“There’s nobody here but us, Sommer,” he told her. “I want you to scream.”
Her cries echoed throughout the room as he swelled inside of her, languishing in every aching curve and crevice. As wonderful as she felt, and as hard as it was for him to retain his self-control, he tempered his pace, not wanting the moment to end a minute too soon. He almost came undone when her hands went to her breasts and she teased him by running a delicate finger over her throbbing nipples. When she smiled at him, his body threatened to erupt again, but, he wanted her writhing in pleasure before he allowed himself his own conclusion.
He reached for her hands, clasped their fingers above her head, and stroked her even deeper before leaning down and pressing their lips together again. As their tongues played, her moans became more frenzied, her body rocked against his, and her legs tightened around his waist until she was screaming his name, much louder this time, and he the familiar tugs of her orgasm rippling along his shaft. Satisfied, he moved inside of her until ecstasy washed over him, and he released his pleasure into her trembling body.
They waited a few moments for their breaths to steady. Then he pulled her onto his chest and kissed the top of her head.
“We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?” she asked, making a circle against his chest.
“Yeah, we are.”
A beat passed.
“Honestly, I’m a little scared, Austin.”
“I am too, but we’ll figure it out.”
She looked up at him. “Were you really serious? About buying a house?”
He brought her fingers to his lips. “As a heart attack.”
She felt the urge again to say “I love you, Austin,” but still couldn’t bring herself to do it. It was a bit silly when she thought about it since they’d just finished making love and were bringing a child into the world together, but there was still something about the way he’d looked at Jessica at the terminal. It was as though he was still holding onto something, and she hoped that whatever he was holding onto didn’t have anything to do with an undying love for his ex-girlfriend.
“Think it’ll be a boy?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Mom says it’ll be a girl.”
“That would be nice. To have a little princess.”
She laughed. “I can see you now, as big as you are, in one of those toddler chairs in a tutu drinking from a play teacup.”
“Hell yes.” He kissed her fingers again. “Tea and crumpets with my little princess.”
“Or football with your little man.”
They fell silent for a few moments.
“God, Sommer, we’re really going to be parents.” He extended his hand. “Good luck, Mommy.”
She laughed again and firmly shook his hand. “Good luck, Daddy.”
Then, she reached up and touched their lips together before slipping her tongue into his mouth. He felt his body grow firm again, and he wrapped his arms around her before positioning himself over her. Grinning wickedly, she turned over.
“Oh my, for me?” Austin teased, running his hands along her back and hips. Her laugh was cut short when she felt him enter her, and they spent the rest of the night riding the waves of bliss several times over.
*****
Kyle climbed the steps leading up to Caroline’s front door with an extra pep in his step. He tapped his back pocket to make sure that the magazine was still there. On the front cover in large print it read:
REKINDLED ROMANCE FOR STAR QB AND SUPERMODEL??
But that hadn’t been Kyle’s favorite part. What he’d most enjoyed was the picture of Jessica with her hands wrapped around Austin’s bicep, and her head on his shoulder. Then, at that same moment, Austin had looked down at her and to anyone who didn’t know how he truly felt about Jessica, they would think that he was falling for the Brazilian beauty all over again. At least, that’s what Sommer would think.
Switching from a look of joy to one of concern, Kyle knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Caroline opened it and sent him a warm smile. In his heart, he knew that Mrs. Hayes probably preferred him over Austin anyway.
“Mama Hayes, how are you feeling?” he asked with a quick hug.
“I’m good, Kyle. I’m still standing.”
He peered behind her into the house. “Is Sommer home?”
“No, Sommer’s not here.”
“Will she be back soon? I can wait arou—”
“Sommer’s not in Yearwood.”
He took a step back. “Is she out of town picking up supplies for the café?”
Caroline eyed him carefully as she decided whether or not to tell him the truth. She’d assumed that all of Kyle’s visits were innocent up until the last time he was in her house. Austin would have surely strangled him if she hadn’t been sitting between them.
“No. She went on vacation.”
“Vacation where?”
“Not in Yearwood.”
Kyle closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and took a deep breath. “I know that, but where did she go? When will she be back? I have to talk to her.”
“I don’t know when she will be back. Can’t you call her?”
“You know I can’t call her,” he growled, but lowered his tone when her smile disappeared and her expression turned stern. “I’m sorry, Mama Hayes, but you know Sommer doesn’t return my calls.”
Caroline folded her arms across her chest. “And if she doesn’t return your phone calls, why do you think I would tell you where she is? Obviously, she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
He took another breath, glanced down the street, and then settled his eyes back on her. “So, you don’t know where she’s gone and how long she’ll be gone? That doesn’t worry you as her mother?”
“Not at all.” She shook her head. “And I never said that I didn’t know where she went. I just won’t be telling you.”
He had the strongest urge to grab the frail, middle-aged woman’s arm and twist it behind her back until she talked. But he refrained. He was, after all, a changed man.
“Then tell me this. Wherever she is, is she with Austin?”
“Why would she be with Austin?” Caroline came back.
“Because she’s always with him these days.”
She sighed and leaned against the door frame. “Sommer has given up a lot for me over the years, Kyle, and I granted her an extended leave so that she could take time for herself. I suggest you grant her the same leave, as in leave her alone.”
With that, she stepped inside and closed the door.
Kyle felt his anger rise as he trudged back to his new baby, a beautiful cobalt blue Maserati that he’d admittedly bought only after hearing of Austin’s similar purchase in a deep garnet color, and hopped inside. Taking a deep breath, he tried to quell his anger again, but ended up spending the next sixty-seconds in a boxing match with the steering wheel. Sommer would never leave her mother alone in Yearwood without good reason, and an impromptu vacation wasn’t a good enough reason. Plus, he’d seen the doubt all over her face when he’d told her about Austin’s life in Texas, so it wasn’t likely that she’d gone there. So, he was left high and dry. He had no idea where she was.
He threw two more punches into the steering wheel before backing out of the driveway. She couldn’t lay low for very long and he’d be back when she reappeared. But if she didn’t reappear when he was ready, then he’d just have to call up a buddy of his to track her down. In the meantime, he’d work on Jessica. Wherever Sommer was, there was bound to be a TV and it wouldn’t take long before she caught her new boy-toy with his tongue down Jessica’s throat.
As he drove away, Kyle ignored the little voice in his head that tried to convince him that Austin truly had feelings for Sommer. Because if Austin did, then it would be extremely difficult to catch him in any compromising position with Jessica. Virtually impossible. Austin just wasn’t that type of man.
However, if that were the case, he wasn’t above stooping to some pretty
sleazy lows to break them apart. He and Austin’s friendship ended the minute Austin started messing around with Sommer, so if push really came to shove, he had no qualms about taking his gloves off.
Chapter Seven
Sommer’s pregnancy was moving along even better than she could imagine. The weeks effortlessly flew by, and with them they brought along major changes and surprises to her life.
In just a few months, she’d gone from staying with her mother in her old bedroom, to living with Austin in a beautiful, French-style home in Highland Park. At first, the house’s size and opulence were intimidating since she was sure that several of her mother’s houses could fit in its main room alone. But with just a few personal touches, paint colors, and furniture that they’d both handpicked, it became the warm and cozy family home that she’d always dreamed of.
Then came the big news at her twentieth-week appointment. Austin had flown in on a red-eye from New York to make sure that he’d be there. To tease them, the doctor, a woman named Maria Renault that Sommer had grown to love, had frozen the image of the ultrasound up on the screen while she left the room to grab some paperwork. The five minutes that she was gone felt more like hours, and Sommer and Austin spent the time betting on what they thought the baby’s gender was going to be. Sommer won a hefty twenty dollars when Dr. Renault returned to reveal the news: they were expecting a baby girl.
While Sommer had dabbed happy tears away from the corners of her eyes, Austin had remained still and speechless, his eyes fixed on the screen. Even as they’d pulled into the driveway later that morning, he still hadn’t said a word. So, worried that he might have been unhappy with the news, Sommer had touched him on the shoulder and asked him what was bothering him.
“I’m going to have a little girl,” he’d replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He then turned to her, took her hand, touched a kiss in the middle of her palm, and stretched his hand across her stomach.
“I’m going to be the father of a little girl,” he’d repeated. Then, he met her eyes. “Will I be a good father?”
The uncertainty and fear in his eyes had tugged at her heart. Although she’d also had reservations about being a mother, she was confident in the example that her own mother had set. But, even though she didn’t know much, she knew that Austin’s relationship with his father hadn’t been ideal. She could only imagine the amount of doubt something like that could place in his head about his own parenting capabilities.
“Austin, you’ll be a wonderful father,” she’d told him. He’d simply smiled and kissed her on the forehead before they went inside to start planning for the nursery.
Now, eight weeks away from her due date, she was sitting in the back of a luxury SUV at the airport while Walter combed the sea of arriving passengers for her mother. The day before, Austin had picked up Arielle, the twins, his nieces, and his mother, but had booked them a suite at a hotel not too far from the house. His mother had protested because she desperately needed proof that her son had actually bought a house, but he’d quieted her by saying that there was still paint drying in the living room and he didn’t want to twins to breathe in the fumes.
Sommer glanced at the clock on the console.
It was a little past three, which meant that he was already on his way to the hotel to pick up his family. Then, they would meet at the house to announce her pregnancy and prepare for a small gathering they would be having with a few of Austin’s closest and most trusted friends.
Although there were a few times when he’d brought up the idea of breaking the news of the baby to the world, by the end of the day, she’d swayed his train of thought, still convinced that the world that adored him wasn’t ready for the baby he’d be having with her.
The SUV’s back door opened and Caroline peered in, squealing in delight when she saw her beautiful, glowing daughter. Walter helped her onto the backseat and she wrapped her arms around Sommer, squeezing her tight.
“Baby, it’s so good to see you,” she said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. “You look absolutely beautiful.”
Sommer smiled and took in her mother’s familiar scent. “My hips have spread, my face itches, and I feel like my nose is taking up half of my face, but thank you, Mom. It’s good to see you too.”
Caroline held her daughter at arm’s length. “Your nose is fine, baby. You don’t have the pregnancy nose. Now me, I got it when I was pregnant with you. It grew twice its size. I kept bumping into things, couldn’t walk into a room sideways—”
Laughing, Sommer playfully swatted her on the arm. “I’ve missed you, Mommy.” She pulled her in for another hug. “And you’re looking so much healthier since the last time I saw you.”
Caroline touched the top of her head. “It’s because I’ve got my good wig on.”
Sommer held her stomach as her body erupted with laughter.
Walter pulled out of the terminal and Caroline leaned back into the seat with her hand still clasped with Sommer’s. “You don’t know how hard it’s been keeping this news from Emma,” she said. “I feel like such a bad friend.”
Sommer stroked her knuckles. “Well, tonight everyone will know so you won’t have to deal with the guilt anymore.”
Caroline placed a hand on Sommer’s stomach. “My little grandbaby. Grammie is going to spoil you rotten.”
Sommer’s brows accusingly narrowed. “Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“You brought stuff, didn’t you?”
Caroline exaggeratedly touched a hand to her chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“For the baby,” Sommer prodded. “You just couldn’t resist, could you?”
Caroline pointed to the trunk. “You didn’t see that I brought three bags for just a few days? Two of those bags are packed to capacity with baby things. I’ve got bibs, bottles, onesies, socks, hats, booties, the cutest little dresses…”
Sommer stared at her mother’s face as her list continued. The tired lines in the woman’s face were gone, her dark circles had faded, and her sunken cheeks were beginning to fill in. She couldn’t believe that life was working out the way it was. Her baby was healthy, she was in love, and her mother was getting better.
“Then I bought this absolutely adorable pink polka-dot blanket with an owl on it, a gift basket with powder, ointment, things you’ll need, this cute little infant toothbrush, you know, to get her used to brushing her teeth…”
Sommer leaned into her mother’s side and sighed. Somehow, the entire thing no longer seemed daunting now that her mother was here. As long as she had her mother, everything would be alright.
*****
“Austin, I swear if I have to sing backup for that diva one more time,” Arielle complained, taking a bite out of her burger.
“What diva?”
“Aria.”
Austin burst out laughing, nearly choking on his burger. “I really thought you were talking about someone other than your six-year old daughter.”
Arielle smiled before popping a French fry into her mouth. “But she never lets me sing lead on the Disney songs, Austin. She always has to be Ariel, Jasmine…” She touched a hand to her chest. “Just once, can it by my whole new world?”
Austin continued to laugh, shaking his head.
“But thank you for taking me out for burgers,” she added. “I just hope Ma doesn’t go crazy alone at the house with both girls and the twins. They’re mobile now and I swear, even though they can’t talk, they collaborate. Just a couple weeks ago, Arabella crawled up to me and started jabbering up a storm while behind me, Antonio was pulling a cookie from Izzie’s plate off of the kid’s table. What I think, is that Arabella was the diversion. They planned it. He even shared the cookie with her afterwards.”
He shook his head with a chuckle, took another bite of his burger, and glanced at the clock on the wall. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his sister’s face when he and Sommer revealed their news.
“Ma will be fine,” he reassured
. “She’s in her element when she’s with her grandkids.”
Arielle dipped a French fry into Austin’s ketchup, took a bite, and then scrunched her nose. “Ick, I still prefer my French fries plain.”
He grabbed a few fries, doused them in ketchup, and then tossed them into his mouth. Closing his eyes, he exaggeratedly moaned in delight while Arielle continued to scrunch her nose.
“Austin?”
They both looked up when they heard his name, and Arielle groaned when she saw Jessica’s face.
“Hi, yet again, Jessica,” he greeted.
“Funny running into you here,” she added. Then, her eyes flicked over to Arielle and she bent her wrist. “Jessica Costa.”
Arielle glanced at her hand. “Are you expecting me to kiss it or something?”
Austin grinned. “Arielle…”
“I mean, with the way she’s got it bent back and everything…”
“I’m sorry,” Jessica apologized. “It’s a habit.” She turned to Austin. “Did you say Arielle? As in your sister, Arielle?”
“We look nearly exactly alike,” Arielle added. “Who else would I be?”
Austin shook his head again at his sister’s sharp tongue. It might have been something that had embarrassed him on numerous occasions when they were younger, but as he got older, he grew to appreciate it. He even grew to admire it.
“I don’t mean to intrude—” Jessica began.
“Too late for that,” Arielle cut in.
Jessica pursed her lips. “Do you have a problem with me?”
Arielle glanced over at Austin in disbelief and clasped her hands on the table. “Let me get this straight. You dated my brother for what, almost a year, only to end up spreading your legs for some old geezer because he had even more money. Then, you left without ever offering an explanation as to why. You do know that Austin being my brother means that he’s my family, right? So, you hurt my family, someone that I love, and now have the nerve to ask me if I have a problem with you?”
The Game of Love: (BWWM Romance) Page 11