Getting Off Easy

by Erin Nicholas

  “Two.”

  “We’re here to talk to someone,” James said over Harper’s shoulder.

  “Oh. A customer?” the hostess asked.

  “An employee. A waitress,” James told her.

  Harper put her elbow in his side. He didn’t need to be so assertive. She reached for James’s hand and pinched the back of it in a warning she hoped he’d understand.

  “There’s a waitress that waited on us a few months ago when we were here,” she explained, using the story she’d thought up as they walked from the apartment. They couldn’t just barge in here demanding to see her. They couldn’t just walk in, smile, and say, “Hey, did you have a baby a couple of weeks ago?” either. “We’d love to sit in her section again, if possible.”

  The hostess looked out over the bustling restaurant. “Who was it?”

  Harper could see she was already dreading the idea of trying to get an open table in a specific portion of the restaurant. That was fine. Harper’s plan meant they didn’t even need to actually talk to the waitress.

  “You know, I don’t remember her name.”

  “Megan.”

  Harper glanced up at James sharply. He was looking at her, not at the hostess.

  “Her name was Megan.”

  Of course he knew her name. Harper hadn’t asked. She also hadn’t told him they shouldn’t just ask for her right away. She had a plan, but it had just come to her, and she had hoped James would simply follow her lead. Clearly, he wasn’t that good at reading her yet.

  “Is she here tonight?” Harper asked the hostess, with a forced smile.

  “She is,” James said.

  Harper sighed. He’d already seen her.

  “Yeah, she is,” the hostess confirmed. “But I can’t tell you how long it might be. I have to take people in order on the list, so even if a table opens up in her section, I can’t seat you until everyone in front of you is seated.”

  “We totally understand,” Harper said quickly. “We’re going to wait at the bar. Just do your best with the table. We’re not in a hurry.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure,” the hostess said. Clearly, requests for specific waitresses were uncommon.

  But this way, Harper’s plan could still work out. Without James actually seeing or speaking to the waitress. To Megan.

  Harper grabbed James’s sleeve and pulled him toward the bar. She tucked them around the far end, away from the dining room, with at least fifty people between them and the middle of the room. She turned so that if James faced her, his back would be to the tables.

  “What’s with the story about being in here before and having her wait on us?” James asked.

  “We can’t just walk up to her and ask about the baby,” Harper said.

  “Why not? If it’s her, then her reaction to seeing me will give her away.”

  Harper had absolutely thought of that. “Yes, and that’s kind of unfair to do to her at work, in a public place full of people. Let’s not be so confrontational. There’s a reason that she didn’t knock on the door and hand him to you.”

  James frowned. “Yeah, I intend to ask her about that.”

  “She didn’t want you to know it’s her, James,” Harper said. “If you just show up and surprise her and get aggressive, she’s going to panic and either lie or maybe run.”

  “Run? She’s in the middle of work.”

  “She’s not a heart surgeon in the middle of a double bypass,” Harper said. “She can probably set her tray down and head out.”

  James ran a hand through his hair. “You think she’d do that?”

  Harper stepped closer to him. “I have no idea. I don’t know her. But I know that it probably takes a lot for a mother to drop her baby off in a basket on a doorstep. Clearly, she didn’t see another good option. Including just coming to you.”

  He blew out a breath and for a moment looked truly miserable. “Yeah. I feel like shit about that.”

  “Well, she doesn’t know you very well,” Harper said. Then she shrugged. “Or maybe she does. She knew you’d take good care of him.”

  “But she didn’t trust me enough to face me.”

  “It might not be about trust. You have no idea what she’s going through. And that means being angry and confrontational isn’t a good idea.”

  James took a deep breath. Then he nodded. “Charming. Friendly. I can do that.”

  Harper smiled. “I think maybe you need to do none of the above. To start.”

  If Megan was Isaac’s mom, then they’d have to talk at some point, of course, but Harper had decided at some point between the outside sidewalk and the hostess stand there might be a way to rule this woman out as the mother before they even spoke to her, and if she was not Isaac’s mom, then there was no reason for James and her to chat.

  That did seem a little jealous and possessive, but Harper thought maybe she’d just deal with that later.

  “None of the above?”

  “Let’s find out if Megan was even pregnant a month or two ago.”

  “How do we do that?”

  “We ask her coworkers,” Harper said. She glanced around. “If she was working here when you met her and is still here, that means she worked through her pregnancy. It’s unlikely she took four to six months off work.”

  “Impossible, actually. She’s working here and does ghost tours. It’s how she pays her bills.”

  Harper lifted a brow. “You actually found out what she does for a living?”

  “Brat,” he said. “I do talk to the women I spend time with.”

  “Beyond what their favorite position is?” she teased.

  But stupidly, there was a little part of her that didn’t like that he’d gotten to know any of these women. The light, superficial, very short-term flings sat better with her. Which was stupid. Did she really want to get involved with a playboy? But there was something special about how they knew one another, how he knew things about her just because they’d spent time together over a period of time, day to day, doing routine things like taking care of their dog. And they had not had a physical relationship but that he still seemed to like her and want to spend time with her.

  They’d covered a lot of territory over the six months of knowing each other when she really thought about it. James’s easygoing attitude and ability to charm her before she was even aware of it at times made it seem that they mostly flirted and talked superficially, but the truth was, they’d talked about childhood memories, their friends, their parents, their work, and why they loved their careers.

  “Well, we cover those important topics first,” he teased in return. “But you have to say something besides, ‘Hey, have you seen my pants?’ later on.”

  Harper knew she should smile. She should laugh. She should joke. But she hated the idea of him saying that to anyone.

  To anyone else.

  He’d never said that to her. But she wanted him to.

  She wanted to know what his favorite position was, wanted to tell him her favorite position, and she wanted to use them all.

  “I want you to lose your pants on my bedroom floor.”

  His expression, his body language, his breathing changed. Immediately. He stepped forward. For some reason, she stepped back. Instinct maybe, because when a predator came for you, you stepped back. And James definitely looked predatory suddenly. But she bumped into the wall. And he kept coming.

  He didn’t say a word as both hands came up to cup her face. He tipped her head back and covered her mouth with his.

  There was no squirming baby between them now. No clump of terrycloth. Nothing else demanding their attention or making this inappropriate. They were in public, but no one around them even noticed them, not to mention protested.

  Not that she cared after about two seconds.

  James’s kiss consumed her. His lips moved over hers, steady and firm, saying you’re mine, as his thumbs stroked over her throat in a clear message of and you’re not going anywhere.

  Harper�
��s entire body hummed with awareness and need and she moved to press closer, wanting to be against him, however she could.

  He obliged by sliding a foot between hers then leaning in so his thigh was wedged between hers. She was straddling him, her skirt pulled up and the denim of his jeans rubbing enticingly against her inner thighs. He shifted her, and then her aching clit was pressed firmly against his thigh. He rocked her against his leg, and she made a whimpering sound. She didn’t know if he heard her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care if everyone heard her.

  Still holding her head in place, he dragged his mouth to her ear. “I want so badly to slide a finger into your panties to feel how hot and wet you are right now.”

  Harper whimpered again, and that time she was sure he heard.

  “I would do anything to pull the front of this dress down and suck on one of your nipples.”

  “James,” she gasped as heat and lust flooded through her.

  “I’m taking you home after this. We are going to pick up where we left off the night of the big fire. I’m going to lose my pants on your bedroom floor, and you’re going to lose your mind in your bed.”

  She gripped his arms, her knees wobbling. “Yes.”

  “Louder, Professor.”

  “Yes.”

  He leaned back, his dark eyes hot as he gazed down at her. “Fuck, yes.”

  Harper pulled in a deep breath. It was insane how quickly he did that to her. One second he was sweet and charming, then he was frustrated and emotional, then he was hot and dirty.

  She wanted it all.

  She was in a lot of trouble here.

  “So what’s this big plan of yours?” he asked, finally letting her go and stepping back. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Harper breathed deep again and nodded. “Just let me take care of it. If she was pregnant while working here, her coworkers noticed.” She glanced at the room behind him. “The uniforms they wear are fitted. There’s no way she could hide a pregnancy, at least not by the seventh or eighth month.”

  James nodded. “Okay.”

  “Let me talk to someone. I’ll find out if she was even pregnant. That’s step one. If so, then I’ll go have dinner at a table in her section, and we’ll go from there.”

  “Just you?” he asked with a frown.

  “She didn’t want you to know,” Harper reminded him gently. “We need to not spook her. We need information for Isaac.”

  It was clear James was frustrated, but he nodded. “Fine.”

  “Just stay here. And don’t let her see you.”

  Harper didn’t know which woman Megan was, and she didn’t really want to. Or need to. At least not yet.

  She wound her way through the crowd, pretending to be looking for the bathroom.

  Crossing her fingers that she wasn’t stopping Megan herself, she approached one of the waitresses. “Hi, can you tell me where the ladies’ room is?”

  “All the way to the back on the left.” The waitress’s name tag read Lucy.

  “Thanks. And can I ask you something else?” Harper asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Have you worked here for a while?”

  “About a year.”

  Good. She would definitely know Megan, then.

  “I was here with my boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend now—about three months ago, and we had this amazing waitress. He was being an asshole, and we got into a fight and left without tipping her. I thought of it when I came in tonight, and I’d love to make up for it.”

  “Oh, wow, that’s, um… really nice,” Lucy said.

  “Yeah, but I don’t remember her name.” Harper smiled apologetically. “She was pregnant, though.” Harper felt like she was holding her breath. “Do you know who that is?”

  Lucy frowned. “Pregnant?”

  “Yeah. This was a few months back.”

  Lucy shook her head. “We haven’t had any pregnant waitresses.”

  “She might not be pregnant anymore.”

  “No one’s been pregnant here at all.”

  “Really? You’re sure?”

  “All of the waitresses here have been here for a while,” Lucy said. “And we know each other pretty well. No one’s been pregnant. Are you sure you were here with your boyfriend?”

  Harper shrugged. “Geez, maybe not. We’re from out of town, so I guess maybe it’s possible we were at another place. Sorry.”

  “No problem. But that’s still really nice of you,” Lucy told her with a smile.

  Harper smiled and moved toward the bathroom. She let herself into a stall and locked it, just taking a moment to breathe deeply.

  Okay, one girl down, three to go. Megan wasn’t Isaac’s mom. There was no reason for James to talk to a woman tonight that he’d found attractive enough to have a hot one-night stand with.

  Harper put a hand against her forehead. She wasn’t at all used to feeling like this about a guy. She wanted him. Not just physically—though they were definitely to the point where that was absolutely impossible to deny or ignore any longer—but she liked him. She wanted to help him with the baby and everything else that came along, and she wanted peeks into his life. Peeks that didn’t involve other women.

  They still needed to find Isaac’s mom. But it wasn’t going to be tonight. And it was still early.

  Harper ran a hand through her hair, smoothed the front of her dress—the dress that James really liked and wanted to run his hand up underneath—and relished the shiver of desire that went through her, remembering his hot words against her ear, and then opened the stall door and headed back into the restaurant.

  She slid in next to him where he was leaning on the bar, watching the game that was on the TV behind the bartender, cradling a glass of an amber liquid with one big hand.

  “It’s not her,” she said, tipping her head to look up at him.

  He didn’t move to give her more room. He just slid an arm around her, tucking her up against his side, settling his other hand on her ass. “Good.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. That means we can go dancing.”

  “Dancing?” She’d been thinking about straight back to the apartment.

  “Dancing,” he confirmed.

  “What about Isaac?”

  “He’s fine for a little longer.”

  “You’re sure?” They’d only made a plan to come to this one restaurant for this one woman, but she assumed the other women were in the general vicinity. They probably should try to do this as quickly as possible.

  “The next girl I need to check with doesn’t work nights, and I don’t want to show up at her apartment,” he said.

  It occurred to Harper that she hadn’t asked nearly enough questions about these women. She hadn’t really wanted details. Like how attractive they were or how he’d met them or how funny or sexy or interesting they were. She was assuming he’d only spent a night with each of them. She didn’t know that for sure. By his own admission, none of them had been serious or “long term,” but she wasn’t sure what that meant to James.

  “Can we go somewhere else?” she asked. They were still in Megan’s restaurant. She wasn’t the mom, and it wasn’t crazy to think James might come into this establishment again in his life and run into her. But Harper wouldn’t mind if they never saw each other again.

  “Yeah. We sure can.” He straightened, taking his hand from her butt. He tossed a few bills onto the bar then threaded his fingers with hers and started for the door.

  Okay, their mission—for tonight—was over. So maybe this was kind of a date. Now.

  He wanted to take her straight home and into the bedroom. Which was why he was leading her across the street to Trahan’s Tavern.

  This was a date. Now.

  Megan was off the list. Which was great. He remembered the bubbly blonde but not as anything more than a good time, and as soon as he’d seen Harper in the dress she was wearing, he couldn’t have given less of a shit about Megan.

  Yes, he wanted to
find the baby’s mom. Kind of. He wanted information. He wanted to make sure she was healthy, that Isaac was healthy, and that she wasn’t going to be showing up to claim him in a few months, out of the blue. He wanted to make the kid legally his, and that would require, he assumed, at least a signature from her.

  But that was it. He’d much prefer to not have her around for raising the kid. He was going to be fine with that. He had Harper. And his friends. And his friends’ network of friends.

  Bea was awesome, and James knew that Caleb and Logan and Gabe had an even bigger group of people who would welcome him and Harper. He intended to go to the next support group meeting to get to know everyone, and he was hoping Harper would go along.

  Was this the way he’d intended to finally get Harper out on the town with him? In his bed? In his life? Of course not. But he was a smart guy, and he wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass by. She was getting attached to the baby. And to him.

  He was now going to make sure she knew this was about more than having a second pair of hands to change diapers and rock a fussy baby.

  “Oh, this is Logan’s place,” she said, taking in the sign over the door.

  “Yep. Best Pimm’s cups in the city,” James said, steering her into the restaurant. “And you have to have the seafood pot pie and the brown butter pecan pie.”

  She laughed. “That sounds amazing.” She turned, stopping in the middle of the floor. “But I thought we were dancing.”

  “We will,” he promised. “But dinner first.”

  Something in her face showed that was the right answer. She was already more relaxed than she’d been across the street. He realized she’d been nervous about seeing Megan and finding out if she was Isaac’s mom. He lifted a hand to her face. “How did you rule Megan out?”

  “I asked another waitress which of her coworkers had been pregnant three or four months ago.”

  “And?”

  Harper lifted a shoulder. “None of them. She’s been there a year, and no one’s been pregnant.”

  “Okay, then.”

  She nodded with a smile. “Okay, then.”

  “Hey! James!”

  He looked toward the bar to see Gabe Trahan waving him over.