“Good. And what else?” Mom asked, digging back into her cake.
I couldn’t help but grin. Mom would never admit that she meddled in the lives of her sons. According to her, she was just showing motherly concern. After all, it was her responsibility to make sure we were on the right path and grew up to be good people. It didn’t seem to matter too much to her that we had all grown up a good while ago and she was done molding us.
“She gets out of work early today, so we’re going to have dinner and talk over everything. That’s why I got here so early this morning. I want to make sure I catch up on everything from when I was out and can leave on time,” I said.
“Nick was a lot of help while you were out,” Mom said. “He came in a few times to help with some of the work you usually do. It seems like things have gotten so much more complicated since your father ran the company. We should make sure to thank him.”
I nodded. There were a lot of things I needed to thank my brother for.
After finishing the coffee and cake, I went up to my office and dove in. I knew when I took the vacation time that much of what I did wouldn’t get handled until I came back. For the most part, that was fine. The few things that were time-sensitive, Nick had obviously helped manage. But I still had plenty of catching up to do. I was fine with that. Not only was the vacation an absolute necessity for me but having that much work acted as an ideal distraction. It helped the time go by, so I didn’t have to miss Lindsey quite as much.
Finally, the day ended, and I rushed out of the office. Even with getting out right on time, it would be cutting it close to get everything I wanted to do done before I needed to meet her. My first stop was to the grocery store, and then I went home to shower and change. Stuffing a protesting Frankie into his carrier, I got in my truck and headed for the bar. Fortunately for Frankie, Lindsey was already waiting outside when we pulled up. She smiled at me when she noticed the carrier in the seat.
“Frankie going on a ride with you today?” she asked.
My monstrous cat let out a low, mournful wail as if to confirm to her he was not complicit in this whole idea.
“Actually, I thought maybe we could go to your place tonight. If that’s okay with you,” I said.
Lindsey’s face lit up, and she nodded.
“I’d like that a lot,” she said. “I’ll follow you there.”
We got to the apartment, and I set Frankie’s carrier down in the middle of the living room. When I unzipped the flap, he walked out cautiously like he was venturing out to explore a new planet.
“How are the private events working out for you?” I asked as we unpacked the groceries in her kitchen.
Lindsey looked over at me out of the corner of her eye, her expression cautious. She knew I was worried about private events in my own restaurants, but it was obviously something that she enjoyed for her place, so I wanted to be supportive. When I didn’t make a crack about the events not being a good idea, she nodded.
“This is only the third one I’ve done, but they’ve gone really well. People like having the space to themselves and being able to enjoy their memories. It’s also good practice for my staff. I’ll need to give them more responsibility so they’ll be comfortable running the bar without me on a more regular basis. It’ll be important now that I’m going to have Remy a lot more often.”
We cooked together and chatted about nothing important. It was nice to just get back into a rhythm with her. When dinner was ready, we sat down to eat. When we were done, Lindsey took my hand and brought me into the living room to sit down.
“There’s a lot we need to talk about,” she said. “I know there are so many things I should have told you. Not just because it would have helped you to understand what was going on, but just because I want you to know me. Better than anybody else.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want me to know,” I said. “It doesn’t matter. We’re here together right now, and that’s all I care about.”
“I still think you should know,” Lindsey said.
I listened as she told me about Grant and how they met. She was away from home for the first time, and even though it was only a few towns over from Charlotte, it felt like a different world. Meeting someone from her hometown felt like fate. It was like they were meant to meet, and she let that carry her into dating him.
The more she told me about how he treated her and the things he did during their relationship, the more the tension inside me built. I wanted to go back in time and punch Grant after every single time he disappointed, hurt, and upset her.
“I just don’t understand what you could have ever seen in him. Or why you stayed with him when he pulled shit like that,” I said.
Lindsey shrugged slightly. “He is very good at manipulation. He can convince you of just about anything. After every argument, or every time he did something that upset me, it kicked in. He would either fall all over himself apologizing and promising he would never do it again. Or he would somehow twist the situation around and make me feel bad. I don’t know how he managed it every time, but he could make me feel guilty when he was the one in the wrong.”
“Because, just like you said, he is very good at manipulation. The thing he has going for him is he’s not an outright horrible person. He’s not a great person by any stretch, but there are enough redeeming things about him that he can make them work for him. That’s what really pushed me over the edge,” I said.
Lindsey looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“I was doing my best to handle everything,” I said. “I told myself you would open up to me when you were ready, or that I really didn’t need to know everything. I said I shouldn’t be envious of my brother and that your relationship with him was different and a good thing. But what really got me was seeing the way Grant was talking to you at the hospital and then at his house.”
“How was he talking to me?” Lindsey asked.
“Like he was trying to convince you to come back to him,” I said.
She scoffed and shook her head. “No. Grant and I are very over. We have been since before Remy was even born. He would have no reason to want to get back with me.”
“Except that you’re an amazing woman. You’re gorgeous and smart and funny. You care about people and go out of your way to make sure they feel special and acknowledged. But maybe most importantly, you want to take care of your son. Can you imagine an easier arrangement for him?”
“Arrangement?” Lindsey asked.
I was starting to feel like I had gone off the rails somewhere along the line.
“If he could get back with you, he would have an amazing wife who, in his mind, should feel grateful and honored to be chosen by him. And he would also have someone to take care of his son consistently on top of no longer having to deal with a custody or visitation agreement. And you know full well he would just go about his life exactly the way he was already. He just might try to be at least slightly more subtle about it.”
Lindsey nodded, her lips sticking out slightly as if she was thinking the idea through.
“You’re right. That’s exactly the way he would act. But I don’t understand why that got to you so much you felt like you had to be out of my life.”
“Because I can understand why you would give in to the manipulation and agree to be with him again. He comes from an extremely wealthy family. He’s successful and influential, regardless of how he got to that point in life. He would make sure all of your material needs and wants were taking care of. And, you would never have to worry about being away from Remy ever again. After I saw the way the two of you were interacting after Remy got hurt, I worried you were starting to have feelings for him again. Especially when he stood up to his parents,” I said.
Lindsey’s eyes softened, and she gave a small smile. Her hand slid into mine, and she took a breath.
“You’re right about a lot of things when it comes to Grant. I’ll admit it. He is wealthy. He�
�s good at spoiling people. He would make life materially easy. And he probably did believe that he would be able to manipulate me because he is the father of my child.”
I let out a breath. Maybe this wasn’t going the direction I hoped. “Yes, he is.”
“But he isn’t of this one,” she said.
At first, I didn’t understand what Lindsey just said. I looked over at her and saw her smiling. It was a gentle, almost nervous smile, and realization washed over me.
“This one?” I asked, making sure I heard her correctly. “You’re…”
My voice trailed off, but Lindsey nodded.
“I’m pregnant.”
38
Lindsey
Vince sat silently for a few seconds, and I waited for his reaction. I had no idea what it was going to be. He was eager to apologize and get our relationship back on track. But there was a big difference between us going back to the early stages of falling in love and being ready to raise a baby together.
We had obviously never talked about children, and it wasn’t a topic of conversation I imagined popped up with Nick much, so I never got any insight from him. It meant I didn’t know if he even wanted babies. The fact that he liked Remy and mentioned wanting to spend more time with him was encouraging, but it still didn’t mean he was ready to be a father.
But suddenly Vince’s eyes lit up, and a smile stretched across his face. “I can’t believe it. You’re really going to have our baby?”
I nodded. “I actually found out yesterday right before going to the lawyer’s office. It’s obviously very early, but I’m definitely pregnant.”
Vince hopped up from the couch and reached down for my hands. He pulled me to my feet and gave me a deep, passionate kiss. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to. I guided him by the hand down the hallway and into my bedroom.
I didn’t bother with closing the bedroom door. It didn’t matter. The whole world could see, and I wouldn’t care at that moment. Pulling Vince into another deep kiss, I yanked on his belt to open it and began working my nimble fingers over his zipper. His cock was already hard, thick, and pressing against the fabric of his pants, and I groaned at the thought of it being inside me soon. I ran my palm over the stiff ridge and gently squeezed, eliciting a moan of appreciation from Vince. He reached back and flicked off the switch so the only light in the room was a faint glow from my phone sitting on the wireless charger and the distant streetlamp shining through the open curtains of the bedroom window.
The shadow of Vince advanced on me again, and lips found me despite the darkness. Strong, sure fingers, familiar and yet still exciting, searched for and discovered the hem of my shirt, pulling it up. I raised my arms and broke the kiss long enough to let it slide over my head. By the time I heard it fall to the floor, our lips were already touching, our tongues searching the other’s.
When Vince broke our embrace so he could kiss down my neck, I yanked on his shirt, helping him out of it quickly before the clasp on my bra was unhooked and pulled away. My heavy, round breasts tumbled out, and he instantly took one into his soft lips. I gasped at the sensation of his tongue on my sensitive nipple and wiggled my hips as he unbuttoned my pants and pushed them down my legs. When they hit the floor, I kicked them away, followed closely by the soft cotton panties. I stood nude before him, his mouth worshiping my body as he knelt, and I closed my eyes to focus on the sensation of his attention as he lifted one of my legs and draped it over his muscular shoulder.
He dove into me, not wasting time to tease me or drag out the moment. His insistent tongue slid through my folds, and a rush of pleasure warmed me from my toes to the top of my head. One long finger slid inside me, and I grasped his shoulders to ground myself as he entered me and stroked over my clit at the same time. One of my hands filled with his hair, curling it in an increasingly tight fist as he encouraged my clit to respond and ran the pad of his finger over the upper wall of my pussy. While his finger was no substitute for the thick, luxurious cock that still hid inside his boxers, it was enough to bring me to the brink of a climax already. His other hand clenched my ass, holding me in place as I bucked into him and moaned loudly above. With a rising pitch, my voice filled the room, singing off every surface as a toe-curling orgasm rolled through me. My legs shook and tightened as the muscles spasmed. I cried out at the peak of the sensation and then melted back down as the tension released.
As he stood, I sat on the edge of the bed, and I immediately grabbed his pants and shoved them down. His boxers went with it, and the thick staff sprung out at me, making me giggle in spite of myself. I took it hungrily into my mouth, covering it with my saliva and drawing it as deeply inside as I could. Vince placed one hand near the top of the back of my head and leaned back, seeming to want to watch me and guide my movements as I lavished his cock with attention from my lips and tongue. Bobbing back and forth elicited a low growl from him that told me he appreciated it as much as I appreciated his touch. I wrapped my hand around the warm soft skin at the base of his throbbing, hard cock. Pulling it toward me as I sucked him, I spun it gently as it reached my mouth.
After a few moments of watching me, his grip on my hair became more insistent, and I let him guide me in a rhythm. The appreciative sounds of his pleasure kept the fire burning deep in my core, and I slid one hand down to touch myself as he began to thrust gently into my mouth. Soon he was pulling me down hard and fast on his cock, and my other hand went to his hip, squeezing him and preparing to push if I felt like he had gone too deep. His cock slid down my throat, and I fought the urge to choke as his moans got louder, deeper, fuller. Suddenly, he pulled me off him, and I looked into eyes that burned into mine.
“Lie back,” he said, his voice a velvet darkness that matched the shadows of the room. Only his eyes glowed in the light, and I focused on them as I lay back. Vince pulled me by my hips until I was nearly hanging off the bed and then wrapped my legs around his waist. The head of his wet, thick cock pressed against the skin of my thigh, trailing a line of juices to my opening, and I took in a deep breath in anticipation.
He drove inside me, plunging deeply in the first thrust, and I clenched at his arms, digging my fingers deep into his muscular biceps. He held himself there, letting me pulse around his bulging cock, adjusting for his girth and lighting up pleasure centers nothing else could ever reach. I curled into him, but his hands pressed down on my hips, pushing me into the bed and holding me still. I gave in to his control, his dominance over me, and relaxed into the sensation of his cock filling me.
With that release, a new tension built in the distance of my perception. I could feel it coming, like a wave far away from the shore, but building, rising higher, threatening to wipe out the beach in one go. I let it intensify, focusing only on the smell of his body, the slick sweat that beaded up on his arms where I clenched him still, the tight, insistent pressure of his hands holding me in place, the fullness of my pussy with his cock so deep inside me.
Vince rocked back and plunged in again, and the wave crashed over me. As he started thrusting, plowing into me and moaning as my body wrapped around his, a climax so deep that it shut off my ability to think, much less make noise, burned from my core and radiated outward. My mouth hung open, and my eyes clenched shut as he slammed into me. The orgasm continued, threatening to drive me delirious with unrestrained physical joy. I heard my voice return as if far away, crying out in unintelligible grunts and groans as he got faster, harder with his rhythm.
I relished the way my body responded to him as he fucked me, and when his hands wrapped around my legs and spun me so that I lay flat on my stomach, I could only moan in pleasure. His hard abdomen and the rigid muscles I knew filled it pressed against my soft round ass as he fucked me from behind, resuming his intense pace. Grunts of effort and pleasure were rattling from inside his chest and seemed to drown out every other sound in the world. He curled down around me and wrapped one arm over my shoulder and down to my breast. Pulling me up, I stood, my ass still pre
ssed into him, but standing so he could kiss down my neck and hold my chest with one hand while the other guided my hips in the motion he maintained.
I lifted one leg and put it on the bed, which gave him greater access to me, and turned halfway around to meet him in a kiss. His leg joined mine, and they wrapped up together as he thrust upward into me. The world blurred as our lips touched and our tongues twisted together, and his cock filled me over and over again.
After a while, he pulled back and I crawled onto the bed, desperate for his body to return to me, but thankful to lie down. My body was drenched with sweat, and as he curled into my open thighs, I noticed his was, too. He sunk into me and wrapped his body tightly into mine. My lips were at his ear, and I kissed the lobe as he thrust hard and fast into me.
“Come for me,” I whispered, and a grumble from deep inside him turned into a bellow. Suddenly, he exploded into me, and I cried out as the feeling of his hot come filling my core sent me into another climax. He thrust a few more times, emptying himself before collapsing into my arms, and we kissed deeply while our bodies calmed.
We fell asleep curled around each other, and I slept more soundly than I could ever remember.
The next morning Vince woke me up when he slipped out of bed. He made an apologetic face when he saw my eyes open.
“I’m sorry. I was trying not to wake you up. Go on back to sleep,” he said.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I need to get Frankie back home and go to work,” he said.
“You can leave him here with me,” I said. “And you brought clothes, didn’t you?”
He had a bag with him when he came in the day before. He nodded.
“Yeah. I brought some just in case.”
“Then why leave so early? Cuddle with me for a little while, then you can go to work. I’ll take care of Frankie until I have to go to work, then you can come back here tonight.”
The Freeman Brothers: A Secret Baby Romance Collection Page 63
