“W-what? I don’t think...I mean, I would have remembered seeing those dimples again, I mean no...I would have...I...no...” I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. “Let’s um...can we erase the last few seconds?” I laugh, opening my eyes slowly.
Landry’s smile knocks me right on my butt, and he nods, opening his arm for me to walk past. I wave goodbye to Jeffrey and walk over to an empty table, taking a seat. I check my pager in my pocket before I open my cookie bag and carton of milk.
“So...third time’s the charm, I guess, huh?” Landry asks with a smile.
I nod, putting my finger up, unable to answer with a mouth full of cookies.
Third time’s the charm, all right. Amazing sex that makes me walk funny for three days straight and a pregnancy test as a souvenir.
“It’s a little weird, I’ll admit.”
I take a big sip from my milk carton, reaching for another cookie, and Landry laughs. I look up at him, mid-bite, and furrow my brows.
“What?” I ask.
“You got...here, let me just do it.”
He reaches across the table, and my first instinct to flinch takes over as he brushes his thumb across my top lip. He notices, taking his hand back quickly and shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, I keep touching you. I just...you had milk... I’m sorry.”
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, getting to a standing position. I can’t handle this until I have a plan. I thought I was over this crazy chemistry.
Of course, you’re not. He’s the only man you actually wanted to sleep with. He did things to you no one ever did before.
So what? Why does him wiping milk off my lip bring me ten steps back and wanting to sleep with him again?
You didn’t sleep with him. Siren did. You hid behind your mask, behind your lingerie. It wasn’t Magnolia.
Well, Siren or not, Magnolia is the one knocked up.
“I’m sorry, I should get back up there,” I say, turning to walk toward the trash can.
“Wait!” Landry comes up next to me and puts his hand out, about to grab my arm when he stops, looking into my eyes.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. That wasn’t my intention. It’s just... there’s something about you, Magnolia. Something draws me to you. I don’t want to freak you out, which I probably am, and I... I’ll just stop talking, but…”
He runs a hand down the front of his face, and I look at him, really look at him as he sighs. He’s so handsome, in that sneaky sexy way where you wouldn’t notice it right away. His eyes squint, making the blue shine even brighter, and his hair is disheveled—a look most men would kill for, but it’s just natural for him. I glance at the hair above his lip, remembering how that delicious friction felt when it skated across my center, and I close my eyes, dragging my body kicking and screaming away from that memory.
“I should get back upstairs.”
I turn away from him and back to the elevators, knowing full well that I need to have a serious conversation with Landry sooner rather than later, but this has all been a whirlwind today. I walk to Eloise’s room, looking at her chart, and take a note of Landry’s number on her emergency contact sheet. This is illegal, super illegal, but if I don’t see him after today, I need a way to get in touch with him...to tell him that he does, in fact, know me and we’re having a baby together.
4
Landry
I take the podium, introducing myself to the handful of people here to talk about my company’s latest advancement to Phototherapy in the NICU that our local hospital will now use. I glance down at my notes, touching upon the changes, the pros and cons of switching machinery, what they can expect with the new equipment, and what training will be required.
I glance up as the doors to the conference room open, and my jaw drops, my heart hammering in my chest.
Her.
She keeps her head down, aware that she’s an hour late, and takes an empty seat in the back of the room, not looking up. I smile, continuing on with my speech; my voice registers as she snaps her head up. Her cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink, and she adjusts her glasses on the bridge of her nose as she drops her head back down, shaking it.
I don’t realize I laugh, and she looks back up, furrowing her brows at me. I clear my throat, going back to my note cards, and try to concentrate on the rest of my speech until I take a few questions, and we disperse. I push my way through the crowd, chasing after Magnolia as she tries to cut out toward the elevator.
“Magnolia!”
She stops walking, not turning around, and I continue my hunt, taking a step in front of her.
“Hey! Landry, remember? Christmas tree and jump rope and my sister had a baby two days ago, and I was the guy that—”
“Passed out, yep. How could I forget?” she says with a sassy smile.
I arch my eyebrows, this different side of her intriguing me. “Well, Magnolia…”
“Giordano,” she finishes. “Landry…”
“Laurent.”
“Laurent. What is that? French?” she asks, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
“Maybe,” I say with a shrug. “I just say I’m American. Giordano is...German?” I tease.
She laughs, rolling her eyes as she adjusts her bag on her shoulder again. “Funny.”
“Blonde, though. I don’t think I’ve met a blonde Italian in well...ever.”
I see her smile start to fade as she looks around. “I dye it. It was nice to see you again, Landry.”
She turns, but I follow, hurriedly rushing my words out. “Are you hungry? I know a great place to grab some cookies and milk,” I say with my most charming smile.
She studies me, licking her lips, and something primal shoots through my body, those plump lips dragging me in. She slowly nods, her nervousness evaporating a little.
“O-okay, sure. I could eat,” she answers. She adjusts her bag again, and I look down at it, realizing that it’s almost as big as her.
“Here, let me carry that for you. It’s a little bit of a walk. You up for it?” I ask, reaching for her bag. She hands it to me and nods as I open my arms for her to pass through the elevator door ahead of me.
“For cookies and milk, I’d walk miles.”
She smiles again, and there’s a voice in the back of my head that tells me I need to keep her smiling no matter the cost.
Why? Why do I keep running into her?
“How’s your sister and the baby? I’ve had the last few days off, so…”
“They’re great. I drove them home this morning. I totally forgot about this conference and tried to get someone else to cover for me, but... I’m happy I didn’t.” I glance at her out of the corner of my eyes, and she turns her cheek away, biting her lip, trying to contain a smile. I smile too, looking forward at the elevator floors dropping before we hit the bottom floor, and I motion for her to get out. “So...tell me something about you, Magnolia Giordano.”
She shrugs, looking over at me. “What do you wanna know?”
“What do you do for fun?”
Her smile fades as she looks ahead, licking her lips again. That nervous habit is going to be torture for my poor, deprived cock. Weeks. It’s been eight long, agonizing weeks since I’ve been with a woman. The woman. I chastise myself for thinking about Siren when I’m walking alongside Magnolia. She’s intriguing, and she’s here, not avoiding me at any cost like Siren.
“I um...I hang out with my friends, dance...watch movies, read...I’m not that interesting,” she laughs.
We come to a crosswalk, waiting as the signal changes, and cross the street.
“Sounds interesting to me. What type of dance?”
She clears her throat, looking at me through the side of her glasses. “Everything. I um...sing too, but it’s nothing crazy. I just...do it for myself and stuff.”
I wonder why she’s so nervous, remembering how she twitched when I touched her in the hospital, how she responded when I felt her at the gym. I glance d
own at her hand, realizing I’ve never bothered to ask if she was married or seeing someone.
Primal instinct has me putting my hand on her hip, and she gasps, her mouth widening, her face dropping to the contact point of my hand on her as we wait at the next crosswalk.
“Why do I make you nervous, Magnolia?” I whisper next to her ear.
She lets out an audible breath, and I turn my head, watching her close her eyes. She licks those damn lips again, and I groan.
“You lick your lips when you’re nervous. Why?”
“I...I don’t know, it’s...just a h-habit,” she stutters.
“I don’t want to know why you do it; I want to know why I make you want to do it.” Her breathing picks up, and I move my hand down her arm, lacing my fingers between her left hand. “No ring. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No,” she breathes.
“You don’t date.”
“No.”
“You don’t sleep around.”
“N-no.”
“But you want me.”
“Y-yes.” I smile, looking at her as she squeezes her eyes shut tightly. “I...I mean, I want to...I didn’t mean like that, I…” She shakes her head again, and I back away from her, letting my hand fall to my side. She slowly opens her eyes, and they search mine, confused.
“Go to dinner with me tonight.”
She presses her lips together and then opens her mouth to speak. “I can’t see you tonight.”
“Tomorrow then.”
“I can’t tomorrow either,” she sighs.
“The next night. I won’t stop asking until you say yes, Magnolia. We’ve met too many times not to explore this.”
She closes her eyes, licking her lips again, and my thumb comes up of its own volition, brushing against the moisture. Her eyes shoot open, widening as she glances down, her lashes droopy and drunk as she watches my thumb caress her lip. Her tongue darts out, slick against my finger, and I close my own eyes, groaning.
“I don’t do this,” I whisper.
“Do what?” she whispers back.
“Touch women I shouldn’t be touching. I can’t seem to help myself around you.” I open my eyes, seeing hers now locked on mine, and she nods.
“I d-don’t do this either. Ever. I never do this…”
Her words creep into my brain, remembering the same words whispered to me when I took Siren at the club.
Siren. She dances. She’s nervous. Her voice. It can’t be.
I push Magnolia’s chin up as she gasps, her throat bobbing as she swallows. That beauty mark. No. It can’t be.
“Landry…”
The sexy, sultry way she says my name slams into me, causing me to move closer to her, cupping the back of her head.
“Dinner, Magnolia. Please.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “I c-can move stuff around for tonight. I can um...take your number.”
I nod, backing away from her as I take my phone out of my back pocket. Her eyes are trained on me as she watches my every move like she’s trying to solve a mystery. She would recognize me for sure unless she does it so often all the men blend together. No. She said she didn’t; the way her body melted against mine was of a woman that was deprived for way too long.
I hand my phone to her as she types in her number, and the purple bruises on her knuckles sucker punch me. I remember her having them at the gym but so did...Siren. Before I can analyze it further, she hands my phone back to me, and I press the call button. Her phone rings from the bag over my shoulder, and I smile, giving her a wink.
“Just making sure you gave me the right number. Come. Let’s get those cookies and milk.”
5
Magnolia
“You know this is some sick, twisted shit,” Eden says from behind me.
“Shut up! I’m gonna tell him, I just...wanna make sure he’s not a sleazeball,” I defend, pressing my hands down my black lace dress.
“Well damn,” Addison whistles. “Knew that dress would look good on you. When he bangs your brains out tonight, you can thank me.”
I roll my eyes as I pull the dress down a little more, but it’s no use; it’s way too short. “I don’t know... I’m not tryna scream ‘please screw my brains out.’ This is too sexy for a first date,” I complain.
“Y’all fucked, Lia. You got a damn baby in your belly. This ain’t your typical first date. Wear that dress and shut the hell up,” Everleigh sasses, plopping herself down on the couch.
“What are y’all doin’ tonight?” I ask, “Maybe I can call and just say I don’t feel good, and we can—”
“Nope!” Eden interrupts. “I’ll kidnap you and handcuff your ass to my truck, don’t think I won’t. You’re goin’.”
I groan, turning back to the mirror and pull at my dress again. “But what if—”
“Nope!” Addison interrupts. “You’re going.”
“But maybe I should—”
“Nope!” Everleigh yells, lifting her pointer finger at me. “Shut the hell up and go, Magnolia Marie! He’s the father of your damn baby!”
“Unless you don’t plan on telling him you’re Siren?” Addison questions, eyeing me.
“I…”
“You gotta fuck him tonight then. How else would he believe you’re pregnant if you aren’t gonna tell him about RISE?” Eden decides.
“It may be too late for that. I...I think he knows about Siren,” I mumble.
“What?” they all yell in unison.
I shrug and turn toward them. “The way he looked at me today...like he just wanted to devour me. I don’t know.”
“Because you’re hot, Lia. Any man in their right mind would want to devour you,” Eden says, rolling her eyes.
“He lifted my chin up. Y’all know I have that beauty mark on my neck and that tattoo. What if he recognized it?”
“Hair and makeup will take care of that, won’t they?” Everleigh asks.
“I mean, yeah, but I was so frazzled that night, what if they didn’t? I don’t remember.” I groan, dropping my head back against the mirror.
“I mean, so what if he knows?” Addison asks, “You’re going to tell him soon anyway, right?”
“Yeah, I guess, but I wanted to be the one to tell him. I don’t want him figurin’ it out because maybe he’ll think I’m sneaky or somethin’. Like I seduced him into it, and he knows I work at the hospital. If he thinks I was playin’ a game, he could ruin everything for me...for all of us.”
This is serious stuff. No one, and I mean no one, knows all four of us own RISE. We’re a mystery everyone wants to solve, but no one will, no one can.
Back seven years ago when Eden’s uncle’s shady strip club burned to the ground, our past burned with it, at least that’s what everyone thought, every terrible man he was involved with. That’s the real reason why we keep it all a secret, just in case it didn’t.
Eden shakes her head, walking over to me. She puts her hands on my shoulder and turns me around to face the mirror.
“We’ll have a sit down with our lawyer if it comes to that, but he won’t think you were deceiving him. You’re the most genuine person I know, Magnolia. Just be yourself. Once he gets to know you, he’ll realize you don’t have a sneaky bone in your body. Don’t be so nervous. We’re all a phone call away if things are going haywire, okay?”
“And you know my shank has got his name on it if he tries anything,” Everleigh chimes in.
“Y’all know I can take care of myself,” I snap.
“Hey easy, Rocky. If the beauty mark wasn’t givin’ you away, those sure would. I thought you were still goin’ to therapy?” Eden chastises, nodding toward my knuckles.
I ball my hands into fists, covering up my bruises. “I am, I just... everything’s been out of control lately, and stressin’ about Landry isn’t helpin’.”
“This shouldn’t be stressful, Lia. This is happy. It’s a miracle. It’s what you always wanted,” Everleigh coos.
I exhale, nodding.
“What if he makes you laugh, gives you those butterflies everyone’s trying to chase, and you guys absolutely disintegrate the mattress when you have sex again? Don’t ‘what if’ it, Lia, just live it,” Addison says from behind us.
I nod, taking another breath as I turn toward the girls and give them all a hug and kiss goodbye. I take my bag off the chair and leave the apartment, taking the elevator back downstairs to the car Landry has sent for me. I could easily have taken my own vehicle or ordered myself a car, but Landry insisted when he called an hour ago.
I fumble with the strings of my bag, worrying my lip as I think of every possible scenario when I finally tell him everything. The baby, me being Siren, it’s all going to be such a big mess. I don’t want to be the one to cause everything to blow up in our face.
The twenty-minute car ride goes too fast as we pull in front of the restaurant, and I take a steady breath, getting out and walking toward the front door. I glance through the glass and notice the restaurant is empty, trying to open the door, but it’s locked. I take my phone out of my bag, checking the address on the text message, and then look back at the door. This is the right place. Maybe he changed his mind.
“Stupid, Magnolia. This was so stupid.”
I walk back toward the car, my hand on the door handle, when Landry’s voice breaks my movements. “Ditching already? I didn’t even get a chance to embarrass myself yet.”
I slowly turn around and see Landry standing in the restaurant’s doorway, clad in black slacks, a navy blue button-down shirt with the top button unbuttoned, and a black sports jacket. I try and collect my thoughts, but the hormones I have come to know so well have effectively slipped into the driver’s seat of my brain. My mouth opens and closes a few times, my eyes roaming up to his gorgeous face. His hair is styled neatly on top of his head, and his smile lights up the darkness of the street.
Delivered in Sin Page 8
