“Yeah, great job, Conner. You gave me orgasms, most of the time. But they weren’t enough to deal with your arrogant ass, that’s for damn sure. Either way, I’m out. I’ve had enough of sitting here and watching you fawn over what’s her name and telling me what I can and can’t have to drink.”
I grab my bag and spin around, stomping towards the door. Conner’s next words stop me in my tracks.
“I only am telling you what to drink, because you’re carrying my child, you stubborn ass. Pregnant women aren’t supposed to be drinking.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room, as the entire restaurant falls silent. I pause, and debate going after him, or simply going on about my way.
“I don’t even know if I’m pregnant.” I pick option number one, as I spin around to face him.
Carter’s head is in his hands at this point, and I think that Isaac may have passed out.
“Not that it’s any of your concern. You’re an asshole, Conner Andrews. I always knew that you were, I just wish that I would have remembered that. It would have stopped me from falling in love with you, that’s for damn sure.”
His entire face falls, as he stares at me in confusion.
“Wait, what did you just say?”
I shake my head.
“Nothing important. Anyhow, enjoy your night with Sluts her name. Also, I quit.”
He begins to take a step towards me, but Carter reaches out, and grabs a hold of his arm, shaking his head firmly at him and whispering something in his ear.
I dart out of the restaurant, hustling like hell towards my car, before peeling off into the night.
25
Conner
She loves me.
I mean, that is what she said, right? I can’t be positive. I’ve questioned Carter on it at least a dozen times since last night, and he is no longer answering the question.
He’s irritated with me, to say the least.
After the dinner debacle, he had all but drug to me to the car and demanded that I spill it. Every last detail.
Of course, he knew about Gabriella being my pretend girlfriend for my trip home, and I’m sure that he assumed that we would end up sleeping together. I mean, she’s a fox, after all.
What he didn’t know, was all of the details. How we met, the fact that I had already slept with her prior to us taking over the company, and of course, the agreement.
That was what had really set him off. But then, as we talked it out, he had stared at me and finally shaken his head.
“You’re in love with her.” His words had hit me like a punch to the gut.
“What? No, no way. I’m not in love with her, and even if I was, it wouldn’t matter. I don’t have the capabilities of loving someone.”
He had simply snorted at me and shaken his head. “Why?” he had asked.
“Why would you say that? Because of Mom and Dad? Dude…they wrecked our childhoods and made it hard for us to be normal. But you can’t hold onto that. You can’t let them steal your future.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, because I had always assumed that Carter felt the same way about falling in love that I did.
That we just weren’t cut out for it.
“Listen, I’m not going to tell you what to do here, because I’m not the guy to come to for advice. My love life is a shit show too. But, that girl said that she loved you, and I can see it all over your face that you feel the same way. You should really go and talk to her.”
His words have been circling my head all day, and even though I’ve picked up my phone at least a dozen times to call her, I haven’t managed to bring myself to dial the number.
So how I ended up here, sitting in front of her house is beyond me. But, this is where I’ve sat, for at least the last hour, just staring at her front porch.
I know that beyond those steps lies a warmth that I didn’t even know existed until I met her. With her, there is a happiness that to me never seemed reachable. But when I’m with her, I feel like a completely different person.
I’ve never had a relationship, and while having one scares the shit out of me, not having Gabriella in my life scares me more.
This whole time, I had been thinking that she didn’t have feelings for me, but in reality, she did. I just hope that she still does.
Fuck.
It’s now or never, and if I don’t go to her door and try to fix this right now, I may never muster up the courage.
On shaky legs, I force myself to move forward, until finally, I’m standing on her front porch.
I ring the bell and take a ragged breath, trying to figure out exactly what I’m going to say here.
The door opens a moment later, and a short, round woman with a head full of dark hair answers.
“Hello, can I help you?” She smiles up at me, before blinking at me with kind eyes. She looks just enough like Gabriella for me to realize that this is probably her mother.
“Um, hello. I was hoping to speak to Gabriella. Is she home?”
“Oh, no,” She smiles at me again, before opening the door a bit wider. “She isn’t home right now, but she should be back shortly. She had an appointment with Maria. Would you like to come inside and wait for her?”
“Ah, sure. I’m Conner Andrews, by the way.”
“I know who you are.” She blushes. “I have been stalking you on Facebook for a while now. I’m Donna Martin, Gabriella’s mother.”
I can’t even help myself, I burst out laughing, which feels damn good since for the last twelve hours, my stomach has been in a complete knot.
She opens the door all of the way, and steps to the side, ushering me in.
“Please, make yourself at home. I just baked some apple crisp. Would you like some?”
I stare at her. It’s just long enough for her to look at me questioningly, as though I’m some kind of alien.
Which honestly, I am. All of this is alien to me. Totally foreign. This woman is acting like a mother, and I’m certain that she was here, busily baking for her daughter, hoping to brighten up her day just a touch. And I fall in love with Gabriella’s mother in this moment.
“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t trying to stare at you. It’s just that, you took me by surprise.”
“Oh, don’t you go apologizing to me. I’m sure that finding me here took you by surprise. Now, you just have a seat at the table, and let me serve you some dessert. It’s one of Gabriella’s favorites. I’m hoping that it will cheer her up today.”
“Right,” I nod. “I’m sure that it will.”
“I just don’t know.” She exhales slowly. “Gabriella has been pretty down lately, and of course, she’s stubborn like her father, so she won’t let us in and tell us what’s the matter. I’ve been trying every last thing that I can think of to cheer her up, but nothing seems to be working. I even laundered her sheets and sprinkled lavender on her pillowcases. That always does the trick, but this time, it didn’t.”
She places a plate in front of me and then hands me a fork.
“Maybe this will cheer you up. You also look a little blue.”
I scoop a bite of the crisp, and then pause.
“Thank you for this. It’s very kind of you.”
“Oh,” Donna just grins at me before placing her hand of my wrist. “It’s nothing. It’s the least that I could do, especially after your family was so kind to my daughter.”
I nearly choke on my crisp.
“I’m sorry?”
Donna laughs.
“Don’t worry, she didn’t spill any juicy details. She doesn’t tell her old mom any of the good stuff. But she did tell me about your trip, and told me all about how welcoming your mother was to her. I really appreciate that. She may be grown, but she’s still my baby girl, and I can’t stand the thought of anyone mistreating her.”
“Mrs. Martin…”
“Donna,” she interrupts. “Mrs. Martin is my mother in law, and she was a crotchety old woman. Donna works just fine.”
> “Donna,” I correct myself, before finally, setting down my fork. “Gabriella didn’t tell you the truth. My family was not kind to her at all. In fact, my mother was absolutely awful to her.”
Her eyebrows wrinkle in confusion.
“But…”
“Your daughter is far too kind, which is one of the things that I love about her. She didn’t want to worry you, because she cares about your feelings, which is probably why she lied to you about the way that my family treated her. My mother is a really horrible person.”
Donna looks appalled.
“I know that it’s a shitty thing for me to say about my own mother, but if you met her, you would totally understand. She’s the coldest person that you could ever meet, and my dad’s not much better. That’s the way that I was raised, and to be honest, it’s kind of screwed me up as an adult.”
“Oh, honey,” she pats my wrist again. “We’re all a little screwed up.”
“That’s fair, but I’m more screwed up than most. And I’m pretty sure that I’ve screwed things up with your daughter, big time.”
“You have,” her voice makes my heart thunder in my chest. I freeze in my seat, before following Donna’s eyes.
I turn in my seat, and see Gabriella standing in the doorway, leaning against the molding.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to hear you tell my mother that I’m a liar.” Her words lack the normal fire, and as I study her face, I see the sadness evident in her eyes.
“I was just admitting the truth to her. You shouldn’t have lied to her, babes. Especially not to cover for my family.”
“I wasn’t covering for your family, I was protecting mine. Because that’s what normal people do, Conner, for the people that they love.”
I swallow hard, before standing. Gabriella’s eyes follow my every movement.
“What are you doing here, anyhow? Shouldn’t you still be at Heidi’s place, sealing the deal?”
Donna shifts in her seat.
“You know, maybe I should be going…”
“The only deal that I want to seal is with you.” I move towards her, pausing once we’re just a few inches apart. “Let me explain myself.”
“I’m not pregnant, so the deal is done, Conner. If that’s what you came here to finalize, you don’t have to worry about it. I still didn’t get pregnant, and I have no intention of trying with you again. You’re off the hook.”
“Ok, I am officially leaving.” Donna grabs her bag off of the counter and makes a beeline for the backdoor. “But we will be discussing all of this later, Gabriella. All of it.”
The door opens, and slams shut, leaving just the two of us standing in the kitchen.
“I’m guessing that your mom didn’t know about the deal we had.”
“You guessed right.”
“Gabs…”
“Conner, no. I don’t know why you’re here, but I do think that you should go, alright? I’ve had a super shitty day, and I’m not in the mood to do this with you right now.”
She points towards the door, before kicking off her shoes and moving towards her staircase. If she thinks that I came all this way just to walk away with my tail between my legs, she’s got another thing coming.
“I love you,” I blurt out, my words even surprising the hell out of me.
“You what?” She grabs onto the banister but doesn’t turn around to face me.
“I love you, Gabriella. I am head over heels, crazy as hell in love with you. I don’t know how it happened, or even when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I went ahead and fell in love with you. I don’t know what any of this means, but before you walk away from me, I need you to know that.”
She spins to face me and stares at me with a blank look.
“That’s really sweet and all, but I’m not even sure that you know what love is.”
“You might be right about that. I might not know what love is, but baby, you have to believe me when I say that I know what it’s not. I grew up without that emotion. I grew up in a cold, unfeeling world. I learned how to go through life without any emotion at all. Since the very day that you face planted on my dick, I’ve felt every fucking emotion possible. And they just keep coming. I see the world differently when I’m with you, and since we’ve been apart, since the day that we stepped off of that fucking plane, nothing seems to fit anymore. I may not have any experience with love, but I have no doubt that what I feel for you is just that. And I don’t want to spend another moment without you by my side.”
“Conner…” she swallows hard before squeezing her eyes shut. “We argue all of the time. You annoy me most of the time. We could never be together. We would drive each other insane.”
“I kind of like crazy.” I step towards her and place my finger underneath her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes.
“I love you, Gabs. All of the arguing, the bickering, the driving you insane. I love your smart mouth, the sound of your laugh, and the way that your eyes light up when you smile. I love the gentle way that you put everyone at ease around you, and I love the way that you make me feel at home when you’re right by my side. You are everything that I never knew that I needed, and I’m crazy about you. I know that this sounds insane and all…”
Her lips press against mine, interrupting my confession of love for her. Her hands twist into the back of my hair, pulling my face tightly against hers. My hands roam over her body, grabbing onto her hips and lifting her against me.
She wraps her legs around me, and I clumsily hurry up the staircase with her in my arms, towards her bedroom.
“So, does this mean that you love me?” I whisper, pulling my face back ever so slightly as I lay her on her bed.
“Didn’t I tell you that already?” She smiles coyly at me, and I shake my head.
“Nope, babes. You certainly haven’t. So, what is it, huh? Do you love me too, or are you going to leave me all alone in the sea of love?”
“Stop being so corny,” she groans and thrusts her hips against mine. “I’m not confessing anything here until you give me what you owe me.”
“Oh, really,” I murmur, letting my hands dip underneath the waistband of her leggings, and jerking them down.
“Really,” she moans, and then cries out, as my hand dips into her core. “What you did to me was cruel, Conner, and you owe me for it.”
“You’re right, I do owe you. Two things, for sure. An orgasm, and a baby.”
I brush my lips against hers and slide my finger inside of her. Her head falls back, and she moans my name.
Jesus, I love the sound of that.
“I want both of those things, so badly,” she groans, digging her hands into my flesh.
“I do too, baby. The first one, I promise that I will deliver, over and over again, for the rest of our lives. I’m going to work damn hard on the other, too.”
“Just promise me that you’ll never do what you did to me again,” she cries, but I don’t respond right away. I’m too busy tugging my pants off, my body desperate to be one with hers, and to show her that I will never do anything to hurt her again.
“I promise, baby,” I murmur against her lips. I pull her shirt over her head, followed by my own, before positioning myself at her entrance, and finally, sliding inside of her.
“I’ll never hold back from you, ever again.”
“Yes,” she moans, “Oh my God, yes.”
Her head falls back against the pillow, and my name leaves her lips in a continued chant, until I feel her explode all around me.
I follow her down, until we’re both panting and holding each other tightly, wrapped in a pile of blankets and limbs.
“So,” I press my forehead against hers, before smacking her ass with my one free hand.
“Anything that you want to tell me?”
“Oh, that.” her eyes remain closed, but a sly smile spreads across her lips.
“Yeah, that. I spilled my heart to you. You know th
at I’m crazy, madly, and deeply in love with you. Anything you’d like to add to that?”
“I suppose.” Her eyes flutter open and hold my gaze. She stares at me for a long time, as my heart thunders in my chest, wondering if she is going to say the words that I so desperately need to hear.
Finally, she reaches up and cups my chin in her hand, as her fingers lazily trace my jaw.
“I love you, Conner, and even though you drive me insane, I’m absolutely head over heels in love with you.”
My heart about explodes in my chest, as I pull her against me.
“Say it again,” I plead. “Please, baby, say it a hundred times.”
“I love you.” She presses her lips against mine softly. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
I will never get tired of hearing her say that.
Epilogue
Gabriella
“Ah, you can put those boxes right there?” I point to a spot next to the couch, and Conner sets two moving boxes onto the ground.
“You know, I’m happy to help carry things…”
He snorts before shaking his head.
“I already told you, that you are not lifting a damn finger. This is all my stuff anyways. You two just stand there and look beautiful. I’ll do all of the lifting.”
“Suit yourself.” I shrug, right before Conner grabs me into his arms and swings me around.
“Conner stop!” I smack him in the chest, and he simply laughs.
“Seriously, stop it. I’m getting really heavy. You’re going to throw out your back, lifting me up like that.”
He rolls his eyes before sinking to his knees in front of me.
He presses his lips to my stomach, spreading kisses all over my now obvious baby bump.
“Do you hear her?” he tells the baby. “She’s insane, this Mommy of yours. She thinks that she’s heavy, but actually, she’s just sexy as fuck.”
“Conner!”
“It’s true,” he continues to speak to my stomach instead of to me. “I can hardly keep my hands off of her. Your Mommy pregnant turns me on so fucking much, that I can’t wait to make another one of you.”
Getting the Goods Page 15