by Sophia Gray
“Why the fuck wouldn’t she?” William bellowed. “What do you think you have to keep a woman like her interested?”
“We’re having a kid together!”
“Yeah, your old man had a kid, too,” William said scathingly. “And look what happened with that. Get your head out of your ass and pay attention!”
There wasn’t anything Ethan could say to that argument. Hell, what did he have to offer a woman like Amelia? It wasn’t like she’d jumped at his proposal. Maybe she was already having second thoughts. Suddenly, he was exhausted. “We need to talk about this later, man,” he said tiredly. “There’s no point in doing this right now.”
“There’s no point in any of this,” William corrected. “I’m takin’ a break.”
Ethan felt winded, like he’d been sucker punched. “What do you mean, you’re taking a break? You’re a founding member! You’re my Sergeant--”
“Yeah, and you probably just put the last nail in this coffin.”
“William!” Ethan called after the other man when he turned and walked out. “Come on, man, this is insane!”
He didn’t even turn back. He just shoved his hands into his pockets, hunched his shoulders into the wind and walked over to his bike. Ethan pushed a hand through his hair, wondering what else could go wrong and what the hell he was supposed to do now. Then he saw Amelia standing in the doorway. Tears were seeping down her cheeks and dripping off of her chin.
“Shit,” he growled. He’d known that she would be able to overhear some of what was said, but he hadn’t known that she was there listening. “Were you there the whole time?”
She shook her head, trying to wipe her cheeks and succeeding only in smearing her tears around. “Only since he called me a whore.”
Ethan walked over and pulled her against his chest. Her body began to shake as she cried harder. He really wanted to chase William down and rearrange the other man’s face for him. “I’m sorry, Amelia.”
“Is that what they’re all going to think of me?” she asked between sobs. “Are they all going to be like that?”
“Not if they want to keep all their teeth, they’re not,” Ethan said grimly. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”
“I thought you wanted to get the bike,” she whispered.
“I can get it later.” He didn’t feel like hooking the trailer up to the old but still serviceable truck they kept in the back. “Come on, we’ve gotta get the place cleaned up a little before your friend comes over. Also, I thought that you might wanna go shopping.”
She followed him out quietly. “You don’t have to buy me stuff.”
“Maybe I just want you to quit wearing my shirts,” he said, trying to keep it light. When she didn’t react, he tilted her chin up. “Hey. It’s just one guy and his one jackass opinion. I’ll hunt him down and kick his ass if you want.”
A hint of a smile played around her lips. “No, that’s okay.”
“You think I can’t take him?”
“That’s not the problem.”
“If you change your mind, let me know,” he said, only half joking. “I’m definitely in the mood for it.”
“It’s okay. You still stood up for me,” she realized. “You always do.”
“And I always will,” he promised, realizing that he meant every word of that. “Now get your helmet on and we’ll go get you something to wear. And maybe we can get some Chinese food for lunch, too. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth.”
She slid onto the bike behind him and moved in close, letting herself be comforted by his heat. William’s words had stung, but Ethan’s had been like a healing balm. It would be a long time before she wasn’t hurt by it, but he’d done exactly the right thing. She was just sorry that she’d complicated his life so much.
Chapter 21
Ethan
“Hey, you must be Aubrey,” Ethan said, opening the front door in response to the brisk knock.
“That’s me. And I guess you’re Ethan.”
“You guessed right.”
He stepped to the side so the woman could walk inside. He and Amelia had only just gotten back from a day of wandering the town aimlessly. Amelia had picked up a few outfits, but he’d been able to tell her heart wasn’t in it. His anger at William burned brighter.
“Amelia wasn’t looking for you to get here until around five,” he went on.
“I’m early because I didn’t stop anywhere for lunch,” Aubrey said. “So I seriously hope that having dinner is a big part of the plan for the evening.”
Ethan gave Aubrey a swift appraisal as she stepped into his house. Fluffy pink and blonde hair stood straight up on top of her head, leaving no distractions from her oval face. She had a direct gaze that seemed to take everything in at a glance and a mouth that looked like it normally curved easily into a smile.
She was wearing a plain green t-shirt and a pair of worn in jeans. The red converse sneakers on her feet were even more worn than the jeans. She surprised Ethan, but it was a pleasant surprise. There had been far too few of those lately and he felt a surge of gratitude as he looked at her.
He’d been afraid that he was going to be inspected by a flighty socialite. The woman was about as far from that description as a person could be and he found himself warming to her immediately.
“We can do that,” he assured her. “Anything you want in particular?”
“Lots and lots of pizza,” she answered promptly. “Every pizza place I drove past called my name on the way here.”
When Amelia appeared, Aubrey gave her a smile and opened her arms. “You’ll figure out pretty quickly that I’m not fancy like this one here,” she finished as the two of them hugged.
“Oh, bite me,” Amelia said, but Ethan was pleased to see a bit of the sparkle return to her pretty green eyes.
“I just might if we don’t make some moves in the direction of the nearest pizza place,” Aubrey assured her, faking seriousness. “I want it cheap, fast, and greasy.”
“I could hook you up with a few of my mechanic buddies,” Ethan said without thinking about it. The minute he’d said it, he wondered how she would take it. The last thing he wanted to do was tick her off, too.
Aubrey grinned, revealing a cute dimple. “A few might be a lot to start with,” she replied in that same dry tone.
Ethan’s relieved laugh ended on a whoosh when Amelia smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand.
“Ethan! And don’t you encourage him,” she ordered, pointing at Aubrey. “He doesn’t need it.”
“I promise nothing,” the other woman said loftily. “I assume I’m driving?”
“Uh, I guess so,” Amelia agreed, looking at Ethan’s bike. “I doubt all of us would fit on that.”
“Yeah, because let’s face it, even if you have a side car, there’s absolutely no way I’m going to be getting in it,” Aubrey said. “Now, can we pretty please get this show on the road?”
“Sure,” Ethan agreed. They’d had Chinese not long before, but he could go for some pizza.
Soon enough they were sitting in a booth, chowing down on the greasiest pizza on Ethan’s side of town. Aubrey’s eyes were closed in abject pleasure as she chewed a mouthful of cheese, bread, pepperoni, sausage, onion, green pepper, and pineapple. Ethan was watching in fascination.
“You’ve gotta admit that is a weird combination,” he said to Amelia. She’d been totally calm about it and that was flipping him out.
She shrugged. “I’ve seen weirder.” She turned to Aubrey. “Where are the anchovies and the mushrooms?”
Aubrey swallowed. “I’m off anchovies now,” she informed them. “It’s no fun if you’re not grossing people out and--”
“Everyone got used to it?” Amelia guessed.
“Exactly.” Aubrey polished off her first slice and then wiped her mouth. “Okay, Ethan. Tell me all about yourself.”
She trained that intense gaze on him and he suddenly felt the need to tell her where he was the night of June
28th and everything else that he could think of.
“Aubrey,” Amelia said in a warning tone. “Don’t freak him out.”
“The pizza already did that,” Ethan said.
Aubrey waved her hand. “Oh, come on. We all knew I was going to grill the guy. That’s why I’m here. It’s the obligatory best friend, ‘you hurt her and I hurt you right back’ speech.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Ethan admitted. “But I’ve never seen it in action.”
“Then you’ve been dating girls with crappy friends,” Aubrey said flatly.
Ethan picked up his own slice, loaded down with all the meat the establishment offered. “It’s a possibility,” he acknowledged. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Job,” Aubrey said.
“I’ve got a steady job at a mechanic shop fixing everything that rolls in. I manage the place when they rope me into it. I do okay, money wise.”
“Anything crazy in the romantic past? Stalkers? Crazy ex-wives? Insane ex-lovers waiting to boil your pet bunny?”
“I avoid that trap by not having a rabbit.”
Aubrey nodded. “Smart man.”
“Also, I’ve never been married, and my stalker got bored and moved on to someone more interesting,” he added, reaching over for a slice of Aubrey’s pizza. He took a cautious bite. It wasn’t half bad.
“Okay,” Amelia said. “This conversation is getting weird. Why don’t you two get to know each other through normal human interaction instead of pointed questions and witty rebuttals?”
“Hey,” Aubrey protested. “He gets called witty and all I get is pointed?”
“Wittypointed questions,” Amelia corrected herself.
“I guess we could do that,” Aubrey allowed.
“So does that mean I get to ask what you do?” Ethan questioned, taking another bite of the pizza. It was really starting to grow on him. He wondered how it would be with mushrooms and anchovies and decided he’d chase that rabbit another day.
“I work at a crisis pregnancy center,” Aubrey answered.
For some reason that struck them all as very funny. The rest of the meal was much more relaxed.
# # #
“All right,” Aubrey said when they were back at Ethan’s house. “I know that this is your place, Ethan, but I need you to get out for a while so Amelia and I can talk about you. Go and do guy things.”
“Fair enough.” He’d figured he was going to get thrown out at some point. There just weren’t any real places to have a private conversation in his small house. He gave Amelia a kiss on the cheek. “If you two need me, I’ll be drinking with the guys and belching the alphabet.”
“Well?” Amelia demanded the minute the door closed behind Ethan.
“Well?” Aubrey repeated.
“Don’t mess with the pregnant woman,” Amelia said emphatically. “Tell me what you think of him!”
“He’s okay. Tall, dark, and handsome,” Aubrey answered dismissively. “Let’s get something to drink. All this desert air has really dried my throat out. I don’t know how you stand it; I don’t remember it being this dry when I lived here.”
“Aubrey!” Amelia followed her friend into the kitchen.
Aubrey stretched up and got two mugs down out of the cabinet. “Mmm?”
“Come on!”
Aubrey grinned. “Okay, I can see that you’re about to lose it. He’s got a little bit of an edge. I meant the tall, dark, and handsome thing, but he’s taller and hotter than I pictured when you told about him. He’s also got a pretty decent sense of humor. The accent is a little bit delicious and so are the eyes. In short, I like what I see and I think he’s a nice guy. You could do worse.”
“I’m so glad you like him! He asked me to marry him.”
Aubrey’s lips parted and she stared at Amelia for a moment. “Okay. Now I think he’s all the things I just saidand I think he’s a little crazy.”
Amelia chewed her thumbnail. “You do?”
“Um. Yeah! Don’t you? For Pete’s sake, Amelia, how long have the two of you even been official?”
“I’m not exactly sure we are,” Amelia admitted, more than slightly embarrassed to have to admit it.
Aubrey smacked her coffee cup down on the kitchen table and stared at her. “Oh my God! Okay, I’m putting my foot down. I absolutelyrefuse to allow you to marry this man, Amelia Stratton!”
“Okay, I’ll tell him,” Amelia agreed meekly.
Aubrey was a real force to be reckoned with. She sighed. “All right, clearly we need to get down to the heart of the matter here. Sit down.”
Amelia dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. Aubrey pulled out the chair next to her and sat down beside her, taking her hand.
“The first thing I want you to do is stop looking at me like I’m going to start screaming at you any second,” she said gently. “Next, I want you to tell me why you think Ethan asked you to marry him.”
Tears sprang to Amelia’s eyes. That was the heart of the matter, right there. “Because he has to. Because I’m pregnant.”
Aubrey’s eyes softened as she squeezed Amelia’s hand. “Honey, I’ve got a very important newsflash for you. You don’t have to marry anyone ever. Whether you’re pregnant or whether you’re not.”
Amelia shook her head, all her worry spilling out. “Yes, I do! I don’t have a job. Or a house, or a car, or any work experience at all! I can’t earn any money on my own! I can’t get a job! I don’t know how I’m going to pay for anything!” The list of baby supplies flashed into her mind. “There’s so much stuff that a baby needs and I have a list that’s close to five pages and it adds up to more than I had ever even thought possible! I have no idea what I’m going to do!”
“Shhh,” Aubrey said calmly. “Okay, we’ll go over the list in a minute or two and I’ll help you out. And so what if you don’t have any of those things? You’re actually worried about getting a job? You have a degree and you were practically at the top of your class. You have drive. You have intelligence. You also have a friend with an extra bedroom in her house.”
Amelia blinked at her. “What?”
“If you want to get away from your dad and you don’t want to marry a guy you barely know, you could come and live with me.”
“No, Aubrey, I can’t ask you to--”
“You’re not asking,” Aubrey cut in with a smile. “I’m offering. That’s different. And after the baby is born, you’ll get a job and pitch in. It’s not a big deal.”
Amelia swallowed hard. “You really don’t think I should marry Ethan?”
“What’s his favorite color?”
She frowned slightly. “What?” Why on earth did Aubrey want to know that?
“What’s his favorite band?” her friend pressed.
Amelia thought, but nothing came to mind. “Um, I don’t know.”
“When did he lose his virginity? Does he drink Pepsi or Coke? Can he drive anything but a motorcycle? Does he work as a mechanic because he wants to or because he has to? What else does he want to do with his life?”
“I don’t know!” Amelia exclaimed, wanting the barrage of questions to stop.
“Don’t you think you should before you marry him?” Aubrey asked gently. “I mean, those questions were just off the top of my head, but there are others that are more important. Political views, religious views...I mean for all you know he worships goats or thinks the world is flat.” Aubrey smiled. “Those last two might be a little farfetched, but they’d be good to know.”
“Okay, yeah, probably. It’s just...” Amelia gave a shaky sigh. “I’m just scared because everything was all worked out a few weeks ago. I thought I was getting married and now I’m returning a ring the size of an iceberg. And now he wants to marry me and it seems like it makes sense. I’m just not sure...I’m...”
“Free,” Aubrey finished. “Now you’re free from those obligations.”
“I know,” she answered. “But it doesn’t feel too great. It’s really scary. I
’ve always known what was going to happen and how and when it was going to happen, too. This is all so confusing.”
“Amelia, that’s life,” Aubrey said, her voice blunt, but kind. “It’sveryrare that things work out exactly as you planned or as you wanted them to. I can probably count on one hand the number of things that have done that for me. Things fall apart all over the place. It’s scary as hell,” she said with a smile as she squeezed Amelia’s hands in hers. “But it’s beautiful, too. And you can finally have a life of your own if you just reach for it. I’m here to help.”
