*
“Hey, Lancaster!” he heard behind him. “Hey, dumbass!” Ellis caught up to him, grabbing his arm and forcing him around. “What the hell is your problem? You go and break her heart, not once but twice, and you give her an ultimatum? Are you insane?”
“It wasn’t an ultimatum. I can’t live like this anymore. It’s bad enough that I can barely function when she’s gone, but Ruby is a wreck. You’ll know when your kid is born. You’ll see how hard it is to watch them in pain and be powerless to fix it.”
“Do you want Belinda back because you love her or because she makes life easier for your kid?”
“I’m in love with her! I moved all the way across the damn country to be with her. I married her after knowing her a month. I fell in love with her at first sight. She’s my best friend, and if she doesn’t take me back I can’t stay here. I can’t be in this town and walk through the streets and see her and not hurt. And neither can my kid.”
“Okay,” Ellis said. “Then you’ve really got to go for it with her.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got to romance her. Wine and dine her. Get her a ring so big she can barely hold up her hand. Words are cheap, my friend. This time you’ve got to pay in actions.”
*
“Hey, Junior.” Her father showed up at her store the next weekend while she was working in the front.
“Hey, Papa Bear.” She leaned in and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. This display of affection was off for them. She couldn’t remember the last time he had done more than ruffle her hair, but she was grateful for it. She needed this hug very much. “What are you doing here? I hope it’s to tell me that you’re going to take me out for double bacon cheeseburgers.”
“I will if you want. I’ll even spring for dessert. But I’m here to tell you that I think it’s time you go back to your husband.”
“What? I thought you would be on my side. I thought you wanted to break his legs.”
“He hurt you, Belinda. I know that, but he’s a good man. He loves you and he loves his kid and he’ll make you a good husband. I think it’s time you go back because you’re miserable without him and because you love him. People search their whole lives to find a love like the one you have with him. I know you were hurt, but it’s time to let that go. It’s time you really let yourself be loved again.”
“You called me Belinda.”
“I did. You’re a woman now. Maybe I should start calling you by your real name.”
“Please don’t.” She hugged him again. “Nobody else calls me Junior.”
“So are you going to think about it? Are you going to think about going back to Carter?”
“No,” she said, closing her eyes.
“No?” Disappointment crossed his face.
“No, I already thought about. I’m going back. I was going to tell him tonight.”
“Why wait? Go now. Your mother and I … The only thing we ever really wanted for you is for you to be happy. Please be happy, Belinda. You don’t know what kind of guilt there is being a parent. When you’re miserable we feel like it’s our fault even when we weren’t the cause of it. I wish this kind of torture on you one day.”
“I think I already know. I feel that way about Ruby. I never knew love could hurt so much.”
“Go get them back, Junior. Go get your family.”
She took her father’s advice, going straight to Carter’s office—but when she walked in it was empty. Like really empty. His desk was too neat. Not a coffee cup in sight, not a plan out. Not even Ruby’s things were around. She stood in the empty room for a moment, her brain unable to come to terms with what she was seeing.
“He left for the airport a few minutes ago. He came to bring Ruby to tell me good-bye.”
She turned around to face Steven. “Good-bye? They’re leaving?”
“They left, Belinda. You might be able to catch them. I don’t think the flight leaves for another hour or so.”
She pushed past Steven and out of the building. He’d said he was going to leave but she didn’t think he would. She didn’t think he would actually go, that he would take Ruby, take her kid, take her heart with him.
She could kill him for this. She would kill him for this. As soon as she saw him again. If she saw him again.
The speed limit ceased to exist for her as she drove to Stewart Airport. She didn’t know if that’s where he was going. He could have gone to Albany. He could have taken a flight out of the city, but for some reason the small airport seemed like the place he would go.
It was nearly empty when she pulled up, only a few summer travelers entering through the doors, and that’s when she spotted him. Ruby held his hand, rolling a tiny pink suitcase with her. Her heart did a somersault. That was her girl and he was her husband and he was walking away from her, without a last good-bye, without a final warning.
She threw her car into park and ran up the sidewalk after them. There was karma in this or irony or something otherworldly. She had done the same thing to him. She had left without warning, without a last good-bye. And because of that they had stayed apart for four years. She couldn’t do it again. She couldn’t miss out on more years of Ruby’s life. She couldn’t put her future on hold anymore.
Carter was who she wanted. It was time she stopped running from him and from love. It was time she stopped being afraid of being hurt and let him love her. He was right when he accused her of holding back before, of protecting her heart. It got her nowhere in the end. If she didn’t go for this, if she didn’t get them back …
“Carter! Ruby!”
She didn’t want to think of what a lifetime without them would be like.
Ruby looked back first. Carter didn’t seem to hear her. “Ruby! Ruby! Wait!”
She broke away from her father, running toward Belinda, slamming into her so hard that she lost her balance and her breath and fell to her knees with the child.
“Belinda, did you come to say good-bye to me?”
“No.” She felt the tears slide down her cheeks. “I came to get you back.”
“Belinda?” Carter approached them, surprise etched on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“How dare you, you bastard. How could you just take her away from me like that, without a word, without a good-bye? She’s my kid. She may not have born of my body but she’s my kid and I love her and you have no right to do this to me. You have no right to move her across the country without a word to me.”
“Move?” He frowned at her.
“I love you, damn it. I always have. I was coming to tell you. I was coming back to you because I want my family. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and have a wedding and build a home and do all those things we missed out on the first time. I just needed some time, Carter. I was coming back. I just needed some time.”
“I’m not moving away, Belinda.”
“Excuse me.” A police officer came up to them. “Is there a problem here?”
“Hush!” Belinda ordered him. “What did you say, Ruby?”
“I’m not moving away. I’m going to spend some time with Grandma while Daddy asks you to marry him. She’s got a beach house in Florida.”
“What?”
“Daddy was going to kidnap you and take you away till you agreed to marry him. He showed me the place he was going to take you. It’s in the woods.”
“Excuse me, folks.” The cop stepped forward. “Somebody want to tell me what’s going on here?”
“I’m sorry, Officer. My daughter is a little confused. This crying woman is my wife. We had an argument. I’m sending my daughter to stay with my mother in Florida for a couple of weeks while I take my wife away for a little while. I’m not moving my daughter across the country. I’m not really kidnapping anyone. In fact, I’m giving my daughter to her.” He pulled a folded set of papers out of his suit jacket. “I just came from my lawyer’s office. I had adoption papers drawn up.”
The officer didn’t move, just looked from Belinda to Ruby and then back at Carter. “Is any of that true, ma’am?”
She ignored the curious cop. “You’re going to give her to me?”
“There’s nothing to give. She’s already yours. I’m just making it legal. I’m making us a family.”
“Daddy said I could call you mommy if it’s okay with you.”
“It’s okay! I promise.” She stood up and spun Ruby around. “I would love to be your mommy.” She put Ruby down and focused her attention on Carter. “As for you…” She jumped into his arms. “I love you, you idiot. I love you. I love you. I love you. And I want to marry you again. And I want a big wedding and I want to build a house with you and I want to build a life with you. I’m ready and I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
“Okay. I surrender.” He smiled as he kissed her. “You got me. You caught me four years ago and you haven’t let go.”
EPILOGUE
“Mommy?” Ruby called to her a little over a year later. They were all snuggled in bed together. Their first night in the new house that Carter designed just for them.
“Yes, baby doll?”
“Why are you and Daddy smiling so much?”
“Because we’re very happy.” It was true—they were. They’d had their wedding. It wasn’t big, but it was nice. Ellis and Cherri were her matrons of honor. Her father had given her away. Her mother and Carter’s had planned the entire simple ceremony. They were married in Elder Park, right by the lake, where he’d come into her life again. It was a beautiful day. It marked the start of her beautiful life with Carter.
“Yeah, but why are you so happy?”
“Because we have a beautiful, funny daughter.”
“But I’m always here and you’re not usually this happy. Why does Daddy keep putting his hand on your belly?”
“Because there’s a baby in there and he doesn’t want it to fall out.”
“What?”
“I thought we were going to wait to tell her?” Carter said, but there was no censure in his voice; he had been damn near blissful since they had come back from her doctor’s appointment this morning.
“You’re going to have a baby?”
“Yup.”
“Does this mean we can’t have a dog?”
Belinda laughed. “I don’t know. I hear little brothers make very good pets.”
“Mommy!”
She laughed. She couldn’t help herself. After all these years she could finally say she was happy. Who knew the last thing she thought she wanted was the only thing she would ever need? Who knew that these two would be her perfect fit.
ALSO BY SUGAR JAMISON
Dangerous Curves Ahead
Thrown for a Curve
PRAISE FOR SUGAR JAMISON
DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD
“Snarky, sexy, and so much fun. Sugar Jamison is sure to be a hit!”
—Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author
“Sugar Jamison’s Dangerous Curves Ahead is a funny, sexy, and touching debut—just delightful!”
—Susan Donovan, New York Times bestselling author
“Fresh, fun, and insanely sexy. Jamison juggles snark, sensitivity, and to-die-for chivalry with dazzling success. Dangerous Curves Ahead is candy for the soul.”
—Award-winning author Beth Ciotta (author of Fool for Love)
“Dangerous Curves Ahead is laugh-out-loud funny and super sexy, with unique characters you can’t help but love!”
—New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster
“Big, bold, hilariously flawed personalities surround this contemporary debut’s plus-sized heroine, who swings between her outer mean girl and inner insecurities in a playful, optimistic story that shows how loving yourself is the first step in letting someone love you back.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A wonderful tale of love coming in all shapes and sizes. Her excellent storytelling, with its contemporary feel, charms the reader. With snappy dialogue, including the witty banter between distinctive and colorful characters, and the tender, sexy romance between Ellis and Mike, the result is one sweet read.”
—RT Book Reviews
THROWN FOR A CURVE
“Hot hero, interesting characters, and great love story!”
—Fresh Fiction
“Jamison’s latest is a sexy read with another full-figured heroine at its center. The author’s stellar writing and witty dialogue are the highlights of this story along with Cherri and Colin’s passionate and endearing romance. Another sweet and heartfelt story in which Jamison’s snarky, modern voice shines through.”
—RT Book Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sugar Jamison is a Southern belle trapped in a New Yorker’s body. With a love of big hair and high-heeled shoes, she spends her days at her very normal day job and her nights dreaming up sweet and sassy romances. Visit her on the Web at www.sugarjamison.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
GENTLEMEN PREFER CURVES
Copyright © 2014 by Sugar Jamison.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
eISBN: 9781466826304
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / October 2014
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel Page 34