She leaned in and kissed him passionately. “How about now?”
“It’s yours.”
She took a long sip. “Thank you.” She put the cup on the nightstand and scooted out of bed. Jack held out her pajama bottoms. She pulled them on and stretched again. Her stomach rumbled, so yoga would have to wait.
After church, Jack changed out of his charcoal slacks and white button-down shirt into black shorts and a gray T-shirt. Normally, his dad did grill duty, but since it was Father’s Day, Jack took over.
Emily helped Trish and Maggie set out leftover potato and macaroni salads, as well as a green salad. Will showed Brad the progress he’d made on the GTO. Jimmy set the table on the patio. It was cooler than the day before, so they ate outside.
Brad and Trish left after lunch to spend the rest of the day with his father. Jimmy’s internship at Cone and O’Neill Architects started on Monday, so he went to his room to double-check his portfolio. Jack and Emily cleaned up, and his parents lounged on the patio, sharing a glass of wine.
Emily’s phone rang. Her brows drew together as she answered. “Hi, Meg.”
“Hey, kiddo. How’s your rock star?”
She looked at Jack. She’d only told Meg Jack was a musician. “Huh?”
“Drop the innocent act. Nicki inadvertently spilled the beans.”
Her eyes widened and Jack looked at her questioningly. “Nicki?” Oh shit. She wouldn’t have told Meg about Jack, but she would’ve told her about Curt. Emily sighed. “He’s fine.” Something in Meg’s tone set the hair on her arms up. “I don’t have any more pages for you yet.” It was odd that Meg called her on a Sunday.
“I’m not calling about your book.”
Jack’s parents came in from the patio.
“Then why are you calling?” She pulled out a kitchen chair and sat.
“What do you know about Jack’s past?”
Meg wasn’t known for subtlety. Emily looked at Jack, who sat next to her. “That it’s in the past. Meg, it’s not like you to be anything other than direct. You’re scaring me, so just say whatever it is you called to say.” Emily’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point, and she couldn’t take the intrigue.
Meg took a deep breath and sighed. “I have a friend who’s an editor at New York Entertainment magazine. She got a call from Christie Ettinger, she wants to give an exclusive interview, where, from what my friend said, she’d announce her due date.”
“Due date for what?” Emily rubbed her forehead.
“Come on, kiddo, don’t make me say it.”
“Just fucking say it, Meg.” Too late, she forgot Jack’s parents were in the kitchen.
“She’s pregnant.”
“Did she say that?” Emily closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Jack’s hand covered hers.
“Not exactly, she implied—”
“It’s not his.” She squeezed Jack’s hand.
“How can you be sure?”
Emily looked at Will and Maggie; they obviously understood the conversation. “I just am.”
“Hiding your head—”
“I’m not. I know him, okay, he wouldn’t…” What? Have sex with his ex after their breakup? Plenty of people did. Nicki, for one. But Jack wouldn’t have. She knew he’d seen Christie in April before they’d met. And he’d left early during their last visit, to see her, but he wouldn’t have slept with her then because he was with her now. She waited for the rush of fear, but it never came. No, he didn’t sleep with her last week. And it was highly unlikely if he had that she’d even be able to tell she was pregnant.
“Emily, are you still there?”
She opened her eyes. “Yeah. Thanks for the heads-up, Meg. Make sure you tell your friend to have any story fact-checked.”
“You’re that sure? Even after what your ex did?”
“Jack isn’t Sully.”
“I envy you. I wouldn’t be able to be so trusting if I were you. Emily, I’m sorry to have upset you, but I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“I know. I appreciate your concern. Thanks.” Emily closed her eyes and disconnected the call. She took a few deep breaths to try to calm her thumping heart.
“Em?” Jack’s hand stroked hers. “Talk to me.”
She wished they were alone. “Meg got a call from a friend at New York Entertainment magazine.” She opened her eyes and met Jack’s. “Christie implied she was pregnant and wants to give them an exclusive.”
“Em, I haven’t slept with her since we broke up. I swear.” His eyes implored her to believe him.
She touched his cheek. “I know.” Emily stood and paced the kitchen. She grit her teeth, her body warmed, and her mouth went dry. “Okay, maybe it’s true, maybe—”
The chair legs screeched over the tiled floor. “I thought you believed me?”
“I do.” She closed the distance between them and put her arms around him. “I know it in my heart. But we need to figure this out. I can see three possible scenarios.” She pulled free from Jack’s embrace. “A. She’s pregnant, it’s not yours, but she’s not above implying it is. The way Meg worded it, it seems there were a lot of implications. She didn’t come right out and say it was yours.” She looked at Jack’s parents, but she couldn’t worry about them right now. “Maybe she’s trying to break us up? But that won’t happen.
“B. She’s not pregnant, and she’ll put off the interview long enough for rumors to spread. She’d have to fake a miscarriage to cover the fake pregnancy. The only reason to do that would be to try to damage your image. But no one will believe it. You’re honest and genuine, and anyone who’s ever met you knows that.”
“To what end?” Maggie asked. “Why try to damage Jack’s reputation?”
“To get back at him for moving on.”
“I thought you hadn’t talked to her since you got a new number?” Will asked.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Her parents called Dex last week. She’d agreed to go into rehab but wanted to see me first.”
“And you went?” Maggie asked, anger darkening her green eyes.
“What choice did I have? If she was serious about going into rehab, how could I say no?”
Maggie’s fists clenched at her sides. “She knows exactly how to manipulate you.”
“If there was even a small chance, I had to do what I could.”
Emily stood next to Jack and took his hand. “We discussed it, and I agreed he should go. I suspected it was a manipulation, but like he said, even a small chance was worth the risk.”
He put his arm around her and hugged her to him. “I’m sorry about this.” Jack pulled out his phone. “I’m calling her.”
“No,” Emily and Maggie yelled.
“Jack, that’s what she wants. That’s option C. You told her to move on and not contact you again. There are plenty of newspapers in California. Why not call one of them? She’s desperate. She had no way of knowing you’d find out so soon. Maybe she’ll regret it and just drop it. She didn’t really say anything yet. Give her the chance to get out of this gracefully. If this blows up, she won’t have a career to go back to.” Emily sighed. “Or maybe she’ll have a bigger one. I don’t pretend to understand how Hollywood works.”
Drained, Emily dropped on the nearest chair. She would’ve liked to go for a walk, clear her head, and have a few minutes to herself, but Jack needed her. He still looked shocked, and she knew how he felt. Even though that relationship ended eight months ago, he just couldn’t believe that someone he’d loved could do something so hurtful. Maybe tomorrow, they’d get a whole day without this bullshit.
J
Maggie stood in the kitchen and watched Jack leave with Emily. She’d always been so proud of Jack; he’d always been a sweet, kindhearted child, and he’d grown into a man of infinite compassion. She wanted to rip Christie’s face off. How dare she do this, after all Jack had done for her? He never said so, but Maggie knew he paid her way�
�all those fancy clothes and lessons she simply had to have. She’d never interfere in Jack’s private life, but she’d seen enough to come to dislike the girl intensely.
Christie had been so sweet when Jack had first brought her home to meet them. Maggie had liked her immediately. After they’d moved across the country to California for her career, Christie had changed. And not just her clothes. Her entire personality changed, and Maggie no longer saw the sweet girl she’d been.
“Well, that was something.”
“Really, Will?” Maggie turned to her husband. “Is that all you have to say? Jack’s ex is faking a pregnancy, and that’s the best you can do?” Sometimes her husband’s calm demeanor pissed her off. It took a lot to set him off. This should’ve done it.
“Magpie, my love”—Will pulled her into his arms—“I meant that Emily didn’t doubt Jack for an instant. Didn’t even ask him if it was possible. After what she’s been through, I think that’s rather extraordinary, don’t you?”
She had to admit she was impressed. That poor girl had been through so much. When she’d shown her and Trish the scars on her leg, Maggie’s heart broke. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be left with such a reminder of a horrific accident. Even though she’d been resistant to her, Emily still came this weekend and participated. She’d expected her to hide in Jack’s room, the way Christie had. She rested her head on Will’s chest. “I think Jack finally met someone who will take care of him the way he takes care of others.” Tears filled her eyes. She loved all her children, but Jack had left home at so young an age she never stopped worrying about him. It didn’t matter that he was twenty-nine.
Trish was the most like her, very grounded. Maggie was sure that Trish and Brad would be announcing their engagement soon. Jimmy and Jack took after Will. Jimmy seemed to finally be forgiving Jack for leaving home. He’d only been twelve and worshiped the ground Jack walked on. Jack always made time for him until he’d moved. “We’ve been extremely lucky, Will.”
“That we have, my love. That we have.”
chapter
THIRTY-THREE
As I sink down on his cock, I imagine it’s Jack I’m fucking.
“You’re so fucking wet, baby. Play with your tits.”
He’s lying there with his hands behind his head, expecting me to do all the work. Jack wouldn’t do that. But until we’re together, I have needs. I pinch my nipples between my fingers and roll them.
“Oh yeah. Play with your pussy.”
My hand travels slowly down my firm belly, to my aching clit. I stroke it back and forth.
“Spread your lips. I want to see.”
I obey, and he rewards me by using his thumb on my clit. I feel my orgasm building, but just before it consumes me, he removes his hand.
“Fuck me hard, baby.”
I ride his cock hard while he gropes my tits like a teenaged boy.
“Come on, baby, make some noise.”
I open my eyes and stare down at him. I’m not a screamer, but that’s what he likes, so I find my motivation. “Oh, yeah. Yes, oh, yes.”
He smiles up at me, so I continue.
“You’re so fucking hard, baby. I wanna suck your cock.” I’m saying the words to him, but all the while I’m picturing Jack. His blue eyes are lighter than Jack’s, but I focus on them anyway. “Oh, fuck!” I come so hard I collapse on top of his chest.
“Hey. We’re not done yet.”
I push up and fuck him hard. If Jack and I weren’t already destined to be together, this guy wouldn’t be…NO! Stick to the script. This is just fucking. Jack’s the one for me.
These last two months have been difficult, but the rewrites are done. In a few weeks, Jackie will be in L.A.
I smile. And that groupie whore can’t fly.
J
Jack was awake when his alarm went off at five twenty-five. He’d been awake for hours. The intensity of his love for Em scared him. And it had only taken him two months to figure out why.
Fear spiked his blood.
Erica. The first great love of his life, and at nineteen, he’d thought she was the great love of his life. He’d fallen fast and hard for her, too. She’d been three years older and so much wiser, and Jack had trusted her completely. He’d wanted to spend every minute with her, and he realized now his love for her had bordered on obsession. There always seemed to be a part of her that she’d kept to herself, but Jack had ignored that.
He’d also blown off Elliot’s dislike of her because Elliot didn’t like many people. But Jack should’ve listened. When Erica had lost her apartment because the building had been sold, Jack had jumped on the chance to move in with her. He’d offered for her to move in with him in the apartment the four of them shared. It had two bedrooms, which meant that two of them slept on the pullout couch. He’d told her it would be temporary until they could get a place of their own.
He wished he could forget how she’d laughed in his face. How that sound had shattered his heart. She’d said his apartment was a shithole, and she’d had a much better offer. Jack remembered how his heart had beat so hard he’d thought it might blow a hole in his chest. Erica hadn’t loved him, not the way he’d thought. She’d said she loved him, but she also loved many guys and fucked them all, and he was sweet, but she wasn’t the type to be tied down to one person, and Jack was. That he’d been fun. Fun.
Never before had he been so betrayed. He’d been played for a fool, and it had taken Jack years before he was over it. He realized now that maybe he wasn’t. He’d loved Sandra and Christie, but everything that happened with Erica had colored those relationships.
Sandra…she’d called him while he was on tour and broken up with him. Said she wasn’t going to waste her life waiting for him to show up. Since he’d met her while he was on tour, he’d thought she’d understood. And maybe she had, but she’d met a guy who lived near her, and Jack was out.
He’d thought he’d found the solution to his career being an issue when he’d met Christie. She was an actress, and she’d understood what it took to succeed in a creative field. There had never been any recriminations over how often he was gone. There had been others though. Again, one’s he’d never seen coming.
He realized that his pushing Em to return his feelings was his way of trying to control the situation. The situation being his career, and until she loved him back, it would be their biggest obstacle. Jack couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t.
Emily stirred next to him, lifting her head. “What time is it?”
“Early. Go back to sleep.” Jack sat up and adjusted the covers over her. He stood and dressed in sweatpants and T-shirt.
“Where you goin’?” She snuggled deeper into the bed.
“I’m gonna make breakfast for my dad.”
“So sweet.”
Jack hurried downstairs. He grabbed the paper off the front walk, put on a pot of coffee, and started the bacon. His dad was in the basement working out.
Will came up the stairs. “Maggie, you didn’t have to—Jack? What’s all this?”
“Morning. Bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee. Paper’s on the table.”
Will smiled. “I’ll be down in ten minutes.”
Just as Jack plated the eggs, his dad walked back into the kitchen, freshly showered and dressed in his standard work attire: jeans, navy McBride Plumbing and Heating T-shirt, and work boots. “Coffee?”
“Please.”
Jack placed the toast on the table. He grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon for himself and sat across from his dad.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Will finished a second helping of eggs and sat back, sipping his coffee. “You always did make the best scrambled eggs. What’s the secret?”
“Butter. It makes everything better.” He cleared the plates from the table and poured more coffee. “Sorry about yesterday.”
“Not exactly a conversation you wanted to have with your girlfriend ev
er, let alone in front of your parents, huh?”
“Yeah.” Jack’s anger reignited. How could Christie do such a thing? Jack didn’t give a shit about his image, but to fake a pregnancy? She certainly didn’t look pregnant when he’d seen her, but neither did Siobhan, and he was pretty sure she was. Elliot had been walking around with a goofy grin for the last two weeks. Every time Jack asked what was up, he’d wipe it off his face as best he could and say nothing was up.
“Emily took the whole thing well, don’t you think?” Will asked.
She hadn’t doubted him for a single second. That erased all his anger. He had no control over what Christie did. Emily believing in him meant everything. A goofy grin of his own spread across his face. “Yeah, she did. I just wish…” That she loved me.
Will put his mug down and smiled. “You’ve never been the most patient person. She needs time, you’ve only known each other a short while. After everything that girl has been through, it’s no wonder that she’s scared.”
“Scared? Of me?”
Will stood and poured more coffee. “Even as a child, you had a singular focus when something caught your interest.” Will smiled. “Remember your piano lessons? You wore out that keyboard we bought you till we finally had to buy a real piano. Kathy Wagner always said you were her finest student.”
“She’s a great teacher.” That piano still sat in the living room. He was glad his folks hadn’t sold it when he’d moved out. He’d love to have it in his home when he and Em got married and moved to Pine Hill. She’d loved the house, the outside anyway. He wanted to show her the inside, but he didn’t want to inconvenience his tenants.
Will sat forward, resting his hands on the table. “But, Jack, give the girl a break. Your life is very complicated. She obviously isn’t comfortable with that aspect.”
All his insecurities bubbled to the surface. “What if she doesn’t…”
“Jack, she’s been through a lot, and well, that ex of hers…” Will clenched and unclenched his fist. “She needs time and patience. It took weeks and weeks of convincing before your mother agreed to go out with me.”
No More Yesterdays: A Rock Star Romance (Rocked in Love Book 2) Page 35