Her Millionaire Boss
Page 17
‘Mothering you two hasn’t been easy.’ She proceeded to glare at Nate’s hand where it rested with some intimacy on the bottom Chrissy had now forgiven for its size.
Chrissy simply grinned.
Bella folded her arms and gave her sister a very direct stare. ‘Just be aware that the baby’s wardrobe will be my department.’
‘Of course.’
At Chrissy’s swift agreement, Bella sent Nate a further threatening glance. ‘If I do the wardrobe, then I may not need to hurt you, after all.’
Nate was beginning to really enjoy Chrissy’s older sister. He stifled his grin, and gave a solemn nod instead. ‘I’m willing to work with those terms.’
‘Good.’ Some of the starch left Bella’s spine.
Inside the repair shop, a familiar-sounding engine started up. They all trained their gazes on the garage’s yawning front.
It pained Nate to admit it, but when Joe drove the revitalised and shining Gertie out, the car looked better than ever. Joe had done a great job on it.
Then Chrissy oohed, and Bella aahed. Joe jumped from the car, grinning, and all three sisters threw themselves on the muscular mechanic and peppered him with kisses.
Nate’s charitable attitude evaporated. Air hissed through his teeth. He forced his way into the group, scattering sisters in his wake until he and Joe stood face to face.
‘Thank you for taking care of the car,’ he grated through clenched teeth.
Joe leaned in, pushed his chin out and met him nose to nose. ‘It’s always my pleasure to serve the girls.’
‘You’ll let me take care of the bill.’ A demand. Perhaps an invitation to fisticuffs, if Joe was so inclined.
From her position on the pavement with her sisters, Chrissy stared at the two men, then shared a glance with Bella and Soph.
They all shook their heads.
‘Should we throw a bucket of water over them?’ Soph cocked one hip out and set her hand on it. ‘It works for howling cats and drunks. Of course, that’s at the apartment where we can run inside before the drunks realise where it came from.’
‘Which part of Chrissy and Joe are friends is it that Nate doesn’t get?’ Bella asked the question with laughter in her voice. Real, genuine Bella laughter, deep and throaty and rich.
‘You laughed.’ Chrissy teared up. She was on hormone overload already, and it showed. At this rate, it was going to be a long nine months.
Bella’s eyes filled, too. She didn’t even have an excuse. ‘Well, that’s because I’m happy, idiot. After all, I’m going to be an aunty.’
‘Now look what you’ve done.’ Soph sniffed. ‘My mascara is probably running.’
They all laughed again, and fell into a hugging mass of feminine tears and kisses and smiles.
Nate and Joe stood side by side on the pavement, staring, their aggravation momentarily forgotten.
After a moment, Joe shrugged and looked at Nate. ‘They’re girls. They get emotional. I can dig that.’
At Nate’s uncomprehending look, he paused. Tipped his head to one side. ‘You do know I’m gay, right? Genuine, card-carrying, other side of the street…?’
Nate blinked. Frowned. Felt heat creep up his neck. ‘Well, yeah.’ He rubbed an awkward hand across the neck in question. ‘I knew that. Sure. Of course I did.’ He ground to a halt.
Joe laughed. ‘I get to be a godparent, by the way.’
Nate grinned back, then narrowed his eyes. ‘You can be a godparent if I pay the car bill.’
Joe chewed on it for a moment. Nodded. Then a teasing glint entered his eyes. ‘How many kids will there be? You planning on keeping her tied to the bed for a while, making little Barrett babies?’
‘Mind your own damned business.’
Joe laughed until he cried.
Nate watched with a scowl on his face, and the three sisters watched Nate and shared a few chuckles themselves. As Joe’s laughter finally wound down, Chrissy’s cellphone burst out with a tinny rendition of a silly pop tune.
She pressed the button, smiling as Nate moved to her side.
The pink pearl engagement ring glinted on her finger and she stared at it mistily, remembering the night Nate had given it to her. How he had opened his heart, telling her about his childhood, about his determination to be a good parent to their baby….
She realised belatedly what was being said to her, and shrieked and threw the phone up in the air, caught it then jumped up and down, her arms wrapped around Nate.
He grabbed the phone, but realised she had turned it off. ‘What on earth is it? You can’t have just heard we’re pregnant. We already know that. We’ve been to the doctor for confirmation. You’ve been eating the porridge and lemon juice to prove it.’
She smiled and dropped a kiss on his mouth. ‘Henry’s crossword puzzle got third place in the competition. He says he and Sally are working on a new one, that, um, involves rather a lot more imaginative licence and should definitely get them a first prize next time around.’
‘Let’s go try out some of our own imaginative licence.’ Heat flared in Nate’s eyes and Chrissy’s world tilted just like that.
She walked her fingers up his chest, liking the idea. ‘Right now?’
He grabbed her hand and headed for his car. ‘Remember that piece of unfinished business we had with the car and parking and, ah, you know?’
‘But it’s broad daylight.’ She hurried behind him, laughing as her sisters and Joe stared after them, puzzled looks on their faces.
Nate just smiled. ‘So we’ll improvise.’ He reached into the car, pulled out a set of provisional plates and slapped them onto the appropriate parts of the convertible. ‘It’s your turn to drive, by the way.’
She couldn’t quite keep the awe from her tone. ‘You want me to drive Bentley?’
He groaned. ‘Firstly, you realise it isn’t one, right? A Bentley?’
She nodded. ‘Yeah, but he needed a name, and this one is very compatible with Gertie, I reckon.’
‘Right.’ He gave a resigned shake of his head, then his expression sobered. ‘You’re a good driver, Christianna, and it—Bentley—’
He paused and tried to hide his grimace in his chin, then went on, ‘Bentley is our car now—at least until the first of our football team is born. Then I guess we could offer him to Joe and buy ourselves something a bit roomier.’
His mouth kicked into a sexy grin. ‘But for now, let’s try out the car’s paces. Both on the road, and off it.’
That sounded just fine to Chrissy. Except perhaps the part about getting rid of the newly named car. ‘Let’s keep Bentley for special occasions. You know. Wedding anniversaries, naughty weekends, that sort of thing.’ She grinned at him. ‘Don’t you think that’s a better idea?’
Nate could only agree.
ISBN: 978-1-460-35525-1
HER MILLIONAIRE BOSS
First North American Publication 2006
Copyright © 2006 by Jennifer Ann Ryan
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