woman, for sure.
"It’s been a long day. Franco is gonna drive me and Nonna home," Mom announces. She kisses her fingers before pressing them deferentially to the incubator’s glass. She whispers to the baby in Italian before turning and leaving the room.
This is the first time my father and I have been alone together since I found out the truth about why Ben and I split up all those years ago. So many emotions swell up inside of me as I think about the role he played in that drama.
“I know what you did,” I say with a heart full of sadness. My eyes stay on the innocent baby because if I look at my dad right now, I’ll break down in tears. “Ben told me everything. About the drugs. About what you and Cousin Franco did. About how you forced him to break up with me.”
Dad offers no emotion, his features perfectly stoic as he speaks. “He didn’t know the full story. He didn’t know about the world he was getting himself into. Rocco DiBello was a dangerous man. And there was no way I was letting that Riggs boy drag my bright, beautiful, intelligent little girl into that mess. When Franco smelled the marijuana in the locker room, I knew what I had to do. And I’d do it again today.”
My throat quivers. I’m so mad. So damn mad that he has not one sliver of remorse in his body. I clench my jaw to keep from yelling at him, calling him out for the cold bastard that he is.
“I literally had to scrape that boy’s bloody, unconscious body off of the ground in the dirty alley behind the restaurant. I brought him inside and cleaned his wounds. I turned the drugs over to the police as an anonymous tip. They were able to arrest Rocco and shut down his operations. His business was tearing our town apart and now he’s gone. He’s in jail. And we’re all better off. You went off to medical school…and Ben Riggs became the fireman who saved Sophia and half of this town from those explosions today.” My father pauses to wipe a tear from his eye. “So, if you’re hoping for an apology from me, you won’t get one.”
We’re quiet for a while and now that I have all the pieces of the puzzle, I can’t find it in myself to stay mad. Yes—I’m pissed at Ben for lying to me. And I’m irate with my father for keeping these secrets. But if you shake it a few times and angle it just right and hold it up to the light, this situation turned out for the best for all of us.
Dad sets his hand on the incubator glass and stares intently at the little baby inside. “I know you may not want to hear it right now, but I love you, Angela. I’m not always good at showing it but I love you. Whether you’ll accept it or not.”
I tug on the man’s arm and pull him in for a hug. “I love you, too.” I squeeze him extra-tight. “And I’m staying with Ben. Whether you’ll accept it or not. I know he isn't perfect. He did some dumb things in the past but everything he did back then was for the right reasons. He's a good guy."
My father chuffs though his nose. “He saved my Sophia and my grandbaby so try as I might, I can’t find a way to argue with that.”
The nurse comes into the room. "Excuse me, Dr. Gallo. Your sister's awake now. I thought you’d like to see her."
I smile at her. “Yes. Yes, I would.” I take my father by the arm and lead him down the hall. “Come on. Let’s go tell my sister how beautiful her baby is.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Angie
I’m too tired to even move.
I’m sprawled on the soft duvet in my sexiest lace lingerie and I can’t even lift a finger. I throw a longing glance at the Pop Tart sitting on the plate by the bedside. After a few failed attempts at summoning it by telekinesis, I drop back against the pillow and give up.
I’m beat.
These back and forth flights to New York to meet with Dr. Elliot are killer. He keeps trying to convince me to move out there but that’s not gonna happen. My whole life is here now. All the people I love most are in Copper Heights and I’m not going anywhere. I get to have the best of both worlds—I get to be with my family and I get to have my name on one of the most revolutionary medical devices in modern medicine. Win-win! A little jet lag is a small price to pay.
Anyway, after landing, I went straight to the hospital and worked a half-shift. Then, I went over to Sophia’s for a little bonding time with Baby River. Now, I’m home, trying to keep it together for my man. When we spoke on the phone e
arlier, he made me promise that I wouldn’t fall asleep before he gets home. I’m struggling to keep my end of the deal.
I glance over at the damn Pop Tart again. Come to mama, come to mama, I say in my mind. The stubborn thing won’t budge. I whimper and settle back into my pillow in defeat.
I startle at the sudden wail of the smoke detector on the other side of the wall. Holy shit…a fire? I bolt upright in bed. But before I can move a limb, the door flies open so fast that it smacks into the wall.
Ben is posed in the doorway, hands fisted on his waist, feet planted wide. He’s wearing nothing but the jacket of a fireman costume, a pair of black briefs and a plastic helmet on his head. “I was called to respond to a fire,” he announces, swinging a fake axe at the door.
Laughter bubbles from my chest at the sight of him. “What are you doing?”
His features remain serious as he approaches the bed. “Ma’am, this is not a joke. Not something to be laughing about at all.”
I reel in my laughter and try to play along. “What? What fire?” I ask with wide eyes, wearing a fearful expression. “I was just in bed, waiting for my boyfriend to get home. I made a Pop Tart. Did the toaster catch fire?”
Ben slowly eases his jacket off of his shoulders to reveal the oiled-up planes of his tight abs. He lets the jacket fall to the floor. “No, ma’am. It’s not a toaster fire.” His big palm slides down his chest until he’s cupping his cock in his hand. He drops his voice with gravity as he tosses his helmet to the floor. “It’s a fire down below.”
I drop my head back on the pillow and laugh as he climbs onto the bed and takes my mouth in a slow, stirring kiss. I groan with pleasure as his lips work with mine and his tongue strokes softly into my mouth.
My man is home.
And suddenly, I have a second wind. My hands go around his neck and I hold him to me as he nibbles at my neck and his kisses move down. My blood begins to stir and when he slips the lace of my see-through camisole aside and takes my nipple into his mouth.
“Baby…” I groan with abandon as his other hand squeezes my other breast in a soft, circular motion.
“Missed you so much.” His lips travel down my ribs to my hipbone. “I hope you don’t mind that I jerked off to your picture all weekend long.”
My laughter crackles in the room. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The snapping sound of my panties being torn off follows next. I could complain about his impatience but I just want to feel him, I want to look down and see his head between my thighs.
I hiss and squeeze my eyes shut when he takes my clit greedily with his mouth. His lips close around the little bud, stirring all my nerve endings to life.
“You taste fantastic, babe.” He dips three fingers inside and I’m so full, stretched deliciously as he flicks his tongue back and forth on my clit.
“I wanna taste you, too,” I beg. “I’ve missed the taste of your come on my tongue.” I feel him smile against the insides of my legs as his hands clasp around my thighs and he drags my body down the mattress.
In an instant, he’s pulled off his underwear and rotated on the bed, lowering his cock into my mouth as his tongue swipes briskly through my folds. I make deep, shameless, guttural sounds as I bob my head. I take him far into my throat. I relish the burn of his thick crown up against the back of my throat.
He kneads the globes of my ass as he blows a hot stream of air along my slit. I shiver. And then, he’s eating me again as I cup his balls and squeeze my fingers at the base of his shaft.
“Fuck, baby. I’m so fucking close,” he groans.
“Me, too.”
“I’m not ready to come yet,” he says gruffly. “Roll over on your belly.”
No argument from me. I do exactly what I’m told.
He growls in appreciation and rolls my ass cheeks again, then his face plunges between the globes, licking and sucking at the flesh until I’m quivering on his tongue, clenching, flying over the edge. I slip in and out of consciousness as the pleasure moves through me.
I’m vaguely aware of him repositioning himself but the next thing I know, he’s behind me, lifting my ass into the air and feeding his long, steely rod into my channel. I moan, with my face buried in the pillows, I grip the sheets as my man rides me hard from behind. And this time, when the orgasm hits, my limbs go taut, my mouth goes slack and he thrusts into me like mad until he’s pumping his seed into the tight clutches of my thirsty pussy.
I’m panting as he collapses next to me. “Baby,” he mutters as he drags me into his arms to nestle against his heaving chest.
“That was so amazing, babe.” I slide my fingers through his and sigh contentedly.
“God, I loved that,” he says, moving his mouth along my shoulder blade.
“I love you.” My lips curve into a contented smile. “Catch me up on what I missed while I was gone.
He settles deeper into the bedding and pulls the sheets around me. “Well, I got Sophia and River all set up in their comfy new place. Installed all the baby-proofing stuff, set up the furniture.”
“Yeah, I went over there for a few hours. My sister’s very grateful. Thank you.” I smile with relief. “I’m so glad that stupid plastic manufacturer signed the settlement check easily and it didn’t have to turn into some big legal nightmare.”
Ben nods against my shoulder. “Well, it would have been a big public relations nightmare if they’d fought it. It was obvious that they and the landlord were in the wrong. They moved out of that warehouse without making sure that it was up to safety requirements, they left a whole bunch of chemicals and flammable materials when they skipped town and the landlord didn’t even check to make sure that the place was safe before renting it out to your sister. Imagine if she’d actually opened that daycare and the explosions had happened then.”
I shiver hard. “That would have been a tragedy.” I draw his arms tighter around me. “How am I ever going to repay you for saving my sister’s life?”
He chuckles against my back. “Free 69s for life.”
Laughing, I slap his thigh. “The 69s were always free. You know what kind of girl I am.”
His hand slides between my legs and he tweaks my clit with his fingers. I respond by thrusting my ass back and mewling. “I know exactly what kind of girl you are,” he whispers, “I dirty, dirty girl.” I feel his smile against my neck. “And I want you all to myself, forever…I made an appointment with the lawyer.”
I flip over onto my back and pin him with a glare. “Ben, we talked about—”
“I don’t care. I want your name on the house, Angie. As soon as possible. This place is your home and I don’t ever want you to doubt that.”
“Babe, I already have your diamond ring on my finger. I don’t need my name on your deed for me to believe that.”
His brow wrinkles. He pauses. “Are things moving too fast for you?”
I laugh sarcastically. “Not at all. If it were up to me, we’d have been here six years ago.” I say it and I instantly regret mentioning the past.
It doesn’t kill the mood, thankfully. “I just want you to know that I mean it,” Ben says quietly.
“You already fuck me like you mean it. Every. Single. Time.” I press my lips to his knuckles and laugh.
“I want to love you like I mean it. I feel like I’m still making up to you for the mistakes I’ve made.”
I turn so I’m looking him in the eyes when I say it. “Babe, I forgive you. All the things that happened before, they got us to this place. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t need you trying to prove anything to me.”
His shoulders bunch when he squeezes me tighter to him. “I love you, Angie.”
I sigh into his hold. “I love you, too. At the end of the day, all I really want is to be with you.”
He smiles. “Well, you’re an easy girl to please. But I’m going to give you everything. A house, a wedding, a dog, some babies…This is your happily-ever-after.”
&nbs
p; Epilogue
Ben
One year later…
Captain MacBride moves toward the front of the large auditorium and rises onto the wide stage. He clears his throat, drawing the room's attention to him. The crowd falls quiet. Sitting on the stage beside me, Angie rubs her palms together, more than ready for this ceremony to begin.
My former boss speaks into the microphone. "As you all know, a few months ago, there was a leak of natural gas and toxic chemicals at a warehouse in the industrial sector of Copper Heights. There was a young woman who, unknown to anyone at the time, was inside that building, pregnant and unconscious. For reasons that I won’t go into, Lieutenant Ben Riggs was at the scene of that leak and immediately sprang into action. He raced into the building and pulled the woman out, saving the lives of her and her child. Lieutenant Riggs’ was also able to swiftly alert the authorities to the presence of the leak, thus allowing first responders to take measures to mitigate the eventual explosions and be prepared on the scene to evacuate persons in the surrounding buildings before the explosions began.”
Bursting with pride, Angie leaps out of her chair and breaks out into unruly, uproarious applause and cheering. The wide slope of her belly causes the front of her maternity dress to rise up her sexy thighs but she doesn’t seem to notice.
The rest of the room glances at her. I notice a few arched brows and a low chuckle travels through the audience.
Her celebration grinds down into an awkward slow-clap when the crowd doesn’t join in.
“What?” she asks innocently, her gaze darting quickly from corner to corner. “I’m just proud of my man.”
The captain laughs. “Don’t worry, Dr. Riggs. We’ll get to the clapping bit.”
My wife just shrugs a shoulder and I help her lower herself back into her seat.
With humor lingering on his face, Captain MacBride continues. “Because of Lieutenant Riggs’s bravery, no lives were lost that day. Yes, several buildings were damaged but the fallout would have been far worse if he hadn’t intervened.” His eyes go to Sophia, her husband and her beautiful daughter sitting in the crowd. “Little River and her mommy wouldn’t be here today. This town would not be the same. For these reasons, I am proud, honoured and privileged to award the medal of valor to Lieutenant Benjamin Riggs today. He is the very definition of ‘hero’ and we’re lucky to have him in our community.” The man looks over to where I’m sitting with Angie at the side of the stage.
The Blue Collar Bachelors Box Set: The Complete Blue Collar Bachelors Series Page 79