She stood from her seat and tossed her garbage. I followed, angry with myself because I knew she was right. I wasn’t really giving him a chance. When he was saying all the wrong things in the truck, I wasn’t trying to make him more at ease with me. Nope, I put on the bitch face right away. It wasn’t like this was all my fault, but I was definitely playing my part in it all.
We took the elevator back up to the fourth floor and stepped out, but I was stopped by a hand across my chest.
“Holy shit.”
“What?”
I followed her gaze over to the nurse’s station and stared in shock. Eric was standing there holding a bouquet of roses, looking extremely uncomfortable.
“Yeah, he’s a total dick,” Chrissy hissed from beside me. As if Eric sensed my presence, he looked over to the elevators and stared straight at me. I swallowed hard, noticing that he was dressed nicely. He was clean shaven and based on the number of roses in that bouquet, he had come to make a big, fat apology. I felt Chrissy nudge me forward and I finally got my feet to work, moving over to him.
“Hey,” I said hesitantly.
A small smile tilted his lips and he handed over the roses. “Hey. I came to apologize for last night.”
“You mean, you came to apologize for me having Decker put a tattoo on you that you never agreed to?”
He laughed slightly. We both had fucked up last night. The difference was, he was standing here, at my place of work, apologizing when it should have been me that went to him.
“I, uh…saw the tattoo last night. It’s actually pretty good. My brother informed me that it’s fire. Whatever the fuck that is.”
“So, you liked it?”
His eyes met mine, the intensity almost too much. I wanted to look away, but I forced myself to look him in the eye.
“It was perfect. I’m sorry I jumped down your throat about it. I mean, I’m still not exactly thrilled that I have a tattoo, but you were right. You saved me from making a huge mistake.”
“Well, it just seemed to fit you.”
“It does,” he said, scratching his head slightly. “I’m not saying I’ll be getting another one. I’m still not a fan of needles, but I’m glad I have this one.”
I blushed for some reason. I knew my face was on fire, but I wasn’t sure why. Did I really care that much about what Eric thought? I guess I did, because I found myself practically falling over myself at his praise.
“Thank you for the flowers,” I said, finally realizing that I hadn’t acknowledged them.
“You’re welcome. Well, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for overreacting, so I’ll let you get back to work.”
He walked around me and headed for the elevator. “Wait!” I shouted, jogging after him. He turned to me, his beautiful blue eyes watching me questioningly. “You know, we made a deal last night.”
“We did,” his eyes lit with amusement. “But I’m not sure you’re going to like what I have in mind.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly give you a choice, so I figure I have that coming.”
“How about you come out to the house this weekend. Do you have any time off?”
“Sunday.”
“Good. Bright and early,” he said, turning and walking for the elevator.
“What should I wear?”
He turned back to me and lips spread into a slow, sexy grin. “Something to get dirty in.”
I swallowed hard as I watched him get in the elevator. As he waited for the doors to close, he gave me a small wave, and I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked today. He was just as sexy looking as last night, but something about him was different today. Maybe his eyes were a little softer, or he was a little less nervous. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was different.
“So, he brought you flowers,” Chrissy said, walking up to me as I continued to stare at the closed elevator.
“Yeah.”
“Twenty-four red roses. That had to be expensive.”
I nodded, lifting the flowers to my nose to smell them. “I know.”
“Are you sure this guy isn’t someone you could see yourself with?”
I couldn’t say. If you had asked me this morning, I would have said there wasn’t a chance in hell, but now? He made the effort to come down here and apologize. He brought me flowers and even told me I was right about the tattoo. I knew that wasn’t an easy thing for a man to do, so the fact that he did it made him all the more attractive.
“Ladies,” Charlene walked by, “staring at the elevator all day won’t help the patients we have sitting in those beds.”
I shook off my nerves as I pulled into his driveway. He hadn’t said what time to come out, but I knew he was always up early. When I woke up at six this morning, with butterflies in my stomach, I knew that it was better just to get up. There would be no going back to sleep. I was excited for today, but also a little nervous. What if I did something stupid again? What if I snapped at him again and ruined everything? I couldn’t afford to screw this up. I would be connected to this man for the rest of my life, so I needed to get to know him and stop judging him based on what I saw on the surface.
I got out of my car and shut the door, taking my next steps with confidence. I didn’t even make it to the porch before Joe stepped out with a huge grin on his face.
“Hey quiche-girl,” he said affectionately, walking toward me with his arms spread wide. My eyes widened in surprise. I didn’t know what to do. Was he really going to hug me? He walked right up to me and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tight for a moment before stepping back.
“Uh…I didn’t know we were at the hugging stage.”
He gave me a funny look. “We’re family now. You’re my brother’s bae.”
“No, I’m not,” I corrected. “We’re just…getting to know each other.”
His eyes softened a little and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, walking me toward the porch. “I think we need to have a convo about what’s really going on here.”
“And what’s really going on here?”
He pulled me down to the swing with him and placed his hand on my thigh. I quirked an eyebrow at him and he immediately moved his hand behind my shoulders on the back of the swing.
“I heard that he brought you flowers yesterday.”
“He told you that?”
“Nah. It was all over Facebook. Everyone’s trying to decide if you two are together or if the flowers meant something else.”
“What do you mean all over Facebook?”
“The town page.”
“There’s a town page?”
He snorted. “Yeah, and when you start showing, that’s going to be all over the page as well. People in this town are nosy and there won’t be any escaping their questions.”
“Perfect,” I muttered. I thought I would just have to deal with their questions and stares, but apparently, I would also have to deal with my life being discussed on the town Facebook page.
“I know my brother is all basic and shit, but he’s also the best man I know. He would do anything for his family, and that includes you now. Yeah, he’s definitely a wet blanket, but he means well. He’s just not as adventurous as the rest of us. But you should have seen the look on his face when he saw that tat. He knew he had fucked up with you, and I’m guessing that’s what the flowers were all about.”
“Why would you assume that?”
“Because, like I said, my brother’s the best man I know. He admits when he fucks up and he always tries to right a wrong. There’s nothing my brother won’t do for you now that you’re carrying his child. Even if this doesn’t work out between the two of you, he’ll still walk through fire for you. It’s just the way he is.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I have a feeling that you don’t have anyone in your life that has ever been that dedicated to you. But you do now, and every single one of us will be there for you, for anything you need. You just have to give him
a chance to prove it.”
I sighed heavily. I knew that I was judging him too harshly. That’s why I was here right now. I wanted to get to know him. A man that brought you flowers when he fucked up, when he wasn’t even fucking you, couldn’t be that bad. So we were a little different. Wasn’t variety the spice of life?
“He’s in the shop over there,” Joe nodded to a building across the lawn.
“Thanks.”
I stood and walked down the steps, then headed across the lawn. My heart thundered louder and louder with every step I took toward him. It felt like something was shifting in that moment, like I was accepting something and now my heart knew it. I laughed at my thoughts and stopped outside the door. After taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stopped dead in my tracks. It was like a porno standing right in front of me. My very own personal porno that included only the man that knocked me up.
He was sawing a piece of metal and had a metal helmet pulled down over his face. Sparks were flying all around and all the noise started to fade out as I took in the man before me. He was wearing a white t-shirt and his jeans were slung low on his hips. His work boots sent tingles into my lady parts. Fucking work boots. They were so fucking sexy on him. My gaze trailed back up his body to his biceps. They were bulging, covered in a light sheen of sweat. Tiny droplets dripped down his arm, collecting at his elbow before dropping to the ground.
My mouth was dry, and suddenly all I cared about was walking over to this man and kissing him. I wanted to feel his hard body against mine and feel that bulge in his pants again. His arm flexed as he shut off the saw and lifted his helmet. Dirt was smudged on his face and when he turned to me, I could swear that my panties flooded with desire. Good god, what was happening to me? I just stared at him, my mouth hanging open as I tried to come up with something intelligent to say.
His eyes stared intently at me, like he could read exactly what I was thinking. Did he know how much I wanted him right now? Did he know I was thinking about what it would feel like if he wrapped his hand in my hair and pulled me into a kiss? I shook my head slightly as he walked toward me. He had a way of stalking toward me that I hadn’t really noticed before. He didn’t stop until he was right in front of me. His hand brushed against mine, then slipped around mine. His fingers intertwined with mine and my eyes dropped from his gaze to watch his hand linked with mine. My breath hitched slightly at the sight.
“Come on,” he said, tugging me slightly toward him. I didn’t know what he had planned for the day, but watching him in his shop working wasn’t what I had expected. He led me over to a workbench where he had wood cut into long pieces.
“What is this?”
He looked up at me, his eyes bright with hope. “I’m building a crib for the baby.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was not at all what I expected when I came out here today. I thought he would take me to do some work on his house or something. I didn’t know he even had the skills to do this sort of thing. I slowly looked away from his intense gaze and looked down at the pieces in front of me. It just looked like a big pile of wood to me right now, but I was eager to see how it all turned out.
“So, what do you need me to do?”
A slow smile split his lips. It wasn’t much, but it was the most beautiful look I had seen in my whole life. Why had I not given him a chance before now? I didn’t know how any of this would turn out, but it was clear that I had judged him too harshly. And it wasn’t just the way my body was responding to his right now. It was the fact that he was so dedicated to this baby that he just found out about, that he was already building a crib for it. If there was any doubt in my mind that he would be a good father, it was wiped away in just these few minutes that I stood in his shop.
Over the next few hours, I watched as he made perfect spindles for the crib, his eyes watching carefully every last move he made. If something didn’t work out right, he tossed it in the corner and started over. I asked him questions about what he was doing, and I was surprised at how easily the conversation flowed. He was in his element now, and there wasn’t the pressure to perform.
I watched his large fingers move with the sandpaper as he smoothed the rough edges of the spindles. It was sexy to watch his hands at work. They were hands that built a crib for our child, and that was more amazing to watch than anything I had ever experienced before. It was a better rush than jumping out of a plane or white-water rafting. And the longer that I sat there and watched, the more my heart softened toward this man.
“Do you want to try?”
I startled out of my fascination with his hands and looked up at him. He was staring at me, but if he caught on to me eye-fucking his hands, he didn’t let on.
“Um, I don’t really know what to do.”
“I’ll show you.” He walked around behind me, his body brushing right up against mine. His left hand slid over mine, moving it until it wrapped around the spindle. I held it hard, my breathing turning slightly erratic with him this close. Then his right hand slid over my right hand and we picked up the sandpaper.
With his hand on top of mine, he slowly spun the spindle with his left hand while twisting the sand paper around the spindle as he moved our right hands up and down. He continued to move my hand along with his, practically stroking the wood with the sandpaper. It was the most erotic thing I had ever seen, though I wasn’t sure he meant it to be that way.
Dust fell to the ground as we continued to work the sandpaper over the wood until the sandpaper needed to be changed. He tossed it aside and grabbed another piece, continuing the torment of being so close to him and feeling his body pressed up against mine. And then he leaned around my shoulder and blew the dust off the spindle as he examined it for anything left behind. My eyes were glued to his face as I watched his eyes moving along the wood. They flicked up to meet mine and time stood still. For a moment, we were locked together, neither of us breaking eye contact. For a moment, there was this electric spark between us that made me want him more than anyone else before him.
He shifted slightly and I felt a bulge press against me. My eyes widened, but he didn’t move. He just continued to stare at me with lust in his eyes. I thought maybe he would make a move, try to kiss me or press himself further against me, but he didn’t. He just stared at me, his eyes telling me how much he wanted me.
He slowly stood, his left hand still wrapped around mine as we held the spindle. His right hand slowly lowered with mine to drop the sandpaper on the table. His hand slowly slid up my arm, his touch burning like fire through my veins. His hand gently squeezed my shoulder and then slid down my back until it rested on my waist. I wanted to lean back into him. I wanted him to take me and make love to me, but I knew he wouldn’t do it. He didn’t move that fast with women, and I had already learned my lesson in trying to make him do something he wasn’t ready for.
His left hand slipped from mine and slid around my waist, his large hand resting across my belly. I felt his breath hot on my neck, almost like he was trying to decide if he wanted to kiss me or not. My eyes slipped closed and I prayed that he would kiss my neck or give me some sign that he wanted me as much as I wanted him in this moment. I decided to take a chance and tell him how I was feeling. What did I have to lose?
“I want you,” I whispered. His hot breath fanned out over my skin and his hand tightened on my waist.
“I want you too, but not like this.”
I turned my head so I could see him. His eyes were tight with restraint and need. “Like what?”
“Do you think I’m not attracted to you? I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. But I don’t want to fuck this up. There’s too much at stake. I want to build something with you, and that means we have to take this slow.” His hand slid across my belly again and his eyes slid shut. “I want all of you, not just the part of you that wants to fuck me.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. I wanted him so badly right now. My heart was pounding out of control and his touch s
ent shivers down my spine. But he was right, there was too much at stake. We couldn’t just fuck around. We needed to do what was best for our child. That meant taking things slow and seeing where they could go.
He stepped back from me, sucking in a breath like it pained him to leave me. For the first time since he had wrapped his body around mine, I felt like I could breathe again. I had been here for hours with him, but I knew that I couldn’t stay with him any longer today if I had any hopes of resisting him. I didn’t want to screw this up with him.
I turned toward him and raised up on my toes to press a kiss to his cheek. He had given me more than just the promise of what could come today. He had also shown me a side to him that made me weak in the knees. “Thank you for today.”
He nodded slightly, his head down as he gazed at the floor. I turned to leave, but he snatched my hand, stopping me in my tracks. I looked back at him, but he was still looking at the floor. He squeezed my hand before dropping it. I walked out of the shop feeling like I had been hit by a truck. Holy shit, this man was shocking the hell out of me. One thing was clear, no matter what my initial thoughts were about him, if I continued to see him, there was a very good chance that I could fall for this man.
Eric
I stayed in the shop for a good hour after she left, just trying to get my body under control. If I wasn’t sure of my attraction to her before, I damn well knew that I wanted her now. It wasn’t just because she was gorgeous. Although, now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure how I had been so blind before. Even when I was hit with the news that I was going to be a father, I hadn’t seen it. Now, it was all I could see.
I tried my damndest not to stare at her as she watched me work today. Those gorgeous green eyes took in every last move I made. I could tell she was genuinely enjoying herself, just being there with me as I created the crib for our child. When I told her what I was doing, I could tell immediately how much that meant to her. She was choked up over it, and now that I knew how much she appreciated the gesture, I only wanted to make more things for her. I could make her a rocking chair for the baby’s room. I could build a dresser for the baby. Hell, I would do anything she wanted if it meant she looked at me like that again.
Maintenance Required: A small town romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 1) Page 13