“At the end of the month. I already gave my apartment notice, and I’ll put my two weeks in at my job next week. As for why; I know absolutely nothing about babies or what it takes to raise one.”
“What’s in Summerville that changes that?”
“My family.”
I realized at that moment I knew almost nothing personal about Meela.
“Your parents? Siblings?”
She nodded. “I haven’t told them yet. I wasn’t going to until I told”—she took a breath—“you.”
“So you weren’t just speaking out of anger when you said I wasn’t included in your plans.”
She looked down into her lap, her fingers twisting nervously together. “I didn’t want to assume.”
“That I’d want to be included in my baby’s future?”
“Honestly, yes.”
I finally broke the silence after a few seconds. “We really know nothing about each other, do we?”
“Well, up until a couple of months ago, we were mortal enemies, remember? There was no need to know anything personal about each other.”
I watched her fingers, which were still fidgeting with anything in front of her, trace the stem of her water glass. When I didn’t respond right away, she lifted her head.
“You were never my enemy, Meela,” I told her softly, and it was true.
“You loved tormenting me.”
“Who doesn’t love watching a firecracker go off?”
“It’s all fun and war until someone winds up burned.” And then she smirked. “Or pregnant.”
Her lips pursed, and a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. I wanted to taste her lips, taste her on my tongue. Her mouth had driven me to distraction on many occasions, and now was no exception.
Even if wasn’t the best timing.
Did I know exactly what I wanted in life? Hell, no. Did I know a hundred percent I wanted to be a father…? I definitely didn’t have an answer for that, but did I want Meela to leave Charleston?
If she moved, I could go back to life as if nothing had changed. Out of sight, out of mind, right? And could anyone blame me? She clearly hadn’t expected or even wanted me around. She had made that perfectly clear when she had so easily written me out of any decisions she made and waited weeks to tell me she was pregnant.
Maybe it was better this way. We would go our separate ways and figure things out when the baby was born. I had no fucking idea if I could be a good father. Maybe Meela and the baby were better off without me.
I looked up to tell her I would respect her decision to move, and I wouldn’t make things harder than they had to be.
I owed her that much.
“Meela.” I waited for her to look up. “I think we should get married.”
Well, that wasn’t exactly what I had planned.
Twenty
Meela
I choked.
Tears immediately blinded my vision, and my throat felt like I’d just drank kerosene and then lit my mouth on fire. I dug my fingers into my chest as I attempted to breathe again.
Reed was at my side, pulling an empty chair to sit next to me. His hand was warm on my bare back, and the heat only intensified as he moved it up and down my spine. He moved my water glass in front of me, and I gladly accepted it. I held it to my lips, drinking as slow as I possibly could without drowning myself.
The water was a distraction so I could wrap my head around the insanity Reed had just proposed. He had just proposed, right? Maybe I was hearing things. My whole self was completely out of my element, and maybe hearing things was one of those pregnancy side effects. I tried to think of what could sound like I think we should get married, but I was coming up with nothing.
Time was up anyway.
Reed covered my hand around the water glass, and with only a small amount of pressure, he lowered it from my lips. I licked the drops of water away and watched as his eyes followed the movements of my tongue.
“Stop looking at me like that, Reed.”
His eyes lifted to mine, and that didn’t seem to make the situation any better. “Like what?” he asked.
I ignored his question. There was no time for that grenade. Instead, I asked my own. “Did you just suggest we get married?”
“Yes,” he answered simply. Like suggesting marriage wasn’t a huge fucking deal.
“I’m pregnant, and you think the solution to that is for us to get married?”
“Well, not just that, but yes.”
My eyes bulged to the point that I was sure they were no longer on my face. “What does that mean?”
“I think you should move in with me,” he said simply, reaching across the table to grab his drink. He lifted it to his lips and threw the rest back like it was a shot.
I envied his right to the use of alcohol at this current moment in time to take the edge off. I could really use a shot or two or six of my own if I wasn’t currently with child. His child. Holy shit, I was pregnant with Reed Pierce’s child. It was not like I hadn’t had weeks to get used to that fact.
Although, if I wasn’t pregnant, we wouldn’t be having this insane conversation where Reed Pierce just proposed marriage and asked me to move in with him like it was our only option.
Fuck, you’re rambling, Meela. Get out of your head.
“I- I …” I tried to form a realistic rebuttal, but I couldn’t stop thinking long enough to.
“Don’t worry, I’ll wait while you ramble through the pros and cons,” he said and signaled for the waiter to bring him another drink.
“Is the room spinning?” I asked, gripping my chair.
“I don’t think I’d be a good judge of that, considering I just finished my third drink.”
“So basically we’ve had drunken sex together, you just proposed drunken marriage to me, and now we’re supposed to move in and live happily ever after?”
“It’s not all champagne and roses, but I think it’s a good solution.”
“A good solution? That’s a textbook example of a bad marriage and ugly divorce with an innocent child thrown into the mix.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, Meela.”
“Then explain to me exactly how the hell it’s supposed to be, Reed.”
My voice had risen an octave or two and gained the attention of the guests around us, who were starting to whisper. I hated causing a commotion like those ridiculous couples did when they had shouting matches in public.
Except you and Reed aren’t a couple, my head reminded me.
“I need air.” I threw down my napkin and pushed my chair out. It scraped against the floor, and there was no denying the speculating eyes as they followed me out of the restaurant.
The night air was already cooling as fall had officially claimed Charleston. Despite the restaurant’s popular location in the middle of Charleston, the sidewalks were pretty bare. Only a few couples were scattered outside the other establishments up and down the street.
I wrapped my arms around my middle and squeezed. My mind wandered off to the day I’d met Reed in the elevator, and what he told me about panic attacks and pressure points. Hugging myself didn’t have the same effect, but it was the best I could do because I was definitely experiencing a small one now.
Reed had just proposed marriage. Only he hadn’t actually proposed.
When I heard the door to the restaurant open, I knew it was Reed. He moved behind me, and then I felt my jacket being draped around my shoulders.
We stood there silently.
“Give me one good reason getting married and moving in together is the right thing to do. This isn’t the eighteen hundreds, and I don’t have a father to hold a gun to your head.”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“Because of the baby?”
Why was I asking him that? Of course, it was for the baby.
“Yes.” He said it in a way that made me think he wanted to say more, but for obvious reasons, he left it at that. “I think I deserve to be
there.”
“I don’t think we have to live together to accomplish that.”
“You gave up your apartment,” he reminded me.
“I could find another one. If I decided to stay.”
“What is something happens while you’re home alone?”
“Anything could happen at any time, Reed. Are you suggesting we spend twenty-four seven together? At some point, the baby and I would get our own place together. If it didn’t work for Ross and Rachel, it wouldn’t work for us.”
He frowned. “Who?”
“Friends, the TV show?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve never seen Friends?”
“Nope.”
“How have you survived life this long? You’re missing out on a very important part of history.”
“A TV show is an important part of history?”
“TV history, yes!”
He sighed. “Do you think we could get back on topic now? You haven’t even touched the question I asked first.”
I was so much better at avoiding. “Was it a question? I believe your exact words were, ‘I think we should get married.’”
“I remember what I said.”
“I’m not marrying you. I don’t love you, and you don’t love me. I may not believe in happily ever after, but that doesn’t mean I’ll marry someone just because of the situation we’re in.” He opened his mouth, but I took a step closer and narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not marrying you, Reed.”
“Fine. Then we move in together until the baby is born and figure out where to go from there.”
“Have you ever lived with a woman before? Much less a pregnant woman.”
He shrugged. “No, but I figure if I’m going to do it, who better to do it with than the woman carrying my child?”
“This could turn out really bad, Reed.”
“Or we could both agree that it won’t.”
I was out of watered-down excuses to give him. “Let me think about it, okay?”
He moved to stand directly in front of me. “Promise me you’ll really think about it, Meela.”
I swallowed hard but nodded. “Okay, Reed.”
Honestly, the way he was staring down at me, I knew if he’d asked again, I would have said yes. I would have said yes to anything he asked.
And that scared the hell out of me.
L U S T
“It turns out I can’t find another apartment,” I grumbled to Carrie, falling onto the couch.
“Nothing?” she asked with a pinched look.
Carrie knew all about Reed’s proposals, and despite her trying to act surprised—not to her best ability—her knowing smile gave her away.
“Well, not nothing.” I sighed, staring up at the ceiling.
The only places left to rent were either by questionable characters, out of my price range, or too far from work.
That left me with three options: I could move back to Summerville as I had planned, become homeless, or move in with Reed.
Three options and I had no idea what the hell was the right one.
Well, minus the homeless one.
I turned my head toward her where she sat in the corner eating peanut butter out of the jar with only a spoon. The wild look in her eyes as she watched the spoon go in for another scoop would probably haunt my sleep later.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Mine.” She practically snarled at me, holding the jar closer to her chest.
“Chill, pregzilla. I wasn’t going to touch your precious peanut butter.”
She groaned and tried to lean over to put the jar on the coffee table, but her stomach was creating a problem.
“If I try to help you, am I going to lose a finger?” I asked seriously.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping peanut butter from her bottom lip and handing me the jar. “I’m just so hungry all the time.”
I set it on the coffee table. “You’re eating for two.”
“This kid is always hungry.”
“He’s a boy. What do you expect?” I laughed.
“You’re so lucky. You’re still in the cute part of your pregnancy,” she whined.
“I promise you, there is nothing cute about this,” I said with a sweep of my hand down my body.
“I bet Reed thinks you’re cute. In fact, I bet he thinks you’re effing sexy all knocked up with his baby.”
“Okay, I’m leaving.” I moved to get up, but she laughed and grabbed my arm before I could get off the couch.
“I’m kidding. Seriously, though, if you can’t find an apartment, what are you going to do?”
“I have no effing clue. I just don’t know that moving in with Reed will work.”
“Why? You’re having a baby together, Meela. Don’t you think you could make it work?”
“I don’t know if I can trust him, Car.” I looked at her. “Tell me what to do.”
“There is no right answer, Meela. Some things you can’t decide with a pros and cons list. I think you’re going to have to dig a little deeper with this one.”
“What happened to the good old days when people avoided and hid their feelings?” I grumbled, and we both laughed.
“You could always move in with Dillon and me,” she offered.
“No.” I shook my head hard. “But thank you. I’ll figure things out.”
“I know you will.” She laid her head on my shoulder.
“I’m going to ask him if he wants to go to my next appointment,” I said a few minutes later.
“Really?” She lifted her head. “For the reveal?”
I shrugged. “I figured he should probably be there, right?”
“I think it’s definitely a good start to making it work, Mees.”
I started to laugh, and she looked at me funny.
“What?”
“I was just wondering how my biggest obstacle became whether I should move in with Reed.”
“I think you’re forgetting you still haven’t told your mom or sister.”
I frowned at her. “Thanks.”
She laughed, and then her face pinched and her hand flew to her side. “Ouch.”
My heart stopped, and I shifted, almost throwing myself at her. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Sorry. This kid. He’s like a tiny little ninja. He kicks so hard sometimes.”
“You scared the shit out of me. You realize that, don’t you?”
She tried to cover a smile. “I’m sorry.”
I stared at her stomach, my face in a permanent wince as she rubbed the spot where the karate kid was practicing.
“Does it hurt?”
She held out her other hand toward me. “Give me your hand,” she said.
I did as she said, and she placed my hand over her stomach, and we waited.
“Holy hell,” I whispered when I felt it. “That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
Carrie laughed. “Wait until it’s your little ninja.”
“I’m having a hard enough time wrapping my mind around the fact a baby is actually in there. I can’t even imagine how it will feel when it moves.”
“You will when the time comes, and it will go from being the weirdest feeling to the best feeling ever.”
I placed my other hand on her belly, and as if the baby sensed me there, he kicked again.
Despite telling Carrie it felt weird, I was pretty sure it was also the most amazing thing in the world.
L U S T
Later that night, I sat on my bed, phone in hand, working up the courage to push the call button over Reed’s number.
“Quit being a chicken shit and just do it, Meela,” I scolded myself out loud. “You’re having the man’s baby, for crying out loud.”
I pressed it and brought the phone up to my ear. It only rang twice before Reed’s voice was a rush of worried questions all tripping over the other.
“Hello? Meela? Is everything okay
?”
I smiled. “Do you always answer your phone with so many questions?”
I could almost feel him relaxing through the line.
“Does this mean you’re just calling to hear my voice?”
“Are we going to continue the rest of the call with questions only?”
“Not if you start answering some of mine.”
“You lose.”
“Are you always so competitive?”
“Like you’re one to talk.”
“Ha. Now you lose.”
“That so does not count.”
“I believe you have some questions to answer.”
It took me a minute to realize the ache in my cheeks was from the fact I had the biggest smile on my face over the beginning of our conversation.
“Yes, it’s Meela, and yes, everything is okay.”
“And?”
My stomach flipped. “And what?” I asked, already knowing the answer to my question.
“Were you calling to hear my voice? Because if that’s allowed …” He let the end of his sentence linger.
Reed liked to call me a firecracker, but he was definitely the flame that lit my fuse every time. Whether it was explosive or wild—he was dangerous.
“I was calling to see if you wanted to go with me to my next doctor’s appointment. It’s in two weeks.” Before I gave him the chance to respond, I continued. “If you can’t, I totally understand. I just wanted—”
“Meela,” he said cutting me off. “As much as I enjoy listening to you ramble, and by enjoy, I mean I find it incredibly fucking hot, I’d like to answer your question now.”
And then there were those occasions where he was both.
Explosive and wild.
Deep breath. “Okay.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Twenty One
Reed
I didn’t want her to leave.
I didn’t know how the hell I was going to deal with everything else, but I knew in my gut I didn’t want her to leave. The hardest part would be proving to her she didn’t want to leave either. Right now, she had herself convinced that moving back home would be the less threatening option.
Lust Page 16
