by Allie York
“On Oliver’s birthday, where were you?” She blinked at my question.
“We have been trying to find you for hours and you want to know where I was two weeks ago?” She tucked her hair behind her ear and took a step back. “Why? What the hell is going on, Jacob?” Lydia was doing a shitty job of not looking guilty.
“Because I need to fucking know,” I snapped.
“I went to the spa with my sisters, mom, Mara, and Grams. You bought the gift cards.” I took her hand and started dragging her toward the house. “Jacob …” Lydia jerked out of my grip. “What the hell is going on? Where have you been?” The tears fell heavily down her face.
“After the spa, where did you go, and don’t fucking lie to me.” I got up in her face, lowering my voice and watching tears streak her cheeks and trying not to fall for them. As much as it hurt, I needed to hear it. Then we could settle custody and move on. I was done with unfaithful women.
“I thought you would be excited. It was supposed to be a surprise. I mean we hadn’t really talked about it, but I thought we were on the same page.” She shook her head. “I think I need to go.” She started toward her car but I stopped her. I had no idea what Lyd was talking about.
“Wait, where were you after the spa?” Her teary eyes met mine and I realized that I had really fucked up. I just topped my own stupidity list. My woman would never do what I was accusing her of. What the hell was I thinking? Lydia loved me and I had let my mind convince me she was cheating with that lowlife.
“Jovie went with me to talk to a realtor about selling my house. I didn’t make any decisions, but I thought you would be excited. I’m sorry.” Lydia dropped her head and it was like a punch to the gut. Monumental fuck up was an understatement. I had managed a whole list of bad decisions in one day.
“No, wait come back in. We need to talk about where I was.” I had just accused her of cheating and she had no damn clue. Lyd closed the door and followed me back in the house; her curiosity got the best of her and I was beyond thankful. She was going to lay into me hard when she realized why I was questioning her.
Once Lydia and Dad were at the table, I started with the man picking me up and went from there. I went through the drive, the pictures, the pool hall, and the prostitutes with my head in my hands. Lydia had her hand over her mouth, just listening until I got to the part about the picture of her wearing that dress at Torin’s and Torin himself walking in. I couldn’t watch her reaction, so I stared at the oak table, and kept talking. I had fucked up royally. Like my day hadn’t been bad enough, my phone rang. Tera.
“Jacob?” Her voice was quiet and shaky. “You answered. Did you pay them?”
“Call your bookie off me, Tera. I don’t have twenty grand, and if I did, I would not pay off your debt with it. So call them off.” I stood up to pace, unsure of what else to do with my nervous energy. I was tense, shaking and ready to blow up on something.
“I can’t. Jacob, I can’t. I don’t have the money and Caiden left and I’m pregnant, Jacob.” Then Tera started sobbing. “I can’t let them find me. The baby and …” She was a high school vice principal. How did she manage to get in so much damn trouble? Why had she dragged me into it? Her crying stopped her from finishing the thought.
“Look, Tera, I’m sorry. I really am, but you made this mess. I don’t have twenty grand, I just don’t. But they are threatening my son and his mother. I obviously don’t want to see you end up at their mercy, but I can’t have them threatening my family. Call them off of me.” I hung up without another word. I wouldn’t wish that shit on my enemy, and while she did me wrong, I didn’t hate Tera. I wanted to rub it in her face that Caiden left her desperate and pregnant, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t cruel and I was in no position to judge for anybody. He may not have even fathered the baby. Maybe she didn’t even know who the father was.
Lydia watched me from her seat at the table, rubbing her hands together. “You thought I went back to him.” She let out a sharp breath. “You thought I was sleeping with him while you had Ollie?” Dad stood and left us to the conversation, telling me to get him if I needed anything. “Jacob? Did you think that? Do you know how long I’ve had that dress? I can’t believe …” Her hurt-filled eyes felt like a slap to the face. Lydia got up and walked past me through the entry room and out the front door. I didn’t bother following her. I would have just made things worse, but fuck, letting her walk away was painful. The door slammed and her car started, leaving me alone to wallow in my stupidity and my own shitty decisions.
Chapter Fifteen
LYDIA
I curled into my pillow, unable to cry anymore. The tears had dried up hours before. Oliver stayed at Jovie’s so I had a free pass to cry to my heart’s content. Jacob called—he called seventeen times, actually. Sure, I had sort of screwed up when I slept with Torin after Jacob had confessed his feelings to me, but it’s not like we were together. Since the night he picked me up, I had been nothing but faithful. Torin was a memory, a really bad memory. I stared at the ceiling and just watched my happy ending crumble around me. Jacob had accused me of cheating on him, had been sort of kidnapped by some loan shark, and had his ex-wife getting him in trouble. The worst part was him letting me leave. Jacob stayed slumped against the wall and let me walk away. Neither of us were perfect by any means, but I never thought I would see the day where he just let me leave again. My level of stupid was astonishing.
I dozed off and on, trying to shake the voicemail and Jacob’s accusations. My phone ringing woke me up a few times. Jacob kept calling, and then an unknown number. Why were people so against leaving messages? In truth, I wasn’t willing to give up on my relationship with Jacob, but I wasn’t willing to go on not being trusted, either. The day had gone to hell in a hand basket.
I didn’t roll out of bed the next day until Ollie called me to come get him. Even then, I wasn’t thrilled about getting up, but I put a dress on and brushed my hair. Jovie and Ewan only lived a couple of miles away, on the other side of the historic district, but the drive seemed to take an eternity. I was halfway there when I noticed the black car behind me. I turned, it turned. But they are threatening my son, his mother. Jacob’s words danced in my head. I drove away from Jovie’s; she had enough stalking drama to last her a life time and the kids were there. Then I called Jacob.
“Oh, thank God. Lyd, I am so sorry. I was stressed and I fucked up so bad. Please …” he started to launch into an apology.
“Someone is following me.” Panic welled in my throat. “I am going to pick up Ollie and there’s a black car behind me. Where do I go?” Tears stung my eyes and fear clouded my thoughts. I truly had no idea what to do.
“Drive to the police station downtown. I’ll be right there and we can take care of this. I told her to call them off. Stay on the phone while you go, okay, baby?” I swallowed down my fear and got on the interstate. The car trailed behind me.
“So, you were apologizing?” My eyes kept darting to the car on my tail, but I tried to lighten the mood. I couldn’t stay mad at my man, even if I wanted to.
Jacob laughed. “Yeah, I was. Yesterday was so fucked up, Lyd. Then I saw the picture and Torin walked in the room. I let my mind tell me all kinds of crazy shit. I know better, I really do.” His apology went on, giving me more details about the conversation with Tera and telling me how close he was to meeting me at the police station. Tera was pregnant, alone, and in deep with a bookie. Jacob didn’t really know any more than that. The black car following me stayed a few cars back, but diligently changed lanes anytime I did and pulled into the same lot I did at the police station. Jacob’s rental truck pulled in just after me and we hung up as he parked next to me. I waited until he got out and opened my door to move. I threw myself into him and Jacob crushed my head into his chest. The black car stayed parked at the other end of the lot, idling in a spot, while we went into the station. Just inside the doors, Jacob pulled me into another hug and I melted into him. The argument was completely washed aw
ay by him just holding me, coming to me when I needed him to.
“Please don’t let this screw you up further, but is there any chance Tera’s baby is yours?” It wasn’t an idea I really wanted to entertain, but the reality was that they were married not too long before. Granted, Tera was cheating with at least one other man, but the possibility was there depending on how far along she was.
“I really doubt it.” We passed through the metal detector and déjà vu washed over me. It was the same police station from the day of Ollie’s party. “We, uh, we tried for a year. No baby. If she’s pregnant, it’s safe to assume the issues are on my end.” He cleared his throat as we approached the reception desk, letting me know the conversation was over. Guilt inserted itself into my swirl of emotions. Jacob had missed out on Oliver and if his suspicions were right, would never get the chance to be a father again. It was a true shame because he was a damn good father. Oliver worshiped him and he had stepped up admirably since day one. The idea of a newborn at my age was a little daunting, but for him, I would do just about anything.
The same asshole cop from weeks before took our statements and had obviously not developed any more bedside manner since then. Jacob went over his story from the day before, telling him exactly where he was taken and the threats that were made. It took the better part of an hour and the officer escorted us out to the cars. The black car was gone, but Jacob insisted on letting me follow him to Jovie’s and then back to his place. We kept quiet about everything with Oliver there. Neither of us saw the point in scaring him. I was scared enough for the two of us. They had threatened to act if Tera hadn’t been found in twenty-four hours and that time frame was closing in as I served dinner.
“Hey, Kid.” Ollie looked up at his dad from the lasagna on his plate. “I wanted to see what you two thought about maybe moving in here. Seems silly to have us split up.” Jacob smirked and a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. My heart had obviously given him a free pass on the asshole behavior from the day before.
“Are you and Mom getting married?” Our son gave us both an accusing look.
“I guess that’s something we can talk about too.” Jacob silenced his ringing phone. “Right, Lyd?”
And the focus moved to me. Marrying Jacob had been the one thing I thought I could never have, ever, but there he was talking about moving us in. I had obviously thought about it, too. Married or not, we were a family and Jacob was right, us being in two houses was silly. “I think we can talk about it, yeah.” With the drama Tera had brought down on us, I needed to hear something stable, something good. So I sat and soaked up the perfection across from me.
“It would be pretty awesome for my parents to be married, you know, like normal kids.” Oliver winked at me and I shook my head. There was nothing normal about my exceptional little boy. “Moving in together like a normal family would be a good start too.” The table went quiet after that. Letting something pleasant hang over us for a while was so nice. Ollie and Jacob even ate the same, their mouths moved the same, they laughed the same—it was beautiful.
After dinner, Ollie dragged us out back for a soccer match. We ended up playing two on one against Jacob. Old baseball plates made our goal posts and we played barefoot. Ollie kicked off, dribbling the ball around Jacob and letting me play defense. When Jacob stole the ball and came toward me, Ollie jumped on his back, hanging from his shoulders and throwing off his balance. I used the opportunity to snatch the ball and shoot it into Jacob’s goal. I threw my hands up in a touchdown dance just in time for Jacob to barrel toward me and throw me over his shoulder. His hand came down on my ass, making me squeal and beat against his back.
“What’s wrong, old man? Can’t take the heat from a woman and a kid?” Ollie laughed at my taunt and Jacob slung me to my feet.
His eyes went darker and he leaned close to my ear. “Do you really want to test me, little girl? I can show you heat.” My body hummed at his words and I ran my hands up into his hair. Jacob gripped my waist, pulling my body flush with his.
“Are you threatening me, Mr. Teller?” His mouth came down on mine and he kissed me hard and fierce. Our tongues dancing elicited a sexy growl from him and I smiled against his mouth. Ollie threatening to spew his dinner made us pull apart.
“That is a promise, Miss Reed.” He kissed me one more time and ran to take the ball from Ollie. He successfully scored on us and broke into his own celebratory dance that I desperately wanted a video of. The three of us played until after dark. Jacob turned on the outdoor floodlights and we just kept going. Countless goals and lots of sweat later, we chugged water bottles in the kitchen before sending Ollie to shower and bed.
Chapter Sixteen
JACOB
Lydia leaned against the counter, face flushed and looking sexy as hell. Her eyes moved over me and she nibbled her bottom lip. She was practically begging me to make good on my promise from earlier. I was going to show her “old man”. Two strides ate up the space between us and her eyes went wide when I grabbed her up by her ass, pulling her into me. Her legs went around my waist and I tossed both of our water bottles in the recycling bin before trudging up the stairs with her clinging to me, chest pressed to mine. Halfway up the steps, Lyd pulled me in for a kiss and I made the rest of the trip blinded by our connection. I kicked the door closed behind us and tossed her on the bed, stripping my way to her. She wiggled out of her clothes but sprang off the bed and made a mad dash for the bathroom. I caught her as her hand curled around the handle and she squealed.
“I’m gross,” Lydia whimpered as I licked up her neck. Definitely not gross. “Stop, let me shower.”
I pressed against her, our sweaty bodies making me even harder. “You can shower, but I’m going with you.”
She smiled a response and pulled the door open. I grabbed at her hips, massaging the soft skin there when she leaned over to turn the water on, wiggling her ass at me in the process. It took a monumental amount of self-control to keep my cock out of her at that moment. Lydia dragged me under the hot stream behind her, and I made quick work of shoving her back into the tile and slamming my mouth into hers. Her fingers wrapped around my dick, stroking it from base to tip and back down while the water poured over us. When I couldn’t take anymore, I spun her into the wall and took her from behind. With my leg propped on the edge of the tub, I had the perfect position and Lyd moaned.
I moved her wet hair, kissing the side of her face and running my hand down her belly to stroke her clit. “God, Jacob.” Lydia’s nails dug into the tile and her pussy clenched around my cock, milking it, as I pounded into her, rubbing circles on her clit. Her orgasms would be the death of me. Every part of the moment was me owning her, claiming her. I got my son and my woman under my roof and that alone was worth celebrating. Her breathy voice and vice grip on my cock had me coming in no time. The sensation swept over me and I shot my release into her, kissing down her neck and nuzzling her wet shoulder.
“Wanna call me old again?” I stepped back under the water, lathering my hair.
“Will you do that again if I do?” Lydia was still panting when she ran her nails up my chest and into my hair. I shuddered. I took in her eyes and the water droplets settled on her pink-tinged cheeks. The afterglow lighting up her skin made the blue even more mesmerizing. No woman was so beautiful, ever. None of them came close to my Lydia.
“Marry me.” It was a demand. I didn’t need to ask. Questions are for people who don’t know the answer. Lydia belonged to me, and I belonged to her. The only thing left was for all of us to have the same last name.
“Jacob, I …”
“It wasn’t a question.” Timing had always been my weak point, and my proposal was no different. “We should have done it years ago. I should have never left, but I did. I never thought I would get a second chance, Lydia. I knew when I came back that if I looked you up that I would find you married to a man that put you first and would give you everything.” I ran my hands through my hair, realizing we were naked i
n the shower. “But here you are, again, and you’re mine. I don’t want any questions, no uncertainty about us being a family.”
Lydia swallowed, blinking the water out of her eyes. “Okay, let’s get married.” Her lips threatened a smile and I crashed into her, throwing my arms around her wet body. “But I want a huge wedding. I mean massive because I don’t plan on doing it again.” I took her beautiful face in my hands and put everything into that kiss. Proposing wasn’t on my to-do list after such a fucking awful couple of days, but it was out there and we were getting married. Maybe my timing was all right.
Both of smelled less like sweat and more like her vanilla shampoo. We settled into bed and I pulled the velvet box from the side table. Mom had insisted on me keeping her rings for “someday”. She started losing weight during her first round of chemo and gave the rings to me then. I didn’t give them to Tera, though, it wasn’t right. I had promised Mom that I would give them to my soul mate and she stayed quiet when I married Tera with different rings.
The diamond was nestled between two emeralds and set in platinum. None of the stones were large, but Dad had designed it himself and my mother worshiped those rings. I had no idea if it would even fit, if not, I would get it sized. I slid the ring on her slender finger and kept her soft hand in mine. Tears spilled over her lashes while Lyd stared at her hand. It was a perfect fit. Lydia threw herself at me and we tumbled back on the bed. She fell asleep on my chest, encased in my arms, and her hand resting delicately on my chest. I couldn’t wait to tell Oliver, or hell, tell the whole world that this woman was mine.
Chapter Seventeen