Looking For Love (Semper Fi, The Forever Faithful Series Book 2)

by Stella Starling

  Zach laughed, running his hands down Micah’s back and squeezing his ass.

  “Oh, really? I don’t remember you saying that last night, baby.”

  “Oh my God,” Micah said, his dick twitching as he pushed himself away from temptation and turned back to the stove. He should remember not to tease Zach when there wasn’t time to do something about it. “You’re turning me on, and it’s going to make me burn the eggs. Stop it.”

  Precious barked, then immediately ducked her head as if she wanted to pretend the sound hadn’t come from her. Zach laughed again, scratching her behind the ears.

  “I was going to try to talk you into taking a shower with me, Micah,” he said, his voice dropping down into the low-and-sexy range, “but Precious doesn’t look like she wants to wait. Can I help you cook instead?”

  “I’ve got it,” Micah said, biting back a smile. The eggs would definitely burn if Zach hung around. “You go shower, and I’ll let you know when breakfast is ready.”

  Which was maybe a bit overconfident, but he didn’t think he was messing breakfast up too badly. It was just eggs, toast, and bacon; it wasn’t like he’d tried a soufflé or one of the fancy dishes Rachel-Lyn liked to make. Besides, if this batch didn’t turn out, he was pretty sure Precious wouldn’t mind taking care of the evidence while he made another attempt at it.

  “Okay,” Zach agreed, giving him another kiss that almost made him rethink his not-showering-together decision.

  “Is he even sexier in the morning, or is that just me?” Micah asked Precious after Zach had left the kitchen, slipping her another piece of bacon.

  She wagged her tail. Micah decided to take that as a yes.

  He took the pan of eggs off the stove just as a knock sounded at the door, and Precious immediately bolted under the table, throwing him a save-me look. It really was way easier to read dog expressions than people ones sometimes, and he felt a little surge of happiness that Zach had actually found her. Even if she was currently in hiding, she was already doing so much better than when he’d come over the day before. Precious clearly needed a person of her own, and Zach would be perfect for her… although it was entirely possible that Micah was just a little bit biased, since he kind of thought Zach was perfect, period.

  Micah headed for the door, murmuring a few words of reassurance to Precious as he passed. He wasn’t entirely sure about the protocol for answering your boyfriend’s door, but it wasn’t like he could just ignore it, right? What if it was Zach’s neighbor, Ana? He’d noticed she’d had trouble with the stairs when she’d come by and taught him how to make tamales, so if it was her, he definitely didn’t want to just leave her hanging.

  But it wasn’t.

  “Janis,” Micah said, knowing there should have been maybe a “hi” in there, too, but unable to muster the courtesy for it as the happy-morning buzz he’d been on fizzled out.

  As far as he knew, Janis hadn’t ever replied to Zach’s texts the day before. Had she, though, and maybe Zach had forgotten to mention it to him? Was Zach expecting her right now?

  Janis eyed him up and down, her eyes lingering on what he was pretty sure was a bad case of bedhead.

  “You’re the boyfriend, right?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I remember you. What are you doing here? Playing house?” She smirked. “I told Zach I didn’t mind if he wanted to keep you around.”

  “Oh my God,” Micah said, the entire week’s worth of bad feelings twisting up inside him all at once and spewing out before he could stop them. “Why are you so nasty? I can’t believe he ever dated you.”

  “Well, he’s going to be doing a lot more than dating me,” she said, resting a hand on her belly. “Is he home? I need to talk to him.”

  “You were supposed to talk to him yesterday,” Micah said, blocking the entrance. He knew it wasn’t really his place to get in the middle of the whole baby issue, but Zach was still in the shower, and she was just… just… horrible. “What happened? Did you have an attack of conscience? I totally don’t believe he slept with you.”

  Janis went pale.

  “I need the bathroom,” she said, all the snark draining out of her voice as she covered her mouth and sent him a look of desperation. “Now.”

  “Fine,” Micah said, stepping aside and feeling like a bit of a jerk at the thought that she might be genuinely sick. “You can…”

  She darted inside, not waiting for him to tell her where to go. And… right. She obviously knew Zach’s apartment pretty well, as evidenced by how quickly she rushed down the hall and straight into the guest bathroom. Thank God Zach had two, since Micah could still hear the sound of the shower from the one right off his bedroom.

  Janis didn’t even pause to close the door, and from the sound of things, it was pretty clear that whatever else Micah may or may not believe about her story, she wasn’t faking the morning sickness bit.

  Gross.

  He closed the door with a sigh, glad he’d at least had a chance to turn off the stove. Precious crept out from under the table just as the sound of retching finally stopped. She pressed herself against Micah’s leg, looking up at him nervously.

  He didn’t blame her.

  “Don’t worry, Janis won’t stay long,” he whispered to her, petting her head and hoping it was true. Although maybe since Janis was there, Zach would want him to leave?

  Janis came out of the bathroom, looking a little less pale, but still cranky and kind of sour. She eyed Precious warily.

  “Zach got a dog? Does it bite?”

  Micah was sorely tempted to say yes, but that would just be mean. Plus, it was a slur against Precious. Underneath all the dog’s skittishness, she really did seem well-behaved, and he just couldn’t bring himself to lie about her like that.

  “I’ll go tell Zach you’re here,” he said to Janis, ignoring her question about Precious. He waved a hand toward Zach’s boring, sand-colored couch. “Maybe you should sit down while I get him?”

  Janis flounced over to it, but then just leaned against the back instead of sitting, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at him.

  “You’re really making yourself at home, aren’t you? Inviting me in, offering me a seat. Have you and Zach been together long?”

  Micah pressed his lips together to avoid saying something rude. He’d never not liked someone quite as much in his entire life, and he especially hated how Janis acted like he had to defend his position in Zach’s life. She was the one who’d barged in to their otherwise lovely morning, and he knew for sure that he didn’t owe her any explanation about their relationship.

  The sound of the shower shut off abruptly, reminding him that he needed to go tell Zach she was there, but with Janis still tossing little verbal daggers at him, he was having trouble getting his feet to move.

  And honestly? A part of him that he wasn’t proud of kind of was sorely tempted to go ahead and snap back at her; to get just as nasty as she was.

  He wouldn’t, though.

  Probably.

  “From what I’ve heard,” she was saying, “Zach has dated a lot since he and I broke up, but he hasn’t stuck with anyone for more than a few weeks. You’ve obviously lasted a little longer than his average, because you’re the one who was at the hospital with him last month, weren’t you? But prepare yourself, blondie. Even if he does want to keep something going on the side once he steps up to take responsibility for this baby, I’m sure he’ll be moving on from you pretty soon.”

  She raised an eyebrow, staring at him.

  Her ugly words made Micah’s stomach clench, and Precious whined, clearly picking up on his mood. She tucked her tail between her legs and slunk around behind him, doing her best to hide from Janis’s view.

  Micah’s fists tightened. Janis was just… so… awful. She was spiteful and nasty and mean, and she was… was…

  Not worth it.

  He laughed, relaxing his tense shoulders and unclenching his fists as he let it go. Janis could say whatever
she wanted, but at the end of the day, she was wrong. He was the one who’d gotten to wake up next to Zach that morning… the one who’d been there when Zach had cried for his father… the one who knew how to make Zach laugh until his storm-whale-rain eyes crinkled at the corners and his dimples popped out and his face lit up like sunlight on the ocean. He was the one who loved Zach—he was Zach’s spirit animal—and there wasn’t a single part of his heart that doubted Zach’s love for him, too.

  “What?” Janis asked, her lips turning down as Micah’s laughter faded into just a smile.

  “Jeez, you really are a horrible person, aren’t you?” he said, not meaning to be mean but… she was. “Do you even know Zach? He loves me, Janis, and if your baby was his, he’d have loved it, too. But you know what? I already know you’re lying about that, and you should know he’s going to find out, so why do you keep doing this? Do you really think you’re going to win him over by being nasty? Maybe you should think about being a better mother, instead. Is this really the kind of person you want to be for your child?”

  “You little shit,” Janis said, straightening up and glaring at him. “You don’t know me. Don’t tell me what type of mother to be. And don’t think Zach’s not going to be a father to this baby. He wants a family. You can’t give him that. You’re just a—”

  “Janis.”

  The word cracked like a whip, startling them both. Micah hadn’t even heard Zach enter the room, and Janis was obviously just as surprised. Her mouth snapped closed at Zach’s harsh tone, her eyes immediately spilling over with tears.

  Precious whimpered.

  Zach was wrapped in a towel and still wet from the shower. He must have heard Janis and Micah arguing and rushed right out without taking time to dress… or dry off. His whole face looked the way the sky did right before a storm, and even if Micah hadn’t been able to hear it in Zach’s tone of voice, he was pretty sure he still would have figured out that that expression meant something like extremely pissed off.

  “Zach,” Janis said, her whole body language changing from hard and belligerent to sort of soft and needy in the blink of an eye. She swiped at her wet cheeks. “I’m sorry if I sounded harsh. Pregnancy hormones make me crazy, and your boyfriend was—”

  “Don’t ever speak to Micah that way again,” Zach interrupted, his voice all hard and un-Zach-like and—in Micah’s opinion—a little bit sexy with the whole defending him thing.

  Micah was definitely biased, though. And fine, now was not the time… but still, jeez, Zach was so hot.

  “If you want to talk to me, have the courtesy of asking before you stop by, Janis,” he was saying. “Or better yet, actually show up when you say you will. We agreed you’d come by yesterday. Where were you, and why didn’t you answer my texts?”

  Janis went pale, stumbling over her words as she tried to answer. “Zach, I was just… but, I need… I mean, my—”

  “What, Janis?” Zach interrupted her impatiently. “I know we need to talk, but I’ll be honest, my patience is about shot. Since you’re here, you can go ahead and say your piece, but I’ll tell you right now that I’m not going to make any concrete plans about the baby until we do a paternity test.”

  Janis’s eyes widened, and she opened and closed her mouth a few more times without saying anything. She really didn’t look that good, and for a minute, Micah thought she might be about to run to the bathroom and throw up again.

  Instead, she covered her face and burst into tears.

  27

  Zach

  Zach rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he had some clothes on… and wishing Janis would stop with the fucking waterworks already, too. He might have felt a little more empathy for her if he hadn’t just heard the vile tone she’d been speaking to Micah with, but that—especially coming on top of the emotional hell he’d gone through over the last week—was really the last straw for him.

  Ever since Janis had sprung the baby news on him, he’d struggled with the fear that he’d turned out to be a man no better than his father. The day before, though, Micah’s unshakeable faith in him had gone a long way toward calming that fear. The way he saw Zach—as exactly the man Zach hoped to be—had finally allowed him to bring his alcohol-blurred beach memories into focus. Not the kind of focus that helped restore his memory, of course—the bottle of Stagg had taken care of that—but viewed through the lens of Micah’s belief in him, Zach had finally been able to see some things clearly about that night.

  He just wasn’t the type of person to cheat on someone he loved… not any more than he was likely to go looking for the comfort of casual sex with someone he didn’t.

  You’re going to doubt me? Treat me the way your dad treated your mom? I thought you were better than that, Zach.

  The day Zach had met her for lunch, Janis had derailed his first attempt to bring up a paternity test with an emotional low blow. But this time, no matter how much she carried on, he wasn’t going to get sidetracked. Still, Janis was obviously upset, and he wasn’t an asshole.

  “Why didn’t you come by yesterday, Janis?” he asked, moving to stand next to Micah. “Is everything okay with the baby?”

  Micah glanced down at Zach’s towel, then over at Janis. “Um, do you want me to get you some clothes?” he asked Zach in a low whisper. He subtly shifted his body in front of Zach, throwing Janis a furtive look as his eyes sparked with a cute hint of possessiveness. “You’re really close to naked.”

  Zach bit back a smile. He knew Micah had to be uncomfortable with Janis’s presence, but that little lilt in his voice? The hitch in his breath and flare of interest in his eyes when he’d said the word naked? Even though Janis was still wailing and the scene Zach had walked in on had had him seething with anger just a moment before, Micah’s irrepressible attitude lifted Zach’s heart.

  Always.

  Micah was a blessing, and not just because he’d apparently read Zach’s mind about wanting some clothes. Zach hadn’t wanted to leave the room when it would have meant leaving Micah alone with Janis, not after the way he’d overheard her treating him, but dealing with her in nothing but a towel was less than ideal.

  “Yes,” Zach answered, pressing a kiss against Micah’s temple. “Thank you.”

  Micah threw Janis a warning look that almost made Zach smile again, as easy to read as everything else about him—don’t mess with my man—and then darted off down the hall with Precious at his heels.

  Janis wiped her face, her histrionics calming as soon as Micah left the room.

  “The baby’s fine, Zach,” she said, a sharp undertone to her voice. “I mean, I think so. I still haven’t been to the doctor, you know.”

  “Okay, so then what happened yesterday?” Zach asked, ignoring the accusing look she’d served up with the doctor comment. “If something came up, you should have let me know.”

  She immediately started tearing up again at his hard tone, fumbling in her purse for a tissue as Micah came back into the room. He handed Zach a shirt and some shorts, and Zach slipped behind the kitchen’s half-wall to put them on.

  “Maybe we can talk about this in private, Zach?” Janis said as soon as he stepped back into the living room. She threw Micah a pointed look. “Our baby isn’t really his business, is it?”

  Micah glanced at Zach uncertainly. “Um, Zach, if you want, I can—”

  “Nope,” Zach said, popping the P-sound. He took Micah’s hand, giving it a squeeze as he faced Janis. “If this baby is mine, Janis, Micah’s going to be a part of its life, because he’s part of my life. The best part.”

  Micah’s hand twitched in his and he made a little sound of surprise that shot straight to Zach’s heart. Had he not told Micah that? He’d need to make sure he corrected that omission.

  Later, though. First, he needed to deal with Janis.

  “You’re interrupting our morning together,” Zach said to her, pulling Micah against his side. “Uninvited. So yes, if you want to talk about this now, Micah stays. Why didn’t you
show up yesterday?”

  She threw Micah another resentful look, but she must have seen that Zach wasn’t going to budge on the issue.

  “My parents flew in,” she said, giving him a tight smile. “They just showed up at my place without even calling first. Unannounced.”

  Micah snickered, then caught himself, and Zach’s lips twitched again.

  Janis went on, oblivious to the irony. “I wasn’t going to say anything about the baby to them until after I worked things out with you,” she said, looking at Zach. “You remember how they are. But my mother called the other day and the morning sickness hit me right in the middle of the conversation, so I ended up telling her. I never expected them to fly out here, though. They want me to come back to Bloomfield with them.”

  If Zach remembered correctly, escaping the small Illinois town had been one of her main reasons for following her high school sweetheart out to San Diego in the first place, years ago.

  “Maybe that’s for the best, Janis, if they’re willing to help with the baby.”

  Her face turned red. “What are you saying, Zach? You’re not going to do the right thing here? Is that why you’ve been avoiding me all week? Because you’ve decided not to take responsibility? You’d really want your baby to grow up halfway across the country? Not even be a part of its life, the way your father wasn’t part of yours?”

  “Oh my God,” Micah said. “You’re horrible. Quit trying to pretend this baby is his.”

  “It is,” she snapped, her hands covering her stomach protectively. “You weren’t there. You don’t know.”

  “I don’t know either, Janis,” Zach said, his voice hardening. “And unless a paternity test says otherwise, I’ve really got no reason to believe you. And frankly? I don’t.”

  “Zach,” she said, her lip trembling as her eyes welled up again. She pointed at Micah. “Is this because of him? Because I already told you that I don’t mind if you want to keep him around on the side. As long as me and the baby get covered through your Navy benef—”