“So, where does that leave us?”
“Me in my house and you in your large penthouse.”
“But…”
“Remember what you said that first night?” he asked.
I furrowed my brow thinking of my grumpy ass as I was late and racing toward the restaurant. I’d been cursing my brother and Jason had run into me. “Ummm… not exactly. Was I swearing? You had a stain on your shirt.”
“Yeah, I’d spilled water because I was so nervous.”
“You never told me that.”
“Anyway, I guess technically I’m talking about the second night we met,” he said. “The night we slept together.”
I wriggled my ass and fluttered my lashes as I recalled him saying it was the best sex he’d ever had. “I said a lot of things, many of them unmentionable in front of a little one.” I pointed at his still-flat belly.
Jason rolled his eyes. “That little one is the size of a sesame seed right now.”
“I’ve heard sesame seeds are very intuitive. I should mind my potty mouth.”
He laughed and slapped my shoulder. “Now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say.”
“That’s a shame.”
His eyes lit up. “Now I remember. You said no buts.”
“Butts! With two Ts?”
He held his stomach and giggled. “You’re impossible.”
“I’ve heard that before.” My parents had told me that a lot.
Jason yawned and covered his mouth, and I stood up. “You need to sleep, and I should go.” I wanted to put him into bed and hold him until his breathing slowed, but we were not there yet. And maybe we never would be. But I had to tuck my feelings away and concentrate on him and our child. “Could we meet up tomorrow? Have dinner at my place or I could come here?”
“You cook?”
God no! “Not much. I’d order in.”
“How about we meet in a neutral setting. The place where we had our date?”
I thought of Tony hiding behind a potted plant ready to off someone at my command and winced. “Sure. Why not?” It was close to here and that’d be easy for Jason.
“Great. It’s a date.”
“That’s how it started,” I mumbled.
Jason put a hand in front of his mouth and murmured, “I think it started when we… you know.”
It’s cute he’s so shy about this. About fucking! When he had such a dirty mouth that night. “Okay. What time tomorrow?”
“I’ll message you. It depends how long it takes for the last fitting?”
I put a hand under his chin and tilted his head so those dazzling blue eyes were looking at me. “Will you promise me something?”
“Depends.”
“Unblock me.”
He grabbed his phone from the coffee table, stabbed at it a few times, and held it up. “Better?”
I got my phone and texted, Thanks. “Just checking,” I told him. Leaving was awkward. “Can I give you a hug?”
“Considering what you’ve already given me, I think that’s okay.”
He came into my arms and we both stood still. I inhaled that tantalizing aroma and wished we could stay like that. Forever. But this wasn’t just about me anymore.
88
Jason
“This is weird. The host keeps staring at us.” I was playing with my napkin on my lap.
“That’s Tony, and he’s probably wondering if you're the one.” Rex shrugged as if the sentence made a lick of sense.
“The one what? Like if I’m the one?” I chanced a glance over. Yep. He was still staring only this time he averted his eyes just enough for plausible deniability.
“When you blocked me, I maybe might've acted a little—stalkerish.” He picked up his glass of water and took a long sip.
“Define stalker-ish—do you mean like showing up at the coffee house across the street from my business?” I leaned back, not hating watching him squirm.
“That, and I came here thinking they might tell me where you were.”
“That is sweet in a stalkerish way.” And in any way, really. I’d been so quick to block him, my immature actions causing us both heartache.
“I guess. I just didn’t know how to find you, and it was not the wisest choice, but...I don’t regret it.” He looked at Tony. “I guess I kind of regret agreeing to this restaurant again, though.”
“The food is good.” And I was more than ready for it. I ordered a steak with risotto. My stomach felt better today than it had in weeks, and while I didn’t want to jinx myself by saying I’d magically gotten over the morning sickness hurdle, I was inwardly crossing all things that I had.
Of course, part of me wondered how much it had to do with Rex visiting and discovering he didn’t have a fiancé or even a casual person he dated. Had my nerves played a bigger role in my weight loss than I’d realized? If so, it was one more thing to add to the guilt quilt I was wrapped up in.
“The company is better.” He caught Tony staring again. “But we can take it to go if you prefer or go somewhere else.”
My stomach answered for me in a loud grumble that had the next table turning to see what it was.
“I’ll be right back.” He set his napkin on the table and walked over to Tony. I watched his ass the entire way because I might be pregnant, but I wasn’t blind. They chatted briefly, and he came back to the table and sat down.
“I almost ordered the onion soup.” He scratched his chin. “I’m having non-ordering remorse over it after seeing one on my way back.”
“You are going to skip over what that was about?” Not that I didn’t have a strong guess.
“I told him you were you and thanked him for not making it obvious and embarrassing you.” He half-shrugged. “And now he is actively doing just that.”
“Clever.”
“I work in management, I’m used to handling employees,” he explained.
“Not a relationship thing?” Because that would bug the crap out of me. “I can update my app to hate being manipulated.” I was only half-teasing.
“I would never handle you. Work is work. You do what works for the culture of your business. What’s between us isn’t business. I want what’s between us to be more.”
“Because of the baby.” He sure hadn’t wanted that before, as he mentioned multiple times.
“No. Not because of the baby.” He got up and slid in beside me on the small half-booth seat I was in. I turned so I could see him while at the same time feeling his warmth and allowing his scent to blanket me with comfort. “I was trying to find you before that, remember? I wanted more than casual and was afraid you ran off because I kept telling you otherwise.”
“It was confusing.” Such an understatement. It hadn’t helped that I’d fallen for him so quickly even when his words kept telling me not to. “But then again I told you I was fine with casual and that wasn’t true.” It never had been. “I was just afraid if I said otherwise I’d wreck things. Turned out I ruined things a different way.”
“You ruined nothing.” He wrapped his arm around me. “We just had a little blip is all.”
“And now it’s not just two of us.” Which was something we needed to put front and center. Not that it ever left that place in my mindspace. Everything changed that day I peed on the stick. It was as if my world rotated on its axis. “Things are even more complicated than what they were.”
“I know.” He tightened his half-hug around me, kissing the side of my head. I pretended not to notice since it went against everything we’d agreed to. I needed it, I needed that little assurance. “I also know that I want something more with you. Please tell me you feel the same.”
“I do.” So very much. “But now is not the time.” And I hated that so much. “My hormones are a hot mess. I get flustered at everything, especially myself. We still have all that crap that went on with me blocking you between us. Anything we start now is doomed to fail.”
“So we shouldn’t get together now,” he agreed
.
“No, not now.” I inhaled deeply. “Maybe not ever. I don’t even know. What I do know is I have a human growing inside of me, and it is up to me to give the baby the best chance at a great life.” And that had to be the reason for all our choices, not lust, not longing, not loneliness—our baby who had no say in any of this and the most at stake.
“It is up to us,” he corrected.
“It is up to us. I just don’t know how to make that work.”
“If we both put baby first in our decisions, things will work out.” He sounded far more sure than I felt.
“You sound so confident.” I wish I was.
“I am. The two of us coming together by my brother’s app can’t quite be called fate, but if there ever were such a thing as destiny, I feel that might qualify.” The waiter appeared with a tray of what looked like our food.
“So we are going to do this—be the best dads we can be and figure the rest out later.”
“Yes.” The waiter placed a plate in front of me then looked back and forth between Rex and his place setting. Rex slid out of his spot beside me and back to his chair. “After we eat.” He gave me a wink paired with the kindest of smiles.
This would all work out.
It had to.
Our little one was counting on us.
89
Rex
I rang the doorbell and plastered a smile on my face. Be nice. Stay cool. I glanced at the house next door where there didn’t appear to be anyone home. Not surprising as I knew the owner was at work. Hope I don’t screw this up.
The door opened. “Hi,” I said in what I hoped was my most pleasant voice.
“If you’re selling something, I’m not interested, buddy,” the guy grumbled. He needed a shave, and judging by the whiff of body odor, a shower.
“Not selling. Buying,” I told him.
“Huh?” He peered at me. “Do I know you? Ya look kinda familiar.”
I dropped to my knees, thankful this path was concrete and not those knobby white pebbles. “Remember me?”
“Fuck yeah. What do you want?” He too peered at his neighbor’s house.
“Can I come in?”
He wrinkled his nose as though I was the one with BO.
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Fine,” he muttered. I stalked past him into his living room, and he closed the door.
Please don’t be mad at me. I repeated the words over and over in my head as I drove to Jason’s shop. If he won’t come to me and won’t let me move in with him—though we hadn’t discussed the latter option—I had to get creative.
Lights were on in the shop. I could see Jason and Keith ushering a customer out the door and putting a ‘Closed’ sign on the door. But I’d messaged Jason 30 minutes ago to make sure he was at work. Didn’t want to drive to his shop and have him not be there.
Keith saw me first through the pane of clear glass in the door. He glanced over his shoulder and said something before letting me in. Smart. He’s getting permission from the boss. Doesn’t want to get in the middle of something.
“Hi, Keith.” I outstretched my hand. “Long time, no see.”
Keith’s eye twitched as he returned my greeting. “That’s fine, Keith,” Jason told him. “I’ll finish up. Go home.”
The young omega grabbed his small backpack and bicycle helmet. After a hurried goodbye, he raced out the door.
“He seemed eager to get away,” I said as Keith pushed his bike off the pavement.
Jason replied, “Do you blame him?”
The shadows under Jason’s eyes were darker and deeper than a few days earlier. I’d arranged for food delivery, and after he’d snarked and said he was capable of ordering groceries and meals, he’d thanked me saying he was too exhausted to venture out after work.
“Can I help you close the shop?”
He made a face, and I hoped it wasn’t one of those ‘I can do it myself’ looks. “Thanks. Just lock and bolt the back door, please.”
As Jason turned off the lights and closed the front door, I blurted out, “I have something to show you.”
“Can it wait? I’m headed home and need a bath, food, and bed. Or maybe food, bath, and bed.”
“There’s no need to go anywhere else. I’ll follow you home.”
Jason nibbled his lower lip. “I won’t be good company as I’ll probably fall asleep on the sofa in the middle of eating.”
“Unless you want me to, I’m not coming into your place. I don’t want to bug you or push you too hard. Trust me, okay?”
“My poor befuddled pregnancy brain isn’t following, but fine.”
“Are you okay to drive?” I took both his hands. “I can take you home and drop you off in the morning.”
Jason’s eyes filled with tears and his lower lip trembled. “I’d l-like t-that,” he stuttered.
My passenger didn’t say much on the drive home as his eyes closed and his head lolled forward.
But as I pulled into his driveway, he awoke with a start. “What happened? Where are we?”
Putting a hand on his arm, I assured him he was safe. “It’s okay. You’re home.”
His startled eyes darted around until they settled on something in the next-door front yard. “Are you sure?” He pointed at a sign. “What’s that?”
I followed his gaze and shrugged. “Looks like a ‘Sold’ sign.”
“But Barry only moved in last year. He was fixing up the house with his husband. They loved the neighborhood—sometimes a little bit too much. And why didn’t he tell me they were selling?”
Tears threatened to spill from his gorgeous blue eyes, and I put a hand on his cheek and said, “Hey. It was a last-minute decision. You’ll see him again. Don’t worry.”
“What do you mean?” His eyes widened as they flicked from me to the house next door. “Do you know Barry? He’s the one who wanted to kick your ass.”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t say we were best buds, but we came to an agreement. Though his personal hygiene leaves a lot to be desired.”
“What are you talking about, Rex?” He ran a hand through his hair. “This isn’t a game or some silly joke, is it? Because I’m not in the mood.”
“Let me show you.” After getting out of the car, I took Jason’s hand and led him to his front door. “Get some rest and don’t forget to eat.” Then I got in the car, reversed out, and drove into the driveway next door. Jason’s mouth gaped as he followed my progress.
I sauntered to Barry’s house. Barry’s former home, I should say, and pulled out a set of keys from my pocket. “Oh, I almost forgot,” I said and grabbed a box from the back seat.
Jason’s puzzled expression told me he still hadn’t cottoned on to what was happening. “Please tell me you’re not breaking in.”
“Nope.” I unlocked the door. “You want to be independent. I get it. You’re scared of what we are to one another. Fine. Me too. Your hormones are going crazy.”
Jason made a face at the last comment.
“I’ve been an ass.”
He nodded.
“So, I came up with a solution.”
“You didn’t kill Barry, did you?” he asked.
“Nah. That’s more Tony’s thing.”
“What?” Jason rubbed both hands over his face.
“Never mind. That was an attempt at a joke.” A lousy one. I took a step inside the house and waved at Jason. “Hi. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m your new neighbor, Rex.”
“What’s in the box?” he yelled.
“My ginger jar.” I walked in and closed the door.
“Rex? Come back here right now.”
“Night, Jason.” I screwed up my nose. I could still smell Barry. This place needs disinfecting.
90
Jason
It had been a week since Rex pulled whatever magic he pulled and moved next door. It wasn’t magic. Of course it wasn’t. It was money. Lots and lots of money.
He was slumming it too. Not t
hat my neighborhood was awful. On the contrary, it was beautiful and quaint and family perfect.
One thing it wasn’t was a penthouse. There were no doormen, no fancy foyer, no kitchen you could film a cooking show in. No. He had a slightly fixed-up fixer-upper in a very middle-class neighborhood—a fixer-upper that stank.
Or it did. I didn’t even know anymore. When I woke each morning the place had a couple of work vans out front, and when I went to bed there were still at least one there. Cleaning or painting or moving things in? I had no idea. Because while Rex moved in and was a stone's throw from my house, he gave me the privacy I needed. Possibly too much privacy.
I drove home, leaving work early. Our orders were as caught up as they needed to be, and I needed the rest after spending two hours training the new guy, Andrew, on the fine art of hemming pants. I was picky, and if he could at least master that skill, he would be useful enough to give him some decent hours and to let me take some time off. Working more than full-time was too much right now, and I needed to slow down.
I pulled into my driveway and was surprised to see Rex’s place devoid of vans and even his car. Maybe they had finished with whatever they were doing. It still blew my mind he was able to arrange to be in the house so quickly. If I ever ran into Barry I’d love to hear his side of that story.
I walked inside, picking up the mail from my mail slot that had fallen on the floor instead of the basket attached inside.
Bills. Bills. More bills. Because adulting was fun.
“What’s this?” I opened up the folded piece of paper and read it.
I watched a cooking show. Want to try the spoils with me tonight? Sixish. Just dinner. No pressure. I thought it might be fun.
I took out my phone and texted him, asking him what to bring. I’d have called him if I thought he were home, but calling him when he was at work felt a little too much like a relationship, and we were pretending we weren’t doing that.
Love at Blind Date Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 32