by Linda Kage
“I came for a drink,” I managed to say.
His half smile turned into a full grin. With a wink, he leaned across the bar and in a husky voice said, “Then you came to the right place.”
“Hey.” His coworker tapped on the top of the bar between us. “Did you hear me, princess? I said I needed—”
“Heard ya,” Noel snapped, but he kept looking at me. Voice dropping again to address me, he said, “Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
He returned with a whole batch of alcohol. “Two house beers, Corona, and a fuzzy navel,” he said, setting them in front of his friend. “And a Bud Light Lime for the lovely lady.” As he set my drink in front of me, he added with a wink, “On the house.”
I took a drink, relishing the way the cool liquid wet my dry throat. Noel stuck around to watch, his gaze dipping to my lips. Knowing how much he liked mouths, I drew my bottom lip in between my teeth and sucked a drop of beer off it.
He lifted his gaze. “Stay till closing,” he said, wording it as a half-question, half-demand. “I’m going home with you tonight.”
The futility of our situation flooded me again, but I nodded anyway. I just couldn’t keep away from him. And I didn’t want to.
So I remained until last call, and then I stuck around a little longer. By the time only a handful of customers remained, all four of Noel’s coworkers had curiously glanced my way, but none of them ever asked to me leave. I’m fairly certain they all knew exactly why I was here.
Though I’d been excited to spend time with him after he clocked off, I grew worried as I sat there. Did everyone he worked with know about us? We were being too obvious, weren’t we? God, how pathetic was this? We knew each other inside and out, had shared more intimacies than I’d ever share with another living soul, and we had to sneak around and hide everything like a pair of pathetic teenagers.
This had to stop.
As if sensing my mood, Noel glanced over. His gaze seemed to see everything inside me, and he started forward just as someone else approached the bar. I could tell by the way his jaw bunched that he gritted his teeth in frustration as he glanced at the middle-aged woman who interrupted us.
“Sorry, ma’am,” he told her. “But we’re closed.”
“That’s okay,” she answered, slowly and methodically setting her hand on the bar. “I didn’t come for a drink.”
Warning bells screamed inside my head as I turned more fully toward her and took all of her in. Something about her, from the neat, precise way she dressed to each and every calculated move she made, reminded me of my mother. This woman was a cobra, and she was coiled tight, ready to strike her next victim. When she turned to look directly at Noel’s coworker behind the bar, I had to turn and look too. Mr. Lowe, who took World Masterpieces from me with his ever-cheerful, energetic girlfriend stood at the cash register, counting the drawer, with his back to us.
As if he sensed eyes on him—or maybe he’d heard the woman’s voice and recognized it—his hands froze in the pile of twenties.
A breath passed before he turned slowly and stared straight at the cobra. Then he locked up tight as if she’d somehow immobilized him and trapped him in her sights. The color drained from his face, and a handful of twenty-dollar bills fluttered from his limp hand, scattering the air as they drifted to the floor.
The look on his face was so familiar to me. I’d seen it too many times in the mirror after I’d been attacked by Zach. Every time I’d wondered to myself, why did this happen to me, why does the world hate me so much, what have I done to deserve this, I’d had that very same expression on my face.
Tossing him a conniving smile, the woman murmured, “Hello, Mason.”
Directly across the counter from me, I could actually feel Noel stiffen. A glance at his face told me he could sense the unease between Mason and the woman just as thickly as I could. His gaze darted between the two and he looked as if he wanted to jump in and defend his friend, but wasn’t sure how...or why.
After taking a large swallow, Mason finally opened his mouth. “Leave,” he said softly, except the steel behind that one word sent shivers through me. If I were the woman, I’d have been gone, see you later, bye-bye now.
But she merely smiled as if his hard command amused her. Then she gave away her tell when she blinked, fluttering her eyelashes rapidly. He’d managed to make her nervous.
“I need to talk to you, darling.”
Mason’s face went from white to green so fast I thought he might vomit all over the floor. “Not interested,” he said and bent down to gather the fallen bills, his hands shaking enough to make him fumble.
Growing impatient with him, the woman leaned over the counter. “Don’t you want to know what I have to say? I came all this way just to see you.”
“I don’t care what you have to say,” he growled, still scrambling to collect all the cash he’d dropped. “I just want you gone. Forever.”
She narrowed her eyes and ground her teeth. She didn’t like being ignored...just like my mother.
Noel bent down and helped Mason pick up the money. I couldn’t hear what he said, but he murmured something, and Mason nodded his head in return. About as soon as he did, Noel bobbed back upright, straightening and spinning to send the woman a pleasant smile.
“So, like I said,” he started again, “the bar’s closed. If you could leave now—”
“I’m not leaving until I talk to Mason.”
Noel’s smile fell and his jaw bulged again. “Well, he doesn’t want to talk to you, so...get lost.”
She glared, a sound of repugnance hissing from her nostrils before she turned back to watch Mason stand and ease the twenties back into the cash drawer.
“He doesn’t know what you are, does he?” she called past Noel’s shoulder. “I doubt anyone in this room knows what you’ve done.” She turned to glance at all the other guys who’d worked ladies’ night. They were the only people left now. She and I were the last two remaining customers. All the boys who’d played waiter and were wandering around the floor, picking up trash and sweeping, paused what they were doing, their attention on her.
Having gained her audience, the evil woman laughed and turned back to Mason. “I bet they’d be very interested to know how you used to make your money.”
Mason slapped the cash register closed, making me jump. He whirled around to glare daggers at his visitor. “What the fuck do you want?”
Pleasure bloomed across her face. In a mellow voice, she murmured, “I told you; I need to talk to you.”
“Then say whatever you’re dying to tell me and go away,” he growled. “And never come back again.”
She glanced at Noel and then me before tactfully licking her lips. “I think you’d rather hear this in private.”
He laughed, hard and short. “So not happening.”
“Fine.” She tossed her hair and gave a brittle smile. “Since you’re forcing me to speak out among your friends, then I will. I’m pregnant. And you’re the father.” She took a step back from the bar and untied the sash on her coat to let it fall open, revealing the bulging waistline under her blouse.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"Man may have discovered fire, but women discovered how to play with it." -Candace Bushnell
~NOEL~
Well, fuck. It was never a dull night at Forbidden, but usually the action happened during hours, not after.
After Lowe’s cougar friend dropped her little bomb, Mason stared at her as if frozen for a good five seconds before he turned away and disappeared down the hall without saying a word.
The woman moved to follow him, but I growled, “Don’t even think about it.”
“Dude.” Ten appeared at Aspen’s side. “Doesn’t he have a girlfriend he moved all the way from Florida to be with?”
I sent my roommate a shut-it scowl and turned back to Mason’s...problem, who wouldn’t stop glaring at me. “Well, you heard the man,” I told her. “He said to say your piece and get out, so..
.time to go, lady.”
I had tried being polite with her, but that hadn’t worked. So I didn’t mind being direct. Hell, I was eager to get downright rude to this...person. She left a nasty aftertaste in my mouth for some reason. Maybe it was because she looked at me as everyone from my hometown had always looked at me. Like I was trash.
“Did you not hear what I just told him? We need to discuss this...together.”
I chuckled. “Honey, if he’d wanted to discuss anything with you, he would have. But he didn’t. So go.”
When she didn’t budge, I stared her hard in the eye and called out to Ham, “Yo, Quinn. Escort this fine lady to the door, would you?” The virgin needed a nasty task for his first night on the job.
Lowe’s problem was too busy killing me with her glare to notice the way Ham jumped and widened his eyes as if he wanted to piss his pants rather than go anywhere near her. But he calmed himself just in time to scare the shit out of the bitch. She spun around when he approached and yelped out a sound as the six-foot-six, two-hundred-forty-five-pound tight end made eye contact with her. She didn’t need to know he was as harmless as a kitten. His size was as intimidating as his gravelly voice when he said, “This way.”
She hopped into gear without complaint and was out of the club in moments.
After the door closed and silence descended in the bar, I glanced toward Aspen. She lifted her face, and we shared a look as if to say—
“Well, shit,” Ten exploded. “Guess Lowe isn’t as devoted to that girlfriend of his as he pretended to be.”
I sighed and shook my head. “I wouldn’t go making assumptions about something we know nothing about.”
“Was it just me, or did that woman creep anyone else out?” Quinn asked, appearing on the other side of Aspen at the bar. Shivering, he rubbed his arms and glanced back toward the front door as if to make sure all the evil was gone.
“I thought she was kind of hot,” Ten said and wiggled his brows. “Don’t blame Lowe for bumping uglies with a cougar like that. I’d certainly bang her.”
At the word cougar, I explicitly remembered Lowe saying he didn’t like cougars. At all. Eyebrows furrowing, I frowned, utterly confused about what had just happened.
“Well, he’s puking his guts out,” Pick announced, strolling out of the back hall. I guess he’d gone back to check on Lowe. “Impending fatherhood must not suit him.”
Aspen let out a breath and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then she closed her lips and remained silent. I sliced her a glance. “What?”
With a small shake of her head, she sent me a tight smile. “Nothing.”
I knew it wasn’t nothing and studied her a second longer, but a ringing by the cash register interrupted the quiet room.
“Is that Lowe’s phone?” Ten asked.
The five of us in the bar shared a glance. I think we all knew the ringing of his cell phone couldn’t be good news. Since no one else was budging, I stepped forward and glanced at the lit screen as it continued to chime. The picture of a girl with long, silky brown hair and a nose ring peered up at me with a cute, carefree smile. The name under her picture read Reese.
“It’s Reese,” I said, wondering if—
“That’s his girlfriend’s name,” Pick answered, confirming my suspicions.
Shit.
“Should we answer it for him?” Quinn was the first to ask.
I spread my arms. “And say what? Sorry, but your man can’t come to the phone right now; he just found out he’s going to be a daddy...to another woman.”
Ham winced and shut his mouth. I glanced at Aspen. She lifted her brows as if telling me she’d support any decision I made. But I didn’t answer the phone, and it finally fell silent. The room exhaled a collective breath of relief.
Until the phone started ringing again.
“I have a feeling she’s going to keep calling,” Pick said. “She must know something’s up.”
Damn it. I glanced toward Aspen again. Her steady green gaze gave me the boost I needed to pick up the phone. I pushed Accept, still wondering what to say to Lowe’s woman, when Ten shouted, “Shit! Are you really going to tell her some old chick just came in, claiming Lowe knocked her up?”
“Say what?” a girl’s voice screeched from the other end of the line.
Double shit. Panicking, I punched the End Call button and glared at my roommate.
“You moron,” Pick exploded, slapping Ten on the back of the head. “He’d already answered the phone; she probably heard everything you said.”
“Oh...fuck.” Ten hunkered his shoulders and sent me an apologetic cringe. “My bad.”
“You mean, Lowe’s bad,” I muttered. “Damn it.” I shouldn’t have tried to answer the phone.
When it rang again, I jumped, set it back where I’d found it, then lifted my hands and backed away slowly. Lowe was going to kill me for this.
Mason didn’t return to the bar until after the phone had stopped again. No one had seemingly moved, so when he exited the back hall, rubbing his face, we all turned to stare. He was busy wiping the back of his hand across his mouth and didn’t immediately notice all the attention until he glanced up. When he caught us gawking, however, he jerked to a stop and dropped his arm.
His face was still pale and his skin looked damp as if he’d sweated out a bucket of anxiety. “What?” he croaked, his eyes darting fearfully to each of us. “Jesus, she’s not gone, is she?”
“Um,” I started and tossed him an apologetic grimace. “No, she’s gone, but...uh, we might’ve just...accidentally told your girlfriend what happened.” When he merely blinked, I cleared my throat. “Your phone rang...and then it rang again. I was only going to let her know you were away for a minute, but...yeah...sorry, man.”
Lowe dashed around the counter to swipe up his phone. After fumbling in his haste to dial, he pressed it to his ear. “Reese?”
“Let me guess,” a muffled female voice spoke from the entrance of the club. “Mrs. Garrison just showed up to announce you’d put a baby in her.”
I lifted my face to see the picture of the girl off Lowe’s phone step inside Forbidden, followed by a blonde, who was also very pregnant.
Damn, how many women had Lowe put a baby in?
Dropping his phone to his side, Lowe let out a lengthy sigh. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
After a quick glance between the two, I decided Lowe wasn’t going to get beaten to a bloody pulp for his transgressions. He looked like shit with his apologetic puppy dog eyes and his expression a mask of shame and regret. But other than the tensing of her jaw, his girl didn’t look like she wanted to kill him.
I glanced at Aspen, wondering what she’d do if we found ourselves in the same predicament. Though we kind of already had, hadn’t we, when she’d assumed Caroline had been one of my party girls. And no...no, she hadn’t been very forgiving. Lowe’s Reese looked pissed, but she remained rational.
“I had a feeling we hadn’t gotten rid of her so easily.” Reese stormed forward, her pregnant friend trailing behind her. Stopping next to Quinn, she set her hands on the countertop and let out a world-weary sigh. “I say, if a stake through the heart doesn’t work, we try cutting her head off.”
While everyone else gaped at her as if she’d lost it, Lowe actually laughed. He approached and took her hands in his so he could lift them to his mouth and kiss them reverently. Falling serious, he said, “I am so...so sorry.”
Tears glistened in her eyes, but she tried to shrug it off. “Hey, if there isn’t some insurmountable obstacle in our path, we wouldn’t be us, would we?”
Lowe shook his head and kept her hands by his mouth. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this.” He drew in a deep, shaky breath. “You shouldn’t—”
“I think she was lying,” the pregnant blonde spoke up, breaking him off. After tossing her hair over her shoulder, she slid onto the stool next to Reese and reached for bowl of beer nuts, but Pick snagged them away before she could
reach them.
When she sliced him a dirty look, he merely winked. “Let me get you a fresh batch, Tinker Bell. Who knows what kind of filthy fingers have been in these all night.”
Her mouth fell open as she watched him jump over the bar and toss the old bowl, only to pull up the box and sprinkle out a new pile, just for her. Then he slid it toward her with an indulgent smile.
“I’m inclined to agree with her,” Aspen spoke up, startling me.
I turned, curious about her input. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I think she was lying, too.”
“Exactly,” the pregnant blonde cried, lifting her hand in a thank-you gesture to Aspen. Her mouth was muffled by nuts as she added, “I mean, hello, she’d have to be nearly as far along as I am, right? Everyone I needed to tell about my baby was told months ago. Why would she wait this long to drop the bomb now?”
Reese zipped her gaze to Lowe, her eyes sparkling with hope. “Eva has a good point. And what about her fiancé? How does she know it’s not his?”
Lowe pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth, looking thoughtful. “Maybe it took her a while to find me.”
“Yeah, right.” Reese snorted. “You know, good and well, that bitch has known every step you’ve made since leaving Waterford. She found out everything there was to know about me within a month. There’s no way she lost track of you.”
“So wait, wait, wait.” Ten waved his hands. “Lowe, you seriously fucked another woman, maybe even knocked her up, and you...” He set his gaze on Reese, “aren’t pissed as hell right now?”
“Oh, I’m pissed,” Reese was adamant to claim. “But not at Mason. Besides, this particular...event happened before we hooked up.” Then she cleared her throat and lowered her face before mumbling, “Technically.”
Lowe winced and reached out to run his hand over her hair before leaning over the bar to kiss her temple. “I can’t believe this is happening. You are the only person I’ve ever wanted to have babies with. Jesus, Reese...” He squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his brow to hers. “Can’t we just rewind everything so I can go back do it right the first time?”
