by Susan Meier
He nipped at her breast, then took a nipple in his mouth and began to suckle. Straddled over him as she was, it suddenly felt very decadent. His hands roamed over every inch of her, and her hands roamed over every inch of him until she was so aroused again that she didn’t want to wait. She levered herself up and slid down on him. He groaned.
But her breath shuddered in and out. He reached up and toyed with her breasts as she rose and glided down, every movement swelling her insides, building a tension that made her shiver. She continued the slow pace, her eyes closed, her breaths just barely sustaining her, until she felt his finger slide down her clit and she gasped. But she didn’t stop and neither did he. The result was an orgasm that rocked her so hard, her mouth opened and the words I love you sprang to her lips. She caught them at the last second. Bit her tongue to keep them from escaping before she collapsed on top of him.
They cuddled a bit, but her near-miss with I love you shook her so much she told him she was tired and quickly dressed. She left his house and ten minutes after that fell to her own bed, furious with herself.
At eight the next morning, she stumbled out of bed still angry with herself. The ease with which she almost said those words brought her up short, but it also put her smack dab against reality. Either she got ahold of herself or she was going to have to break this off. He might be okay with them liking each other, but he would have a fit if she told him she loved him.
Her pounding head had her reaching to open the medicine cabinet door, looking for pain relievers. She had to move an almost empty box of tampons aside to find the little bottle of blue pills, and when she touched the box her heart stopped. Her breathing shimmied.
Dear God. She hadn’t gotten her period.
She took three fast steps back, away from the medicine cabinet, as if afraid it would bite her, and did the math in her head. Though they’d used condoms every time, their first night—the night they were just crazy with lust—they hadn’t even thought of them. Birth control had been the last thing on her mind.
The math finished itself in her head, and she slid down her bathroom wall. But she refused to let herself panic.
She endured an interminable morning of pretending nothing was wrong, then dressed for work. Cool as a cucumber under the soothing mist in the produce section, she slid into an O’Riley’s smock and took a slow stroll around the store. When she got into the feminine products aisle, she looked right, then left, and slid a pregnancy test off the shelf and into the big pocket of her smock.
Nerves filled her like a swarm of fireflies. God only knew how she’d finish her shift.
Once Cade left, she put the pregnancy test into her oversize purse in the office, but she couldn’t go onto the sales floor. Instead, she opened the filing cabinets and stared at the manila folders.
She needed work, real work to keep her mind off her potential pregnancy, and going through these files was real work.
Scooping a handful of manila folders out of the first drawer, she set about to look for Cade’s grandfather’s proof, though the very idea made her laugh. It was suddenly idiotic to care how or why her father had lost the store. The bottom line was he’d lost it. Period. As Cade had said, wasn’t it really time for everybody to move on?
Instead of opening any of the files, she got boxes from the storage room and filled them with the ancient accounting records. She’d have to call an accountant in the morning, but she was pretty sure ten-year-old files were beyond the reach of the IRS, and she could burn these.
By the time she was done removing old files from the first cabinet, she was exhausted. But that was good. When Cade called to make plans for the night, she honestly told him she was too tired. He sounded disappointed, but agreed, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Only somebody who truly liked her—wasn’t just having crazy monkey sex to entertain himself—would so easily agree.
But if she were pregnant, it would ruin everything.
Exhaustion finally took her at two that morning. She slept until seven, when she bounced up in bed, grabbed her test, and peed on the stick.
Then blinked back tears when the test very clearly, very cheerfully, told her she was pregnant.
…
Cade stood in the office, looking at the boxes of files, frowning. What the hell was she doing?
His cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “Yeah.”
“Well, good morning to you too.”
“Hey, Devon. What’s up?”
“Mom wants to meet with everyone tonight.”
He walked over to the desk, plopped down on the chair. “Oh, yeah? Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s Mom’s meeting. Just be at Finn’s tonight at seven thirty.”
He disconnected the call, and Cade frowned at the phone. It wasn’t like Devon to be so testy, and that might have made Cade guess that the meeting had been called because their dad hadn’t signed the agreement… Except his mom had called the meeting.
Given the size of the estate his family had inherited, she might just think it was time for them to make some decisions.
He focused his thoughts on the fortune they’d inherited, and came face-to-face with the knowledge that when he left for Montana, he’d be leaving Piper. Really leaving her. He might run into her on the street when he visited his mom or Finn and Ellie, but there’d be nothing between them. As soon as he put down real roots at the ranch, he’d give up everything they had. He wouldn’t tie her to him with possible holiday sex. That wouldn’t be fair.
When he left, they ended.
A funny feeling squeezed his chest. All these weeks he’d been in Harmony Hills, he’d barely thought about the ranch. But the mere idea of leaving Piper left him breathless.
He shook his head to clear it. He wasn’t missing the ranch because he was totally entertained by his soft and scintillating partner. Right from the beginning, they’d agreed to no ties. When he returned to Montana, what they had would be a warm, happy memory that would keep him toasty on cold, cold nights.
And that was that.
His gaze rippled over to the boxes again. His brow wrinkled. In the beginning of their partnership, he would have thought she was destroying evidence. This morning he knew she was too honest to do that. So what the hell was she doing? And why had he gotten an odd sense of trouble when he’d seen those boxes?
By the time she arrived at two, his thoughts had bounced back and forth between trouble for his family and trouble with Piper. When she finally stepped into the office, he was so glad to see her, he jumped up and kissed her senseless before she even said hello.
Instead of the breathless happy response he expected, she stepped away. “Don’t.”
Well, damn it to hell. Something was wrong. He crossed his arms on his chest. “Why not? Having second thoughts? Suddenly too good for me?” He wasn’t entirely sure where that had come from, but it had simply been a long day of thinking too much about possibilities with no solid substance, and he was on edge.
She stepped back as if he’d slapped her.
He ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Sorry. Devon called this morning. My mother wants a family meeting and I came in to find these…” He pointed at the boxes. “Every time my mother went on a cleaning rampage it was because something was wrong.”
“Something is wrong.” She met his gaze. “Or right, depending on your vantage point.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m pregnant.”
He dropped to the chair. “Pregnant? Aren’t you on the pill?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Really? In this day and age, you’re going to blame me?”
His heart thudded to a stop. Confusion rolled over him like a steamroller. “I just…I’m just…”
She sat on the seat across the desk from him. “Confused. Yeah, I get it. Join the club. Though we’ve used condoms, we didn’t use anything our first night. I’m guessing you assumed I was on the pill, and I was a bit too…well”—she felt her face heat—“preoccupied to really think things through. Neither safe sex
nor potential pregnancy were on my mind.”
He picked up a pencil, tried to look calm and in control. “I know.” He caught her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“Anyway, I figured it out last night. Had to wait until morning to do the test.” She glanced at the boxes. “I needed something to keep me busy.”
“So you decided to throw away the files that might contain the proof that my grandfather didn’t cheat your father?”
She sighed and rose. “Does it really matter?” She turned and walked to the door, opened it, and walked out.
A sense of profound stupidity replaced his confusion. He gave himself the right to five minutes of what-the-hell? But it left a bad, guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was over thirty. He shouldn’t react to a pregnancy like a dumbstruck teenager. But now that he had, now that he’d upset Piper, he knew he had to have his ducks in a row before they talked again.
Chapter Seventeen
Cade hadn’t intended to invite himself to supper, but when Finn opened his front door, and the scent of chicken and potatoes hit him, he knew he’d come at a bad time.
“Cade? You’re early.”
He took a step back. “I know. I’d kind of wanted to talk to you before Devon and Mom got here, but if you’re eating I can come back later.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No. But…”
“No buts.” He caught Cade’s arm and dragged him inside. “There’s plenty.”
They walked through the kitchen to a small table in a little area with a bay window just big enough to accommodate four or five people. Sunny yellow walls and a bright yellow tablecloth gave the space the look of happiness, like this was a place where happy people lived.
Ellie looked up from setting the table. “Hey, Cade.”
“Hey.”
“He’s joining us for dinner,” Finn said.
She didn’t even blink. “I’ll get an extra plate.”
Finn directed him to sit at an empty place, which Ellie filled with a dish, utensils, and a napkin while Finn got the glass pan filled with chicken, carrots, and potatoes.
As she sat, Ellie winced. “It’s not fancy.”
“It smells great.” And it did. It smelled like home. On the days their dad worked late, their mom would make something simple like this and they’d eat at the kitchen table, laughing, because they could.
Finn dished up a plate of the chicken and handed it to Cade. “So what’s up? Wanna talk things through before Mom gets here?”
“Actually, I wanted to talk about Piper.”
Finn laughed.
Ellie tapped his hand in reprimand. The gesture was both silly, yet intimate. “Don’t be bad.” Cade watched the casual love between them. “I went to lunch with Ashley Lashinsky the other day and we ended up talking about Piper. She didn’t leave Tom at the altar because she was flaky. She left because she didn’t feel any kind of zing for him. They’d dated so long and were so comfortable they didn’t even realize that they might love each other as friends, but they weren’t romantically in love. It was right for her to walk away from that wedding. Especially since Ashley and Tom adore each other.”
Cade cleared his throat. “That’s kind of how I see it.”
Finn gave him a funny look. “You like her?”
He cleared his throat again. “Yes. And we’re seeing each other.”
Ellie lit like a Christmas tree. “I’d heard your car had been spotted at her apartment. That’s great!”
“Yeah. Well… She’s pregnant.”
Finn blinked. “Sounds like you’ve been more than seeing each other.”
Cade rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”
Ellie patted his hand to get his attention. “So what are you going to do?”
“A few days ago I told her she can have the store. I explained that we’re trying to keep a low profile because of Dad, but we don’t need O’Riley’s. We have other assets. But she doesn’t want it.” He shrugged. “If it comes down to it, I could just walk away and the argument would be over. Pap’s will says if I leave before a year is out, she gets the store.”
“But you don’t feel right walking away.”
He glanced over at Ellie. She hadn’t meant it as a comparison to Lonnie. She was simply asking an honest question, so he gave an honest reply.
“Nothing feels right with her.” He shook his head. “That’s wrong. Everything feels right with her. Like we’ve known each other forever.”
Finn burst out laughing. “You love her.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Still, his psyche didn’t rebel at the thought, and part of him actually kind of liked the idea. “But I’m not going to leave her alone and pregnant in a small town known for gossip.”
Ellie caught his gaze. “Really? That’s what you feel? You just want to rescue her from gossip?”
He sighed. “No. This is my child. I want to be a part of things.”
“Because you really like Piper.”
“I do.” He sucked in a quiet breath. “I think I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
Finn’s mouth fell open. “Oh, you are in for a boatload of gossip.”
Ellie tapped Finn’s hand again. “Stop! This isn’t supposed to be about gossip. This is a decision they should make because it’s what they want. Not a way to avoid gossip.” She looked at Cade. “Are you happy with her?”
“Yes. Oddly.”
Ellie laughed with glee. “Of course it feels odd. Love is unexpected. You should have seen what I felt for your brother when we first started…seeing each other.” She laughed. “And Piper’s a nice woman. A good woman. And you’re going to have a baby! My God, Cade, you should be celebrating.”
He laughed. “That’s the other thing. Now that I have this all sorted out, I feel like a burden’s been lifted.”
“You feel happy.”
He laughed again. “I guess.”
Ellie shook her head. “You Donovans. Seriously. Happiness has to sneak up on you and bite you in the ass before you feel it.”
Finn caught her hand, leaned in, and smacked a kiss on her lips. “Yeah, but once we get it, we get it.” He faced Cade. “Congratulations, bro.”
“Well, don’t congratulate me yet. I didn’t exactly take the news well and Piper may just tell me to get lost.” He sucked in another breath. Now that he knew what he wanted, the urge to run to Piper and ask her to marry him consumed him. But he couldn’t desert his family. “So…any idea why Mom called this meeting?”
“I’m guessing Dad didn’t sign the agreement,” Finn said before he lifted a forkful of potatoes. “Otherwise, Devon would have told us to have champagne on hand.”
“Right.” Cade shook his head. “Poor Mom.”
Ellie said, “Your mother will be fine. Now that she’s out of the house, her days are better and better. I think she’s got the patience to wait out your dad.”
“But I don’t,” Cade said, reaching for a roll. He glanced at his watch. Ten minutes until Devon got there. Another twenty minutes for the meeting, then he could go to Piper.
Finn seconded that. “Neither do I. I’d give him a million dollars just to get him out of our lives, but I know that won’t go over well with Devon.”
When Devon and their mom arrived, Cade told them about the baby, and announced he would be asking Piper to marry him. Once the shock wore off and the celebration was over, their mom told them their dad had called and said he wanted a new agreement with a lump sum payment for him.
“Notice he didn’t call me,” Devon said, clearly furious. “It’s obvious the bastard has figured out there was more to the estate.”
Eager to get this business done, Cade said, “And he wants what?”
LuAnn sucked in a breath. “Two million dollars.”
“Counter with an offer of a million,” Finn calmly said.
Devon gaped at him. “I will not give him one cent.”
“Then be prepared for him to be a thorn in our sid
es—in Mom’s side,” Finn emphasized, “forever.”
Devon ran his fingers along the top of his head and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I’ll think of something.”
“I’m sure you will.” Cade rose. “But before it gets too late, I’m going to go talk to Piper.”
Ellie walked him to the door, kissed his cheek. “Good luck.”
He smiled sheepishly. His family was being overrun by women. Good women, but women all the same. “Thanks.”
He stepped out into the brisk October night and walked to his truck. The moon was bright. The air smelled like fall. And going to Piper’s seemed so right it was weird.
Driving to her apartment, he ran through several different versions of what he could say to her, but when she opened her door to him, he stepped inside, slid his hands under the hair at her nape, and kissed her senseless.
“I want to marry you.”
“What?”
He pushed back so he could see her eyes. “Before you answer, think about the fun we just had kissing. Imagine having that much fun every day for the next sixty or seventy years.”
…
She could. She could see them old and gray, still hot for each other.
“But we both know this isn’t just about sex now.” He pressed his hand to her belly. “We made a baby. We have responsibilities. We need to take care of business…”
“Cade—”
He took her shoulders and forced her gaze to his again. “I’m trying to tell you that we will have the best of both worlds. We’re smart enough to know we have a child to raise, but—” He smoothed his hand down her bottom. “We kind of like each other.”
The simplicity of his logic made her laugh. Technically, he’d just described a recipe for a very good marriage.
Except he’d never once used the word love.
Of course, his father had probably loved his mom and her dad had undoubtedly told her mom he loved her…right before he went out and gambled away their livelihood in a poker game.
So what was love anyway, when compared to responsibilities and lust?
She blinked up at him.
He smiled hopefully. “Say yes.”