“Are you sure you’ll be up to it?” she teased.
“Oh yeah. I think I could happily make love you to every night for the rest of my life.”
His words made her feel warm inside. “It’s a date then. I’ll try not to keep you up all night this time.”
“I don’t have to work tomorrow. You can keep me up all night if you want to.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Brandy.” His voice was suddenly serious.
“Yes, Rich?”
“It doesn’t bother you that I’m almost ten years older than you?”
“No.”
“Good. I didn’t want to get something started with you and then have you decide that I was too old for you. I think it would be really hard for me to walk away from you Brandy.”
She smiled. “Don’t walk away from me then. Do you want coffee?”
“I can get some at the convenience store. That’s what I usually do. My thermos is in the truck.”
“Go get it. I’ll make you a pot. It’s no trouble.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. Get that hot ass of yours out of my bed.”
He laughed. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
“You’d better be.”
He got dressed and went outside. She lit a cigarette and took it to the kitchen with her and set about making a pot of coffee. He was gone so long she was starting to get worried that he wasn’t coming back, but he came in a few minutes later, holding a green thermos.
He gave her a sheepish smile. “It rolled under the seat and I had a heck of a time getting it out. I think your neighbor was checking out my ass.”
Brandy laughed. “Poor Brenda. She must not have gotten laid by Rob last night.”
Rich laughed. “She’s such a nice lady. All of her kids do so well in school. They’re always getting their pictures in the paper for helping to win a game or getting an award or something. She deserves a better man than Rob. He’s an asshole.”
“She always says that too. She’ll find someone. I always kind of thought that there was that perfect someone out there for everyone.”
“Me, too.”
They were both silent for a minute. Brandy looked into Rich’s eyes and felt like she was drowning again, like she had the first time he had kissed her. But then she thought that she could happily get lost in Rich’s eyes all day long.
The beep of the coffeepot signaling that it had finished brewing broke the moment.
She took the thermos from Rich and filled it for him, letting him add his own cream and sugar.
He sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to leave.”
“Yeah, me too. Hey, you wanna move in with me?”
She realized she was only half teasing. She didn’t think she’d mind waking up with him in her bed every morning. Having Rich around would probably get Gabe off of her back too, she thought. That was a definite plus.
“Well, the lease on my apartment is up in two weeks. I wasn’t sure about renewing it because I’m supposed to be getting a transfer at work pretty soon. If you’re serious and still feel the same way by then, I might take you up on that.”
“Really?”
“Really. I didn’t think I could be this happy Brandy. You’re even more wonderful than I thought you would be and I don’t just mean in bed.”
‘You make me happy too, Rich.”
She didn’t think she’d felt this happy since Chad left her. Well, she’d been pretty happy when she’d gotten out of rehab, she thought. But lately, she was beginning to think that she was going to be stuck as Gabe’s mistress forever. She’d been sure no one would ever want her again.
“Good. I really do have to get to work. I’ll see you tonight.”
“You’d better.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out her house key, trying to hand it back to her. She pressed it back into his hand. “Keep it. I have another one.”
He smiled. “Thank you. I’ll see you later Brandy.”
And then he gave her a kiss that promised better things to come.
She walked him to the door and stood in the doorway, watching him drive away. She was tired as hell, but felt a little like she was walking on air herself this morning, she thought.
When she went into work that night, Gabe met her at the door. “Did you have a good time last night?”
“It was the best night I’ve ever had in my life.”
Gabe laughed. “Oh please, Brandy.”
“It’s true Gabe. We’re through. I’m with Rich now.”
“Don’t kid yourself Brandy. Rich got into your pants. That’s all that he wanted. I’m sure he won’t be back.”
“You’re the one that only wanted into my pants Gabe. Rich cares about me.”
“You keep telling yourself that until he breaks your heart Brandy and you come crawling back to me.”
“I wouldn’t come crawling back to you if you were the last man on the planet, in the universe.”
“So you’re willing to give what we had up for one night of hot sex with a pierced imbecile?”
“Don’t call him that. Rich is a great guy. He’s smart and sweet and kind. Unlike you.”
“I’ll be waiting for you when he breaks your heart.”
“Don’t bother. I have to go to work Gabe.”
She turned away from him and went inside the bar.
Rich was waiting for her again when she got home that night. She didn’t quite keep him up all night since they both fell asleep before the light of dawn had fully entered the sky, but he did do things to her with his tongue that she’d only read about in books.
A week later, he told her that loved her. Brandy told him that she loved him too, and she meant it.
Two weeks later, Rich moved out of his apartment and in to her house. Brenda’s sons helped him move his heavier stuff inside. Brenda told Brandy that she looked the happiest she’d seen her since she’d moved in.
Three weeks later, Rich asked her to marry him, and she said yes, though he didn’t have the money to buy her an engagement ring until he got his bonus from work.
Chapter 7
Four weeks later, Brandy stood in their bathroom, looking at a positive pregnancy test.
When Brandy looked at the pregnancy test, she couldn’t believe it. How could it be positive, she thought? Sure, condoms had been known to fail now and then, but they’d never failed her. She’d only gotten pregnant when she hadn’t used one at all. She’d used one every time with Rich. She hadn’t been with Gabe in at least a month, but she’d used a rubber with him every time but that first time, too. So why in the hell am I holding a positive pregnancy test in my hand she thought?
“Rich. Come here.”
She could smell the scent of marijuana coming from the direction of their bedroom. “Just a minute babe.”
“Hurry up Richard please. Bring the damned pipe in here with you if you have to.”
When Rich came into the bathroom, she dropped the pregnancy test into his hand. He looked at it and said “Yeah, so what? You’re not pregnant.”
“You’re reading it backwards dipshit. I told you not to buy the cheap one.”
“So. You’re pregnant. Then we’re having a baby. What difference does it make Brandy? We’re getting married anyway. We’ll just have to do it sooner than I thought.”
“The difference that it makes Rich,” she said, suddenly so pissed off at him that she could hardly see straight, though she knew she was the one to blame for the situation they were suddenly sitting in. “Is that it could be Gabe’s kid.”
“You stopped sleeping with him though.”
He looked confused and Brandy suddenly wished that he didn’t get high quite so often. “Yeah, like a month ago. So it could sure as shit be Gabe’s kid that I’m having and not yours.”
“He doesn’t need to know Brandy. We’ll be married. No one will ever know the difference.”
“What if the kid ends up with blonde hair and blue eyes instead
of dark hair and dark eyes like we both have, huh? What then?”
Rich shrugged. “Genetics can skip generations. My mom has blue eyes.”
Brandy sighed. “Does she happen to have blonde hair too?”
“No.”
“So see, we can’t say it came from your mom. What the hell are we going to do Rich? I can’t have Gabe’s kid. I just can’t.”
“Hey, baby. I told you that you could quit as soon as my transfer goes through. Then we’re the hell out of this shithole town.”
“That doesn’t matter Rich. Even if we do leave, you know that Gabe will find out. What if he tries to take the baby away from us? Shit, he’s got all that money and can pay for a really good lawyer. They’d probably give him the kid. I’m a recovering addict and you smoke weed. I know you still do coke sometimes even though I asked you not to.”
Rich looked guilty. “I don’t do coke very often anymore and I’ll quit smoking weed. We’ll both be completely clean by the time the kid’s born.”
“It doesn’t matter. Money talks. He could make a false report to Child Protective Services or something. If he wants this baby, there’s no way he can’t take it away from us. I can’t let him find out Rich. You have to get that transfer. We have to get the hell out of here before I start to show. I gained a shitload of weight when I was pregnant with Joey. I started showing really soon, too. We might even have to leave the country, go down to Mexico or something.”
“We can’t live in Mexico Brandy. It’s rough down there. Why do you think there are so many illegal aliens all over the place?”
“We’ve got to do something. Come on Rich. Help me think. What are we going to do?”
“He can’t be as bad as you think he is.”
Brandy laughed. “I told you some of the things he made me do Rich. Don’t fucking tell me that Gabe isn’t that bad. He’s crazy.”
“I’ll figure it out babe. I promise. Didn’t I promise you that I’d take care of you?”
Brandy sighed. “Yeah. I have to go to work. Please help me think of something Rich. Don’t just sit there and smoke weed all night because you know you don’t have to work tomorrow. You’re practically useless when you smoke weed all day.”
“Hey, you said that the sex is even better when I’m stoned.”
“I said practically useless.” She leaned over and kissed him. “I love you Rich.”
“I love you too, baby. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
She gave him a weak smile and headed towards the door. When she got to work, the first person she saw was Gabe. She wanted to turn around and run in the other direction. She was afraid that he’d somehow know that she was pregnant.
He intercepted her before she could get in the door, though. “Come into my office Brandy. I need to talk to you.”
Fuck, was her thought, but she said nothing and followed him into the bar and down the hallway to his office. Once they were inside, he gestured for her to sit down.
“It was positive wasn’t it Brandy?”
“What was positive?”
“The pregnancy test that your boyfriend bought at the drug store this morning.”
“Rich didn’t buy a pregnancy test for me. It must have been for one of his other girlfriends.”
Gabe chuckled. “Your boyfriend is a thirty year old stoner with no ambition who has convinced a gorgeous twenty-one year old that she’s in love with him. Do you expect me to believe that Rich has another girlfriend? How stupid do you think I am Brandy?”
“Rich is a very attractive man. A lot of girls want to be with him.”
“Your Rich has permanent bags under his eyes because he’s smoked so much pot. I don’t know how you’ve managed to convince yourself that you’d rather be with him than me Brandy, but you can cut the crap right now. You’re pregnant. And the child you’re carrying is mine.”
“Even if I was pregnant, you’d have no way of knowing for sure that it’s yours. We do it without a condom all the time. It doesn’t matter. I love him and he loves me.”
“Yes, darling. That’s why my friend at the convenience store on Third Street tells me that Rich has bought an economy sized pack of condoms every week since you’ve been together, right?”
“Even if we do use protection, it doesn’t mean the baby could only be yours Gabe. Condoms fail all the time. It could just as easily have been his condom that failed.”
Gabe smiled. “I know for a fact that it was mine that ‘failed’, as you put it.”
“What the hell are you talking about Gabe?”
“There was a hole in every condom I used with you. I should know because I put them there.”
Brandy had to restrain herself from reaching across the desk and wringing Gabe’s neck. “You’re lying.”
“Am I? I’ve become rather skilled at it over the years. I did it with my wife when I decided I wanted another child.”
“I thought you said the baby wasn’t yours.”
“I wanted there to be a better chance of it being mine than being someone else’s. Just like I did with you my love.”
“You make me sick.”
“I love you Brandy. I could give you a better life than Rich could ever imagine. There’s nothing holding you back. He might deny it now, but Rich is not going to want to raise another man’s child.”
“He doesn’t care. He loves me.”
“Maybe. That doesn’t mean he won’t take a look at your child and realize that he no longer wants to be a part of either of your lives. You would never have that problem with me Brandy. You are mine. We are tied.”
“I was never yours. Just because you made me do disgusting things that made me hate myself doesn’t mean I’m yours.”
“You loved doing all those dirty things. Do you not remember how many times I made you come? How many times I made you scream out my name in the heat of passion? I bring you alive Brandy, like no other man ever will.”
“Get over yourself Gabe. Even if Rich didn’t give me orgasms like you did, and he does by the way, I wouldn’t care. Being with you isn’t worth it. You tell girls all these supposedly romantic things. You do all this stuff for them so they’ll think that they have to let you do whatever you want to them. It’s not going to work with me anymore Gabe. You’re just another pathetic loser that cheats on his wife and preys on the girls that are stupid enough to think that you’ll leave her. You’ll never leave Leslie and you know it.”
“I would leave Leslie right now if you asked me to.”
“I don’t want you to leave Leslie for me. I never did. We both know that the only reason we ever had sex was to get off. That’s all it was. That’s all it ever was with any of the girls you’ve ever been with. You and your wife have some kind of twisted relationship and that’s great, whatever. I’m not going to play your games anymore Gabe. If you want the car you bought me back, you can have it. I’m half tempted to abort this baby.”
“Don’t you dare think about it Brandy.”
Brandy sighed. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t really have another abortion. I’m just so fucking sick and tired of your bullshit Gabe. I told you it was over. I meant what I said. But you had to trick me into getting pregnant with your kid. How many other little Gabes are running around out there, huh? You claim your kids aren’t yours, but does your wife know about all the other chicks that you’ve knocked up over the years?”
Gabe chuckled, then his face grew serious. “None of the other women matter Brandy. I love you. I would do anything for you. Why can’t you see that?”
“I think that maybe you do actually love your wife. Maybe you just can’t stand the fact that she doesn’t really love YOU. Is that it Gabe? Do you manipulate other women because you’re afraid your wife never loved you?”
“There was a time when I thought that if I only loved her enough, was good enough to her, that she’d love me back, but that time has long since passed.”
“You really are pathetic. Poor rich, unloved Gabe thinks that he can pay some
bimbo that works for him to love him.”
From the look on his face, Brandy was afraid that he was going to hit her. Then his face cleared. “You can stop now Brandy. You really are transparent. You don’t hide your feelings for me very well.”
Brandy laughed. “Are you serious Gabe? You really are delusional aren’t you? I’ll have your kid. But you know and I know that we’d all be better off if you let me and Rich pretend that it was our kid.”
“I don’t think so Brandy. We’ll discuss this later. You’d better get to work. I can meet you after you get off if you’d like.”
“Keep dreaming.”
She laughed and went out the door of the office.
She was glad that she was working with only Chloe that night. She didn’t like working with Sabrina at all, and the tips were still better when she wasn’t around, too. Luckily the night went quickly and Gabe wasn’t around after cleanup.
When she got home Rich was sitting in the living room, staring off into space. She was pretty sure that he had spent the night getting high even though she’d asked him not to.
“Hey,” she said. “Did you figure anything out? I walked into work and Gabe knew right away that I was pregnant. He knew that you bought the pregnancy test. I swear he’s got spies all over town to do his dirty work.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong Rich?”
She crawled up onto his lap and put her arms around him, thinking again how much she loved him. Then again, she thought she’d really thought she was in love with Chad too. She’d even been dumb enough to think that she could love Gabe for a while.
“Nothin’ baby.”
“You’re lying Rich.”
He sighed and shifted her on his lap. “He was sitting outside our house tonight for hours. Gabe was.”
“What do you mean he was sitting outside our house?”
“Just what I said. He was sitting across the street in the driveway of the empty house that used to have the for sale sign. I asked Brenda about it. She said that she heard he‘d bought it. She said she thought he’d bought this one too. I thought you were renting this place Brandy.”
“I am renting it. Well, Gabe has been the one that’s been paying the rent since I moved in here. I guess he could have bought it. I don’t know.”
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 51