by Sonya Weiss
“I would handle anything you needed me to.”
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow as they walked together. She held a hand up when her phone rang. Beth. “Hang on. I have to take this. No, did you show him the paperwork for the air conditioner?” Olivia wanted to snarl in frustration. She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately. The tiredness, the mood swings. Couldn’t be menopause; she was way too young for—wait a second…she was late. A bout of nausea hit the pit of her stomach and she interrupted her friend. “Beth, let me call you back on this.”
The fatigue, the nausea… She wanted to get inside and check her calendar. Maybe she was mistaken. Got caught up working too much and the dates were mixed up.
“Is everything okay?”
“Fine.” There was no way she could say what she was thinking unless she wanted to see Mason freak out. If she had a guess, she’d guess he wanted to be a dad as badly as he wanted to have her father as a roommate. “I’m going to run an errand,” she said once they were inside the house.
“Want some company?”
Olivia stopped. What was up with Mason? He was acting different. Edgier. Like something had upset him. She studied him but couldn’t put her finger on what it could be. “No, this shouldn’t take long.”
“Take one of the cars.”
For once, Olivia didn’t argue. She nodded and hurried to her room to get her purse. She didn’t want to take the time to wait for a taxi. She wanted to get her hands on a pregnancy test and see if her suspicions were true. Digging through her purse, she pulled out her planner and quickly skimmed back to last month. Trailing her finger across the entries, she stopped. No dates were circled. No notations.
By the time she picked up the pregnancy test at Walgreens and arrived back at Mason’s home, Olivia had thought of and rejected half a dozen things that could cause her to miss a cycle. But it couldn’t be.
She’d gone on birth control pills as a teenager to help regulate her periods. What were the odds that she could be pregnant? Oh no. The antibiotic. The doctor had said to use a backup but…at the time she wasn’t having sex so it hadn’t been an issue. No, no, no.
She paced the bathroom and then when her watch beeped, Olivia peered down at the stick. Two lines. A visit to the doctor would confirm one way or the other. Wrapping the stick up with shaky fingers, she buried it in the garbage can, washed her hands and pasted on the fake smile she’d worn for weeks. How in the world could she tell Mason he was going to be a father?
…
At the end of the week, Mason had never been so thankful to see the weekend arrive.
Delicious scents wafted from the kitchen into the living room and Mason inhaled deeply, then paused. Today was the cook’s day off. Tossing his briefcase onto the sofa, he rubbed his dog’s head and then went to the kitchen, the Great Dane following.
A handwritten recipe was propped against a stack of bowls and Olivia hunched over it, her finger following a line of instructions as she muttered out loud. The short skirt she had on was just as delicious to view as the scent in the air was to smell.
“You’re cooking?”
She held up a finger, finished reading, and then looked at him. Her hair had escaped the band in several places. Flour smudged the end of her nose and the apron she wore had a dollop of chocolate in the center of the chest. Lifting one side of her mouth, she blew a strand of hair away. “I’m making chocolate chip cookies,” she said proudly.
“I thought you didn’t like cooking.”
“It’s not that I don’t like cooking. I just never really got into it.”
Mason looked at the rack of cookies cooling on the counter and picked one up. He bit into it and immediately spit the bite back out. “I think something went wrong.”
“What?” Olivia took a bite and scrunched her face up. “Eww. Too salty!” She tossed the cookie back on the pile with the others. “I made a roast and vegetables. That turned out okay. But I really, really wanted chocolate chip cookies.” Twisting her fingers together, she burst into tears.
Mason’s inner alarm went off. Olivia wasn’t the kind of woman who cried easily. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. They’re just cookies.” He pulled her against his chest and stroked the back of her hair.
She sniffed against his suit and then looked up, her lower lip quivering. “They weren’t just cookies. They were chocolate chip ones with the recipe my mother used to make.”
“You can make some more.”
Shaking her head, tears continuing to roll down her face, Olivia said, “We’re out of chocolate chips.”
Cupping the sides of her face, he said, “The stores are filled with chocolate baking chips. I’ll buy them all if you’ll stop crying.”
Olivia made a noise that was a cross between a laugh and a sob and covered his hands with hers. “What are you going to do when you come across a problem your money can’t solve?”
“I doubt that’ll happen.” Kissing her, he said, “You sit tight. I’ll be back with the chocolate chips.”
Mason barely managed to keep his speed at the posted limit on the way back after he’d gone to the store, loaded the buggy with several bags of chocolate chips, and then for good measure, added a few containers of fresh cookies from the store’s bakery. He didn’t know why it was so upsetting to ruin cookies, but it upset Olivia and that’s all that mattered.
He found her in the kitchen, wiping up the counters after she’d disposed of the cookies, and plunked the bags down. “There you go.”
Her mouth dropped. “How many cookies did you think I’d make?”
“I don’t know.” He stripped off his suit coat and placed it across one of the stools. “I’ll help you.”
She frowned. “Do you mean watch me so I’ll do it right this time?”
“Someone has to supervise.” He removed his tie and rolled up his shirtsleeves.
She smiled. “Then you make the cookies and I’ll instruct you.”
“How about we do it together?”
“Have you ever made cookies before?”
“I’ve never baked a dessert in my life.”
“Wow, then I guess I’m teaching you more than new things in the bedroom.”
He laughed at that. “You’re teaching me?”
Olivia set out the flour and baking soda. “Of course. You should be grateful.”
“I think you skipped a lesson.”
Tapping a finger on her chin, Olivia pursed her lips. “I don’t think so. What lesson would that be?”
“This one.” He scooped her up and strode to the room housing the indoor pool. Without breaking his stride, he said, “Don’t let go.” Holding on to her tightly, he fastened his mouth over hers in a deep kiss and jumped into the pool. They sank below the water, their mouths still hungrily seeking each other before rising above the surface.
Olivia pushed the wet strands of her hair back. “We’re fully clothed! Your suit is ruined.”
He swam toward her. “I don’t give a damn about the suit.” Pulling her close, he pushed her skirt up.
She laughed. “You’re crazy.”
Nudging the neck of her shirt aside, he fastened his lips around her nipple, sucking gently, and she let her head fall back in a moan. His fingers stroked the outside of her panties before he slipped one finger past the material to plunge deep inside her. He pulled out and then plunged back in in a rhythmic movement until she whimpered.
“Now, Mason. Now.”
Unzipping his pants, he freed himself and drove into her wetness. As she climaxed, she called his name, and when she’d stopped shuddering, she said, “You didn’t…”
“I know.” He pulled out of her. “Come with me.” They swam toward the shallow end and Mason grabbed a float. “I want you to lie half across this. I’m going to come up behind you. It’ll give us a different angle.”
When she was settled on the float, Mason pushed it to the side of the pool. “Hold on to the side.” He used the buoyancy of the water to enter her. “This le
aves my hands free to do this.” Reaching around, he stroked her and she bucked against him. “You like that?” He kissed the side of her neck and continued to touch her as he moved in and out of her, deeper and deeper until he couldn’t take the pressure any longer. He cried out, letting go at the same time Olivia did.
“Oh…”
“Are you okay?” He kissed her ear.
“I snorted a nose full of water, but it was totally worth it.”
He laughed and helped her turn to face him. “I think we should bake cookies every damn day.”
She laughed and he thought he saw a shadow cross her face, but maybe it was the lighting, because when he stared harder, he didn’t see it. He kissed her passionately and levered himself from the water. Reaching down, he took her uplifted arms and hauled her up onto the tile.
“I look like a drowned rat.” Olivia wrung out the bottom of her shirt.
Mason took off his shirt and dropped it onto the tile, followed by his pants and underwear. He winked at her. “You look good enough to eat.”
She paused. “I think you’re right. We should bake cookies every damn day.”
…
Olivia toweled off in her bedroom and picked out a pair of jeans and a button-up yellow shirt to put on. Since getting the confirmation from the doctor that she was pregnant, she’d gone over it in her mind how she was going to break the news to Mason.
Maybe she was fretting for no reason and he wouldn’t freak out. Maybe he’d be glad that he was going to have a son or a daughter. Regardless of how he felt about the baby, he had a right to know he would soon be a father.
She would tell him tonight and at the same time, she’d give him the paperwork for the land. Squaring her shoulders, she wandered from her bedroom into the kitchen. Mason poured two glasses of wine and offered her one.
Olivia took it but set it aside without drinking any.
Mason put some of the roast and vegetables into a covered dish and slid it into the oven to warm them. “I’ll take care of this if you want to grab some of those dinner rolls and get them ready.”
Watching his hands as he deftly moved about the kitchen, Olivia could imagine him holding their newborn child. She frowned. How would all this work with her living in Texas and him living in Illinois? He hated her father and her father hated him. Mason was bent on revenge and…how was she going to keep her child from getting caught between a grandfather and a father? How would she teach a child about love and forgiveness when Mason was anti–both emotions?
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, really.” Olivia transferred the bread onto a broiler pan and brushed the rolls with melted Parmesan and spices. She slid the pan in the oven on the rack below the roast.
“You’ve been quieter than usual.” He sipped his wine and watched her over the rim of the glass.
Placing the oven mitts within reach so she’d be able to get the rolls out when the timer went off, Olivia said, “Well, there is something I need to tell you and I don’t really know how.”
“Is it about the past?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s about the present and the future, too, I guess.”
He moved to where she stood and took her hands in his. “Just tell me, Olivia.”
“Okay…I was sick and I went to the doctor. She gave me a prescription for an antibiotic.”
His brows drew together and he slid his hands up to hold her upper arms. “You’re fine now? Nothing serious?”
The concern on his face…did that mean he cared for her? Could it be possible? “I’m fine. Mason, I’m going to have a baby.”
He let go of her and took a quick step backward, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open in shock. “Pregnant?”
“I know…”
“You said you were on the pill.” His voice sounded accusatory.
“I am.”
“Let me see them.”
Olivia blinked. “What?”
He held his hand out. “I want to see them for myself.”
It was her turn to gape. “Are you serious?”
“Damn serious.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Unbelievable. Jake was right. I can’t believe that I fell for the oldest trick in the book.”
“Wh-what?” Olivia pressed her hand to her chest. “What trick?”
“You even told me yourself that day after the shower that you’d gotten what you wanted. Of course you did.” His laughter was bitter. “Wow. Did you ever play your cards right.”
His words hammered at her and Olivia narrowed her eyes. “Are you suggesting that I deliberately got pregnant?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. You lied about being on the pill and you had sex with me knowing you weren’t protected. You planned the whole thing out before I ever came back to Texas to see you that first time.”
“Oh. I can’t believe I’ve been found out.” Olivia put the back of her hand to her forehead and heaved a dramatic sigh. “I knew that if I made up a boyfriend that there was a million to one chance that you would see the article. I planned for you to call a press conference. I sent telepathic vibes that led you to my shop where you demanded that I play the part of your girlfriend.” She lowered her hand to glare at him. “Then using my feminine wiles, I got you to insist we fly to Chicago to live together.”
A muscle worked in Mason’s jaw and he avoided her eyes. “I’m not father material.”
“No kidding. Based on your attitude right now, you’re not boyfriend material, either.”
“You got pregnant on purpose because you knew that any child of mine would be heir to millions. You and your father would be set for life with my money.”
Snapping her fingers, Olivia said. “I sure did. I worked you over so well. Got myself an expensive car that I don’t drive, business space I’m reluctant to use, and charge accounts I never charged a damn thing on. I am living in the lap of luxury. I even flew coach back and forth to Texas so I could have plenty of time to think up more ways to get my greedy little hands on the Parker fortune. In fact, my father, who can barely string together two words, explained how we could work you for every cent we could get.” She flipped her hair back.
“The pills, Olivia.”
“You want to…fine.” Olivia stormed out of the kitchen and went into the bedroom to retrieve her purse. Of course he’d think that way. She was a fool to dream he would believe anything good about her, ever come to love her. No doubt he lumped her in the same category as he did her father. His forever enemy.
Purse over her shoulder, pills in hand, Olivia marched back to Mason and smacked the container onto the counter. “You might want to call a plumber and have him take apart the pipes in the bathroom to see if you can find the ones you no doubt believe I only pretended to take but actually dropped down the drain.”
“Despite the fact that I do believe you got pregnant on purpose, I’ll set up an account for you and the baby. You don’t have the financial means to raise a child the way that I do.”
Olivia was nearly beside herself with anger. “Maybe I don’t have the same financial means, but at least I have a heart. And there’s no way in hell I would ever accept support from a man like you.”
“A man like me?”
“A man who has revenge running through his veins instead of blood. A man who counts his millions instead of his blessings. A man who’s so damned busy looking at the past, he missed his future—me and your child. You can go to hell.” Olivia spun on her heel and marched back to the bedroom. She wouldn’t stay here another minute. How dare he think she deliberately… He was the one who’d come at her all sexy and good-looking, saying that he could easily persuade her into his bed. And now she was the guilty party?
Dragging her suitcase from the closet, Olivia spotted the envelope with the paperwork for the land. Abandoning her packing quest momentarily, Olivia snatched the envelope and walked back into the kitchen.
“Here. Your life is complete. Everything you wanted is yours. Go. Destroy,
and live happily ever after.”
“What’s this?” Mason’s gaze scanned the paperwork and then he looked at her. “You’re giving me the land?”
“That’s right. I planned all that out, too. I don’t know how I’m going to take advantage of you yet over giving you the land since I’m getting nothing in return, but give me time. I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
“Olivia.” He tossed the papers aside.
She raised a hand. “Don’t. Unless you’re going to tell me that you don’t really believe that I tricked you into having a child, there’s nothing more for us to discuss.”
His silence was all she needed to hear. With a jerky nod of her head, Olivia went to finish packing. So she’d fallen for him. So she’d started to spin fairy tales in her mind starring her and Mason. She would survive this broken heart. Rubbing a protective hand across her abdomen, Olivia said fiercely, “We’ll survive, baby. I promise you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Life was harder than he’d thought it would be without Olivia. But every time she crossed his mind, he pushed the images of her away. He had a promise to keep to Adam, and the day to keep it finally arrived. As he’d said he would, Mason had managed to get the building. Once the lease wasn’t renewed for the land, the building was useless to the state of Texas and he’d bought it.
Standing with Jake and Cole beside him under a sky threatening to unleash a storm, they watched as the wrecking crew rolled into place. They’d planned to burn the building, but the weather conditions made a fire too risky so they’d gone with their second option.
Finally, he’d be able to close this chapter in his life. The restless nights would end. The gnawing emptiness would be filled and he’d be complete.
When the crew foreman glanced at him, Mason nodded and the destruction of the building began. The three men stood at the edge of the lot watching throughout the day until the final brick fell and only a pile of rubble remained. Mason stood at the site long after his friends left to return to their lives, waiting for a sense of satisfaction to flood him. It didn’t happen. The gnawing emptiness in him wasn’t satisfied.
