After Hurricane Nina, Reed's Resolution (Hot Hunks-Steamy Romance Collection Book 1)

by Natalie Ann

“I don’t play games. I know how our relationship started out, but I’d like to take it another step. Why can’t we? Are we really just friends with benefits? I think we’ve been more all along. Why can’t we acknowledge that?”

  Her shoulders dropped. “Because it’s safer to keep it in the other category.”

  “You’re not wrong. But safe for who? For us, or for Angie?”

  “Both,” she said, giving him credit for asking that.

  “Why do we have to be safe? I have no intentions of hurting you and I promise I won’t feed Angie three boxes of candy in one sitting.”

  She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Jack’s such an idiot. That happened the first night we went out, by the way. I had to rush and get her that next morning when I heard her throwing up when he called me.”

  “And here I thought you were spending time at the spa relaxing.”

  “The spa?” she said. “I’ve never been to a spa.”

  “Maybe I should take you some time.”

  “No,” she said. “We’re getting off topic. I just wanted you to know what was going on with us. Things have changed. I’ve seen it myself. I just don’t want any surprises.”

  “Same here,” he said.

  “Let’s see how things go next week. I probably don’t have much of a choice in letting Angie go away with them. I can say no, but I can’t afford the lawyer to fight him if he wants to challenge the custody arrangement. He’d do it just to spite me. That’s why I moved here. It’s a threat, but one I can’t risk.”

  “I understand. Then for everyone’s sake, I hope it works out well next week and then I’ll get to meet Angie sometime soon.”

  “Me too.”

  ***

  So here he was two weeks later meeting Angie for the first time. To say he was stressed was putting it mildly.

  Angie had gone to the Hamptons. She’d even lasted the whole week but ended up having to call Taylor every night after a few days. She’d wanted to come home, but Jack’s mother had managed to smooth it over. How did he know these things? Because Taylor had confided in him.

  She was doing that more lately. The week that Angie was gone, Taylor ended up spending a few nights at his house with Mutt, then bringing the dog home for the day. He didn’t think she’d agree to it, but he figured it kept her mind off the fact she was in her house alone for more than one night.

  And that week they’d spent together, they’d gotten closer. They’d cooked some meals together. They watched TV. And they snuggled into bed.

  It was like a relationship he’d always envisioned he’d have one day and had always thought he would have at one point.

  That is until it blew up in his face.

  Then he had to remind himself it wasn’t as sudden as he remembered it. That the signs and signals had all been present with what Whitney had been doing, but he was blinded by love. Or so he thought.

  Now he realized he’d been in love with the idea of getting the hot chick that he’d spent four years of high school having a crush on.

  That he loved the idea he’d gotten the girl in the end.

  But in the end, he’d gotten nothing at all.

  When he heard a knock on his front door, he went to open it, surprised Taylor wasn’t letting herself in. Maybe she didn’t want to push it too much with Angie.

  “Hi,” he said. The urge to lean in and kiss her was massive, but the stink eye she was sending him said to hang back.

  “Hi,” she said back. “Reed. This is Angie. Angie, this is my friend Reed. Can you say hi?”

  “Hi,” Angie said, her smile bright, her long brown hair in a ponytail, with her brown eyes wandering everywhere. She was like a mini version of her mother with her father’s coloring.

  Reed squatted down. “I’m happy to finally meet you,” he said.

  “Mommy said you gave me coloring books.”

  “I did,” he said. “I might have a few more here for you too.”

  “Yay,” Angie said, running past him into the house. “Where? I like them. Oh. You’ve got trucks. I love trucks!”

  It didn’t seem to take much more than that to win the little girl over. When he looked up and saw the soft look in Taylor’s eyes, he imagined he’d won her mother over too.

  “That’s bribery,” Taylor said.

  “And it works,” Reed said, pulling her in for a hug while Angie was distracted by the toys he’d bought this week.

  Flashbacks

  Everything seemed to be going so well for Taylor. More than well if she was honest with herself.

  No one knew at work that she and Reed were dating and she wanted to keep it that way for the moment. But they were definitely in a relationship and one where she could see all those dreams starting to resurface again.

  Even though Reed and Angie seemed to hit if off well over a month ago, it was still too early to get her hopes up for anything permanent. Or so she was trying to tell herself when her heart raced with excitement every time she thought of the future.

  “I need a favor,” Wendy asked her when they were in the office.

  “What’s that?” Taylor asked.

  “Can you go buy me something at the drug store on the corner?”

  Taylor looked up quickly at the change in Wendy’s tone. “Sure. Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know. I’m having a panic attack right now. I thought I could hold off, but I can’t. I just can’t.”

  There were tears in Wendy’s eyes. “What’s going on?” Taylor asked, standing up and walking over to Wendy.

  “I’m late.”

  “Late for what?”

  “Late,” Wendy whispered. “My period. I’m never late.”

  “Oh,” Taylor said, feeling sympathy but not wanting to admit that. Wendy still didn’t know about Angie.

  Wendy pulled money out of her wallet. “Can you go buy me a pregnancy test? I can’t go in there. They know me. Everyone knows me in there. I don’t want anyone to know. They don’t know you.”

  Taylor understood more than she cared to acknowledge. “Sure. I’ll go do it now. Take a deep breath and relax.”

  “Easy for you to say. I just started dating Robbie. I can’t get pregnant now. We’re only having fun. So stupid to forget my pill one day last week. I thought it’d be fine.”

  “I’m sure it will be. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Taylor grabbed her purse and left, then made her way to the drug store, walked down the aisle and purchased the one that she’d used. She wasn’t sure if that was bad luck or not, but she knew it was accurate, so why not? It’s not like she was going to tell Wendy that.

  She was standing in line when someone walked in. She didn’t know who he was, but he looked familiar. It wasn’t until she was back at the office and handing over the kit that she realized he’d had a Chapman Construction shirt on.

  She hoped to hell he didn’t notice what was in her hands because he’d spent longer than normal staring at her.

  ***

  “Reed, wait up.”

  Reed turned to see Josh running up to him. “What’s up?”

  “I just saw that new girl in accounting in the drug store. What a looker she is.”

  Here comes Josh the gossip train. Which was why Reed still hadn’t told him about his relationship with Taylor. It was a good thing or Josh would have gone up to her and said something in the store just to be cute.

  “Yeah, so?”

  “She must have some guy in her life.”

  “What makes you say that?” Reed asked. He’d been half paying attention as he looked over blueprints, but now his radar was rising.

  “Because she had a pregnancy test in her hand.”

  “What?” Reed asked. He was pretty sure all the color drained from his face because he sure the hell felt lightheaded just now.

  “She was in line with a pregnancy test in her hand,” Josh said again.

  “Did she say anything to you?” Reed asked.

  “Nah. She looked at me like
she might have recognized me, but probably not. It’s not like I’ve talked to her much. I only see her in the building now and again.”

  “Maybe you got her confused with someone else,” Reed said, hoping to hell that was the case.

  “Nope. I don’t forget a face. She shares an office with Wendy. She’s always quiet. She’s got a guy’s name, right?”

  “Taylor,” Reed said.

  “Yep. That’s the name Wendy told me. I’ve asked about her before, but Wendy says there isn’t much to say about her. Guess she doesn’t keep to herself as much as Wendy thought if there might be a bun in the oven.”

  “Finish up looking at these prints for the guys before they start. I’ve got something to do,” he said, just walking away from Josh. If he didn’t leave right now, he might say something stupid.

  Instead he drove to the office feeling more rage than ever before.

  Was Jack right? Had this been a ploy all along for Taylor to get pregnant and trap him and he’d been too much of a fool to see it?

  For weeks now he’d been having flashbacks of memories with Whitney and stuff he’d missed. And for as angry as he’d been back then, he was happy now that things worked out the way they had.

  Not that he’d wish death on anyone, even in those dark thoughts he’d had years ago. But going through what he had made him realize what he was missing and what he’d hoped to find with Taylor.

  Only now as he came to an abrupt stop in the parking lot, he realized he’d been the idiot all along again. That he’d been blinded by love and was going to be played a fool for a second time in his life.

  He took a few deep breaths and then made his way to her office, not even caring if she wasn’t alone or didn’t want a scene.

  “Reed,” she said, looking up fast. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Yeah. We need to talk.”

  She hesitated for all of a few seconds, looked at Wendy and must have realized he wasn’t going to leave. Might have something to do with his red face and clenched fists. “Sure.” Once they were in his truck, she said, “What’s going on? I can tell you’re pissed and I’m the reason and frankly I don’t care for it.”

  It might be one of the worst things she could have said to him. “You don’t care for it. How about me finding out from someone else that you’re pregnant!”

  “What?” she asked, her face showing a lot of shock and he was guessing it was guilt.

  “I was just told you were seen buying a pregnancy test. Why couldn’t you tell me that you might be pregnant?”

  She lifted her chin, her face as red as his. Yep, guilt. That’s what he saw. He’d seen it before when he’d catch Whitney in lies, only he never knew they were lies back then. Not until he replayed so many things in his head after she’d died.

  “And you’re going to believe what someone else tells you. Someone that I’m sure doesn’t even know me since I don’t talk to anyone nor does anyone know about us unless you’ve been running your mouth.”

  He stopped for a second. Was he wrong? No, he wasn’t. He couldn’t be. “Were you or weren’t you buying a pregnancy test within the last hour?” he asked firmly.

  She opened the truck door. “Yep, I was. Since you’re ready to point a guilty finger at me, then you can go to hell.” She stopped and turned after she’d stepped out of his truck. “You know what? I thought you were different. I thought you believed and trusted in me, but all you saw was that I’ve got a child already and you’re ready to believe all the bad over the good. I’ve been right all along. Men suck!” She slammed his door and marched back to the building.

  Stolen His Heart

  “Can we go see Reed tonight?” Angie asked her when she was cooking dinner and slamming pots and pans around. Thankfully her daughter was too young to understand her mood.

  “No.”

  “I want to see Reed,” Angie said, getting ready for a pout.

  “I said no. I’m not sure when you’ll see him again.”

  This was no time to talk to her daughter about assholes and men forming their own opinions without getting all the facts. Those days would come soon enough. She just hoped her daughter didn’t have as shitty taste in men as she had.

  She’d heard a few sniffles and turned to see tears on Angie’s face and knew darn well she might shed some of her own, but tears had never helped before and they wouldn’t now. What she needed now was a drink, but she didn’t have any alcohol in the house.

  “Go wash your hands and clean your face. There is no reason to cry,” she said with a forced smile. As much as she didn’t want to lie to her daughter, she was learning there was a time and a place for it and this was one of those times. “I’m sure you’ll see him again soon. Dinner will be on the table when you’re cleaned up.”

  Angie wiped a small hand under her nose and ran down the hall to do as she was told.

  Dinner was quiet, but it normally was. It was hard to have an in-depth conversation with a three-year-old.

  The nighttime routine was what Taylor needed. The two of them watched TV together, then Angie played in the bath, and a story was read at bedtime. Once Taylor had taken a shower and cried all her tears out in the steam, she’d gotten ready for bed herself.

  She was hoping Reed would call or text her, but he didn’t and she was damn well not making the first move. If he wanted to cast blame or false accusations, then more power to him. She didn’t need that headache in her life.

  ***

  Several days had gone by and Taylor had made no attempt to contact him at all. He was starting to wonder if maybe he shouldn’t have jumped down her throat like that. That maybe he should have just calmly asked her what it was about.

  But he’d been there and done that before.

  He’d been lied to.

  He’d been cheated on.

  He’d been made a fool.

  Didn’t Jack warn him that Taylor was nothing but a gold digger? Maybe she liked to find a man with money and see if she could find a way down easy street.

  And when those thoughts popped into his head, he had to remind himself that he was the one that wanted more of a relationship, not her.

  He was the one that had to push for it.

  He was the one that approached her first.

  And he was the one that all but begged to meet her daughter when she didn’t want to get serious. When she didn’t want to worry about exactly what was happening.

  He wondered how Angie was doing right now. He’d gotten close to her. He loved seeing her and playing with her. He’d love to spend more time with her.

  But he’d have to talk to her mother first.

  What if Taylor was pregnant? Was he going to let his actions keep them apart?

  Maybe it was an accident. He’d always been protected, but he knew nothing was one hundred percent safe.

  Not only that, if he was going to be a father, he was going to be an active one!

  So why hadn’t Taylor contacted him to let him know? Was it just a scare and she wasn’t pregnant and now whatever they’d had was gone because he’d been an ass?

  There was only one way to find out. So on Saturday morning, he sucked it up and drove over when he knew Angie would be gone. He didn’t need the distraction of the little angel that had stolen his heart along with her mother.

  He saw Taylor’s SUV in the driveway and pulled in behind it, got out and knocked on the door.

  Mutt was barking up a storm and he hoped the dog hadn’t turned against him too.

  It wasn’t long before Taylor flung the door open and put a hand on her hip. “What do you want? Come to accuse me of embezzling money from the business now?”

  He figured he had that coming. “No. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for reacting the way I did a few days ago. Can I come in so we can talk?”

  “Not if you’re going to yell or not listen to me. You can take your butt right back to your truck and drive away if that is the case.”

  He felt his lips twitch and it just remin
ded him that he’d always appreciated her honesty and straightforwardness and wondered why he doubted anything in the past several days. “I’ll listen.”

  She opened the door wider. “Start talking.”

  “First off, are you pregnant?” He had to know that first and foremost.

  “No. Nor did I think I was. I bought that test for Wendy. She didn’t want to go in and be seen. She figured no one knew me. Guess she was wrong because someone did. Who was it? It was the guy in the Chapman shirt, right? He’s a friend of yours? Did you tell him we were dating when we said we weren’t going to tell anyone?”

  He could lie, but wouldn’t. It wasn’t right and not fair to her, but he knew Josh might get his butt reamed over this. The relief he thought he’d feel that she wasn’t pregnant just wasn’t there. Somewhere in the past few days, he’d started envisioning himself with a child. With a reason to keep Taylor in his life.

  “Yes. It was Josh. He and I have been friends since high school. He’s been with me through all the ups and downs and dark stages in my life. And no, though I confide in him with almost everything, he doesn’t know about us. He’s got a memory like an elephant and knew you shared an office with Wendy. He likes to gossip and he just was doing that. Making assumptions and I jumped on what he was saying.”

  “Because of my situation with Jack?”

  “Yeah,” he said, feeling the heat of shame smacking him in the face. “It was wrong and I apologize for it.”

  “I get you were burned. I don’t know everything that happened with you and Whitney and it’s none of my business. I’ve told you enough about Jack and why I don’t trust men or relationships, and yet I opened myself up to you anyway.”

  “And all it did was prove why you felt the way you did, right?” he asked.

  “Exactly.”

  “Then let me tell you about Whitney so you know. So we can start fresh and clear the air.”

  “You don’t have to tell me,” she said, crossing her arms. But he did because she was still ticked off and he was hoping that something might get her to understand.