The lawyer blustered a bit, pretending to be insulted, but Brooke knew there was a better than even chance he would dial her mother’s cell number as soon as Brooke walked out of the room.
The man scowled. “Your parents are looking out for your best interests, Miss Goodman.”
“It’s Ms.,” she said. “I’m twenty-six years old. Plenty old enough to know my own mind. I’ll bring you the marriage license as soon as I have it. And then?”
He shrugged. “I’ll file the paperwork. Barring any kind of hiccups, the transfer of your grandmother’s assets should be fairly straightforward.”
“What kind of hiccups?” Brooke asked, mildly alarmed.
“Merely a figure of speech.”
She left the office soon after. This time the queasiness in her stomach had nothing to do with her pregnancy. Surely her parents wouldn’t try to contest her grandmother’s will. It was ironclad. Wasn’t it?
Unfortunately, the meeting with the lawyer directly preceded her first visit with the ob-gyn who would be caring for Brooke during her pregnancy and birth. The woman frowned when she saw Brooke’s blood pressure. “Have you had issues with your BP in the past, Ms. Goodman?”
Brooke flushed. “No, ma’am. I had kind of an upsetting afternoon. That’s all. I’ll be fine.”
The appointment lasted almost an hour. Brooke was poked and prodded and examined from head to toe. Except for the blood pressure thing, she was in perfect health. The doctor gave her a stern lecture about stress and demonstrated a few relaxation techniques. At the very last, Brooke received the piece of information she had been waiting for.
The doctor smiled. “Since you seem to know the exact date you conceived, it makes things easier. I’ve marked your due date as May 14. Congratulations, Ms. Goodman. I’ll see you in another month.”
Brooke took her paperwork, handed over the copay and walked out of the office on unsteady legs. Deep down, perhaps she had been hoping that the whole pregnancy thing was a mistake. Except for the nausea and occasional light-headedness, she still didn’t feel pregnant.
But now, there was no doubt.
She stopped at the pharmacy to pick up her new vitamins—tablets the size of horse pills—and then she drove by the piece of property she hoped to buy soon. The empty lot sat forlorn. Brooke leaned her arms on the steering wheel and stared through the rain-spattered windshield.
Her art center would be the kind of place where she could bring her infant to work. Being her own boss would be the best of both worlds. She could be a parent and still create her dream of a thriving studio for children and young teens to pursue their artistic endeavors.
She wished she had brought Austin here. He needed to see what he was helping her accomplish. And besides, she missed him. Her body yearned for his in a way that was physical and real and impossible to ignore. Already, her life seemed empty when he wasn’t around.
That thought should have alarmed her, but she was too tired to wrestle with the ramifications of falling for the handsome cowboy. She would try to protect her heart. It was all she could do.
When she returned home, it was as if her wistful thoughts had conjured a man out of thin air. Austin was sitting on the front porch when she walked up the path. Her parents had given the house staff the weekend off, not out of any sense of altruism but because they didn’t want to pay hourly employees when they were out of town.
Hence, there had been no one to answer the door.
Austin unfolded his lean, lanky body and stretched. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”
“I live here,” she pointed out calmly, trying not to let him see that her palms were sweaty and her heart was beating far too fast.
He grinned. “Not for long.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I have a surprise for you. Will you come with me? No questions asked?”
She hadn’t been looking forward to an evening all alone. “Yes. Do I need to change?”
“Nope.” He steered her back down the walk in the direction she had come moments before. Her wedding dress was still in the trunk of her car, so she used her keys to beep the lock. It would be fine for the moment. Before she could climb into the cab of the truck, Austin put his hands at her waist, lifted her and set her gently on the seat.
She wanted to make a joke about how strong he was and that he was her prince charming, but she stopped herself. This wasn’t an ordinary flirtation. They weren’t an ordinary couple.
Once they began driving, it didn’t take long for her to realize that Austin was taking her to their new condo. When he parked at the curb, she shot him a teasing glance. “Breaking and entering? Not really my style.”
Austin reached in his pocket and dangled a set of keys in front of her face. “I sweet-talked the rental agent into the giving me the keys early. She made me swear we wouldn’t move in until Monday. Insurance regulations, you know. But tonight, it’s all ours.”
On the top step sat a jaunty pumpkin. His jack-o’-lantern face had been carved into a perpetual glare.
Brooke laughed softly. “You did this?”
Austin nodded. “Yes.”
“I love it.” Warmth seeped into her soul. That and the reassurance that she wasn’t being entirely foolish. All her doubts settled for the moment, lost in the excitement of being with Austin. “Did you mention dinner? I seem to be perpetually hungry these days.”
“Follow me.” He unlocked the front door with a flourish. In the living room, he had somehow managed to procure a romantic meal, complete with candles and strawberries and a crystal vase filled with daisies. “You’ve had a lot of stress lately, darlin’. I thought we both deserved a break.”
She looked up at him through damp eyes. “A lovely idea. Thank you, Austin.”
He cocked his head, a slight frown appearing between his eyebrows. “Something’s wrong.”
Brooke sat down on the floor and leaned back against the sofa, stretching out her legs. “Not really. Just a lot of adulting today.”
“Like what?” he asked, joining her.
“Well, the lawyer’s office, for one.”
His gaze sharpened. “The prenup?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“And I got a dress for our wedding.”
“Excellent.”
“And I also had my first visit with my ob-gyn.”
His lips twitched. “I’m impressed.”
“No, you’re not,” she said slowly. “You’re making fun of me.”
“I’m not, I swear. You’re a list maker, aren’t you?”
“To the bone. Is that a bad thing?”
He leaned over and kissed the side of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “I like a woman who can focus.”
She moaned when he pulled her close and found her mouth with his. His lips were warm and firm and masculine. Arching her neck, she leaned into him and, for a few exciting moments, let herself indulge in the magic that was Austin.
But when the kiss threatened to burn out of control, she pulled back, still hesitant, still unsure of the big picture, no matter how much she craved his touch.
She cleared her throat. “Will I seem needy if I say I missed you today?”
“I missed you, too, Brooke.” His smile was lopsided, almost rueful. “In fact, I should have taken you with me, I think.”
“Taken me where?”
He hesitated briefly before responding. “I went to see my sister, Audra.”
“The tall redhead?”
“The one and only.”
“Was it a friendly, low-key visit, or an I’m-about-to-get-married announcement?” she asked.
He scraped his hands through his hair. “The second one. Audra thinks I’m making a big mistake.”
“Oh.” Brooke’s stomach curled into a tight knot of hurt and embarrassment. “She
’s probably right.”
“Audra didn’t have all the facts. I filled her in. And of course, the baby was the tipping point.”
“Oh, goody. She’s probably out right now getting my sister-in-law-of-the-year T-shirt.”
“You’re getting cranky,” he said. “Eat a taco.”
Austin must have had help with this picnic, because the food was still warm. Even so, her stomach revolted. She took one bite and set the plate aside. “Alexis thinks we’re making a big mistake, too.”
“Alexis Slade? Gus’s granddaughter?”
“I told you she’s my friend. She gave me the mural job, remember?”
He nodded. “I do. What’s her beef with me?”
“It’s not you,” Brooke said. She rested her chin on her knees. “She thinks I’ll let my gratitude for what you’re doing cause me to confuse sexual attraction with love.”
He went still, his entire body frozen for a full three seconds. At last he sighed, almost silently. “But you told her we’ve been very clear about our expectations...right?”
“I told her.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
The problem was that Austin Bradshaw was a gorgeous, sexy, intensely masculine man who also happened to be a decent, hardworking, kind human being. A platonic relationship might have worked if Brooke had thought of him as a brother. But from the first moment she’d set eyes on him in that bar in Joplin, she had wanted him. Badly.
Wanting was a short step to needing. And needing segued into loving with no trouble at all.
She managed a smile. “We don’t have a problem. I think everything is going exactly according to plan.”
Thirteen
In hindsight, Austin had to admit that preparing a romantic indoor picnic for a woman might be sending mixed signals. All he had wanted to do was reassure Brooke about moving in with him. To let her know that leaving her parents’ house was the right thing to do.
But now she seemed skittish around him, especially after that kiss.
Making Brooke smile and laugh was rapidly becoming an obsession. The way her gray eyes lit up when she was happy. The excitement in her voice when she told him about her plans. Even her shy anticipation about having a baby she had never meant to conceive at all.
Perhaps he was the one in danger.
He filled his plate in hopes that Brooke would follow suit. She had been so very sick these last few days, she was losing weight already. Her petite frame didn’t have pounds to spare. Right now, her cheekbones were far too pronounced—her collarbone, too.
She carried an air of exhaustion, though he had a hunch her fatigue was as much emotional as it was physical. Hearing and seeing what her parents had put her through in recent months made him angry on her behalf.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take a bite of the savory shredded-pork taco. Soon, she finished the entire thing, including most of the brown rice alongside it.
“Another one?” he asked.
Brooke eyed the platter longingly. “I don’t know. I don’t want to push it. The food is amazing, though. Where did you get it?”
“One of my carpenters is from Mexico. He and his family just opened a new restaurant on the south side of town. I told him what I was doing tonight, and he helped me get everything together.”
“Give that man a raise.” She put a hand on her stomach and grimaced. “I’ll wait fifteen minutes, and if everything stays down, I’m going to have a second.” She wiped a dollop of sour cream from the edge of her mouth, eyeing him with an expression he couldn’t decipher. “I’ve been thinking,” she said slowly.
“About what?” He dunked a chip in cheese sauce and ate it.
“Marriage. My art studio. Us.”
His gut tightened. “I thought we settled all that.”
“Well, when the two most important people in our lives wave red flags, it should make us think twice.”
“Our business is our business, Brooke. Neither of them understand where we stand on this.”
“At least hear me out. You don’t want to be married again. And you don’t want to have a child. I can’t do anything about that second part, but I did think of a way we could skip walking down the aisle.”
He stood up and folded his arms across his chest. “Oh?”
“The terms of Grammy’s will state that I get the money when I marry or on my thirtieth birthday. I’ll hit that mark three years and two months from now. Instead of marrying me, you could simply cosign the loan for my art studio with me. Then my parents wouldn’t try to contest the will or stop the wedding. You wouldn’t be legally tied to a woman who isn’t Jenny. And I wouldn’t have to feel guilty for ruining your life.”
Austin stared at her, feeling shifting sand beneath his feet. Everything she said made sense. Yet he hated every word. “Come here, woman.” He reached down, grabbed her hand and drew her to her feet. He put his hands on her face, cupping her cheeks in his palms. “No one,” he said firmly, “makes me do something I don’t want to do. I’m not marrying you because I have to. I don’t feel trapped. You’re not taking advantage of my good nature.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not?”
He dragged her against him, letting her feel the full extent of his arousal. His erection throbbed between them, pressing into her soft belly, telegraphing his intent. “This marriage is convenient for me, too,” he drawled. “I want you in my bed every night. I want you in a million different ways. I want to take you over and over again and make you cry out my name until neither of us can remember to breathe. You’re a fire in my blood.”
He paused, his chest heaving. The words had poured out of him like hot lava, churning to the surface without warning.
Brooke stared at him, eyes wide, lips parted. He put a hand on her flat belly. “This baby is ours,” he said softly. “Yours and mine. I never had that with Jenny. So that makes you pretty damned rare and unique. I don’t have it in me to love again. I won’t lie about that. But I’ll be good to you, Brooke. Can’t that be enough?”
Her lower lip wobbled. “I suppose.” Dampness sheened her eyes. He could fall into those deep gray pools and never come up for air. For six long years he had wandered in a wasteland of despair and pain. Every part of his soul was awakening now. The rebirth hurt in a different kind of way, which was why he had put safeguards in place.
This thing with Brooke was special, but he wouldn’t let it drag him under.
He scooped her into his arms and walked toward the master bedroom. The house had been staged for showing. Only a bedspread covered the mattress. Austin didn’t care. It had been too long since he’d been intimate with Brooke and felt her soft body strain against his.
Brooke was silent. For once, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He laid her down and lowered himself beside her, settling onto his right hip and propping his head on his hand. “I didn’t ask,” he said slowly, suddenly unsure of the situation. “I want to make love to you. Is that okay?”
She chewed her lip. “Have sex, you mean?”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pick at words. You know what I mean.”
She laughed softly, though he was convinced he saw doubts in her eyes. “I do know what you mean,” she said. “And yes. I want to have sex.”
He winced inwardly at her insistence on the more clinical phrase. Was she trying to make a point, or was the L word as much a problem for her as it was for him?
Shaking off the worrisome thoughts, he unbuttoned her designer jeans and placed a hand flat on her belly. “This is the first time we’ve done this knowing that you’re...” The word stuck in his throat. With some consternation, it occurred to him that he had never made love to a woman who was growing another human.
Brooke grinned. “Pregnant? Is that the word you’re looking for? All the parts st
ill work the same. The doctor said I have no restrictions in that area. And the good news is... I can’t get pregnant again.”
“Very funny.”
He leaned over and kissed her taut stomach. “You have a cute navel, Ms. Goodman. I can’t wait to see it grow.”
“I’ll have to finish the day-care murals soon before I get too fat to climb up a ladder.”
“Not fat,” he muttered, reaching underneath her to unfasten her bra. “Rounded. Voluptuous. Gorgeous.”
Brooke giggled until he took one nipple in his mouth and suckled it. Her tiny cry of pleasure sank claws of hunger into his gut. She tasted like temptation and sin, a heady cocktail.
“Tell me you want this.”
“I already did.”
“Beg me...”
* * *
The gruff demand showed Brooke a side of her cowboy she had never experienced before tonight. He wasn’t above torturing her. The rough slide of his tongue across her sensitive flesh was exquisite.
She cradled his head in her hands, sliding her fingers into his silky hair and pulling him closer. “Please,” she whispered. “Please, please, please make love to me, Austin.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He undressed her slowly. The house was warm. Even so, the erotic pace covered her body in gooseflesh. Austin’s hooded gaze and flushed cheekbones signaled a man on the edge.
In the silence, his ragged breathing was unsteady. Brooke, on the other hand, wasn’t sure she was breathing at all.
She hadn’t expected this time with Austin to be any different. But the baby was changing things already. This tiny life growing inside her had seemed like an ephemeral idea...a hard-to-believe notion.
Here...now, though, the child was almost tangible. She and Austin had created something magical. Was it her imagination, or was the tenderness in his gaze more pronounced tonight? Despite the unmistakable hunger in his touch, he had reined in his need. He was handling her like spun glass.
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