“It’s not a line, Mae.” A spark of anger in his denial caught her off guard.
“Did you sleep with her?” When he frowned, she held up a hand and looked way. “On second thought, forget it. I don’t want to know.”
Yes, you do, liar.
“I did sleep with her, but I haven’t seen her since last November. Besides which, why does that even matter? I’ve never claimed to be a saint, and anything with her was before we even knew each other. I shouldn’t have to apologize for that.”
His words sank in, and she realized he was right. She had no right to be mad or jealous about someone from almost nine months ago. If the situation was flipped, and he got bent out of shape for her being with Ian’s father seven years ago, she’d tell him he was being an idiot.
And now she felt like an idiot. And a jerk, too.
“No, you shouldn’t have to apologize,” she agreed, her gaze leveled at his chest. “You don’t have to apologize, I do. I’m sorry.”
He reached to take her hand and then tilted her head up with a knuckle under her chin. “I never have been and never will be someone who cheats. And I’m not going to walk away. I’m not looking for anyone else because I don’t want anyone else, got it?”
She nodded and then rose up to wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug so he wouldn’t see her tears. His arms closed around her, and he lifted her off her feet. With her face buried in the crook of his neck and his intoxicating cologne filling her senses, she choked out another, “I’m sorry.”
“All I’m asking is for you to trust me here, Mae. I’m with you all the way.”
She nodded again as he stroked her hair. After a moment, he whispered, “Shall we go play short sticks?”
“Yes, please.”
Almost three hours later, Merit carried a sleepy Ian into the house after eighteen holes, ice cream, and presents. He woke up a little as he brushed his teeth and changed into his pajamas. When he had the covers tucked in under his armpits and his stuffed Scooby Doo Great Dane in the crook of his elbow, Mae sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in to kiss his forehead.
“So, what do you think, Scoob? Good birthday?”
“The best, Mom. Thank you.” He gave her a tired grin, then looked past her shoulder. “Thanks for coming with us, Merit.”
Mae glanced back to see him lounging against the door frame, thumbs hooked in his jeans pockets, feet crossed at the ankles.
“Thanks for asking me. I had a ton of fun tonight.”
“Even though you got beat by a kid and a girl?”
Mae grinned at Ian’s taunt. They’d kicked his butt—and she was positive he hadn’t let them win for their birthdays.
“Even though,” Merit agreed with a wry smile.
He’d been a good sport through their trash talk during the eighteen holes, and their gloating afterwards. He’d been great with Ian, and after their talk outside Nick’s, she’d been able to relax and enjoy the evening together. She still felt bad for immediately jumping to the worst case scenario at the pub, but she planned to make it up to him once Ian was asleep. Plus, she’d been thinking of another way to show she trusted him and his word.
“Ian, remember when you asked me if the baby has a daddy?”
He nodded.
“Well…Merit is the baby’s daddy.”
His blue eyes widened as his head turned toward the door where Merit stood. A quick glance revealed his cautious smile for her son, and after what felt like forever, Ian asked, “Is that why you’re here? Because of the baby?”
Wow—her kid knew how to go right for the heart, didn’t he?
Merit pushed away from the door and came over to kneel next to the bed. “I’m here for the baby, and your mom, and you, Ian. I like you guys a lot.”
“I like you, too,” he said, his voice soft and surprisingly shy. Then he frowned. “Are you going to be a doggie daddy or a penguin daddy?”
Mae bit her lip as the conversation from last weekend flooded back. She didn’t interrupt though. She wanted to see how this went.
“What’s the difference?” Merit asked as he sat back on his heels.
“Doggie daddies aren’t always around, but penguin daddies help take care of their babies.”
“Well, then, count me in as a penguin daddy.”
Ian smiled before yawning and snuggling deeper into his pillow. “Good. I like penguin daddies.”
“Me, too,” Mae murmured.
Merit rose to his feet. “Sweet dreams, kiddo. I’ll see you soon.”
“Night, Merit. Night, Mom. Love you.”
“Night, Scoob. Love you, too.”
Mae followed Merit out of the room and pulled the bedroom door closed behind her. It was nearly ten o’clock, and she was tired and wired at the same time. It had been a long day, but a good one, and her body was humming with anticipation.
“Penguin daddy,” Merit said with a soft chuckle as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. “I was not expecting that. He’s something else.”
“That’s my boy.”
“He’s a great kid, Mae.”
When he lowered his arm and moved a little closer, her breath hitched. You’d think after last weekend, she’d be more comfortable letting him know what she was thinking, that it was later and there was no maybe about it, she was more than ready to feel his stubble against her skin. But with her heart threatening to pound right through her ribs, she couldn’t quite find the words.
Chapter 25
Unaccountably nervous, Merit drew in an unsteady breath as he stood with Mae in the small hallway. How the fuck had he gotten so lucky?
Wedding champagne and a faulty condom.
Well, who the hell cared how? What mattered was him stepping up and earning the gift in front of him.
“The guy that walked away from the two of you has gotta be the stupidest man alive.”
Surprise widened her blue eyes before she dropped her gaze to his chest. “Thanks.”
Was it wrong he was glad the bastard had walked away? Probably. He should feel guilty they had been abandoned, and he did feel bad for them, but he was also so very thankful he was the one standing in front of her right now with the chance to be the man who made a difference for them. A chance he intended not to squander.
“You hadn’t told him I’m the father yet.” Him meaning Ian.
“No,” she confirmed. “Not until just now.”
Because she wouldn’t tell her son something so important until she believed she could trust him to keep his word and stick around for the long haul. He’d asked her to trust him, and she’d just let him know she did.
Closing the last of the distance between them, he reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear before resting his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
She grasped his forearm, her smile telling him she understood exactly what he was thanking her for.
“I’m not the same guy I was back then, Mae. Everything changed the day I met you.” He gave a self-deprecating snort. “I always used to think people who said stuff like that were idiots, but here I am, saying it and meaning it.”
“And here I would’ve thought it was the day I told you I was pregnant.”
“You’d think, but no. Things really changed the day of the bakery opening when I met Ian.”
Her teasing smile turned sheepish. “That was kind of a mean trick we played on you election night.”
“You tortured my dreams for two months, you know that?”
“Dreams or fantasies?”
“Both.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you weren’t the only one affected that night.”
He braced his free hand on the wall next to her head and crowded her against the wall, her softness cushioning his hardness. “And still, you turned me down every time I asked you out after I found out the truth.”
She shrugged, her face tilted up to his. “I thought you were that guy.”
“And you had to think of Ian,” he said wit
h full understanding.
“Yes. And look, the one time I think only of myself, I end up pregnant.”
He brushed his thumb against her neck, then leaned in to press his lips to the same spot. Geezus. Her skin was so damn soft, and that seductive vanilla scent that had teased him off and on all night filled his senses. “I’m not complaining.”
She tilted her head, giving him better access to the line of her throat. “Neither am I anymore.”
“Good. Because I think you deserve to think of only yourself for the remainder of your birthday.”
“Only myself?” She sucked in a breath when he nipped her earlobe. “Because I had planned to do some apologizing.”
“Well, maybe not only yourself then.”
Her husky laugh made his body throb in response, and he murmured, “How long before Ian’s out?”
“He’s zonked already.”
“Are we doing this then?” Please, God, let us be doing this.
“If you can be quiet.”
He drew back, eyebrows arched high. “Seriously? I need to be quiet?”
She laughed, and then giggled when he dipped down and swept her up into his arms. The happy sound reached in and grabbed hold of his heart.
“You aren’t going to be able to do this in a couple of months,” she warned.
“We’ll just see about that.”
He strode to her bedroom, paused only long enough to gently close the door instead of kick it shut all macho like, then carried her to the bed. She scooted backward, and he stalked her on his hands and knees as far as the headboard. Then he dipped down and captured her mouth with his. He licked the seam of her lips and dove in the moment she opened to him.
Mae went to work unbuttoning his shirt, and he moved to lay beside her so he could slide the zipper of her dress down the length of her spine. She shivered when he trailed his fingers against her skin along the way.
He pulled one side off her shoulder and followed the decent of the material with his mouth. “So…there’s something I wanted to run by you.”
Her fingers fumbled to undo the button on his jeans, then his zipper. “Depends on how kinky it is.”
“It’s not—wait, so it can be somewhat kinky?”
“No.”
“Then you should’ve said nothing kinky.”
“That’s what I meant.”
Dragging her dress lower, he kissed his way to the exposed curve of her breast. “That’s not what you said though.”
“Merit.” Teasing warning sounded in her voice. “What exactly is it you want to run by me?”
“I’m going to sell my house.”
She paused with her hands inside his pants. “What?”
He cursed himself for bringing this up now, but there was no going back. “I can’t afford my house without my trust fund, so I’m selling it.”
“Why would you have to run that by me?” She drew back with a strange look on her face. “Are you…asking to move in?”
Whoa. “No, of course not.” His stomach lurched with the realization he would if she asked. He propped up on his elbow, head on his hand. “I’m buying Asher’s house. Or, you can buy his house, and I can buy this one from you.”
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
“I talked to him yesterday, and we agreed on a price. I thought since you’ll need more room when the baby comes, you and Ian could move in there, and I could move in here.”
She stared at him with an unreadable expression. Each second that ticked by aggravated his nerves. What seemed like a perfect solution suddenly had him sweating bullets. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Her lashes lowered as a frown creased her brow. “I can’t afford Asher’s house.”
“Then I’ll buy that one, and you keep making payments on this house, but we can still switch.” And once he got himself a decent job, or he turned thirty, he’d pay off this one for her, too. “You get more room, and I get a place I can afford.”
Her gaze lifted to his, full of disbelief. “You’re serious about this?”
“I am.”
Oh no—his stomach sank as her eyes filled with tears. “You know what? Forget it. I’m sorry I said anything. Honestly, I’m fine if you don’t want to do it. I have to move either way, and I thought—”
“Merit. Stop.” She smiled, then gave an embarrassed laugh when a blink sent tears cascading down her cheeks. “It’s fine. It’s amazing, actually. You just caught me totally by surprise, and I already warned you about the crying, remember?”
“They’re good tears?”
“Astounded, happy tears,” she assured him.
He leaned forward to kiss the salty moisture away. “Then you’d be okay with the switch?”
“Thrilled. Truly ecstatic.” She reached up to shove his shirt off his shoulders. “Now I have to say thank you after I apologize.”
“You don’t have to do either one,” he protested.
She pushed him onto his back and swung her leg over to straddle his hips.
“Mae...”
Her weight settled over his still-confined erection while she leaned forward to brace both hands flat on his chest. “What did I tell you about being quiet?”
He took a breath to speak, but she placed her finger on his lips. He held her gaze for a heart-stuttering moment, then opened his mouth and bit her finger. When her pupils dilated, he lifted his head to take the digit all the way into his mouth, curling his tongue around it as he sucked hard.
Her breath went shallow, and a low whimper parted her lips. He reached up to peel her dress down to her waist, then urged her forward so he could undo her light blue bra while ravishing her mouth.
As the heat built, they quickly removed the rest of their clothes, then came back together with matching, breathless grins. He’d loved sex from his very first time, but he’d never fully enjoyed a partner the way he enjoyed Mae. There was an absolute connection between them each and every time, no matter if it was fast and furious, or slow and sensual.
With her tight heat surrounding him, he felt complete in a way that eluded him except when he held a paintbrush in his hand and every stroke was perfection. With her, he finally understood the fundamental concept of making love.
She was perfection, her hair a wavy, golden halo on the tan sheets with each slow, deep thrust he made, his steady rhythm driving them both higher and higher. When her inner muscles clenched around him, he dipped down to stifle her scream with a kiss. Her release dragged him over the edge with her, and he smothered his own hoarse cry against her neck.
He shifted his weight to the side so he wouldn’t crush her or the baby, and when he could form a coherent thought again, the first three words his mind strung together were I love you.
They didn’t surprise him or alarm him. They didn’t even seem too soon since he’d been completely infatuated with her since the wedding, and even well before that. But saying them out loud was a whole other matter. That was definitely going to need more time, especially when she’d gone all tense when she’d thought he wanted to move in with her and Ian.
And then there was still the fact he hadn’t come clean about lying about his job—about even having a job. He just couldn’t seem to find the right time to tell her.
I trust you, Merit.
Thank you. By the way, I’m a big fat liar.
He’d tried a few more companies after the disaster interview on Tuesday, but the way things were looking, he might have to take Grayson’s advice and flip burgers or something until his house sold. The money from his Jaguar was running through his fingers like water as he paid his first month of bills.
Mae rolled onto her side to face him. The regret in her expression instantly derailed his thoughts at the same time his chest tightened.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“I don’t want to kick you out, but even though Ian now knows you’re the baby’s father, it’s still too early for him to find you here in the morning.” Her br
ows drew even closer together. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about when it comes to Ian, Mae. I understand.” Even if he didn’t like having to leave. “I should probably get going sooner than later though, so your nosey neighbors don’t see me sneaking out at three o’clock in the morning.”
She lifted her head and rolled slightly toward the night stand. “It’s not even eleven yet. You can stay another five minutes, at least.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She laughed as he pulled her across his chest with one arm banded around her waist. “You’re welcome to come by after brunch tomorrow.”
He stiffened slightly. Were they back to another Sunday already? Yeah, damn it, they were. “I’m not going to family brunch.”
“Honor said you guys don’t miss brunch. It’s kind of like an unspoken rule, isn’t it?”
Oh, it’d been spoken plenty of times, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.
When she drew back to see his face, he avoided her gaze. “Grayson skips them all the time. I’m taking my turn.”
“That’s a little different.”
“Why? He might not have the same last name, but he’s a Diamond like the rest of us.”
“It is different and you know it. It’s not a good idea to let this fester between you and your dad.”
She didn’t know anything about him and his dad. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You shouldn’t avoid him.”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Merit.”
“No, Mae.” Feeling cornered all of a sudden, he set her back on her side of the bed and got up to find his clothes. “I’ll deal with my dad my own way. Just leave it be.”
While pulling on his briefs and jeans, his abrupt words replayed in his head. Fighting a cringe, he shot a glance at the bed to see her watching him with the sheet tucked up under her arms to cover herself.
She didn’t look upset; she looked determined. And that right there heightened the anxiety tightening his chest. He didn’t want to talk about any of this with his lie still out there. He had to fix that before he dealt with his dad. Which meant he had to find himself a job so he didn’t look like the mooch everyone called him.
Love You, Baby Page 17