“Any chance I can talk you into keeping those on?” Owen wanted to know.
“I kept them on last time,” Kaylee said, turning toward him. He looked at her, with her blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders, and that glossy red lipstick still on her mouth, with her round breasts and her round belly and those sweet little panties and sexy shoes. One day he’d love to have her under him on the bed, with those long legs wrapped around his waist while he pounded into her... but until she’d given birth and her stomach didn’t get in the way, he’d better find other ways to enjoy her.
“Let me help you take them off, then.” He knelt on the floor in front of her and unbuckled first one and then the other shoe. And because he was down here anyway, and could, he reached up and pulled her panties down, baring that thatch of blond curls between her thighs. When he leaned in, she caught her breath quickly, only to let it out again when he dropped a kiss on her stomach.
“Don’t you want to get undressed?” Her voice was just a bit shaky, but her hand came out to stroke his hair.
Owen looked down at himself, still dressed in suit and tie and shoes and everything else, kneeling on the floor in front of her, and shook his head. “No.”
In fact, hell no. There was something very hot about being fully dressed while she was standing there in nothing but her skin.
“Oh.” She bit her lip.
“Just let me love you, Kaylee. I’ll make it good for you, I promise.” He leaned forward, but just to nuzzle her stomach again. He could feel the baby fluttering inside.
“You always do,” Kaylee murmured, sliding her fingers into his hair. “I love...”
She hesitated, and Owen held his breath.
“...us. Together. Like this. Whether we’re here, doing this, or just... watching TV or something. I just love... being with you.” There were tears in her eyes, and in her voice.
He started breathing again. It wasn’t “I love you, Owen,” but it was pretty damned close.
He smiled up at her. “I love being with you, too. Now be quiet and let me love my wife the way she deserves to be loved.”
“Yes, Owen,” Kaylee murmured, her nails scraping along his scalp and raising goose bumps under his shirt. “Love me. Please.”
It would be his pleasure. He leaned in and went to work.
Chapter Fifteen
“YOU MADE MY wife cry,” Owen said accusingly the next day.
He was sitting in his office talking to his mother, who was two hours away on the other end of the line.
She sounded unrepentant. “I wanted to make sure she’s good enough for you.”
“I’m an adult—”
“Yes, yes,” Ginny interrupted, “you made that clear. You’re a big boy, you don’t need your mommy running interference for you.”
“It’s not a lot to ask, is it? I’m almost twenty-eight. And if you don’t like her, there’s nothing much you can do about it. She’s my wife.”
“I know,” Ginny said. “You made that clear, too.”
Owen’s heart sank. This wasn’t going well. And for all that she annoyed the crud out of him, he did love his mother. “I’m sorry. I just... I care about her. I don’t want anyone to make her feel bad. Including you.”
“I understand. You made it clear, believe me.”
Right.
They sat in silence for a moment before Ginny said, “I saw you on the phone last night. Was that your friend returning your call?”
Owen grasped at the change of subject like a drowning man at a life preserver. “Damian. Yes.”
“Did he know anything about the missing money?”
“Of course not,” Owen said, insulted. “He had nothing to do with it.”
“I wasn’t suggesting he did,” his mother said mildly. “Did he have any idea who was here impersonating him?”
Unfortunately not. “I talked to him about it. Even described the guy, the best I could. It’s been a while since I saw him, and he wasn’t anything special one way or the other, you know? The description could fit almost anyone. Including Damian. And me. If I took off the glasses.”
Just over average height, in good physical condition, with dark hair and regular features, just like a million other guys out there.
“Pity,” Ginny said.
“You’re telling me. He didn’t get away with a whole lot of money, I guess...”
“That’s not the point,” Ginny said. “He stole from us. And if he’d gotten away with it the first time, he would have probably done it again. For more.”
Probably.
“You did make sure it was the first time, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did.” Did she really think he was stupid? “He hadn’t been working there very long. Just a month or so before I came back. I don’t think he’d had time to grab anything. It takes time to set up a good embezzling scheme.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Ginny said. “So what happens now?”
Owen grimaced. “Not as much as I’d like. I’ve hit a dead end. The guy’s name was fake, his background was fake, his social security number was fake, and of course his address and phone number were fake. There’s no way to find him. It’s too long ago that we can call in the police for fingerprints. Even if he does have a criminal record, there won’t be any prints left after all this time. And for just a couple thousand dollars, it’s probably not worth the upheaval.”
His mother murmured agreement.
“I’ll be talking to his coworkers, of course. See if he ever said anything that didn’t fit with his Damian Cooper personality. Maybe we can get a line on him that way. Just in case he let something slip.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Ginny’s voice was approving. So at least he seemed to be doing something right, even if she didn’t approve of his choice of wife.
“I’ve also got Damian—the real Damian—making lists of everyone he’s ever known. Guys he went to university with. Guys he knew while he lived there, who didn’t go to school with him. Guys he grew up with, who know his background and whereabouts and what kind of degree he got. Whoever this guy was, he knew a lot about Damian. Damian probably knows who he is. He just has to figure it out.”
“Will he tell you?”
“I hope so.” Although Owen knew there was a chance Damian wouldn’t. They’d been friendly enough in college, but if Damian realized that the imposter was someone he knew, someone he was closer to than Owen, he might not want to share the information. Loyalty was a strange thing, and frequently misplaced. And that reminded him— “I need you to leave Kaylee alone, mom. She’s my wife, even if you don’t like her.”
“Who says I don’t like her?” his mother said, sounding surprised.
“You made her cry!”
She scoffed. “She made herself cry. Telling me what a wonderful husband you are.”
She did? “Really?”
“Yes, really. She’s crazy about you.”
He smiled. “I’m crazy about her too.”
“No?” Ginny said, feigning surprise. “I assumed as much, Owen. You married the poor waif.”
Poor waif? “Are you sure we’re talking about the same woman?” Because there’d been nothing waifish about the siren he’d taken in the hallway yesterday afternoon.
“Yes, Owen,” his mother said patiently. “She’s pathetically in love with you. And she had to fight so hard not to tell me to mind my own business when I was doing my best to insult her. But she did it, because she didn’t want to offend your boss’s daughter. She cares about you.”
Good to know. “I’m sorry about the baby.”
“What’s to be sorry about? I already had you when Howie came into my life.” Ginny’s voice was serene. “He didn’t care that you weren’t his. He loved you like you were. His whole family did.”
True. Owen had grown up thinking Howie was his dad, and that Howie’s parents were his grandparents. Until his mother told him otherwise after Howie died, he’d had no inkling he wasn’t Howie’
s biological son. Nor did he care once he found out. Howie had been a great dad. “So you don’t mind that the first grandchild isn’t mine?”
“Of course it’s yours,” Ginny said. “You’re more this baby’s father than the sorry excuse for a man who knocked her up and left her. When she needed help, you were the one who came through. The fact that you weren’t there when the baby was conceived doesn’t matter. That’s not what a father is.”
Right. “I love you, Mom.”
“I know,” his mother said. “Will you bring her home for Christmas dinner?”
“I’ll have to tell her the truth if I do. No way can I make her believe I’m so special that Mr. Norris and his daughter invited us to Christmas dinner all by ourselves.”
“No,” Ginny admitted, “that would defy common sense enough that she’ll probably start to question it. Why don’t you want to tell her the truth? You already know she married you for your money. It hasn’t bothered you so far.”
“She married me for my health benefits,” Owen said. “Not my money.” It was a small enough distinction, but it seemed worth mentioning. “She slept with the jackass who used granddad’s name because she thought he was heir to Norris Industries. If someone comes along with more money than I have, I’ll lose her.”
“She won’t meet anyone with more money than you have. Not around here.”
Fine. “What if she falls in love with someone? When that happens, the money doesn’t matter. When you fall in love, nothing else matters.” Such as the fact that the object of his affections was pregnant with someone else’s child, and had agreed to marry him for his health benefits. He’d taken it, happily, because he wanted her so much. What would happen if she found someone she wanted that way?
Owen would have been willing to give up Norris Industries and all the money for Kaylee. Would Kaylee be willing to give up Owen and all his money if she met someone she loved better?
And what was wrong with him, that he could wish his wife was mercenary enough to go for the money, just so he could be sure he could keep her?
“I’M HUNGRY,” KAYLEE announced.
Owen shifted to look at her.
She was next to him on the bed, naked and flushed and gorgeous, with her hair tangled across the pillow and her stomach tight and round. He reached out and rested a hand on it, splaying his fingers and enjoying the heat and softness of her skin. “How’s the little guy?”
She slanted a look at him. “He’s hungry, too.”
“Does he have a name?”
“I’m thinking of calling him Gil,” Kaylee said.
Oh, Owen’s grandfather would love that! However—
“After his father?” The idea gave him a bad taste in his mouth, and he took his hand back.
“It isn’t his fault that his father was a jackass and didn’t tell me his real name.” She stretched. “What do you think I should call him?”
“Owen Junior,” Owen said.
Her lips curved. “I guess that’s fair. You’re paying for him. What about your middle name? The one that starts with an N?”
“Would you believe it’s Norris?”
“No,” Kaylee said. “What is it, really? Nicholas? Neville? Niels?”
“It’s Norris. Believe it or not.”
“Wow.” She stared at him, and seemed to decide that he was telling the truth. “That’s quite a coincidence.”
Not as much of one as she thought.
For one second, he thought about telling her the truth. See, Kaylee, I’m really Gil Norris’s grandson and heir to all the money... But what if that made her feel differently about him? What if she didn’t want him anymore when she realized he’d been lying to her? Fake Gil had lied, and she’d told him—Owen—more than once that she despised liars. If she found out he’d lied, would she despise him?
“What are you hungry for?” he asked instead, damning himself for a coward but keeping his mouth shut about the truth anyway.
The exaggerated eyebrow action that accompanied the question made her grin, but she shook her head. “You’ve worn me out. I need to refuel before we can do anything else.”
So she was hungry for food. Fine. Not her fault he was always hungry for her. “What kind of food do you want? I can order Chinese.”
“Wings,” Kaylee said.
“Chicken wings?”
She nodded. “Can we go to Peckers? There are these buffalo wings they have...”
“Buffalo? Are you sure that would be good for the baby?” She got heartburn when she ate anything too spicy. Buffalo wings would probably keep her up all night.
Then again, when she was up all night, he usually got lucky, so maybe this wasn’t such a bad tradeoff. “Sure. I’ll take you to Peckers. You can see your friends, too. How long is it since you saw them?”
“We had coffee a couple of weeks ago,” Kaylee said. “Or they had coffee and I had hot chocolate. I’d love to show you off.”
“Me?”
She grinned up at him. “I have an awesome husband. He’s very sexy, too. I want everyone I know to see how lucky I am.”
Sure. “You want me to leave my glasses at home?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kaylee said. “Your glasses are hot.”
“I’m glad you think so. Maybe next time I’ll keep them on in bed.”
“There’s always the console table in the hallway,” Kaylee said innocently and rolled away from him.
SHE HADN’T BEEN back to Peckers since the day she was fired, and after a couple of months, the place looked different. Or she saw it differently, which was probably more accurate. It hadn’t changed. She had.
It looked small: dark and dingy, with cigarette smoke floating in the air. The smoking in public ban hadn’t made it here yet. The ceiling felt too low and the floor was dirty, while the tables were too close together. She felt like she kept bumping into people’s chairs on her way to an empty table by the wall.
That was her, too, of course. She was bigger now than she used to be. The baby bump made it harder to navigate, and she did run into things. She hadn’t noticed it so much in other places, but here, where she used to wend her way through the tables for hours every night, the fact that she was so much bigger than she used to be, hit home.
It felt uncomfortable being back, like Peckers was a piece of clothing she hadn’t tried on in a while, that suddenly didn’t fit right. She wasn’t comfortable here anymore.
When Alana came over to their table to take their order, she managed a smile. “Hi.”
“Hi, there.” Alana grinned back, so beautiful that Kaylee was struck with doubt for a moment. She wanted to look at Owen, to see if he was looking at Alana with that dumbstruck expression men sometimes got around her, but she was afraid to, just in case he was. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you back here again.”
“Wings,” Kaylee said. “Cravings.”
Alana nodded. “Buffalo?” She cocked a hip, and her stomach was flat and gorgeous in the gap between the short shorts and the cropped top.
Kaylee felt huge and unwieldy, and wished she didn’t. She loved her baby. She loved the knowledge that there was a tiny human growing inside her. She just felt enormous. “Yes, please. And a bottle of lemonade. What about you?” She glanced at Owen.
“I’ll have a Corona, please.” He gave Alana a quick glance and a polite smile before grinning at Kaylee. “You’ll drive home if I get tipsy, right?”
She grinned back, relieved. She hadn’t really thought he’d drool over Alana, but it was nice that he hadn’t. “Of course.”
He turned back to Alana and stuck out a hand. “I’m Owen. Kaylee’s husband. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” She shook, and then turned back to Kaylee with a not quite discreet enough wink and nod of approval. “I’ll get those wings started, and then I’ll be back with drinks.”
She sauntered off, tail swinging in the tiny shorts. Men at several of the nearby tables turned to watch her go. Owen gave her a single glan
ce before turning back to Kaylee, smiling. “Looks like she approves of me.”
She smiled back. “Looks that way. Don’t you think she’s pretty?”
“Of course she’s pretty,” Owen said.
“You didn’t really look at her.”
“I looked at her enough to see that she’s pretty. She’s not as pretty as you.”
Of course she was. Alana was prettier than Kaylee could ever hope to be. “You’re crazy.”
He grinned. “Crazy about you.” He reached across the table and took her hand. After playing with her fingers for a minute, he glanced around the room and added, “I can’t believe you used to work here.”
“I can’t either.” She looked around, too. “It looks much smaller now. I guess because I’m so much bigger.”
He smiled. “Or maybe you’ve just outgrown it.”
Maybe.
“I used to come here, you know.”
“You did?”
“I never came in. I just sat outside and thought about it. But I was afraid if I did, you’d make me feel stupid. So I just went home again.”
Back then, she might have. “I’m sorry. I wish...”
His eyes were kind behind the glasses. “What?”
She tried to blink back the tears, but it didn’t really work. “That I’d realized back then that I... that we could have had this, if I’d only given you a chance.”
“You realize it now,” Owen said. “That’s what matters.” He smiled and twined his fingers with hers.
“Here you go. Lemonade and a Corona.” Alana was back with the drinks they’d ordered. “The wings will be out in a minute. Kaylee, can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure,” Kaylee said. “What’s going on?”
“In the back.” Alana tossed her head, long black tresses dancing.
“Oh. Sure.” Kaylee turned to Owen. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. I’ll just sit here and enjoy my beer. Without my pregnant wife watching me and wishing she could have one.” He grinned.
“I don’t really like beer,” Kaylee told him, and got to her feet, carefully. “I’ll be right back.”
Friends With Benefits Page 13
