Once she reached him, she once again rose up on tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Congrats on having a high school graduate.” She pulled away and added, “Did you bring Zane with you? Or is he too cool to hang with us old folks?”
“Congrats to you, too. And what are you talking about … old folks? I’m the old one here, not you,” he replied.
With a snort and playful slap on the shoulder, she said, “Give it a rest, there’s only a few years between us, and you’re not even forty.”
“Thank God for that.” He visibly shuddered at the thought of being forty. “These are for you.” He handed her the flowers, which she accepted before promptly stuffing her nose down into them. “The card is for Jonathan; is there somewhere I should put it?”
“How sweet of you, on both counts, but you didn’t need to do that. You can put it in that basket over there.” She pointed in the direction of a table that had the cake, a basket of cards, and various presents on it. He discreetly tried to take in the people around him but still hadn’t found Allie. Not wanting to rude, he turned his attention back to Gillian as she hooked her arm in his and said, “Come inside with me so I can put these in water.”
He dutifully escorted Gillian inside; slightly disappointed he’d not spotted Allie yet. Once in the kitchen, she pointed to a cabinet over the fridge and asked him to retrieve a vase. “I would totally get it myself, but if someone sees me reaching up there and tells Jake, I’ll be covered in bubble wrap and placed in a chair for the rest of the evening.” Shaking her head as she said that, he laughed and watched her fill it with water.
“Is the pregnancy going okay? Seems like Jake is awfully concerned.” He couldn’t help but wonder if there was a reason Jake was overly protective of her.
Gillian sighed and smiled. “Yes, the pregnancy is just fine. Poor Jake’s nerves haven’t recovered from when I was injured at the beginning. I don’t blame him. He spent pretty much the first three months wondering if it would all end.” She looked down at her distended abdomen and rubbed it. “But I am well past the point of risk due to being shot. He just hasn’t been able to calm down about it.” Mike considered what Jake had to endure, and he couldn’t blame the guy. He hadn’t realized how at-risk Gillian had been, but it definitely made sense. He would think that it wasn’t uncommon for a woman to miscarry a pregnancy after suffering a gunshot wound. It truly was a miracle that she was still successfully carrying their child.
Shaking his head, he said, “I feel like an ass for asking now. I hadn’t even considered the big picture. In fact, maybe you really should sit down.” He tried ushering her to a seat, but she caught up on his humor and laughed at his attempt.
“No, really, if that happened to my pregnant woman, nine months of bubble wrap and tissue paper for sure.” He attempted his best I’m serious face as he said that.
“All right, Mr. Comedian, you better not say crap like that when Jake is in ear shot or I’ll sick Allie on you.”
Mike raised his eyebrows. “So, does that mean she’d do whatever you tell her to do to me? ‘Cause I have some ideas of how that can go down.”
“Oh hell, you’re as bad as the rest of them. Here I thought I reeled in a normal one to balance out the group,” Gillian said as she huffed out a laugh and shook her head before finishing, “Now tell me what Allie said that had you confused or concerned.” Recalling Allie’s words brought him out of his joking mood as he told Gillian how Allie made reference to her husband’s death being her fault.
Gillian shook her head in confusion. “Marc died in a car accident on his way down from Los Angeles. Allie had nothing to do with it. I know she felt guilty about the fact that he used to have to make that drive a lot, but nothing was her fault. And now I’m irritated with her.”
“Well you can’t say anything to her, or she might stop talking to me all together. She just started, and I don’t want her to stop,” Mike said in a tone that he hoped conveyed his pleading need for Gillian to keep quiet. She picked up on it and patted him on the arm.
“Calm down, I won’t, but that doesn’t mean I’m not irritated by her saying stupid crap.”
Mike relaxed and asked, “Is she here? I haven’t seen her yet.”
With a nod, Gillian said, “Last I saw, she was in the pool house holding my niece. She has a perimeter set up around her, ready to take down anyone that attempts to take the sleeping baby from her. If they ask for a password, I would try Lego-guy.”
Mike had to see this for himself, but first made sure Gillian didn’t need any more help from him. Saying hello to a few people along the way, he shook hands with Sean, Gillian’s brother, gave a wave to Jason from across the distance, congratulated Jonathan on graduation, and got a hug from Morgan, Sean’s wife, before opening the door and entering the pool house. The building ran the length of the pool and boasted screened windows that allowed an unobstructed view of the pool from pretty much anywhere in the structure.
At one end there was a kitchenette that took up the whole wall, complete with indoor grill and sink. The opposite end held a door, which he assumed was a bathroom or changing room, and cabinetry took up the rest of the wall, more than likely for towels and other outdoor type toys. Somewhat in the center of the room, there was a table and chairs, and just beyond that, on the back wall, was a sitting area complete with a couch and loveseat, with complementing tables.
Allie was on the couch, reclining with her legs perched on the table, eyes closed and her hands were idly rubbing the back of the sleeping child draped over her chest. He just stood there, taking her in.
The sweetness of the sight was not lost on him, even if you didn’t pay attention to the fact that she had indeed set up a perimeter of protection. Her nephews, Dylan and Ryan, sat on each side of her, both armed with several Nerf guns of varying sizes. They were both staring at him, weapons aimed. Mike fought to conceal the laughter that was bubbling up inside of him at the sight. Dylan, Gillian’s youngest, spoke first, “This is a password secured area, nothing to see. Move along.”
He said it in a fully authoritative tone, like he was a six foot tall man going toe to toe with him. Mike noticed Allie peek open an eye and wrap her arms more securely around the baby, before seeing it was him and relaxing. She smiled and closed her eye again as she nuzzled her face down in the baby’s soft hair. “Stand down Captain, he’s a friendly.” Both boys lowered their foam-wielding weapons and sat back to watch whatever was on the TV screen mounted on the wall behind him.
Slightly pleased she called him a friendly, he smiled as he made his way closer. Amusement obvious in his voice, he said, “So I won’t need my password?” She smiled, but her eyes remained closed.
“You aren’t planning on taking this baby from my possession, are you?”
“Only if you deny me the pleasure of sitting with you,” he said. After a few seconds of silence, she opened her eyes and looked at her nephews before saying, “Gentlemen, you are relieved of duty. Please leave your weapons and proceed to have fun.” Both young men jumped up and saluted their aunt with a “Ma’am, yes ma’am,” before marching out of the pool house.
“Got them pretty well trained I see.”
Allie snorted before replying, “What can I say, they love me and would do anything for me. Besides, the people around here are ruthless and will stop at nothing to steal poor defenseless babies.” He laughed at how she made it sound like her family was up to no good, instead of spoiling their youngest addition.
“Should I be honored that you have dismissed your protective detail and allowed me this close to the baby?”
“Let’s just say that I’m pretty sure you know the deal. If you make a play for the baby, or assist any of the others, you will be completely cut off. It’s an unforgiveable act of treason.” She opened her eyes and gave him an assessing look, before smirking at him. “And something tells me you don’t want to be cut off.” Closing her eyes once again, he watched as she took in a long deep breath of the baby’s scen
t before letting out a deep, contented sigh. “It really is the best smell in the world.”
Mike had to agree. He may be a guy, but he remembered that smell—the one that it didn’t matter which baby you inhaled, they smelled the same. It may have been a very long time since his son was born, but he remembered it clearly. He also had the luxury of spending plenty of time with his niece so the scent was easy to recall. It was one thing that his wife said instantly made him relax. So on the days he came home from work, all stressed out, she would thrust Zane into his arms and force him to sit. Worked like a charm each time. Of course, things were a little different now—he didn’t go around smelling other people’s babies, or his son for that matter. But he did always feel pretty good when he was around him.
Right now, though, there was someone else whose scent was both relaxing and intoxicating. It was a citrusy smell, more orange than any other scent; it almost made her seem edible. And very arousing, he thought as he sat down next to her and took in a slow deep breath of his own. Or at least he hoped it sounded like he was relaxing, otherwise it would come off as creepy. He didn’t think creepy would help his case. Picking up one of the abandoned assault weapons, he gave it a once over making sure it was loaded, before pointing it at the door to assess his aim. Lowering the toy back to his lap, he looked over at Allie, who was watching him and said, “You’re correct, I don’t want to be cut off. So I totally got your back.”
She smirked back at him. “A guy and his Nerf gun, how cute.”
“Hey, this isn’t cute. It’s an assault weapon. A pretty cool one, if I do say so myself. They didn’t have crap like this when I was little. We had stupid little dart guns with suction cups on the ends.” He shook his head at the difference.
“Wow, Lawson, next you’re going to talk about how back in your day, you didn’t have video games like these youngsters do. I bet you even drank water from the faucet.” She let out a mock gasp at the horrifying thought of doing just that.
Raising his eyebrows, he said, “You dare mock me, woman? I am armed you know.” He lifted his weapon to remind her. She only smiled back.
“Armed and dangerous for sure.”
ALLIE couldn’t think of a more appropriate phrase to describe the man sitting next to her. He was dangerous with a capital D, and she could only fantasize about what he was armed with. The fact that there was fantasizing going on only made her glad for the baby sleeping on her chest, essentially holding her down. Though she wasn’t exactly sure what the baby was preventing her from doing to Mike. And thinking about what that might be only led her down a path she didn’t want to travel.
“Nice, the lady thinks I’m dangerous.” Mike paused to smile. “Isn’t that code for hot and sexy? I mean, women speak in codes and alternate meanings, right? So I think armed and dangerous should translate into something like … charming and irresistible. Oh wait, how ‘bout sexy and badass? Or you could just call me a sexy badass, that works, too.” Then he winked at her. But this time, it was less irritating than she recalled from earlier in the day. This time, in combination with the charming-sexy-badass comments, it warmed her. She might have even blushed a tiny bit. Time to change the topic!
She gave a slightly uncomfortable laugh to cover up her blush and said, “Okay, sexy badass, where’s Zane?”
He smiled triumphantly, “See, it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” He nodded as if he was agreeing with himself before continuing, “He didn’t come. Had a party of his own to go to.”
“Oh, bummer. I was hoping to congratulate him in person, and I have a card for him,” she said in a slightly disappointed tone. Even though Zane wasn’t one of her nephews, she had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions, and he seemed to be a great kid—one she wouldn’t mind hanging out with. Allie watched the arrogant smile on his face fall away, quickly replaced with a warm happy one.
“You have a card for him?”
“Yes, of course I do. He’s my neighbor, isn’t he? Plus I like giving gifts.” She turned away from him and focused on the baby who now stirred a little, slowly waking up.
“I’ll have to let him know. He works tomorrow ‘til about four. Maybe you could stop by tomorrow after work and give it to him then. I could even feed you for your troubles.”
The hope she heard in his voice as he mentioned feeding her tugged on her heartstrings. It was an instant reminder that she needed to say no. Her conversation with him right now was nowhere near the bitchy sarcastic manner it needed to be to keep him at arm’s length. She was attempting to muster up that attitude when her niece, Madison, came into the pool house. Allie watched as she came in and went straight to the DVD player. Unsure what was going on, she asked, “Hey Maddie, what’re you up to?”
Before she could respond, Mike whispered close to her ear, “Is she a threat? Am I supposed to take her out?” She shivered at his proximity before laughing at his comment and looking at him. His position put him too close to her face, and she fought to control the gasp that almost escaped. He was close, his lips were very close. She could feel his breath on her cheek, over her lips. Her skin tingled with the sensation, and her body almost leaned in for contact. Why wasn’t she moving away, she asked herself. Why wasn’t he moving away for that matter? Thank God for Maddie interrupting whatever the heck it was that was happening.
“Oh, hi Auntie, I didn’t see you there. I was just going to get the DVD player set up to play a video Grandma and I made for Jonathan. Mom said it would be better to set it up out here ‘cause there was more room for everyone.”
She turned back to face Madison and readjust her position to a less relaxed position. Clearly, when she was comfortable, she let her guard down. “You made a video with Grandma? How is that even possible? She can’t even check her email without assistance.”
Madison giggled as she went about her business of setting things up and said, “I know, right? Maybe it would be better to say that I made the video, on her computer, using pictures that she supplied me. She has a big collection of them so I had to use hers.”
Pictures? There were going to be pictures … of who? She suddenly felt like she should be avoiding this video of pictures. Sometimes it was easier to avoid painful reminders of happy times gone by. In an attempt to extract herself from the possibility of such pain, she made a move to get up when everyone started to pile into the room. Her chance at escaping and not witnessing this had passed before she even knew she needed to. Sitting back into the couch, her heart rate picked up as a small amount of panic set in. She was certain there was going to be pictures of Marc—there had to be. This was his family, too.
Taking in a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down a little. The baby probably picked up on her tension and began to wake up more. Allie focused on her and made soothing noises. She wasn’t sure if she was doing it for the baby or herself, but it seemed to work for both. Gurgling noises caught her attention, and chubby little hands started grabbing for Allie’s cheeks. She couldn’t help but smile before pressing the chubby little hand to her lips to blow a raspberry on it, making the baby giggle. Mike huffed a laugh, too, which then caught the baby’s attention, causing her to make a grab for his face. Allie held the baby tighter, but let her play with him. He smiled, made cooing sounds, and then also blew a raspberry on that chubby little hand. It was freaking adorable.
People had filled the room, and the baby was taking note of all of them, especially when her mother came in. She reached out for her as Morgan came closer and sat next to Allie. Settling her on her lap, she gave her kisses and a snuggle before asking Allie, “Did she just wake up?”
Allie nodded. “Yeah, when everyone started to come in. Up ‘til then, she was sound asleep and totally comfortable.”
Morgan answered Allie in a baby-like voice, as she bounced her daughter on her knee. “Of course she was. She was with Aunt Allie. All babies love their Aunt Allie. Isn’t that right? Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”
Apparently baby talk about her was, calmin
g too, Allie thought as she grabbed onto it and held on tight. Her anxiety was starting to climb again. Closing her eyes, she took in a slow, surprisingly steady breath. Then another. She knew there were quite a few people in the room, but the only noise she could hear was her heartbeat, which was crazy loud in her ears.
A hand on her knee drew her attention away from the pounding in her ears. She looked to the hand, then up to the body it was attached to. Mike had a concerned look on his face as he stared down at her. He had abandoned the Nerf gun and was leaning a bit toward her as he squeezed his hand still resting on her knee. “You okay?”
She could only nod as she looked back at him, assuming she really looked like she was about to lose her shit in front of everyone. “You don’t look like you’re okay. Should I get the baby back for you? I’m sure I can get her from Morgan, but then I would have to deal with Sean, and then you’d be on your own for protection at that point.” A small smile found her lips, which somehow let her breath a little easier, too. He was distracting her, whether he realized it or not, and she was grateful for it. Allie tried to hang on to that distraction as she heard the music start, signaling the beginning of the slideshow.
CHAPTER FIVE
MIKE watched the color drain right out of Allie’s face. It looked like a good old-fashioned panic attack was setting in. Not sure what triggered it or why, he reached out and touched her knee, thinking it was the only safe place to touch her. He needed to touch her to get her attention, since he thought she might not hear him otherwise. When he asked her if she was okay, she gave a very good impression of a bobble head doll. But the look of panic was still there.
Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) Page 5