Alluring Promises Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Josie Bordeaux

  The girls all took their seats and drinks were being passed across the bar from Sandy. Everyone was taking a glass and when one was placed in front of Vanessa, Aubrey covered it with her hand and shook her head at Vanessa. I watched my girl’s shoulders slump as if she were disappointed she couldn’t have her drink.

  Wow. Either she’s going to play this up or she’s really pregnant.

  “What’s another sign your girl would be pregnant?” I asked both guys as Clark came walking up.

  “Pregnant? Who the fuck is pregnant?” He asked, his face completely concerned.

  I shook my head as I explained everything to him. I watched his shoulders relax as he realized this didn’t affect him. “Shit, that scared me. I thought Aubrey was pregnant or something,” he exhaled as he looked over at the bar. “Good. Aub is drinking.”

  We all stood there staring at the girls at the bar, analyzing the situation. Each one of us watched the women to see if they were drinking or not. Izzy took a drink from her beer, Aubrey was drinking whatever it was she was drinking and Vanessa, we all noted, looked like she wanted to drink, but Aubrey kept covering up the glass.

  I smirked over at Alex knowing exactly how to play this. I nodded my head towards the bar, knowing he’d follow my lead.

  I snuck up behind her, wrapped my arm around her neck and kissed her cheek. She jumped in surprise and I watched her exchange an odd glance with Aubrey. I wasn’t sure if she really was pregnant or not, but I couldn’t wait to find out. I reached over and grabbed her glass and took a drink from it. Cosmo.

  “Mmm. Wow, Sandy really made that strong. How’d that taste to you, Vanessa?” I asked keeping my poker face on.

  “Oh, I haven’t had a taste of it. My stomach’s not feeling so great,” she told me as she made a sour face.

  I leaned down and whispered, “Pretty sure it’s not good for our baby anyway.” Her head whipped around to mine, her face totally surprised. Hmm, maybe she really is pregnant and forgot to put away the pregnancy test?

  “You know?” She whispered back to me with a concerned expression. She was worried.

  I nodded my head and gave her a small smile and leaned in again. “I’m thrilled. I just wish you would have told me instead of leaving a test on my counter.” I pulled back and watched her start to fidget with her grandmother’s ring. My heart picked up at the thought that I’m going to be a dad. Wow. Either that or she’s pretty good at this game.

  Alex picked his moment to chime in. He leaned in and whispered, “Congratulations.” He threw her his most charming smile. I gotta hand it to him, best wingman in the world. Not only for picking up chicks, but for playing pranks too. If she’s faking this, we’ll find out soon enough. If she’s not, he’ll still look like a good guy.

  Vanessa looked like she’d seen a ghost as she swallowed and glanced at Aubrey.

  “Everything okay?” Aubrey asked.

  Alex leaned in; his jet-black hair matched her hair color flawlessly as he lowered his voice. “We found the test in Matt’s bathroom earlier. I can’t believe they’re gonna have a baby. I was just about to tell her how glad I am she’s not the type to fake something like that.”

  Aubrey’s eyes widened and snapped to Vanessa’s.

  “What makes you say something like that?” Aubrey carefully asked Alex.

  “I had a girl who faked a pregnancy,” he remarked as he took his beer from Sandy, throwing her a wink and mouthing a thank you. Sandy was all too happy to shoot her best smile back at him. He turned back to the girls who were listening intently. I could tell he was going to milk this story for everything it had. “Yeah. She was just a skank looking to get married. She faked a test and told me that I needed to man up and marry her,” he shook his head, pressing his lips together, looking pissed.

  Vanessa leaned in, listening closely to his story and asked, “How soon did you find out she was faking it?” I wanted to laugh because I still couldn’t tell if she really was or not. But I know for sure if she faked that test she was nervous as hell right now.

  Alex shrugged. “I went with her to the doctor’s office and demanded a test. I was going to have a paternity test done too, actually. You never know how many partners a girl who lies about something like that would have.”

  I choked on my beer and wanted to laugh. Vanessa’s head whipped around. “Are you alright?” She asked as she watched my face carefully. I threw my poker face back on, making sure to contain my laughter.

  “Yeah. I just…Wow. I can’t imagine anyone lying about something like that. That’s pretty bad, you know?”

  “You know the worst part about that?” Alex asked as he brought the attention back to himself. “She thought I’d be happy about it, happy to become a father.” He shook his head and then threw his arm around my neck, laying it on even thicker. “Not like Matt here. Shit. The guy can’t wait to become a dad. Damn, Vanessa. You’re really making all his dreams come true.” He looked back at me and I wanted to laugh so hard, but fought to keep a straight face as he shook his head. “Matt Williams…Finds the woman of his dreams who sleeps naked every night and now will finally make him a father.” He looked back at Vanessa and threw his arms around her, giving her a huge hug. “You’re the best, Vanessa,” he told her.

  Clark snorted and tried to ruin it. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Matt? Now you’re trapped for life.”

  Aubrey whipped her head. “Hey, asshole! How do you even know?”

  Clark’s surprised face probably gave it away, but he quickly recovered. “Matt shot me a text asking if it was Tina’s. He scared the shit out of me.”

  Aubrey stared at him a second longer, but finally looked like she believed him as she nodded her head. I sprang into action. I started rubbing my hands together excitedly and asked, “So when’s our first appointment? When do I get to hear my baby’s heartbeat?”

  Vanessa’s eyes said it all and my heart dropped just a little. This was a prank and I watched her start to stutter as she swallowed nervously.

  Aubrey tried to save her friend as she chimed in, “I don’t think you hear the heartbeat for a long time.” She glanced at Vanessa as if to prompt her. I decided to dig in a little more, especially now that I know Aubrey’s in on it.

  “No, actually you get to hear it around ten weeks in. How far along do you think you might be, Vanessa?” I asked anxiously. I had looked this shit up on my phone while Vanessa was in the shower. You gotta have the data to back up a good prank sometimes, you know?

  Vanessa’s face went white. “How…how would you know something like that?”

  “I told you he can’t wait to become a dad. The guy’s been looking shit like that up since he found the test earlier today,” Alex chimed in using all his charm.

  I repeated my question. “How far in do you think you are, babe?” I watched her swallow nervously and then look back at me. She jumped up and sprinted toward the bathroom.

  Aubrey stood quickly and couldn’t look us in the eye as she mumbled, “Must be morning sickness. At night or something.” She took off after Vanessa.

  Alex and Clark started laughing as I chuckled. I still wasn’t sure where I stood. Am I a dad or not? I was pretty sure I wasn’t, but who knows by what just took place. I glanced over to Z and knew he was telling Izzy what was going on. Shit. Now I’d get in trouble or something. As predicted, I watched her jaw drop as she glared at me.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Izzy. I need to know. If she’s playing a prank, I’m just messing back with her. If she really is, then that’s great too.” Izzy’s face softened as she thought about it for a second. There had to be some way that Izzy could really find out for me, but right now I wasn’t sure if I sent Izzy in there if she’d tell me the truth or not. Girls always stick together.

  What was really scaring the hell out of me more than this was the proposal tonight in front of everyone. I was already nervous about that and this just added to it. I started to wonder if I did propose to her tonight, she would think
it was just because she was pregnant. I needed to know for sure and I started to wonder if Izzy might be a little more apt to help me if she knew this part.

  I walked over to Izzy and told Z that I needed to “borrow” her for a moment. I walked with her to the office and closed the door behind me. Izzy leaned up against their office desk and crossed her arms across her chest. I could tell she was a little peeved at me, but she also seemed open to listening to what I had to say.

  I sat down in one of the chairs, so I wouldn’t look so menacing. It would also make her feel bigger than me, as if she had the upper hand in this conversation. It works…trust me.

  “I’m gonna level with you. No one else here knows this. Well, Alex might have a clue since I’ve been hinting about this shit for a while now, but no one else knows. I, uh.” I looked up to the ceiling, smiling as I thought about proposing to Vanessa. All this prank stuff made me forget about how excited and nervous I really was about all this. I swallowed as I looked back to Izzy. “I was thinking about popping the question to Vanessa tonight.” I watched Izzy’s face light up with excitement as she smiled huge. I held up my index finger letting her know not to get too excited. “But then this prank thing came about with the pregnancy test and I don’t want her thinking I’m proposing just because she’s pregnant. Not to mention, if she fesses up that it was all just a prank, she’d feel shitty and not think it’s a real proposal.”

  I watched Izzy’s face change as she took in all the information I just told her. She pressed her lips together as her blue eyes sparked. “You want me to find out if she’s really telling the truth or not,” she stated flatly. Then she squinted her gorgeous blue eyes at me. “Wait. How do I know you’re not playing a prank on me just to find out?” Shit. She knows me too well. At least this time I was telling the truth.

  Smart girl. I could never put one past her. I dug into my pocket and grabbed the engagement ring I had taken out of its box earlier while Vanessa showered. I held it up between my fingers and then handed it to Izzy for her inspection. Her face lit up as she studied it.

  “Wow. You really spent some money on this, Matt.”

  I shrugged. “I can’t have my girl walking around with anything less than she deserves.”

  Izzy’s eyes softened as she handed me back the ring. I took it and then looked back to her eyes. “Can you help me?”

  “What if she really is pregnant? She’s going to think you’re proposing for that reason.”

  I smiled. “I’ve got a receipt for this ring that goes back several months.” I watched Izzy try to calculate when that would have been and decided to help her out. “I bought it a couple days after her birthday. It sucked to have it sitting in my drawer while we were sort of broken up. But, I’ve known she’s the one since I met her. I just didn’t want to admit it.”

  Izzy looked like she was tearing up, so I chuckled. “Stop that and help me out. Come on. You’re supposed to be on my side anyway since I’m your brother-in-law. That counts for something above some girl’s code.” She nodded and threw her arms around me.

  “I knew you’d finally realize she’s the one.”

  I WALKED BACK over to the bar and grabbed my beer. Alex threw me a look and I shook my head that I still didn’t know yet. We all stood there shooting the shit while I kept glancing over towards the bathrooms waiting for some sign from Izzy.

  A dad. What if she really is pregnant? I started picturing all the stuff we’d need to get done before the little one came. We’d probably just have a quick ceremony soon. I wasn’t about to have my kid born without us being married. That might work for some, but I wasn’t about to have that.

  I bet it’s probably a boy. I’m sure our first would be a boy. I could teach him football and play baseball with him. My dad would love that too. I’m so thankful he’ll be around to help me teach him all the things he taught me.

  Although a little girl that looked just like Vanessa would be pretty cool too. I was just thinking about if my little girl would have my blue eyes or soft gorgeous eyes like Vanessa when Izzy started walking back to us. I couldn’t tell by her facial expression if she knew or not. I practically ran towards her, meeting her half way.

  “Matt, I can’t figure it out. She’s in there crying pretty bad and Aubrey wouldn’t let me know either,” she said with a worried expression.

  I nodded remembering how close her and Aubrey were. If Vanessa’s feelings are involved, Aubrey wasn’t going to let anyone near her. “It’s alright Izzy. Thanks for trying.” Whether she is or isn’t pregnant, I didn’t want her so upset that she’s crying like that.

  I walked over towards the bathroom door and opened the women’s door slightly. “Vanessa?” I called out. I heard a bunch of whispering and so I decided to press. “Hey, Vanessa, come on out here, I need to talk to you, babe.”

  A blonde woman came towards the door and brushed her body against me. “I’ll talk to you, Matty. I haven’t seen you in awhile.”

  I chuckled, shook my head and tried to remember if I’ve been with her. It didn’t matter. “I’d rather talk to the woman I’m in love with, but thanks for the offer.”

  “If she is who I think she is, she’s a mess. What’d you do, cheat on her?”

  I pulled my brows in close. “What? No, I didn’t cheat on her,” I exclaimed. Then I realized I was still talking to this chick and didn’t even care about her. What mattered right now was Vanessa. I practically pushed the blonde out of the way and walked into the women’s bathroom.

  It hurt my heart to see Vanessa crying uncontrollably into Aubrey’s shoulder. Aubrey glanced up and threw me an approving smile.

  A woman came out of a bathroom stall right at that moment. “You can’t be in here!” She yelled at me. I looked back and saw Vanessa lift her head and her eyes met mine. Her deep grey eyes were swollen and surrounded by tears.

  “Come here, baby,” I said softly as I walked towards her and Aubrey. Aubrey turned Vanessa so that she faced me and basically handed her off to me.

  Vanessa wrapped her arms around me tightly and continued to sob into my chest. I kissed the top of her head as the woman who just came out of the stall started toward me, angry that I was in here.

  Aubrey went into full protective mode and stepped in front of her. “They need to work something out and I’m pretty sure you’re done in here. I’m sure they’ll just be a minute.” The woman began to protest, but Aubrey being Aubrey, wasn’t taking no for an answer and ushered her out of the bathroom.

  I turned back to Vanessa and lifted her head so I could look into her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you really pregnant or were you just trying to pull a prank on me?”

  She tried to catch her breath as she stuttered, “I’m so sorry. I thought it would be fun to get you back. But now it’s just a horrible cruel joke. Alex is going to hate me now and you probably think I’m the worst person alive for joking about that.” She sniffed and then continued, “I thought you would freak out and then you’d be relieved that I wasn’t. And then Alex started in about his ex and how horrible…” She couldn’t continue as she pressed her head back to my chest and continued to cry. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled into my chest.

  I squeezed her tight and tried my best not to laugh at her carrying on. I was a little disappointed, but maybe it’s for the best that we’re not going to have a baby just yet. “Hey,” I whispered. “It’s alright. We were pretty sure you were trying to pull a prank. Either way, I’m fine.”

  She sniffled and then in a meek voice asked, “You’re not upset? You knew it was a prank?”

  I shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t sure, but if you were, I didn’t want you to worry that I’d be upset.”

  She lifted her head a little more and then wiped her eyes. Then her eyes got really wide as she glanced back to my shirt. “I’m so sorry. Now you have mascara all over you.”

  I smiled as I bent my knees so I could see in her eyes. “No worries. Just think if we had a baby, it’d be easier to clean than baby s
pit up.” I got what I wanted when she smiled and gave a soft laugh.

  I watched her bite her lip and look back up to me. “Were you really disappointed?”

  I gave her my best smile as I told her, “We’re probably not ready for one just yet, but yeah, I’m looking forward to having one with you.”

  She nodded as she hugged me, pressing her head to my chest. “Let’s not rush things just yet. We just got back together and we should see if we can actually live together first.” I just nodded and gave a brief ‘uh-huh’ trying not to give away my little surprise that was coming her way.

  “IT’S ABOUT TO RAIN. Do we chance it?” She asked as she peered up at the clouds. The concern in her gorgeous grey eyes reminded me of that evening we walked back from Mel and Flynn’s, back when we were claiming to just be friends. I knew that wasn’t the only night that pulled me closer to her. There were so many other moments that brought us together.

  I could consider the dance at Mel and Flynn’s wedding as the moment I really fell for her, but that was also the night that the door shut with Stephanie. Being heartbroken over Stephanie and then turning around right into Vanessa, there were times I questioned if I just wanted Vanessa to help me get over my heartache, but I definitely don’t think that way anymore.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked as I watched her glance at me and then look back down to the sandwich in her hand. She started to rewrap it in the waxed paper that surrounded it. Squishing the paper tightly, she placed it into the small blue cooler and then reached for the plastic container of fruit. My heart began to beat faster. This is it. I’m going to do it this time.

  I realized it wasn’t the right moment at Allure. Flynn told me it was harder than I thought, as if I would chicken out. That wasn’t the real reason I didn’t do it at Allure. I created a huge party under the assumption that we were all celebrating my decision to stay here instead of move back to Atlanta. Every one of our friends were there.

  After the prank and how upset she was, I knew it wasn’t the right night to propose. It wouldn’t have been a great surprise like I wanted it to be. Then I found out a couple days later during brunch with her parents, that Charles proposed in front of everyone at the club, I knew I made the right decision not to ask her in front of everyone. It had been done before and I didn’t want her having that same memory.