by Lori Foster
“But you said you’ve noticed signs?”
This was the tricky part. “My skin is different. I don’t need to use as much moisturizer. My hair is different, too. I’ve had to switch shampoos to get it to lie right.” She laughed. “I have unbelievable cravings, and I have to go to the bathroom more.”
“And your breasts are swollen and tender.”
“Well…yes.” She had hoped to slip that in with all the rest, but he hadn’t given her a chance.
He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She stared up at him, feeling her heart pound, her temperature rise. In a low, tender voice he said, “I want to see, Olivia. Take your shirt off for me.”
CHAPTER TEN
OLIVIA SWALLOWED HARD and closed her eyes. Not for the life of her could she unbutton the pale flannel blouse she wore. Then she felt Tony take her hand and her eyes flew open again.
“Let’s go in the bedroom so you can lie down. It’ll be easier for me to…examine you that way.”
Examine her. Her heart was tripping, her stomach pulling tight, and yet she let him lead her to her bedroom—a place he’d never been before—without a single complaint. She knew, in her own heart, she wanted him to touch her, to look at her. But she didn’t think she could admit such a thing. Not after how badly she’d blundered so far. It was a wonder Tony would even talk to her, much less want to touch her.
She sat on the edge of the bed when he gently pressed her down, and then his hands were on her shoulders, urging her back. She squeezed her eyes shut and she could hear her own breath.
His knuckles brushed against her as he slowly unbuttoned her top and parted the material. Her bra was new, sturdier than those she usually wore, and it had a front closure that Tony deftly flicked open. He brushed the cups aside and then she felt nothing but the cool air on her breasts.
“Olivia. Open your eyes.”
She did, feeling foolish, and saw that he was just standing there, looking down at her, his gaze intent. She started to cover herself, but he caught her hands then sat beside her on the bed. “You are much fuller.”
She could hear the amazement in his gravelly tone, and she said, “I’m going to breast-feed when the baby is born.”
His gaze shot to her face. “Are you?”
“Yes. I’ve been reading a lot of books about it.” Her own voice crackled and shook in nervousness and arousal, but she ignored it. Tony was interested in all this, and she did owe it to him to keep him apprised of everything.
He lifted a hand and with one finger followed the tracing of a light blue vein to the edge of her nipple. She sucked in a deep breath, but he seemed unaware of her predicament as he cupped her fully in his palm, weighing her. When his thumb touched her nipple she shuddered.
“You’re a lot more sensitive, aren’t you?” There was awe in his whispered question, and she could only nod her head.
“Olivia?” His hand rested low on her midriff now, and she watched as he unbuttoned her tan wool slacks and slid the zipper down. “I want to see all of you.” He tugged her pants off, and when she saw how his hands shook she had to bite back a groan.
She lay there, legs slightly parted, her upper body framed by the shirt that still hung from her arms, while Tony’s gaze, so hot and fierce, roamed all over her. When he bent to press his cheek to her belly, she couldn’t stand it a second more. She curled up to wrap her arms around him, and the tears started.
“Shh. Sweetheart, don’t cry.”
He held her close, gently rocking, but the tears wouldn’t stop. “What is it, Olivia? Did I hurt you?”
As if he ever would. She shook her head and squeezed him tighter.
“I need you, Livvy. I want to make love to you.”
She didn’t need any encouragement beyond that. She shifted so she could find his mouth, then kissed him hard, clasping his face between her hands and biting his lips.
He laughed, then groaned and in a heartbeat he was over her, kissing her everywhere, kicking off his shoes…. Olivia struggled with his shirt until finally he sat up and stripped off his own clothes. As he lowered himself on top of her again, he said, “Tell me if I hurt you.”
“You won’t. You couldn’t. Please, Tony, I missed you so much.”
His hand slid down her belly and started to stroke her, but she curled her fingers around his erection and he froze. “Damn, sweetheart, don’t do that. I won’t be able to…”
“I don’t want you to. Just make love to me, Tony. Now.”
His gaze locked on hers for a long moment, and then his fingers were parting her, preparing her. She was already wet and ready for him, and when he lifted his damp fingers to his mouth, she groaned, watching him lick the taste of her from his hand, seeing the heat in his eyes. She pulled him over her, kissing him wildly, opening her legs wide and he gently pushed inside her until she groaned and wrapped herself around him. It was excruciatingly sweet and slow and hot, and it was all she could do not to tell him she loved him. He held her face still and kissed her as she climaxed, letting her suck his tongue, then whispering to her in a voice so low she couldn’t hear what he was saying. He pressed his face into her throat and gave a deep, hoarse groan, and she held him, stroking his back until his breathing had calmed.
*
TONY PUSHED HER damp hair away from her face, smoothed her eyebrows, and all the while, she could see him thinking. It was the awkward moment after, and she wanted to put it off, but there was no place to hide. Before he said it, she knew what was coming.
“Marry me.”
Oh God, it hurt. She shook her head as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, as much denying the words as denying him. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
She’d known he would ask. Tony didn’t like being refused—for any reason. She looked at him squarely and went on the defensive. “Why do you want to marry me?”
He gave her a disgruntled frown and shoved himself away from her, sitting on the edge of the bed with his naked back to her. “We’re having a baby, and I can’t keep my hands off you. Don’t you think marriage would be a good idea?”
The disappointment was crushing, but she kept her tone level, not letting him see how much his reply had hurt. “You planned all along for us to have a baby, but you didn’t want to marry me. As I recall, you were appalled when I first misunderstood that to be your intention.”
“That was when I thought the baby would be mine alone.”
“I see.” She scooted up in the bed and began refastening her clothing. Her bra left her stymied for a moment and required all her attention. As she buttoned her shirt, she watched him. “I’ve told you I’ll share the baby with you. I would never deny you your child, or deny the child a father. And you’ll make an excellent one. You can take on as big a role as you wish.”
He started to say something fierce—she could tell by the frown on his face—but the knocking at her front door stopped him. His expression turned comical for a moment and then he cursed. “I don’t believe this, I really don’t. I’d have thought we’d be safe here, at your place.”
He moved over on the bed as she jumped up and started pulling on her slacks. “At least we know it can’t be my family this time.”
Olivia shook her head, glad of the reprieve, regardless of who it was. “I can’t imagine who would call on me.”
Tony lounged back, gloriously naked and unconcerned by that fact. “That’s right. You avoid all relationships, don’t you?”
His sarcasm was especially sharp after the tender way he’d made love to her. She slanted him a look as she headed out of the room, then had to force herself to look away from the sight of his blatant masculinity.
“Do me a favor and stay put, okay?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but pulled the bedroom door shut and went to see who was knocking. It had to be one of her neighbors, she thought, trying to smooth her hair and wipe her eyes dry at the same time. She was wrong. She opened the door to find a good portion of Tony’s family standing in the hall
way, exchanging pleasantries with her neighbors, who of course had opened their own doors to see who was visiting the building.
Kate was the first one to notice Olivia. Grabbing her and giving her a big hug, Kate explained, “We were out shopping and realized we hadn’t invited you to Christmas dinner yet.”
Lisa stepped forward with John and Brian in tow, and Olivia had no choice but to move out of the way so they could enter. “The kids would love to see you again. They’ve been asking after you.”
John grinned. “And Tony would love to see you, too, I’m sure.”
Lisa poked her husband in the ribs. “John. You promised you’d behave yourself.”
“I am behaving. I’m not telling her what a sullen ass Tony’s been lately, am I?”
Olivia felt her stomach start to churn. It was always this way. The nausea would hit her at the most inopportune moments, usually when she was on her way to work or while she was at one of the shops, with customers all around.
Now, with Tony’s family surrounding her, had to be the worst timing of all. She cringed, then laid a hand to her stomach, praying her belly would settle itself.
Kate stepped forward and put her arm around Olivia, misunderstanding her distress. “We don’t mean to upset you, Olivia. But we really would love to have you. And in all honesty, the kids do ask after you. I think they miss you.”
Olivia was thinking it couldn’t get any worse when Tony came on the scene. “No fair, sis,” he said, “using the kids as bait.”
Everyone turned to stare at her bedroom doorway, where Tony stood wearing only his slacks—and those not properly fastened. It was no wonder John and Brian began to grin and Kate and Lisa looked at her with wide eyes. The questions would start any minute, questions Olivia didn’t know how to answer. All at once, her stomach turned over and she knew she was going to vomit.
She clapped a hand to her mouth and ran.
Behind her, she could hear Kate’s gasp and John’s muttered, “What the hell?”
But mostly what she heard was Tony saying in a bland tone, “She’s all right. It’s just morning sickness. Excuse me, will you?”
*
HE CAUGHT THE bathroom door before she could slam it in his face, then quietly locked it for her while she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. He winced as she gagged, his sympathy extreme. When she sat back on her heels, he flushed the toilet, dampened a washcloth in cool water and handed it to her.
“Are you okay now?”
“Go away.” She sounded weak and croaky and he sat down behind her and pulled her against his chest. Taking the washcloth from her hand, he wiped her face for her, then laid it aside.
“Aren’t you supposed to take deep breaths or something?”
“That’s during labor, you idiot.”
Tony grinned at her acerbic tone, weak though it was. “Well, I haven’t gotten around to reading all the books you’ve evidently gone through. Give me a little time, okay?”
She groaned again and he barely managed to get the toilet lid up for her. This time when she finished, she glared at him and demanded, “Go away and leave me alone.”
“Don’t be silly, Olivia. So you’re sick? I’ve seen worse, I promise.”
She staggered to her feet and went to the sink where she splashed water on her face. “Yeah. Worse is waiting in the other room, and you can be the one to explain.”
“What’s to explain? We’re having a baby. They’d have found out sooner or later anyway.”
“You know it’s more than that and you could have spoken to them when I wasn’t around!”
They could hear the rush of whispered voices from his family, and Tony shook his head. “There’s no hope for it now.” He opened the door and took her hand, but she held back. “Don’t be a coward.”
Olivia would have happily detoured into her bedroom and locked the door, but Tony didn’t release her hand. He dragged her into the living room, where everyone had taken a seat, and said to the room at large, “We’re having a baby.”
Kate was the first to shoot from her seat, squealing in happiness. “Tony, this is so fantastic! When is the wedding?”
And without missing a beat, he said, “There won’t be one.”
Everyone stilled, their smiles frozen. And then the first volley of righteous umbrage hit. Of course he had to marry her. What could he be thinking of? Hadn’t he enjoyed enough freedom of late? And babies deserved two parents. Kate even went so far as to put her arm around Olivia and remain protectively at her side while she glared daggers at him.
It was laughable, he thought. His family should know him better than this, but obviously they’d switched loyalties somewhere through this farce of a courtship. Then he shook his head. No, it was only that they thought they would save him from his own poor judgment. He wished them luck in their efforts.
And poor Olivia. He could see she was beginning to fret over the way they crucified him. Obviously they didn’t realize it was Olivia who’d shied away from marriage, and if he told them the truth of the matter, it would really put her on the spot. He couldn’t do it.
But Olivia could.
She looked around at all of them, dazed by their reactions. Brian was shaking his head and trying to be reasonable, Kate kept squeezing Olivia and patting her hand, and John was red in the face, telling Tony what a mistake he was making. Lisa, the only quiet one, stood twisting her hands together, the perfect picture of concern.
“Tony asked me to marry him!” She had to practically shout to be heard, and then the room went silent.
John was the first to react. “So what’s the problem then?”
Olivia looked to Tony for help, but he just crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He was as curious as anyone to hear her explanation.
“It’s not as simple as that.”
“When has love ever been simple?”
Lisa again smacked John. “It’s their business, John. Maybe we should just leave them alone.”
“But Tony wants to marry her! And she obviously cares about him.” He paused, then looked at Olivia. “You do, don’t you?”
“I…yes.”
“Just not enough to marry him?”
“It’s complicated!”
John snorted. “How complicated can it be? You care about Tony. He’s crazy about you. Hell, he’s been so maudlin all week, I thought I’d have to shoot him to put him out of my misery,” he joked.
Olivia’s gaze shot to Tony’s face, and he gave her a grim smile. “I have been a miserable bastard.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Tony.”
She looked cornered, and he hated it. Enough was enough. He walked across the room and jerked the front door open. “Why don’t you all get lost, all right? She’s having a terrible time of it with this morning sickness stuff, and now she has all of you badgering her. Give us some time alone.”
Lisa patted Olivia’s arm. “The morning sickness will pass in a few weeks. And the rest of being pregnant is a breeze in comparison.”
Kate gave her a firm hug. “I had it all day long, too. Try nibbling dry crackers as soon as your stomach acts up. And don’t worry about the tears. Both Lisa and I cried all the time when we were carrying.”
Brian squeezed her shoulder. “Hope you’re feeling better soon, hon. Try to make it for Christmas. Celebrating will take your mind off…other things.”
Then only John was standing there, and Tony watched as he gave Olivia a stern look. “Whatever you think your reasons are, discuss them with him. Sometimes you find out the problems that worry you don’t even exist.” Then he gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek and left.
The door closed with a resounding click, and the room was uncomfortably silent after that. For a moment, Tony didn’t look at her. He kept his gaze on the door while he organized his thoughts. “You seemed surprised that I wasn’t happy this past week.”
Her response was trembling and uncertain. “I thought you’d still be too angry to be unhapp
y. Or if you were unhappy, I…well, was it because you thought I wouldn’t involve you with the baby?”
Tony did turn to her then, and he made no effort to hide his anger. “The baby? I fell in love with you long before I knew you were carrying my baby. Hell, I think I may have been half in love with you for a long, long time. You were my first choice when I decided I wanted a baby. And then it didn’t take me long to realize you were my only choice.”
Her eyes were huge, her mouth open in a small O. Tony shook his head, amused by her astonishment. How could she not have realized how much he cared for her?
“Olivia, we just made love, and it didn’t have a damn thing to do with the baby.”
“No?”
Stalking toward her, he smiled and said, “Nope. I get near you and I want you. I think about you and I want you. Hell, you throw up in a toilet and I want you.”
“You do?”
He nodded, still coming closer. “And it’s not just sex. I want to hold you, talk to you, listen to you laugh. God, I love watching you negotiate a deal.”
She laughed at that and he finally reached her, but he didn’t touch her. He lowered his voice and admitted, “It makes me hot as hell seeing you in your shark mode, being demanding and unrelenting. Of course, it was almost the same watching you give little Shawn his bottle. And when you defended me just now to my family—you do funny things to my insides, lady.”
“You love me?”
“Hell, yes. Isn’t that what I’ve been saying?”
“Oh, Tony.” To his chagrin, she started to cry. When he reached for her, she stepped away. “There’s so much you have to know.”
He sat on the couch and propped his feet up. “Then don’t you think it’s time you told me?”
She nodded uncertainly, and he patted the couch beside him. When she started to sit there, he caught her and tugged her into his lap instead, holding her close and tucking her face into his shoulder. “All right. Now talk. And don’t leave anything out.”