I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, bringing her tight to my body and doing everything I could to shield her face from the camera. Up until then, they didn’t have enough of a view to get a full picture of her face. They’d gotten what I wanted them to see—my beautiful pregnant girlfriend whom I loved—and that was enough for me. If she wanted to give them a chance to figure out who she was, that decision had to come from her.
I unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for her, making sure to continue to use my body to block her, and helped her inside.
Once we were both in the car with the doors closed, I turned to see the heated look in her eyes.
“We’re halfway between your place and mine. Where are we heading?”
Her gaze snapped to the window and back again as she began fidgeting with her hands. “I guess I have to decide?”
I took one of her hands in mine and brought it to my lips. “Yep. The decision is yours. The press saw I have a beautiful woman at home who’s going to make me a father very soon. If you want them to know your name, I’m leaving that up to you.”
CHAPTER 31
Jenna
As I sat there staring into Heath’s eyes, my heart raced my thoughts moving a mile an hour. All the realities of being in a relationship with Heath came slamming into me along with the consequences of the decision I was about to make. I didn’t really relish the idea of my privacy being thrown out the window or my life being picked apart by people who knew nothing about me except what they printed in the papers, but the truth from dinner settled over me.
There was no hiding forever.
I mean, I could keep a low profile. Keep myself locked in the house and never go out in public with Heath, but what kind of life would that have us living? Good things were finally starting to happen in my life and I didn’t want to keep them hidden behind the walls of my home. I wanted to shout to the world that the amazing man waiting for me to decide the next step chose me. He loved me.
And in the end, it was all that mattered.
“My house.”
I saw the corner of his lips start to curve up, but he asked anyway, “Are you sure? You know everything changes after this?”
Always looking out for me, trying to do what was best for me. And I loved him for it.
I reached up and ran my finger across his lower lip. “I know, but it’s gonna happen at some point. Reagan’s right, this is my choice. And I’m making it. Better now than when I’m not expecting it.
He interlaced the fingers of the hand he still held and placed it in his lap. “Whatever my love wants, my love gets.”
I laughed at his attempt to put the car in gear with his left hand. “You know I’ll survive for a moment if you let go long enough to actually get on the road.”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, a smirk forming on his lips. “I may not.”
The smirk combined with the dimple did crazy things to me. Whether or not it was the pregnancy or the hormones, I wanted him home now.
“How fast can you get us there?”
His eyes darkened. “We’ll just have to find out, won’t we?”
He pulled out onto the road and I was pushed back into my seat as we darted forward.
“Trying to outrun them.?” I laughed and looked over at him.
“Nope. Trying to get you naked and in my lap sooner rather than later.”
His gaze stayed focused on the road ahead, but every once in a while, I noticed him glancing in the rearview mirror.
“They’re right behind us, aren’t they?”
He peeked at me out of the corner of his eye. “At least one. Are you sure you’re ready for the fallout from all this?”
I reached over, taking his hand, and linked our fingers together once again. “I can’t hide forever. And it can’t be that bad.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure how bad it’s going to be. Sawyer’s and Mari’s situations were unique.” He glanced over at my belly. “Not that ours isn’t, but it’s not the normal attention-grabbing headline kind of news. At least, I hope it isn’t.”
“Everything is going to be fine.” I tried to make my voice sound calm and reassuring, even if deep down I was sure I felt that way. All I knew was that I wanted the world to know Heath was mine on my terms.
Heath’s thumb lightly caressed across the palm of my hand. The simple move was like its own aphrodisiac. It set my blood on fire. By the time Heath pulled into the driveway, I didn’t give a shit who followed us. I wanted inside with Heath.
The second the car was in park, I leaped from the car, surprised that my pregnant ass could move that fast. Heath was on my heels, swiping the keys out of my hand. As I walked past him into the darkened living room, I saw two cars parked on the road that I didn’t recognize. Heath shut the door behind him and with the heat in his eyes and the way he stalked me I completely forgot about any other worry I might have had.
***
Warmth surrounded me as my eyes fluttered open. The light of the mid-morning sun tried to creep past the closed blinds. Every morning I woke up in Heath’s arms I felt safe and protected. Like finally something good had happened in my life. I glanced over my shoulder to see he was still sound asleep. I slipped from his arms and walked down the hall to get a glass of orange juice before I got in the shower.
I went to grab my phone when I realized it was still in my purse from the night before. I’d dropped it near the front door when Heath had pushed me up against it before taking me back to my room and keeping me up half the night. Memories of the night before paraded through my mind, making heat race across my skin. Pushing that aside, I dug through my purse until my fingers curled around the cool plastic of my phone case. I pulled it from my bag and when I powered it up, I was shocked to see more notifications than I’d ever had in my life. From text messages to what seemed like a million social media posts.
I walked back to the kitchen and sat down at the table. My hand shook as I started thumbing through the notifications.
Holy shit.
It hadn’t taken them long to figure out my name and it was plastered everywhere, along with the kiss at the restaurant. A few of the posts had pictures of Heath with his arm around my chair. Some of the websites wondered why Heath hadn’t been out with me before, while others tried to figure out how far along I was based on the size of my belly.
It was never-ending.
I scrolled through the text messages. Many of them from Rachel with links to different posts on the Internet. Others were from the people I worked with at the club and diner wanting to know if everything they were reading was true. They hadn’t been kidding when they said things would get crazy.
“How bad is it?”
I looked up to see Heath standing in the doorway, his long hair hanging down around his shoulders. His gaze was focused on my phone like it was a snake about to bite him.
I shrugged, not wanting him to get upset over it. “Not too bad.”
He slipped his own phone from the pocket of his basketball shorts and waved it. “If you think this isn’t bad, you have a thicker skin than I imagined.”
I sighed. “What do you want me to do? Get upset and throw a fit? I won’t lie, the stuff they’re trying to speculate makes me a little uncomfortable. But I don’t know there’s anything I can do about it. I knew that last night when I told you to bring me here.”
“Thinking and seeing it firsthand are two different things.” He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. “I feel like this is my fault. Like I should have been honest with the media from the beginning, then they wouldn’t be trying to figure out why I kept you hidden so long.”
He spun his phone around on the table. I reached out and covered his hand with mine. “We weren’t together at the time. What were you supposed to tell them?”
He jumped up from the chair and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. But anything would be better than them thinking I was keeping you hidden for a reason.” Then he was on
the move. From one end of the kitchen to the other.
I didn’t really care for that thought either, but part of me had a feeling the more we hid at this point, the more they’d speculate about our relationship. Only making things worse. I stood and stepped into his path, forcing his feet to come to an immediate stop.
“You can’t blame yourself. When I first found out I was pregnant, I told you I didn’t want anyone else to know and you honored my wishes by keeping it out of the papers. If anyone is to blame for those articles, it’s me.”
Heath gripped my shoulders. “Jenna…”
“We’ll figure out a way to deal with it.”
“I already called Reagan and our publicist, Tom, to see what they could do about getting the articles down.”
“You did that for me?”
“Haven’t you realized I would do anything for you?”
I wound my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest. “I know you would.”
“Which also means I’m driving you to and from work tonight. I don’t want the paparazzi assholes to try and follow you on the bus.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t look forward to that either.” At least he wasn’t trying to get me to quit my job again.
“Do you want me to stay at the club while you’re there?”
“No, everything will be fine while I’m there.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, so I decided to distract him with breakfast.
“Hungry?” I asked, stepping out of his reach and making my way to the fridge.
He couldn’t resist the chance to make sure I was properly fed and followed me over. Once we’d made a finished breakfast, we spent the next few hours fielding calls on how to deal with all of this.
Reagan and Tom tried to talk me out of going in, but I wouldn’t have it. There was no way in hell I was giving up my job for this shit. I wouldn’t let them force me out of the life I’d been living for years.
By the time I had to leave for work, Heath had worked himself up, stress emanating from every part of his body. There were cars and trucks parked up and down the street that were never there before. A few had even decided to leave their vehicles and camp out on the sidewalk outside my home. The minute we stepped outside, the flashes started. They were so bright I had to shield my eyes from the light. Heath had led me over to the car and wasted no time driving away from the house.
“Are you okay?” he asked, rubbing his hand up and down my arm.
I nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
My heart raced. With all my bravado earlier this morning, I hadn’t been expecting that. I thought they’d write articles about me. Not once had I expected them to show up and camp out on my lawn.
“I’m not gonna lie, I don’t like the idea of you going to work tonight.”
“I know, but I can’t let them control my life. And I can’t afford to quit my job.”
He sighed. We’d had the same conversation many times over. He wanted to pay off my debts so I could quit my job, but I refused. I wouldn’t let him pay off my debt. Besides, I wasn’t one of those women who would be happy being a stay-at-home mom. I knew there were a lot of women who couldn’t imagine life being any other way, but not me. I’d worked my whole life. I wouldn’t know how to stay home.
He pulled the car up in front of the valet at the club. And I knew he really wanted to stay to keep his eye on me, but I didn’t need it. Nor could I afford to get distracted at work. Both of us in the building would only lead to chaos. I barely kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye before hopping from the car and heading inside. I had to hope Heath would listen and go back to my house to wait until I was done for the night.
I stepped through the door and was bombarded by Catherine, like she’d been waiting for me to step through the door.
“Holy fuck, Jenna. How did you not mention you were dating Heath Marshall?”
I shrugged, trying to step around her and get into the locker room, except she wasn’t having it and moved in my path again.
“Jenna, don’t leave me hanging. Is he the father?”
Knowing there was no way to avoid the question, I answered, “He is.”
She squealed so loud people were turning in our direction.
“Catherine, calm down.”
“But you’re…you’re dating Heath Marshall and you’re going to have baby.”
“This I already know. Now, I gotta get changed and get out there.”
This time I made it around her before she was able to block my way again. I managed to get to the locker room without any more questions. I saw people’s gazes focus on me as I passed, but not a single one of them had the chance to ask anything. But that all changed when I stepped behind the bar. People, especially complete strangers, thought they had every right to dig into my personal life. For the most part I ignored them, taking their orders and filling them. I couldn’t have been happier being behind the bar that night, it kept the people from getting too close.
As the end of the night rolled in, I found myself scanning the crowd for Heath. I’d texted him to tell him to stay in the car, that I’d meet him out front in valet. I knew if he stepped through the door, the questions I’d been dodging all night would come to a head. And I didn’t have it in me to be nice anymore. The last glass was put away and I went to grab my bag from the locker room.
When I walked out front and climbed into Heath’s car, even with the flashing bulbs, I found the tension in my shoulders dissipating. Heath noticed my agitation as soon as I closed the door of the car.
“What happened? Did anyone do anything to you?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that people had a million questions they thought I should answer.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” He linked our hands together. “You know you don’t have to—”
“Stop right there.”
He clamped his lips shut. And thank God he did, because after the night I had I was on the verge of taking him up on the offer, which would only make me feel guilty later. I had to get used to the attention whether I liked it or not.
This was my new reality.
CHAPTER 32
Heath
The ear-piercing whirl of Jenna’s alarm yanked me out of a deep slumber. My eyes snapped open. Her warm body was pressed tightly to me and my hand rested on her rounded belly. I caressed her skin. Her chest rose and fell in steady waves. The dark circles continued to grow deeper with each day. She was running herself so far into the ground, she hadn’t even heard the awful screeching sound her alarm continued to make. I placed my lips to the back of her neck and she moved back into my body but still slept soundly.
“Babe,” I whispered in her ear. “Time to get up.”
She fidgeted a bit and fell back into sleep. I gripped her shoulder, giving it a few light shakes. “Babe, you need to get up for work,” I repeated in a more normal volume.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Huh?”
“Your alarm.”
Suddenly her eyes snapped wide. “Oh my God, am I late?”
“No, love. It just started going off a few minutes ago.”
She pushed herself to sitting and rubbed a hand over her eyes. “Sorry. Guess I was tired and didn’t hear it.”
“You needed your rest.”
She glanced at the clock. “Crap, I need to get ready.”
I sighed as she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stop. She left the room for the bathroom. When the sound of the old pipes creaked through the house, I knew she’d gotten into the shower. I threw a hand over my eyes and rolled to my back. How the hell was I supposed to convince her to stop this madness? She wouldn’t need the money if she’d let me take care of everything. The whole situation was beginning to frustrate the hell out of me.
I threw my own feet over the side of the bed and pulled on a pair of sweats. Jenna would need something to eat before she left and I knew if I didn’t make it, with the way she was rushing around, she wouldn’t bother until later today.
>
I grabbed a bagel a tossed it in the toaster. It popped and I smothered the top in cream cheese, exactly the way Jenna like it, and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Like a whirlwind she blew into the kitchen, throwing things into her purse. I finished wrapping the bagel in foil and put it and the water bottle in her hands.
“Please eat on the way to work.”
She yawned and a part of me wanted to slam my fist into the wall in frustration. But I held it together as she smiled and nodded. “I will.” She leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to my cheek. “Thank you. Are you coming by when I get off?”
“I’ll be here.”
She scanned my face. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t want to worry her, not until I had a plan, so I plastered a smile on my face and leaned in to kiss her lips. “Just tired. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Okay.” She smiled and out the door she went.
She still didn’t want a car or a ride to work and it was making me crazy. I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and placed the dishes in the dishwasher before taking a shower. I dressed and climbed into my car to head home. The entire drive home, I tried to think of a way to get her to stop working. In the beginning she told me it was none of my business, but so much had changed since then.
I walked in the house ninety minutes later, without a plan. Reagan and Sawyer sat on one of the couches watching TV. I dropped down on the other one and leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees. I ran a hand through my hair as my leg bounced up and down a mile a minute.
“Dude,” Reagan said, his gaze focused right on me. “What has you all worked up?”
“Jenna.”
“Things aren’t going well?” Sawyer asked from next to Reagan on the couch.
“No, things are going great, but she still refuses to stop working. She cut her hours, but I can still see the exhaustion in her face every time I climb into bed next to her. I just don’t want her working herself to death.”
Cover Me (Jaded Ivory Book 3) Page 23