“Lola—”
“Do it,” I urged, placing my hand on the side of his neck.
He didn’t waste another second, thrusting his hips, and filling me to the hilt. My eyes closed, my moan mixing in with his groan.
I was sure that nothing would ever feel this good ever again.
* * *
BRODY
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I waited outside the diner for Lola and Cade. It occurred to me that I was picking up my son and girlfriend who were closer in age than we were, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
It was different with Lola. There was something more, something I couldn’t explain no matter how much I tried. The number of years we’d had on this earth didn’t matter one bit. She’d been through more than your average thirty-year-old, and was wise beyond her years, but she didn’t let it bother her.
I hadn’t seen her in a couple of days, and the last time I’d slept at her house was the one night a week ago when Cade stayed over Moira’s. I wasn’t sure what to think about Cade barely going back to her place, but if the angry messages she was sending me were anything to go by, I’d say she wasn’t happy about it. I’d expected Cade to want to stay with his mom, after all, it was me who had cheated, but there was nothing she could do. It wasn’t like he was a little kid and could be told where to go. He’d be sixteen in a few weeks after school started back up.
A shadow in the diner caught my attention, and I grinned at Cade as he walked ahead of Lola. I could see the downturn of her lips as she stared at him, but as soon as she spotted me, she pasted a smile on her face.
I tilted my head, wondering what was happening, but had my answer when he pushed through the front doors and didn’t hold it open for her. What the fuck? I thought he was okay with Lola and me, but apparently not according to his sullen face. How had I missed that?
He pulled open the passenger door and pushed the seat forward, waiting for…was he waiting for Lola to get in the back? Lola hesitated a second and stepped forward.
“No.” I shook my head and held on to the back of the passenger seat as I glanced over at Cade. “Get in the back.”
“What?” he asked, his voice trying to be a growl, but it came out more like a squeak. “She can get in the back.”
“She has a name,” I ground out. “And you’ll respect her by getting your ass in the back of this car.”
“Why?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s smaller than me—”
“She’s also my girlfriend and four months pregnant.”
Cade’s eyes widened, and Lola’s shoulders slumped as she groaned. “Brody.” She covered her face with her hand. “We were meant to do that together.”
“Yeah, well, that was before my son thought it was okay to not hold the door open for a woman and to try and force her in the back of the car.” I kept my gaze trained on Cade, already knowing I shouldn’t have told him in that way. But I didn’t have any control when it came to Lola. My past showed that.
“You knocked her up?” Cade asked, turning around to look at Lola. “You trapped him?”
I growled so loud they both jumped out of their skins and turned to face me. “She didn’t fuckin' trap me.” I slammed my hand down on the steering wheel. “Jesus, Cade. You know Lola. You really think she’d do that? Not to mention, I didn’t wrap it up.” I pointed at him. “Make sure you wrap it up.”
“Is that the extent of your sexual education?” Lola asked, her brow raised and a small smile on her face. “No birds and the bees?”
I shrugged, trying to hold back the grin that wanted to break free. “It’s all I got, kid.”
“Sage advice though, old man,” she volleyed back.
“I thought so too.”
“You two are freaking weird,” Cade huffed out and finally moved into the back. I pushed the seat into its position, and Lola slipped inside. “And for your information,” Cade said, clipping his belt in. “I’m still a virgin, and unlike my dad, I know what condoms are.”
“Oh burn,” Lola choked out.
Cade grinned at her, and the atmosphere that had surrounded them when they walked out disappeared. “I speak the truth, what can I say.”
I huffed out a breath and put the car in gear. “You two will be the death of me.”
“Only because you’re old,” Lola replied, her face a serious mask. “It’s okay though, we’ll look after you.” She patted my arm, and I snatched her hand up.
“That right?” My lips quirked at the corner, my mind flashing back to the last time I’d had her naked and underneath me. It had been too long ago. If she’d just—
“Move in with me.”
“Wh-what?” Her eyes were so wide I was sure her eyeballs would fall out of their sockets. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” I pushed the car out of gear, not caring that we were still sitting in front of the diner with Cade in the back. “You’re on the other side of town, and Cade is basically living with me now. I want to be able to wake up next to you. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms.” I moved our hands to her growing stomach. It was the smallest of bumps, just barely there, but it had grown so much in the last week, and I was missing it all. “I bought that house for us. It was always meant to be us in there, not just me and Cade.”
“But…” Her gaze flicked to Cade in the back. “I don’t want to intrude, and it’s so soon, and—”
“Jesus, Lola,” Cade groaned out. “I’m trapped in the back listening to my dad talking flowers and shit. Can you just say yes so we can go home? I’ve got a gaming marathon I’m late for.”
“I…” She moved her attention back to me, worrying her lip. “I don’t know. This is all going so fast and I…” She shook her head and gripped my hand tighter. “Can I think about it? Give me a week to just process everything?”
I didn’t want to give her a week. I wanted her to be in my bed tonight and every other night after. But I understood what she was saying. She didn’t want to rush into it. Too bad for her that I was in this all the way, and in a few months we’d have a baby. She wouldn’t have a choice then.
I could have reeled all of that off to her. I could have persuaded her to move in today, but I respected what she said. So I lifted her hand to my lips, placed a kiss on her knuckles, and nodded. “Of course you can.” I let her hand go and pushed the car in gear again.
The engine vibrated through my seat as I pulled out of the lot and headed home. Lola hadn’t been there yet, and now would have been the perfect time to show her, but I didn’t want her to think I was pushing it on her. It had to be her choice. So I pulled to a stop outside the house, let Cade out, and slipped back inside.
“Are you ready?” I asked her.
“Ready?”
“For our first official date?” I winked and pulled back out onto the road. “I have the perfect place in mind.”
“You do?”
“Uh-huh.” I took her hand and ran my thumb over her wrist. The soft skin was the complete opposite of my rough palms, but I knew she liked that as much as I did.
I’d planned this date this morning while I was sitting in my office, finishing up more paperwork for my new position. There was only one week left until Aaron was gone, and then the department was mine. I’d be in charge of around forty people, and even though the thought scared me, it also excited me.
It would mean I was home more often than not. I’d still have to go away now and again, but not like I had before. My life would be different from how it had been for the last fifteen years, but it could only mean better things.
I looked over at Lola, grinning at her open mouth as she napped. She’d fall asleep anywhere at the moment. But that meant it would be more of a surprise. I didn’t want her to see where we were going. I didn’t want her to think of what else had happened in that area. I just wanted her to remember that first night.
After an hour, I pulled into the lot and turned the engine off. The vibrations had Lola’s eye
s springing open. “Crap, did I fall asleep again?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, but we’re here now.”
She smiled sleepily at me and moved her attention to the diner I was parked in front of—the same diner I took her to that first night. It may not have been an official date back then, but it would always be our first night.
“Is this the same place you brought me to the first time?”
“It is.” I waited for her to look back at me, and when she did, I cupped the sides of her face. “I could have taken you to a fancy restaurant, I could have taken you to the carnival, or I could have taken you to see a movie. But none of those things would hold what this diner and those pancakes do.” I pulled in a breath and swiped away a tear as it rolled down her cheek. “You like pancakes?” I asked, repeating the same words I’d asked all that time ago.
She lifted her hand, covering mine as a chuckle slipped from between her lips. “Who doesn’t like pancakes?”
“Wanna come get some with me?”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine. “I’d get pancakes with you every day for the rest of my life,” she whispered.
And that was good enough for me.
Chapter Sixteen
LOLA
I bounced my foot as I bit the side of my thumb and glanced around. I was on edge, the nerves running rampant throughout my body. The last time I was sitting in this office I had Jan next to me and I didn’t know how I was going to pay to see the doctor. This time I had—
“Will you stop?” Brody said, his voice low as he placed his hand on my knee to stop me bouncing it. “You’re making me more nervous.”
“I can’t help it,” I rushed out. I turned to face him, hating he exuded calm while I was over here falling apart. “I haven’t seen the baby since it was just a blob. And, according to the internet, it’s the size of a bell pepper now.” I placed my hand on my small bump.
“So it’s no longer called blob?” Brody asked, his brow rising. “We gotta call it bell pepper?”
“Bell for short,” I told him.
He chuckled and moved his hand up to my thigh, squeezing once. “Like the princess?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Like the rich people use to call their butlers.”
“Lola Martin?”
My stomach dipped, and my eyes widened. I’d done way too much research on pregnancy and all the things that could happen. I was scared of what we’d see at this ultrasound, but I knew if anything happened, we’d deal with it—together.
Brody stood first and held his hand out to me. I placed mine in his, letting him lead me to the door where the nurse stood. The bright lights in the hallway flashed around me as we followed the nurse into a room. She reeled off what would happen at this appointment: blood tests, an ultrasound, and then the doctor coming to talk to us, but all I could do was nod until she left the room.
Brody held up the gown thing I had to change into and waited as I pulled most of my clothes off. My boobs were bursting out of my bra, and if the flash in his eyes was anything to go by, he liked it. I couldn’t think about that right now, though. All I could do was concentrate on getting dressed and waiting for the nurse to return.
She whooshed back into the room when I was on the bed, a tray of some kind in her hand, and then she was poking at me, drawing blood from my veins with a smile on her face.
“Are you excited to see baby again?” she asked, her blond hair covering half of her face as she looked down at the blood filling the tube.
“Yeah,” I croaked out, my voice apparently having given up.
“You’ll be able to find the sex out today if luck is on your side,” she commented, and I darted my attention to Brody. We hadn’t spoken about finding out early, but now that the option was on the table…
“Do you want to find out?” I asked him, wincing as the nurse pulled the needle from my arm and pressed some gauze against the pinprick wound.
“It’s up to you,” he replied.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not making this decision. You decide.”
“Let’s find out.” He grinned. “That way we’ll know what color to paint the nursery at home.”
The nursery.
It had been just over a week since he asked if I’d move in with him, and he hadn’t dropped a hint since. Part of me wondered if he didn’t want me to anymore, but the word “home” made me realize he was still waiting for my answer.
My apartment was on a three-month rolling lease, so technically, I only had a couple of weeks until it rolled into the next three months. I had to make a decision, but it wasn’t really a decision, was it? I knew the answer to his question when he first asked. I just didn’t want to rush into it.
The nurse left the room, leaving only the two of us in here, and I opened my mouth, about to tell him I’d move in, but the door opened again, and the same sonographer from last time walked in.
“Nice to see you again, Lola.” She flicked her gaze over at Brody as she shut the door. “Is this the baby’s dad?”
Brody stepped forward and enveloped my hand in his as he stood next to me. “I am.”
She nodded. “I’m Joy Grey.” She sat down on her little stool, clicking away at the keyboard, and then pulled a weirdly shaped device off the side. “It’s external this time.” She squirted some gel onto it and moved closer to me, lifting up the gown and pressing it against my stomach. I was already in desperate need to pee, and when she pressed harder, I nearly groaned. The cold gel had goose bumps spreading over my skin, and I gripped Brody’s hand.
“This is baby’s head,” she said, clicking the buttons on her keyboard and taking measurements. “Two arms, two legs.” She paused, zoomed in, and looked over at us. “Are we finding out the sex today?”
“Yes,” we both answered at the same time.
My heart was racing in my chest as she zoomed in closer, a smile spreading on her face. “Looks like you’ll be buying lots of pink things.”
“It’s a girl?” I breathed out. “Bell pepper is a girl?”
She laughed and clicked more buttons, pressing harder on my stomach as she did. “She is.” She clicked another button, and then the echo of the heartbeat surrounded us.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and stared up at Brody. His gaze was focused intently on the screen, a sheen of tears misting his eyes. “Brody.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he flicked his gaze down to me. “We’re having a baby.”
“We are,” I replied, smiling wide and not caring that tears were falling from my eyes like a river. “Little Bell.”
“Like the princess,” he replied. “Belle Easton.”
I choked on a sob, knowing this was right. Her name, me and Brody, everything. Everything was right, and unlike before, I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was basking in the happiness that surrounded us.
“Belle Easton,” I repeated.
The sonographer pulled the device off my stomach and printed out a few pictures, handing them to Brody as I wiped the gel off my stomach. “The doctor will be in shortly,” she said. “You have a healthy baby girl growing just the way she should.” She stood and patted my arm. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I croaked out, staring at her as she walked out of the room.
“She’s perfect,” Brody said, handing me the images. “Just like her mama.”
Mama. I was going to be a mom, and it was the single greatest achievement I would do in my entire life.
* * *
BRODY
“Well?” Jord asked as I walked into my office. “Are we gonna have a football player or a cheerleader?”
I grinned, looking at each of them in turn. Jord was standing next to the sofa against the office wall, Kyle was sprawled out on it, and Ryan stood by the window. They were waiting like it was the last few minutes in the playoffs, the excitement oozing off them.
“A princess,” I answered instead because the images I had of cheerleaders when I
was in high school wasn’t what I envisioned when I thought about my baby girl.
“Shit,” Kyle cursed, standing up. “We need a game plan.”
“Yep,” Ryan answered, stepping forward.
“I got one already,” Jord told them, pressing his hand against his gun. “Three uncles and a dad who can lock away any boy that tries to touch her. We’re sorted.”
I shook my head but didn’t disagree with them as I walked over to my desk, placing the picture next to the one of Cade. “And a big brother,” I reminded them. “She’ll have her big brother too.”
“I can see we’re all gonna be real busy for the next twenty years,” Jord gritted out. “What did Cade say?”
“Haven’t told him yet.” I couldn’t stop staring at the ultrasound picture. She was the single most perfect grainy black-and-white image known to man. “We’re gonna tell him tonight.”
“Baby shower?” Kyle asked. “Baby showers are the next best thing to hooking up at weddings.”
“Jesus.” Ryan punched him in the arm. “Do you ever not think about getting laid?”
“Do you ever think of getting laid?” he asked, his brow rising.
Their bantering back and forth continued on, but now all I could think about was a baby shower. When Moira was pregnant with Cade, she’d had her mom throw her one, and all her friends came and celebrated with her. But when I thought about Lola, I could count the number of people on two hands who would attend, and ninety percent of them would be male.
My stomach sank, sadness washing over me. I plucked my cell out of my pocket and found Sal’s number. It rang several times, and then he answered, “Hello?”
“Sal.”
“Brody,” he grunted down the line. “What do you want?”
“Jan’s number.” I was straight to the point. There wasn’t any use in making small talk because neither of us was good at it.
“The hell you want that for?” he asked.
Down Fall: Fallen Duet: Book Two Page 17