by Liz Matis
“She’s adorable. Billy is so proud of her,” said Hannah. “And I think he still carries a torch for her mother.”
“Hannah…” Samantha said as a warning.
“What? We women have to stick together. Besides if we left it up to Billy he’d just screw it up.”
Angel played it down. “There’s nothing to screw up. This is just temporary. I’ll be looking for an apartment for us once Billy is comfortable with overnight visits.”
“Honey, he may have lured you here with that nonsense, but he wants a second chance,” Hannah said.
So much for not prying. Apparently their curiosity was only lying in wait until Gabby left the room. “It’s not a matter of a second chance.” Gabby, hurry up and get back in here. Save me. “Truthfully, I broke it off with him, so I’d be the one asking for a second chance.”
“Well that explains a lot,” Samantha said.
“Explains what?” asked Angel.
“It’s not important.” Hannah threw a death glare at Samantha.
“Hit on both of you, didn’t he?” she guessed. Both women remained silent, answering her question. She nodded her acceptance of this fact. She wasn’t even surprised. Of course he did, they were beautiful women.
“Angel, it was a long time ago before we were married,” explained Samantha.
“And nothing happened,” added Hannah. “Billy is what I call a Lost Boy.”
“They are all Lost Boys until they meet the right woman,” said Samantha.
“True,” said Hannah. “Now that we got THAT awkwardness out of the way we can concentrate on being friends.”
Friends? That would be nice, really nice, but Angel was only living here as a temporary solution. She wasn’t a wife, she wasn’t even a girlfriend. Once she moved out, she’d have no reason to be associated with anyone from the team.
“And you and Billy can focus on the here and now,” suggested Hannah.
“But we’re not the same people who fell in love.”
Samantha held up the mug, gazing into the red liquid. “Do we really change much from who we are as teenagers? We may be older, wiser, and bring our past hurts along with us, but essentially we are either trying to relive our youth or heal our wounds from them.”
Ouch, but that did hit home. Angel had hurt Billy exactly where it would hurt the most. Billy hadn’t believed she’d break up with him over Vegas. So she lied, telling him she faked it. How careless she had been with his feelings, how cruel. But she was hurting so deeply it had felt good in the moment to see his pain.
“And she would know.” Hannah took a sip of wine before continuing, “It took Ryan ten years to finally hook Samantha.”
“Yes, but we were lucky.” Samantha placed the mug down and then looked directly at Angel. “Some people never have the opportunity for a second chance.”
Angel’s gaze fell to Hannah’s baby, Maxine. Hadn’t Angel seen her pregnancy as a second chance with Billy? And even as that hope died, she still dreamed of him walking through the door of O’Malley’s in an Officer and Gentleman type of fashion. In way he had, minus the whole carrying her out in his arms thing. Life wasn’t like the movies. She remembered Hoss’ warning, ‘Don’t believe in fairy tales’.
“Do you want to hold her?”
Angel nodded. Had Hannah noticed the longing in Angel’s eyes? When Hannah slid the warm bundle into Angel’s arms she snuggled, cheek to cheek, inhaling the comforting scent babies naturally exuded. Angel had been so scared the first year of Gabby’s life she barely enjoyed a moment of it. Believing she’d be a single parent all her life, she never thought of having another baby. Gabby deserved all her mom’s love to replace an absent father. Holding Maxine stirred up Angel’s hormones. Maybe in a couple of years she’d ask Billy to be a sperm donor so Gabby could have a sibling. Maybe she’d even ask him to donate the old fashion way. Then a hope so small it only had a chance to flicker as a fleeting thought, them as a real family. Perhaps, this was their second chance. Was she going to squander it away because she was afraid?
Gabby pirouetted back into the room. Upon noticing that her mom was now holding the baby, she stopped playing ballerina and ran over. “My turn,” she ordered.
Angel shook her head. “She’s not a toy.”
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll put Maxine on a pillow and help Gabby hold her.”
“Pleazeeeeeeeeeee, Mommy.”
“Ok, but you have to sit still. And not the sit in church still and then you fidget like a monkey.”
“I’ll be as still as a church mouse.”
Babies are cute, but five-year-olds are cuter. Then again Angel thought that about every stage of Gabby’s life. Still, she wished she could keep Gabby five forever. No matter, she’d always be her little girl, always be that girl full of life and wonder. Perhaps Samantha was right. Had Angel really changed from that sixteen-year-old girl who fell so hopelessly in love with Billy? Her heart answered, no you haven’t.
Thrilled with the chance to hold the baby, Gabby buzzed with excitement. As promised when Hannah placed the pillow with Maxine on Gabby’s lap she sat rooted to her spot on the couch. That didn’t stop the talking of course, but Gabby’s sing song voice seemed to soothe the baby.
At that moment she heard the door open and close. Billy strode in. “Where’s my girl—what the hell?”
Before Angel could say anything Samantha came to the rescue. “Hannah and I thought we’d welcome Angel and Gabby to the family.”
Heat bloomed on Angel’s cheeks. Would Billy think she’d given them the wrong impression? Being tongue-tied seemed to be a perpetual state when she was with Billy, except for when she was bitching at him.
“Look Daddy, I’m holding a baby.” Gabby smiled proudly.
Angel frowned, disturbed by Gabby seeking Billy’s approval. How many times over the years had Angel tried to win O’Malley’s affections? She’d move heaven and hell before she’d let her little girl be disappointed like that.
“You’re such a big girl,” said Billy.
Gabby beamed with pride. How did he know the exact right thing to say? Angel really needed a chill pill or another glass of wine. We bring our past hurts. Samantha’s words echoed in Angel’s mind. Billy wasn’t O’Malley. The sooner she got that through her thick skull the better off they’d all be.
“Daddy, when can I have a baby sister?”
Chapter 11
As soon as I can get your mom in my bed, he thought. His gaze landed on Angel, who stared back with wide eyes and cheeks tinged pink. What was she thinking?
If she could read his mind it’d probably scare her away. Billy wondered how she’d looked at three months, six months, and then at nine months pregnant. He imagined what it would have been like to put his hand on her belly and feel Gabby’s tiny feet kicking beneath it. Thanks to O’Malley that chance had been stolen from him.
Honestly, Billy didn’t know how he would’ve reacted to being a father at the age of eighteen. But the thought of Angel growing large awaken a fierce possessiveness in him now. This was their second chance to be a family. He didn’t intend to walk out of her life again, no matter how much she tried to push him away.
“Well, honey, by the look of things, I don’t think you’re going to have to wait long,” said Hannah.
Score one for Billy. Not only did he have his daughter on his team but with Hannah and Samantha rooting for him then he was that much closer to winning Angel’s heart. And to think when he first walked into the room he was in a state of panic thinking the two women had tried to warn Angel off.
“Well, we better leave you two lovebirds alone.” Hannah gently picked up Maxine from the pillow.
“We’re not…not—”
“Yet,” said Hannah and Samantha simultaneously.
“Alone.” Angel interrupted as she cut her eyes toward Gabby. “I was going to remind you we’re not alone.”
“So you ARE lovebirds?” Hannah grinned.
“That’s not what
I meant.” Angel sputtered as she received a hug goodbye from each of the women.
“Quit while you’re ahead,” advised Billy. “Trust me, there’s no winning with these two. You and I know what’s going on. That’s all that is important.”
But once he was out of earshot at the door with his teammate’s wives he whispered his thanks. “I appreciate the support ladies.” Billy shot a glance over his shoulder to confirm he wasn’t being overheard. “I’m trying not to scare Angel off.”
Samantha turned and jabbed a finger onto his chest. “Don’t fuck this up.”
“Whoa, you’ve been hanging with the boys too much,” responded Billy. She might have left reporting from the locker room behind, but she could still swear with the best of them.
“I only use the word for shock value. It’s the only way to get you men to listen.”
“I’m listening, I’m listening.”
Hannah situated the baby into a contraption that looked like a backpack with a place for the baby’s head, arms and legs to stick out. It reminded Billy of a turtle.
“You’re a lucky man, Billy.”
“I know.” He imagined Angel holding Gabby at the same age as Maxine. He wondered if Angel packed the wall of photos or maybe there was a box of pictures he hadn’t seen. “Thanks for welcoming them both,” he repeated. Their doubtful looks made him add, “For real.”
“Now go make a playmate for Gabby,” said Hannah.
“I’m on it.”
When he closed the door and turned to face Angel they traded heated glances. He looked away first and took a note of the time on the clock. Four long hours until Gabby’s bedtime stretched out before him.
Deciding to make good use of the time he found reasons to touch her. His hand at the small of her back produced a startled gasp from her mouth. His fingertips generated goose bumps along her arm. She shivered as he breathed in her scent asking in a whisper what smelled so good. Each response from her amped him to the very edge of his control. At dinner she paid him back, torturing him by licking a knife with a seductive smile on her lips, while Gabby wasn’t looking. His cocked throbbed to be unleashed. Any moment he’d need a straightjacket to keep him from Angel’s body.
But his ardor cooled as they watched Cinderella together. Like the family he pictured them being. After the movie ended he entered Gabby’s bedroom as Angel grabbed a book. Spotting Billy, Gabby crossed her arms and said in a huffy voice. “No! I want Daddy to tell me a story.”
Billy gently pulled the sheet over his daughter and tried not to smile at her pouty face. “I don’t know any stories.” He sat down next to her as Angel stretched out on the other side of the bed.
“Tell me how you and Mommy met.”
Angel fussed with the sheet. “Oh, it was a long time ago. Daddy doesn’t remember.”
“Like it was yesterday,” he said. Over the head of his daughter he gazed into Angel’s shocked green eyes. “Let’s see now. I lived eight hours away but that summer I attended the football camp right outside of your town. The heat wave that hit that summer was one for the record books. One humid night me and some of the guys decided to take a swim to cool off so we headed to the lake.” He left out the part about sneaking out of the cabin. “A full moon shone on the lake and I saw a beautiful creature gliding through the water. I thought, could it be a mermaid?”
“That’s silly. Everyone knows mermaids live in the ocean.”
Billy’s heart warmed, glad his daughter believed in mermaids. “True, but I thought she might be lost.” Perhaps it was a trick of the light but the green eyes he stared into as he told the story looked misty and a little sad. Maybe, she’d been a lost soul. Maybe that’s why they connected the way they did. Both were motherless teens, one with a father who didn’t care and one with a father who cared to the point of suffocation. “As she swam away from us, I decided to catch the mermaid to prove she was real.” He paused, reliving the moment in Angel’s gaze.
“Then what happened?” asked Gabby.
“The mermaid was fast but I was faster. I caught the creature, kissed her, and then the water churned and bubbled as her tail turned into legs.” He left out the fact that they were both skinny-dipping. “I asked the beauty on a date, and she told me to meet her at the town fair the following night.”
“Where you won Ellie for her.” Gabby hugged the pink elephant tightly to her chest.
So Gabby did know. Angel’s dreamy smile told him she was reliving it in her mind.
Gabby yawned. “Did you love Mommy?”
“Yes,” he said simply without adding that he never stopped loving her.
“Then why didn’t you come back?”
“Gabby, it’s time to go to sleep,” whispered Angel.
Thinking Angel had left for Vegas he had no reason to come back. “I thought the mermaid swam back to the sea.”
“But Mommy is a human.”
Angel mesmerized him like no other girl had in the past or since. Did she cast a spell on him that night? “Hmmm, I don’t know.” No girl back home would swim naked in a lake like she belonged there, that was for sure.
“That means I’m mermaid too! Like Ariel!”
“Billy, you’ve wound her all up. Bedtime stories are supposed to lull her to sleep.” Angel stroked Gabby’s forehead, which produced another wide yawn.
But she didn’t sound mad, in fact she smiled at him. Not just any smile but one that made him think he was dreaming with his eyes wide opened. Or perhaps he was simply hallucinating.
He realized his mistake so long ago. Inexperienced, he took instead of gave. No wonder he hadn’t satisfied her. Since then, he learned the sex playbook from cover to cover and he had a hell of a lot of practice.
Angel held his stare as Gabby fell asleep. After they quietly exited the room, Angel turned to him, mischief lit up her green eyes. “You know I let you catch me that night.”
“I know.” Billy didn’t waste any time. Swooping his head down, he captured her lips with his. Instead of finesse he released his pent up passion to overwhelm her, stealing her breath before she could utter another protest. But she wasn’t protesting. Changing the kiss to a slow and seductive one, it took every ounce of his will not to plunder and take. Her room, just steps away, beckoned but he wanted her in his bed where she belonged. Besides he planned to make her scream. Loud.
Chapter 12
Billy’s kiss ignited the embers in Angel’s heart into a flame that roared through her blood until her body burned from within. His hands ran down along her curves then back up, one finding its way beneath her shirt, closing around her breast. The other wound its way through her hair. Responding with a moan, she pressed against him.
“Tell me you don’t want this. Tell me now if you don’t, because your body is talking to me in a whole other language,” he said, his voice husky with need.
She couldn’t even claim that her body was betraying her. Mind, body, and soul all demanded a release only Billy could provide. Her heart wanted more. It yearned for something greater. But for now she would take what she could get. “I do. I mean I do. Want this,” she said, stumbling over the words.
He smiled as he picked her up then carried her like a groom on their wedding night. When he stepped over the threshold of his room, sadness caromed inside her heart. All those wasted years. Could they recapture the pureness of the love they once shared?
He placed her on his unmade king-sized bed. With her attention focused on Billy stripping off his shirt and pants, she couldn’t say what his room looked like. But his ripped abs she could describe in great detail. The skin stretched across his muscles so tightly she feared her nails might tear it. So when she reached out, she did so gently, using the pads of her fingers to trail a path along the labyrinth of ridges. His skin warmed under her light touch and she could feel the raw power rippling beneath. The fabric on his form fitting boxer briefs tented impressively with proof of his arousal. She attempted to delve down lower, but he gripped her hand tightly.
“Patience,” he said in a teasing tone.
Patience? She didn’t know how to be with this older, more controlled version of Billy. They’d always been so eager, so desperate to be together.
Stretching out over her, he kissed her long and deep. Old feelings resurfaced whirling with new complex emotions that she didn’t understand. Was he kissing the girl she once was or the woman she was now? Did he even see a difference? Was there a difference?
His lips left hers to take off her shirt and bra. Goosebumps skittered along her skin as he placed tender kisses along her collarbone. His mouth closed over her breast, she bucked beneath him. Billy growled his approval. Hands she remembered as unsure now masterfully played along her body. He continued down and she self-consciously tried to cover the silvery lines marring her skin, but he brushed her hands away.
“You are beautiful, Angel. All of you.” He licked the lines proving his words. “I wish I was there for you.” Then he gently kissed her stomach before trailing more kisses downward.
She stilled when he reached the apex of her thighs and breathed in her scent. That was new. He took a taste and she stopped comparing notes of the past and present.
“Ah, Angel. I didn’t know what I was doing back then.”
He stroked his thumb up along her clit and she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Neither of us did,” she squeaked. God, she still didn’t.
“You always knew how to make me crazy with want.” He gazed into her eyes before looking down at her pussy and said, “I swear I’m about to make it up to you.”
The pace of his tongue was tortuously slow. She relaxed, opening up to him, urging for more. Was this some sort of Kama Sutra thing? If so she didn’t like it and she cried out in frustration. He laughed against her and the vibration of his mouth nearly made her come. In slight increments he increased the pressure of his tongue until she was grabbing fistful of sheets and gulping for air. Only then did he step up the speed.
Two of his fingers slid inside, but as magical as they were, were not enough, she needed all of him. Every. Last. Inch.
