Mother by Design

by Susan Mallery

  “You don’t think this is a sign, right? I mean no one is trying to tell me I should have stayed in my apartment?”

  He rubbed her back. “Are you okay?”

  She tried to stay strong, but it was difficult when surveying the damage. “I haven’t even been here a whole day.”

  “Come on.” He led her through the kitchen to the stairs. “Go pack a few things. You can stay with me until this is all sorted out.”

  “You want me to leave?”

  “I had to turn off the water. You don’t have a water heater and your entire downstairs is soaked. Do you want to stay?”

  She shook her head, afraid that if she tried to speak she would cry. This wasn’t really happening. It couldn’t be.

  “Hey.” Jake touched his index finger to her chin. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve seen a lot worse.”

  “I know. I’m really lucky.”

  He smiled. “I don’t think lucky describes your situation, but you’re safe, this is all fixable and you’ve got a place to stay.”

  She sniffed. “You’re a good friend.”

  “I’m a friend who expects you to cook me dinner while you’re living with me.”

  She gave a strangled laugh that was perilously close to a sob. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. She settled against him, liking how strong he felt. Jake was solid—physically and emotionally. He always had been.

  She pressed her nose against his shirt and inhaled the scent of his body. He smelled sexy and male. Her mood lifted as she thought about how horrified he would be if he knew she’d thought of him as sexy. Jake saw her as a sister—currently a very pregnant sister.

  “Come on,” he said, leading the way up the stairs. “I’ll help you pack.”

  In less than an hour, she was tucked into his guest-room bed with a cup of hot chocolate on the nightstand. Despite what had happened, she felt safe, comfortable and optimistic. And guilty for dragging Jake out in the middle of the night.

  “Better?” he asked from the doorway.

  She nodded. “I know the house is going to be okay, once it’s dry. My big worry is that I’m taking advantage of you. First you helped me with the painting and tile, then the move, now this.”

  He crossed to the bed and sat down next to her. His dark hair fell across his forehead and his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

  “Who goes with me every year to help me buy birthday presents for my sisters and my mom?”

  She dismissed the question with a wave. “But that’s shopping. I like to shop.”

  “Uh-huh. And who taught me how to cook the best chili in the firehouse?”

  Lily thought about all the compliments Jake’s fellow firefighters had given her and grinned. “That was pretty special.”

  “And who picked out my living-room furniture and helped me when I tore out the backyard to put in the big patio?”

  “That would be me.”

  He shrugged. “That’s what we do for each other. We’re there at crunch time.”

  “I know, but things have felt inequitable since the whole Michael disaster. I don’t want you to feel I’m taking advantage of you.”

  “I don’t.”

  He probably didn’t, she thought fondly. Jake was that kind of man. The good kind.

  “You’re very special,” she said as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “One of these days you’re going to meet someone amazing, get married and forget I even exist.”

  “That will never happen.”

  “Want to bet?”

  He studied her face. “I’ll never forget you, Lil. You know that.”

  Her throat got all tight and something unexpected quivered in her stomach. This wasn’t the baby—she’d grown used to those fluttery feelings. This was something else. Something…erotic.

  Horrified, Lily sank back against the pillow. What was wrong with her? Was this a hormonal reaction to her pregnancy? She hadn’t had any serious food cravings. Couldn’t she just want cookie dough ice cream or pound cake? Did she have to get the nibbles for Jake?

  “I know,” she said, going for cheerful and having a bad feeling the words came out kind of squished. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He nodded and rose, then headed for the bedroom door. She watched him go.

  When she was alone, she reached for the hot chocolate and considered the problem. Whatever was wrong with her, she had to get it fixed and pronto. Maybe she was just reacting to the whole rescue thing. Jake had experienced women wanting to go out with him after he’d saved them from a burning building. He was a fire fighter, which meant he had built-in hero potential.

  Her water heater had committed suicide and he’d been there in a flash. Of course she was feeling stuff.

  But what that “stuff” might be and what it could mean was better left unexplored. She and Jake had been friends forever. She didn’t want anything to mess that up.

  Jake had a bad feeling that living with Lily was going to be a unique brand of hell, so he was grateful when he had to work the next day. Twenty-four hours away from her would go a long way to restoring his equilibrium. At least that was the plan. When he walked into his house the following morning and found her cooking breakfast in his kitchen, he had to re-evaluate his strategy.

  She stood in front of the stove, turning bacon. She wore brightly colored scrubs—teal pull pants and a print shirt, white shoes and no jewelry. Her still-damp hair had been pulled back into a braid. She looked beautiful.

  As he paused in the utility room to pull off his boots, she called out a greeting.

  “I can’t remember the last time I got up early enough to cook eggs and bacon, so be sure to put a star by this day on the calendar.”

  “I’ll do that,” he said, hating how just the sound of her voice made his chest tighten. A midnight call to a car fire might have robbed him of several hours of sleep but it had done nothing to impede his libido. Damn it all to hell if he didn’t want Lily just as much this second as he had when he’d left.

  “How was your shift?” she asked.

  “Good. Busy.” He walked into the kitchen and headed for the sink to wash up. “Nobody got dead.”

  She smiled at him. “I’m glad.”

  “Me, too.”

  He scrubbed his hands, splashed water on his face and reached for a towel. From there it was a short walk to the coffee.

  “Did you get any sleep?” she asked.

  “A few hours.”

  “You could go to bed for a few more,” she pointed out as he filled a mug to the very top.

  “Too much to do. What happened yesterday? Did you get everything lined up?”

  “I did.” She motioned to the table, then served the breakfast. “Even as we speak, large fans are drying out the floor. The carpet is completely destroyed, but the hardwood seems okay and because the water went through so quickly, most of the sub flooring was spared. I have a new water heater coming in and if all goes well, I’ll be back in my house in about ten days.”

  He was torn between needing her gone for the sake of his sanity and never wanting her to leave.

  “Sounds good,” he said as he picked up his fork. “You got a lot done.”

  “You left me the names of really good people. After my insurance agent got over the shock of what had happened, she sent out an adjuster and we’re all set to go.”

  Lily sat opposite him and picked up a piece of bacon. “Once again I owe you.”

  Jake scooped up eggs and shook his head. “We’re even. I can’t remember the last time anyone cooked me breakfast.”

  “If you dated women who were old enough to cook, that would be a start. Or you could go over to your mom’s house. She would be delighted to have you around.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “It’s enough that I live across the street and two houses down from my mother. I don’t need to be running over there every morning. She already thinks I don’t have enough of a life.”

  Lily smiled. “You love the a
ttention.”

  “Sometimes.”

  His dad had passed away ten years ago, leaving Jake the man of the family. He’d been in his twenties and more than willing to take on the responsibility. After all, how much could there be? He was the baby of the family. His three sisters were happily married and his mother had been ruling the world since before his birth.

  But upon the death of his father, she’d alternated between fiercely independent and a need to cling. In a moment of weakness, Jake had made an offer on the house he now lived in and had set himself up for a lifetime of living within shouting distance of his mother.

  “She’s terrific,” Lily said. “It’s not as if she ever just bursts in on you.”

  “Right. She always calls to say she’s on her way over. Never mind that I might want to go out or have company.”

  Lily raised her eyebrows. “Ooh, sleepovers. That could be a shock. After a night of amazing passion you wake up to find your mother in the doorway.”

  “It’s never happened.”

  “Gotten close?”

  He grinned. “A couple of times.”

  Lily’s humor faded. “What is she going to say when she finds out about me?”

  “She’s going to think my taste in women has improved.”

  “Are you sure she won’t be upset?”

  “Of course not. She adores you.”

  “And I adore her. Along with your sisters.”

  Lily had been an only child. He had always thought one of the reasons the two of them had stayed friends was his family. Lily loved the big, noisy holiday celebrations, the excess of kids running around.

  He glanced at her stomach. “They’re counting the days until Sam is born.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t said anything about me naming the baby Sam, have you? I don’t want them to think I have lousy taste.”

  “It’s a great name. But they don’t know about it.”

  “That’s a relief.” She sipped her tea, then looked at him over the rim. “We need to talk.”

  Four words every man dreaded hearing. “What about?”

  “Me moving to a hotel. I can’t stay here for a couple of weeks.”

  If he had his way, she could stay forever.

  “Want to tell me why not?”

  She set down her tea. “It wouldn’t be right. You have a life. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

  “Meaning what? You’re going to put a crimp in my dating style?”

  “You have to admit that bringing your latest conquest home to a pregnant friend isn’t going to ensure a smooth evening.”

  “No problem. I’m not seeing anyone right now.”

  “But—”

  He shook his head. “Lily, you’re welcome to stay. We have a good time together and we get along. Plus, you’ll feel guilty and do a lot of cooking. What’s not to like?”

  She touched his hand. “I don’t want you to end up resenting me for invading your life.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” If only it would, then he would know he was finally getting over her.

  She took another bite of bacon, chewed, then swallowed. “Okay, but I want you to promise you’ll tell me the second I start to be a pain.”

  “Done.”

  “I mean it.”

  “So do I. When you start really bugging me, I’ll let you know and then help you move into my mom’s place.”

  Lily winced. “I adore your mother, but I think I’d prefer a hotel. A week in her house and I’d gain about fifty pounds from all the rich food.”

  “Plus she’d talk your ear off.”

  “I don’t know that I’d mind that.” She reached for the bowl of cut-up fruit she’d set in the center of the table. “Any other house rules you want to discuss?”

  “How about no sleepover dates?”

  “I don’t want to crimp your style.”

  “I mean for you.”

  She froze with a spoonful of fruit half way between the bowl and her plate. Her eyes widened, then her lips curved.

  “You are so kidding. Me? Have a man around? Not likely.”

  “Giving up so easily?”

  “The disaster that was my ex-fiancé was many things, but easy wasn’t one of them. In the immortal words of my generation—been there, done that.”

  Jake had been sure there wasn’t anyone significant in her life, but he’d wanted to ask just in case he’d missed something. Now that she was getting over Michael and settling in with the idea of a baby, he needed either to come clean with how he was feeling or get over her. Only three things held him back: finding the right words, the concern that he was changing the rules and therefore their relationship, and the realization that the first time he’d started to tell her he was in love with her, she’d announced she was in love with someone else, and the second she’d told him she was pregnant. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what would happen the third time around.

  She finished dishing up her fruit. “So we have the house rules in place? I promise not to leave my lingerie hanging in the bathroom and you promise to compliment me on my cooking.”

  “You have your own bathroom, but either way I wouldn’t mind the lingerie.”

  She laughed. “Let me tell you, when a woman gets seriously pregnant, her lacy things take a quick turn for the practical.”

  “I might think they were sexy, too.”

  “I doubt it.”

  She was wrong, but he didn’t tell her that. She wouldn’t believe him and he didn’t want to try to convince her. Not when she had to leave for her shift at the hospital in a few minutes. But soon, he promised himself. Very soon.

  Chapter 3

  On Saturday, Lily found herself once more in the kitchen. After fixing pancakes for Jake, she started boiling potatoes and chopping up celery.

  “Morning,” Jake said as he strolled into the room.

  He was fresh out of the shower, wearing jeans and little else. Lily’s attempt at a greeting got stuck in her throat when she saw his bare, broad chest and tight abs.

  “For the, ah, picnic,” she said, gesturing to the pot. “I’m making the potato salad.”

  He crossed to the coffeepot. “So you’ve arrived in the Stone family. Mom is trusting you with a sacred duty.”

  “I know. It’s pretty exciting. I have her recipe, so I should do okay.”

  He poured a cup of coffee then moved next to her and lightly kissed her cheek. “Sleep well?”

  “Uh-huh. Great.”

  He smelled of soap and something else. Something male and appealing.

  Get a grip, she told herself. This was Jake. Her friend. He wasn’t a guy she could lust after. Sure, he was good-looking and all that, but she’d known him forever and they just didn’t have that kind of a relationship.

  But that didn’t stop her from wanting to turn and step into his embrace, despite the lack of potential romance when her belly got in the way.

  But she didn’t move, didn’t do anything. Mostly because she didn’t want to see pity in Jake’s eyes when he explained why they would only ever be friends.

  Not that she wanted anything different, she told herself. She didn’t. She liked things exactly the way they were.

  “Earth to Lily,” he said. “You’re frowning and holding a very large knife. The combination makes me nervous.”

  “What? Oh. I’m fine.”

  “Can I do anything to help?”

  Before she could answer—and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to stick close or move to the other end of the house—there was a knock at the back door. It opened almost immediately and Nadia Stone walked into the utility room.

  “I know, I know. I didn’t call. I broke the sacred rule. But with Lily in the house, I knew I wouldn’t be interrupting my son with one of his girls. And I mean girls.”

  Jake’s mother—petite, rounded and full of life—bustled into the room. She narrowed her gaze at Jake.

  “What? It’s too much trouble to finish getting
dressed? Maybe you should sleep more so you have energy to put on clothes.”

  But even as she scolded, she reached up and cupped Jake’s face. He obediently bent forward so she could kiss his forehead, then his cheeks.

  “You look skinny. Are you eating enough? Lily, is he eating?”

  “Yes, Mama Nadia. He’s eating plenty.”

  “Good. A strong man like him needs food.”

  Done with her torture of her son, Nadia turned her attention to Lily. First came the face cupping, then the kisses. Nadia finished by placing both hands on Lily’s stomach.

  “How’s the little one? Are you getting plenty of rest? Jake, are you making her slave for you? Help out. Get her to put her feet up.”

  “I thought she was supposed to be cooking for me. Isn’t that what you said?”

  “You talk back to your mother? Weren’t you raised better than that?” Nadia glared at him. “Jake. A shirt!”

  He chuckled as he headed out of the room. “Lily was talking about making changes to the potato salad recipe,” he called back as he left.

  Lily shook her head. “I didn’t say anything of the sort. He’s making trouble.”

  “He always did.” Love filled Nadia’s voice. “I love my girls and give thanks every day for them, but my dear departed Frank wanted a boy. We weren’t sure God would bless us and then he did. Our Jake. He was always a good boy. In trouble, sure, but with a good heart. So how’s the baby? Everything fine?”

  As Nadia spoke, she took the knife from Lily and started chopping up the celery.

  “I was at the doctor a couple of weeks ago. I’m doing well. Even my weight gain is on track.”

  “You’re too skinny. In my day a pregnant woman knew it was important to feed the baby. For good health. Now you eat like a bird. I’ll bring some pasta by later. For you to have around the house. And don’t let Jake bully you into doing too much.”

  Lily gave into the urge to hug the tiny woman. “You are so special. I love you very much.”

  Nadia smiled. “I love you, too. You’re family. Always remember that.”

  Lily appreciated the words more than she could say. As an only child she’d always dreamed about brothers and sisters. Her parents had been dead nearly a year when she’d met Jake. Their friendship had been immediate, but meeting his family had cemented the bond between them. Sometimes he complained she didn’t care about him at all—that she was just in it for his relatives. While that wasn’t true, Lily had to admit that Mama Nadia and her daughters were definitely a bonus.