by Jenna Jacob
“So who’s going to take care of the bakery while you meet with them and the lawyer you forgot to mention was coming earlier?”
“I’m hoping my sister, Celina, will come with them. She helped me out on opening day. While the shop gets busy, it’s nothing like that first day. That was crazy.”
“Celina? Your sister is Celina? The same Celina who married Harvey Hays?” Noble barked out in disbelief.
“You know Harvey?” Ivy countered, equally stunned.
“I was in Vegas for his wedding…I was supposed to be his—”
“Oh, my god. You were his best man? You’re the guy who took off and made that jackass throw a giant temper tantrum, aren’t you?”
Noble chuckled. “He had a little meltdown, did he?”
“Little nothing. The misogynistic prick came un-fucking-glued.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and cringed.
“No worries. I refer to him as my ex-best friend, as well. He’s an asshole.”
Ivy started to laugh. “Yes. And it felt damn good when I knocked him out and hauled Celina out of there before she made the biggest mistake of her life.”
“You what?”
She giggled again and Noble’s heart melted like a box of crayons in the July sun.
“Fuck what people say or think. Take off that apron so we can go to dinner. I want to hear how you saved your sister.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
To Ivy’s relief, the café was nearly empty when they arrived. When Noble led her to a booth in the back that virtually hid them from everyone but the waitress, she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him stupid.
Her ravenous ache to kiss him again, along with a dozen other salacious things, was driving her mad. These stupid pregnancy hormones were going to be the death of her. If she wasn’t crying at the drop of a hat, she was wrestling to keep from molesting Noble’s fine, sexy ass.
Spending the past few hours in the same room with the man had been murder.
In order to keep her hands off him and her clothes on, Ivy had continuously reminded herself that Noble was the town slut. It didn’t help. Every time she whipped up a batch of frosting, she wanted to smear it over his sexy body and lick it off him. Need was humming through her like a live wire in a swimming pool.
Thankfully, she’d been able to gloss over the details about McMillian.
But she’d been at a total loss when it came to dancing around Noble’s ridiculous marriage proposal. Thank god he hadn’t been serious. She had enough life-altering shit to deal with.
After the waitress brought their drinks and took their dinner order, Noble pinned her with an expectant stare.
“Oh, the story about Harvey, right.” Ivy chuckled.
“Yes. And don’t skim over anything this time. I want every detail,” Noble warned, with a wickedly handsome grin.
As she relayed the events that had unfolded while Noble had been in the process of returning to Texas, his buttery-rich laughter poured over her like sweet, sticky syrup. Her nipples were as hard as marbles, and Ivy feared when it was time to leave, there’d be a puddle of need on the seat beneath her.
When she got to the part about leaving Celina’s engagement ring behind, Noble was howling in laughter and wiping tears from his eyes.
“What amazes me is even after all that, Harvey is still begging Celina to take him back,” Ivy said shaking her head in disgust.
“He’s desperate. He knows he’ll never have a woman as beautiful as Celina again.”
“You met my sister?”
“Yes, I did, briefly. Right before Harvey and I were getting ready to… Oh, hell. I should have figured out you two were related then.” Noble chuckled. “When Celina found out we were hitting the strip clubs—thankfully he canceled the hookers—”
“Hookers?” Ivy hissed. “Harvey hired…hookers for you guys to…”
When Noble told her about the groom’s grand plan to make some kinky memories to think about while plowing her sister, Ivy lost what little appetite she’d mustered. Of course, during the story, Noble had painted himself the quintessential choirboy, which she didn’t buy for a second. He’d never have to pay a woman for sex…they’d easily pay to play with him.
She tried to ignore the twinge of needless jealousy slithering through her and counted her blessings that she’d been able to save Celina from marrying such a sick, disgusting prick.
Suddenly, Noble turned somber and reached across the table, threading his fingers through hers. Sadness lined his face. “Look, while you were baking, I read about the trial on my phone. I wish you would have told me more was involved than inappropriate sexual innuendos.”
“I never said it was innuendos.” Her tone was surprisingly defensive. Ivy tried to pull her hand back, but Noble wouldn’t let go.
“No. But you didn’t insinuate that he’d gotten physical with you, either. What did he do to you, sweetheart?”
“I’d rather not discuss it. It’s over and done and resurrecting the past is a waste of time.” She inwardly cringed at her sharp tone.
Noble leaned across the table and lowered his voice. “Fine. But there’s one question that’s eating me up inside. Did he rape you?”
“No. After he put his hand up my skirt and his fingers under my panties, I kicked him in the balls and ran.”
Shoving down the rage of the filthy prick touching Ivy so inappropriately, he worked to paint on a slight smile. “I’ll need to keep an eye out for your fists and knees if we ever get into an ugly fight.”
“Might be a wise thing to do,” she quipped with a sassy smirk.
“What is your lawyer hoping to accomplish tomorrow?”
“I honestly don’t know. But I hope she’s coming with a game plan for us to put into motion.”
“I’ll have Nate cover for me at the ranch tomorrow.”
“You work on a ranch?”
A little smile tugged the edges of his mouth. “I just realized there’s a whole lot we don’t know about each other.”
Because it was only supposed to be a one-night stand.
Ivy had never imagined how that one night would change her whole damn life.
Noble was in the process of telling her about Camp Melody, melting her heart into a massive puddle, when a thunderous boom shook the whole building, rattling the dishes on the shelves.
“What the…” Alarm etched his face as Noble stood and tossed a twenty on the table before heading for the door.
Ivy grabbed her purse and bolted from the booth right behind him as customers rushed to the windows and darted out the door.
“Fire!” a middle-aged man yelled, pointing in the direction of her bakery.
“No. No. No,” Ivy whispered as she sped past Noble and sprinted down the sidewalk.
He stayed on her heels, even when Ivy veered off the crowded sidewalk and into the street, until she encountered a wall of heat. Skidding to a halt, she watched flames from the broken windows of Sweet Flours licking up into the night sky. Trembling in shock, she barely felt Noble wrap a protective arm around her waist.
“Son of a bitch,” he spat furiously. “Did you leave the ovens on?”
Unable to speak, Ivy shook her head as she numbly watched her dreams literally going up in a crackling inferno. A despondent cry slid past her lips as her knees gave out. Before she could crumple to the ground, Noble pulled her in tight against his rugged body.
How did this happen? The question spooled through her head in a constant loop of shock and disbelief. Tears spilled from her eyes, blurring the red, orange, and blue flames into a gut-churning kaleidoscope of heartbreak.
From somewhere behind her, a loud siren wailed. Every muscle in her body tensed as she jerked her head toward the sound.
“It’s the alarm…calling out the volunteer fire department,” Noble explained. “Come on, let’s get out of the middle of the street before we get run over.”
“Too late. I’m already roadkill,” Ivy mumbled, trapped in a horrific
nightmare she couldn’t escape.
Noble began leading her from the churning flames and acrid smoke. They’d only made it a couple of feet before Gina and Nate surrounded them.
“Oh, thank god, you’re alive.” Gina, body shaking and tears flowing freely, wrapped Ivy in a tight hug. “I thought you were inside the bakery when it exploded.”
“Exploded?” Ivy repeated numbly.
“Didn’t you hear it?” Nate asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” Noble confirmed. “We were at Toot’s eating dinner.”
“Damn glad you weren’t inside that, brother.” Nate’s voice was thick with emotion.
“You and me both,” Noble agreed.
When Gina released her, Ivy peered back at the fire, helplessly watching it consume her future. Any hope of providing a comfortable life for her and the baby was gone.
“Oh, god,” she wailed. “What am I going to do?”
“You’re going to sit down before you fall down, darlin’,” Noble instructed in a tone that brooked no argument.
Nate eased in on the other side of her and both men led her inside the Hangover.
“I’ll get a little shot of brandy for her,” Gina announced as Noble and Nate eased Ivy into a chair near the front window.
“I-I can’t drink,” she protested.
“A little sip won’t hurt you, darlin’. It might keep you from going into shock, which would be twice as bad for you and the baby,” Noble whispered gently, kneeling down beside her.
Ivy feared shock already had her in its grip.
She stared out the front window of the bar. Watching the curious and visibly worried crowd clogging the sidewalk growing larger, Ivy felt detached…paralyzed.
With lights flashing and siren blaring, Jasper pulled his cruiser to a halt in the middle of the street. He climbed out of the vehicle, staring at the flames before searching the throng of people with a decidedly worried expression. Megan, the pretty young girl who frequented the bakery, ran up to the sheriff and pointed at the bar. He gave her a grim nod, looked back at the fire, and then jogged toward her place of refuge.
As she heard him enter the bar, Ivy watched several men dressed in bright yellow coats scurrying to unroll thick gray hoses along the street.
“You just scared ten years off my life, Ivy,” Jasper announced as he took a seat in the chair across from her. “Any idea what caused that explosion?”
“No.” Ivy shook her head. “Noble and I were eating dinner at Toot’s. After the explosion, we came out and…” She turned her head and stared at the wicked, destructive flames still shooting from the building.
Gina pressed a tumbler containing a splash of amber liquid into Ivy’s hand. She lifted it to her nose and sniffed the strong alcohol. Her stomach pitched and her mouth began to water. She quickly set the glass down. Noble took her hand and held it, absently drawing tiny circles along her knuckles. His touch tamed a bit of the riot within her. Ivy was grateful he was there.
“You warned me things were going to get a little crazy around here, but I wasn’t expecting this.”
“I wasn’t, either,” Ivy answered automatically. A split second later a rush of fear consumed her. “Do you think it was intentionally set?”
“Don’t know. We’ll have to wait for the fire marshal to sift through everything once the boys put the hot spots out.”
“Fuck,” Noble mumbled under his breath as he moved in closer behind her and placed a wide hand on her shoulder.
The bell above the door tinkled, and a parade of people rushed into the bar. When Ivy spotted Sawyer, she studied the other three young men frantically striding toward them. The resemblance to Noble was almost as uncanny as Nate’s.
Oh, god, his family’s here.
An older woman Ivy recognized from the bakery raced up to Noble and hugged him in a death grip.
“You’re all right. Oh, thank you… Thank you, God,” she cried out in relief. “When Nate called and said there was an explosion at the bakery and that you might be inside, I nearly had a heart attack.”
“I’m fine, Ma,” Noble assured after kissing the top of her head.
Noble shot a scowl at Nate. “I told you we weren’t in the building.”
Ivy didn’t remember that exchange between them at all.
“I know. When I tried to call home to let them know you were still alive, no one answered,” Nate explained.
“Sorry,” Noble apologized sheepishly. “I’m a little rattled.”
“Aren’t we all?” Ivy mumbled under her breath.
Over the next several minutes, she was introduced to Noble’s parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law. Janice would have been proud—for once. Even though Ivy’s whole world was literally going up in smoke, she still managed to greet each of them with a polite smile, ignoring the billion ants crawling under her skin.
The Graysons chattered on top of one another as everyone stared out the window, watching black smoke billow from the building as numerous streams of water attacked the flames.
Ivy closed her eyes. All she wanted to do was climb into bed and pull the covers over her head, but she didn’t have a bed anymore, or clothes, or shoes, or a computer, or tax receipts… She didn’t even have a damn toothbrush.
The reality of everything…literally everything that had been taken from her, plowed her under like a ten-ton bulldozer.
Panic and grief spiked, sending her stomach tumbling in a vomitous roll. She clenched her fists and willed herself not to throw up but couldn’t contain the pitiful whimper that spilled from her lips.
“Oh, god. I’ve lost everything…everything,” she wailed, hiding her face in her hands and coming completely undone.
As deep, guttural sobs tore from her throat, Noble plucked her up from the chair. Cradling her in his arms like a child, he carried her back behind the bar and into the little kitchen. He eased onto a wooden chair next to a small table. Ivy clutched her stomach as fear of the future overwhelmed her.
Curled up against in Noble’s arms, she cried and cried. He held her, caressing her face, and murmuring tender reassurances. Like a badly needed balm, his whiskey-smooth voice smoothed the deathly sharp edges that shredded her soul. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before wiping the last of her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.
“You’re coming home with us. We’ve got plenty of room at the ranch. Then tomorrow, we’ll focus on doing what’s necessary to start rebuilding the bakery. All right?”
Ivy didn’t have the energy to fight him and simply nodded.
“Wait.” She sniffed. “You said us. You still live at home?”
Noble gave her an embarrassed shrug. “I’ve been living and working on the ranch my whole life. Until now, I’ve never had a reason to move out.”
“Until now? What’s that mean?”
“You’re not raising our baby alone. But that’s a discussion for another time.”
“Baby?” His mother stood in the doorway wearing a look of abject horror. She wobbled as if ready to pass out and quickly latched her hand to the doorjamb.
Ivy’s heart leapt in her chest. Mortified, she closed her eyes, wishing she really had been turned into roadkill.
“Like I said,” Noble began as he stood, lifting Ivy with him, “that’s a discussion for another time. But congratulations…Grandma.”
“Grandma…” Nola whispered. She lowered her head and smoothed a hand over the flowing blouse hiding her own pregnant belly.
It was Ivy’s turn to be stunned. Her eyes grew wide as she glanced up at Noble and wiggled from his arms to stand on her own two feet.
“I should probably warn the rest of the family. We’re going to be living with hormones gone wild for a bit,” Noble said with a chuckle. “I know you won’t mind, but I invited Ivy to come stay with us, Ma.”
“Darn right I don’t mind. In fact, I insist. The mother of my grandchild needs to be with family. Especially with all this…trauma going on,” Nola stated with the same tone
of finality Noble often used.
She crossed the room and cupped Ivy’s cheek with a sympathetic smile. “Don’t you worry about a thing, sweetie. We’ll take good care of you. Brea, April, and Gina have tons of clothes. They’ll let you borrow until we can get you back on your feet again.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Grayson,” Ivy whispered, fighting back another round of tears.
“Call me Nola, and no thanks are needed. You’re part of the family now…right?” She arched a stern and quizzical look at Noble.
“We’re still, ah…working on that,” he stammered with a crooked grin.
“Work harder, sweetheart,” Nola instructed before she turned and left the room.
“Just a word of warning,” Noble started, still smiling. “She’s going to wear you down.”
“Wear me down?”
“Convince you to say yes to marrying me.”
Ivy held up her hand. “Not tonight, Noble. I-I can’t handle any more.”
“Right.” He cringed. “Let’s get you home and tucked into bed.”
“Whose bed?”
“Mine, of course.”
She wondered how many other women he’d taken home to send sailing in ecstasy.
“Isn’t that a little awkward?”
“What?”
“Bringing women home…you know…to your bed?”
“I don’t know. You’re the first.”
The first? Oh, wow! Maybe he isn’t such a big man-whore after all.
Even though she doubted Noble would be joining her in his bed, butterflies dipped and swooped low in her belly. When he leaned in and pressed a soft, passionate kiss to her lips and moaned, the butterflies flew away and a wave of tropical heat consumed her.
After rejoining his family, Noble led her out of the bar.
Outside, Ivy forced her gaze to the bakery. Huge spotlights erected on the street shined on the charred, skeletal remains of what was once her pride and joy. Ivy’s heart ached. The acrid smoke clinging in the air burned her lungs.
As the rest of the Grayson family spilled from the bar, a buzz of whispers wafted over the crowd. Noble chuckled and slung a purely possessive arm around Ivy’s waist.
