Choosing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 2)

by Kris Jayne

  “Is that your ex? Micky mentioned something to me about this.” Nick unrolled his napkin, pulling out his silverware and draping the cloth across his lap.

  “Yeah. She’s here. I think for good. She called the other day and dropped hints that she needed help with an apartment. She’s moving to Dallas to be closer to Olivia. Or so she says. Allegedly, she wants to be a mom now.”

  “Wow. Suddenly, the responsibility bug is biting.” Paul’s sarcasm reminded Jeff how much the people in his life disliked Shannon. Hating on her was easy, but Jeff resisted the impulse.

  “I guess. I’m trying not to predict what she wants or what she’s going to do. That never worked very well anyway. I did tell her I’d help her get settled here.”

  “Really? Taryn was alright with that?” Paul raised one eye brow.

  “I haven’t told her yet. If I can get my mom to stay with Liv overnight, I’m going to go over to her place and talk things over with her.”

  “Good luck with that conversation.”

  “If you need a good family attorney, I know of one,” Nick offered.

  “I have a lawyer. He drew up adoption papers for me and Taryn.”

  Paul dunked a tortilla chip and continued to press Jeff for information. “Are you still going through with the adoption?”

  “It depends. It’ll be harder to terminate Shannon’s rights if she’s clean and wants to be a mother. Ideally, Olivia would be able to see her mom, but Taryn would still be her primary caretaker.”

  “Keep in mind, now that Shannon is back, it’s about more than just visitation. She’ll have a say in Olivia’s schooling. She’ll have access to Olivia’s medical files and be able to make decisions. At one point, you and Taryn talked about moving to California. Shannon could keep you from moving out of state,” Nick informed Jeff.

  “Harold mentioned all that. There’s obviously reasons to move forward with terminating her parental rights, but convincing her to do that and assuring her that she’d still be able to see Olivia are a hard sell. I could go for sole custody and outline a situation where she didn’t have any say in those things. That might be more doable.”

  “As long as she doesn’t finagle a way to get partial custody. She’d bleed you dry,” Paul speculated.

  “Yeah, probably. Technically, I could get a support order against her.”

  “Be glad you settled the divorce. The real problem would come if she had a claim to part of your payout,” Nick hypothesized.

  Jeff cringed at the thought. Shannon had nothing to do with his business, never had.

  “Enough of that. I thought handling the business and planning a wedding was getting to be too much. I had no idea.”

  “That which does not kill us, right?” Nick raised his glass in a mock toast. Jeff and Paul followed suit.

  “I don’t know. Shannon and Taryn coming at him all at once. This might kill you, Jeff.” Paul laughed hysterically.

  Jeff could only laugh along with his friend. This situation wasn’t going to kill him. Maim him, maybe. But not kill him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Taryn stepped into her apartment and took a deep breath. She’d barely been home in the past two weeks. Between the wedding prep, the birthday party prep, Napa, and nights staying over at Jeff’s, her own home felt foreign to her. The chill-cloaked air smelled stale. If it weren’t so cold outside, she’d open a window.

  Instead, she dropped her purse and keys on the kitchen counter, turned, and crossed the living room to crank up the thermostat. She surveilled the apartment that had been hers for the past six years.

  When she moved in, she’d thrown parties nearly every week the first two months she lived there. The great apartment in a posh section of the city, walking distance from the hottest bars and highest-rated restaurants, signaled her success, Sex and the City style, the Dallas edition.

  Now, she couldn’t wait to move out. On nights when Olivia stayed with her grandparents, she stayed over. Sometimes, like the night before, they might wait until Olivia went to bed, and she’d stay over. Since she didn’t keep clothes at Jeff’s, she would stop her by apartment in the morning to shower and change clothes. Going back and forth was a hassle.

  Right now, the swirl of drama surrounding her plans gave her pause. Taryn had a map for their life together, and Shannon was shitting all over it. The foundation she thought they’d built was shifting underneath her feet.

  She needed a drink. All she had in the house was a nearly empty bottle of bourbon. She couldn’t believe she’d let her reserves get so low. The bourbon wasn’t even for her. Jeff loved bourbon. Taryn supposed it would do in a pinch, and she felt extremely pinched.

  In a few minutes, the bottle of Maker’s Mark was down one more shot. Taryn idly scrolled through her email on the couch. Her phone rang in her hand.

  Taryn saw Jeff’s name and answered. “Hey, sweetie.”

  “Hi, are you at home?”

  “Yes. I’m too exhausted to be elsewhere.”

  “Good. Because I’m one block away from your apartment. My mom is staying over with Olivia. I wanted to come over and talk.”

  “Sure. I’m just sitting here drinking your bourbon. Get here fast, and there may still be some left for you.”

  Taryn leaned back on her couch and flipped on the TV. Only the sound of Jeff’s key in the lock prompted her to sit up and look toward the door.

  He dropped himself onto her couch, and Taryn crawled on his lap. She wrapped her fingers around his head and held his face in her hands. His amber eyes shone like a cat’s.

  She loved him.

  She didn’t know what she was getting into anymore, but she trusted him and nothing else mattered. So she kissed him. The cold on his lips disappeared under the heat of her mouth. Their softness warmed her in return. Her hands trailed down the front of his jacket, still cold and wet from outside.

  Taryn found the frigid toggle buttons and unhooked them one by one, pushing her hands inside. She craved the comfortable heat of his body to settle her discomfiting insecurities. The stress of the past few days dissipated in their togetherness. Jeff dialed back the intensity of their kiss and nipped at Taryn’s bottom lip.

  “I came over to talk.”

  “So talk.”

  “I can’t. You taste like whiskey.”

  Taryn smiled and pulled his lips to hers for a brief kiss. “You want some?”

  Jeff laughed. “Whiskey?”

  “Yes, whiskey.” Taryn stood and retrieved another tumbler from the kitchen. Returning to her living room, she placed it in front of him and sat back down on the sofa.

  “Thanks.” Jeff ran a hand over his face and through his hair before taking a sip from the glass.

  “I wanted to talk to you about lunch.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing really. I mean, I got a better understanding of what she wants. She says she’s getting her life together, and she wants to be a mother. She’s moving here.”

  A lump formed in Taryn’s throat. Of course, she wants to be a mother. What woman with a clear mind would see Olivia and not want to reclaim her?

  “She’s dropping everything and moving here? I thought she was working?”

  “She was. At a Wal-Mart. She’s transferring to a store here and getting an apartment.”

  “You don’t think it’s strange that she can up and leave all of a sudden?”

  “Well, if she’s committed to being a mom, she’s going to have to be here—not an hour plus away,” Jeff postulated.

  “You think she’s committed?”

  “I don’t know, Taryn. That’s the problem. I don’t trust her.”

  Taryn released her held breath. “I can’t shake the feeling that there’s some other reason for her deciding now was the time to pop back up in your life.”

  “Maybe so, but the reality is that if she’s back, I have to give her a chance. I talked to Harold. What’s gone on before doesn’t hold near as much weight as what’s happening now. The
state will go to the ends of the earth to protect a parent’s rights. It’s better if I show some support for that,” Jeff argued. “And you know, I’ve been thinking all afternoon. I’m going to have to figure out how to introduce her to Olivia in some controlled fashion.”

  “Oh my God, Jeff. I don’t think you can trust her with Olivia. Remember what happened last time?”

  “Of course, I do. I’m not talking about letting her have unsupervised visits. I’m talking about inviting her over and letting her spend time with Olivia. The best thing I can do is accommodate her and give her an opportunity. Then, if she screws up again, we can act immediately. But if I cut her out now, it will look vindictive and prime her for a fight.”

  “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe she can just stroll right up and start making demands like she never left. Like she never did all she could to mess up Olivia’s life.”

  “She’s not making demands,” Jeff conceded and looked away.

  Taryn felt her ire rising. She didn’t even have to ask Jeff the question. “You gave her money.”

  “I helped her with forty bucks for her hotel. Then she called me this afternoon.”

  “And?”

  “She found an apartment, but she needs a security deposit and first month’s rent.”

  Taryn rolled her eyes. “Here it goes.”

  “I know you think it’s crazy, but it’s not. I’m trying to be rational and to keep Olivia’s best interest at heart. It’s not that much money, and it will make it easier for all of us if she’s close by.”

  Taryn curled up into a ball on the couch. All of us? Taryn couldn’t disagree more. It wasn’t that Jeff wasn’t right. He was, but it hurt.

  “You’re going to tell Olivia that Shannon is her mother?”

  Jeff scooted closer to Taryn and pulled her into an embrace.

  “It’s what I have to do.”

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea right now. What if Shannon takes off again? That will wreck Olivia.”

  “I know. But Shannon is Olivia’s mother.” Jeff hugged Taryn tighter. “I know that’s hard to hear. I set up a meeting for us with Harold at the end of the week to go over everything, but it means the adoption is on hold.”

  “It may not happen at all,” Taryn mumbled.

  “I wish I could tell you that you’ll be Olivia’s mom legally. I would never wish that I didn’t have her, but I wish I had her with you. I wish I’d been more careful all those years ago. I hate that I wasn’t.”

  Taryn hated it, too. But she had to stay positive. She had to press forward.

  “You’re doing what you have to do.”

  “What we have to do. We’re still in this together, aren’t we?” Jeff pleaded.

  “Yes. Absolutely. You know I love you more than anything in this world.” She tilted her head up and kissed him where she nuzzled his neck. “Come to bed with me.”

  Comfort. Assurance. That’s what she needed.

  She swung her legs to the floor and stood. Jeff followed her to her bedroom. Her legs were heavy—part fatigue and part liquor. She unzipped her slacks and stepped out of them, then lifted her cashmere sweater over her head. The soft wool rubbed on her hair and crackled with static. Jeff brought his arm around her waist and turned her around. Taryn watched a crooked smile emerge on his face.

  “Your hair is sticking up.” As he patted it down, his fingers slipped through the strands, massaging her scalp. Taryn leaned forward and closed her eyes. Jeff’s chest smelled like tangy musk. Taryn pulled up his sweater and untucked the dress shirt underneath.

  “Too many clothes,” she murmured.

  “Sit.”

  Taryn backed up and sat on the edge of the bed, watching Jeff undress. With the sweater gone, he quickly undid each button of his shirt and pulled it off his wide shoulders. Soft, indirect light from outside her apartment window kept Jeff mostly in shadow.

  He stepped toward her, and she spread her hands through the smattering of light brown hairs on his chest. Their softness contrasted with the firm muscles underneath. His nipples hardened as she moved her fingers over him. Her body pushed forward on the bed, and her legs widened reflexively.

  Jeff trailed a finger down the back of her neck between her shoulder blades and seized on the hooks of her bra. Her breasts relaxed from their containment only to be quickly covered by Jeff’s callused palms, creating the sweetest friction.

  Taryn fell backward, holding onto to Jeff’s shoulders to bring him with her. He pulled back for a moment and grabbed the legs of her undone pants, tugging them down and off. Hanging onto her legs, Jeff swept his hands up the sides of her calves and knees, then her thighs and hips. He disposed of her underwear so fast, Taryn barely noticed until he lifted her hips and pushed her back further on the bed.

  His fingers moved from the outside of her thighs to the inside, separating them so he could settle his head in between with his tongue tracing circles on the soft flesh, higher and higher. His mouth reached her apex, and she groaned. The tip of his tongue plumbed her wetness in long sweeps. Each ended with a flourish on the tight bud within. Shockwaves of pleasure jolted through her entire body.

  When Taryn thought she couldn’t take anymore, Jeff wrapped his mouth more tightly around her center and sucked. The inverse pressure drowned her in new sensation. It was just the right kind of too much, and she came undone.

  Jeff lifted himself and looked down at her. Taryn felt wonderfully exposed to him. A sheen of sweat covered her entire body, now languid, yet pulsing and alive. He stripped off his boxer briefs, freeing his straining erection.

  He climbed onto the bed and hovered over her, positioning the tip of his hardness near where his mouth had just been. As he lowered himself, he drove into her slick heat with one long stroke. He pulled nearly out and then pushed down hard and deep again. His thrusts pushed him to the hilt. Taryn clawed at his back, now slippery with sweat.

  Soon, his even, methodical pace quickened along with his breath. Taryn opened her eyes, tipping her head up to see him in the dark. He looked lost. She reached up and grabbed both sides of his face as he arched his back and cried out with one last drive into her body before his entire body relaxed.

  “I’m not too heavy?” Jeff whispered and shifted to the side so his full weight wouldn’t be on her.

  “Never.”

  Jeff responded, but Taryn wasn’t sure what he said. Contentment enveloped her, and she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jeff and Olivia were creatures of habit. Or maybe Jeff was a creature of habit, and that’s all Olivia knew. Either way, the pair enjoyed certain rituals, and Taryn considered herself lucky to be included. One such ritual: Taco Tuesdays. Jeff couldn’t cook much, but he could brown ground beef and dump taco seasoning in a pan.

  Entering his kitchen, Taryn found the sight of Jeff placing a cookie sheet with taco shells in the oven especially comforting. Olivia sat perched on a barstool watching as her father assembled the ingredients for their dinner.

  “Don’t forget the cheese.” She waved to their regular dinner guest. “Hi, Taryn. Taco Tuesday! Taco Tuesday!”

  “I know. I’ve been looking forward to tacos all day. Are we mixing it up? Chicken tacos? Fish tacos?”

  “No. Regular tacos. Fish tacos sound gross.” Olivia wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue.

  “Double gross. Don’t mess with the chef’s signature dish,” Jeff agreed. Taryn dropped her bags into one of the kitchen chairs. Kicking off her shoes, she padded over to the stove and greeted her fiancé with a kiss.

  “Kissing is double gross. Eww!” Olivia screeched.

  “One day, you won’t mind kissing.”

  Jeff shivered in horror. “Right. One day, thirty years from now, you’ll start to like kissing.”

  “I’ll never kiss boys.”

  “That sounds like a great plan.” Jeff pumped his fist in encouragement.

  Taryn shook her head and chuckled. “Is there anything left for
me to do?”

  “No. I’ve got everything under control.” Jeff finished dicing tomatoes and putting them in a bowl. “Hop down, Liv, and take this over to the table.”

  With all the food prepped and the shells out of the over, they sat down for dinner. Taryn longed to ask him about the meeting with his attorney. Back-to-back meetings the entire day made a debriefing from him impossible. They couldn’t discuss it in front of Olivia, so Taryn had to put her questions on the back burner.

  The process of making her Tuesday taco reminded Taryn of how much things would change with Shannon’s arrival. Would the other woman come over for dinner? Jeff wasn’t likely to let Shannon have unsupervised visits in the near term, but the thought of sharing this ritual with another woman felt like a betrayal.

  Of course, it wasn’t a betrayal. What Jeff did before he met her didn’t have anything to do with how he felt about her now. Still, Taryn envisioned passing the sour cream to Shannon, and her neck tightened.

  “I told my teacher that you went to Paris and brought back those tiny cookies,” Olivia announced.

  “Macaroons. You didn’t like them, did you?” Jeff sprinkled his taco with shredded cheese.

  “They were different.”

  “Different bad or different good?”

  “Umm, kind of different bad,” Olivia admitted. “But they looked pretty. I liked the chocolate better.”

  Taryn missed the beginning of the girl’s story, and she had no idea why they were talking Parisian macaroons. She did agree the chocolate ones were better.

  “I heard on the news that there might be a shortage of chocolate coming up. The farmers can’t produce enough to keep up with how much we eat, and if this trend keeps going, we could run out of chocolate,” Taryn informed Olivia.

  “Run out of chocolate?” Olivia’s eyes widened with concern.

  “Yep. I heard the same thing. Maybe you should give up chocolate now, just to get ready,” Jeff suggested.

  “That is not going to happen. Can’t you invent something to help the farmers grow more chocolate?” Olivia asked, then scrunched up her face. “Does chocolate grow?”