All That I Need (Grayson Friends)

by Ray, Francis

“Fallon, open this door. I’m not leaving until we talk.”

  Obstinate man. Now he wanted to talk, unlike the last time they were together.

  “Fallon!”

  She sighed. If he kept shouting and beating on the door, someone might call the police. Getting the authorities involved would solve nothing, and there was the little matter that the newspaper often printed the police report. She didn’t want everybody knowing her business. She still couldn’t believe she’d blurted out she was pregnant in front of the valet attendants. Her emotions were on a roller-coaster ride.

  “Fallon!”

  He sounded ready to blow a gasket. “Coming.” She didn’t know whether he heard her or not. Her overriding concern was trying to keep the nausea and dizziness at bay. This time she sat up slower. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and rest. That wasn’t going to happen until she and Lance talked. Little by little, she made her way to the door and opened it.

  Lance brushed by her as if he expected her to change her mind and lock him out. As good as that sounded, he deserved to know he was going to be a father.

  “It it true?”

  Instead of answering, she inched her way back to the sofa to lie down. As soon as she stretched out, she felt nausea rise in her throat. It wasn’t fair. She’d only eaten a couple of bites of food at the reception. Maybe if she kept swallow—

  Clamping her hand over her mouth, she came off the sofa and headed toward the bathroom, hoping she’d make it in time. She wasn’t paying Naomi back by throwing up on her newly cleaned carpet, and certainly not in front of Lance. It would be the height of embarrassment.

  Fallon had only gone a few steps before she was lifted and swiftly carried down the hallway and into the bedroom. She’d thought so often of being in Lance’s arms again, but never for this reason. He placed her on her feet in the connecting bathroom.

  “Please leave.”

  She didn’t have time to see if he did as she requested. She was too busy emptying her stomach until there were only dry heaves. Her hand trembling, she flushed the commode and wondered if she had the strength to stand.

  Behind her she heard running water; then she felt a damp, cool washcloth on her face. Once again she was lifted. This time she was placed on the commode seat.

  Lance hunkered down in front of her. “Do you think you could manage to brush your teeth?”

  She looked at him in his tailor-made tux, looking gorgeous while she probably looked like what the cat had dragged in. She’d washed her face so many times that night, she had absolutely no makeup on. There were dark circles beneath her eyes. Her curly hair had long since lost the sophisticated upsweep and spiraled in every direction.

  “Or you can rinse your mouth out.”

  He was trying to be kind when what she wanted was his love. Not his fault. “I know we have to talk, but not tonight.”

  His large hand closed over hers. “I’ll get that toothbrush. Where is your luggage?”

  Relieved, she briefly closed her eyes. “Bedroom.”

  He left and returned shortly. Silently he helped her brush her teeth and then picked her up again. “You need to rest.” In the bedroom, he sat her on the side of the bed and unzipped her dress. “Can you manage the rest?”

  She wasn’t sure. “Yes.”

  Going to her weekender again, he pulled out a pink silk nightshirt and placed it on the bed beside her. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The door partially closed behind him.

  Fallon managed to get her floor-length chiffon dress to her waist, but she was too tired to lift her hips and pull it completely off. She lay down on the bed, her legs over the side. He’d have to help her undress.

  After all, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her in her underwear and naked before. He certainly wasn’t going to try anything. Their only connection was the baby she carried.

  A knock sounded on the door before it fully opened. “It’s me.”

  If she had the strength, she would have laughed. Who else would be there?

  “Let me help you.”

  She envied Lance’s easy strength as he effortlessly lifted her up and slid the gown off her legs. If his hands fumbled with removing her demi-bra, she was so relieved to be out of the thing she didn’t care. Off came the lacy garter belt that she’d purchased in Los Angeles, thinking about how sexy it looked and about Lance removing it; the sheer stockings followed. Her panties remained.

  In a blissfully short amount of time she was in her nightshirt and beneath the covers. She didn’t want them to be enemies. “Thank you.”

  “Do you have any medicine you’re supposed to take now?”

  “No.”

  “Go to sleep.” He adjusted the covers, the backs of his fingers brushing against her shoulders. “I’m here.”

  She tried to ignore the comfort of his words, not to let his tender touch matter, but couldn’t quite manage. She loved him and had wanted things to work out between them. That they hadn’t didn’t stop her from loving him. Fighting tears, she closed her eyes. In seconds, she was asleep.

  Chapter 10

  Lance stared down at Fallon sleeping. She was too pale. She’d lost weight as well. Her pregnancy still shocked him. No matter how badly he’d wanted her, he’d always used a condom. She’d gotten pregnant anyway.

  And the only way he’d found out was because she’d become angry with him. No matter how unthinkable, he had to consider that she might have had an ulterior motive for not telling him.

  His cell phone rang and he quickly answered to keep from waking Fallon. He stepped into the hallway but kept the bedroom open so he could keep a watch on her. “Hello,” he answered without looking at the readout.

  “It’s Naomi. Is Fallon all right?”

  He’d expected the call. Naomi was caught between her loyalty to Fallon and wanting to ensure she was cared for. “Yes. Thank you for trusting me.”

  “Don’t make me regret my decision,” Naomi said. “Fallon needs your support, not your anger.”

  Lance almost looked at the phone. Naomi had impressed him as a rather meek woman. “She’ll have my support.”

  “You conveniently left out anger, but I’ll let it pass. There’s ginger ale in the refrigerator, soup and crackers in the pantry. She’ll feel better if she eats before she gets up. She forgot her nausea medication this morning because we were rushing so much. “

  “I’ll see that she won’t forget in the morning,” he said firmly.

  “Lance, Fallon is strong willed. You can’t badger her or she’ll balk or leave.”

  The possibility of the latter was what scared him. “She’s carrying my child.” That he’d never doubted for a moment.

  “Yes, she’s carrying your child, and it’s her body that is going through a lot of changes. She doesn’t need any added stress,” Naomi said.

  He didn’t like being told what to do, but he had to remember that if Naomi hadn’t helped him he never would have found Fallon. Just thinking of her being alone and ill made his gut knot again. “All right.”

  “You have Richard’s phone number. Call if you need us.”

  “But you won’t need us tonight, will you, Lance?” Richard said into the phone.

  Lance heard Naomi’s “Richard,” then her laugh. They were happy and in love, as Lance had told Kayla. He’d ceased to have hope that he would ever share a similar happiness with a woman.

  “No, I won’t,” Lance told him. “And, Richard, you have quite a woman.”

  “I know. So is Fallon. Night.”

  Lance slipped the cell phone back in his pocket and returned to the straight chair he’d gotten from the kitchen. It was uncomfortable, but he’d make do. For the moment, making sure that Fallon and their baby were all right was all that mattered.

  * * *

  Fallon woke up slowly the next morning. She felt drained, her mouth dry. She started to sit up.

  “You’re supposed to eat first.”

  She almost screamed until she recognized Lance’
s voice. As it was, she sat up abruptly, then closed her eyes and lay back down when she felt dizzy.

  “Are you all right?”

  She barely opened her eyes to see Lance with a glass of pale liquid that had effervescent bubbles and a small plate with crackers. “Better if you hadn’t scared me.”

  “I’m sorry.” He held out the glass and the plate. “Naomi said you’re to eat before you get up, and then you can take your medicine.”

  Fallon nibbled on a cracker and sipped the ginger ale. “You shouldn’t have bothered her on her honeymoon.”

  “I had to find you.”

  She heard a hint of desperation in his voice. “I was going to tell you about the baby.”

  “When?” he asked, his black eyes narrowed.

  When she felt better and could go two hours without being nauseated, she thought. “If you’re going to be snippy, you can leave.”

  “I asked you a simple question that I think, as the father, I have a right to know the answer to,” he persisted.

  He wasn’t backing down on this. Oddly, she was pleased. No matter how things were between them, she wanted their child to have a good relationship with its father. “I only recently found out myself. It wasn’t real to me at first.” She lay back in bed and closed her eyes.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’ve been better.”

  “You’re going to keep this baby. You’re not going to go to some clinic to get rid of it!”

  Fallon’s eyes snapped open. She stared at him, the cold anger in his face. She couldn’t believe what he’d just said. Slowly she sat up. “What?”

  “You heard me.” He leaned over the bed, his arms on the bed bracketing her. “You’re having this baby. You’re not getting rid of it!”

  “Of course I’m having this baby.” Was he nuts?! “Why would you think otherwise?”

  He jerked upright. His expression closed. “You had your life all planned. A baby will change that.”

  “You think I’d harm my baby to have a career?” she asked, caught between anger and incredulity.

  His answer was slow in coming. He slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “You said yourself that you’d been better.”

  “You really don’t know me at all, do you?” She closed her eyes, then opened them to stare at him. “And I don’t know you. I should have listened to myself.”

  “About what?”

  “Lust will lead to misery and heartache,” she said. “Please show yourself out.”

  “We haven’t talked or settled anything.”

  “I think you’ve said enough.” Sitting up slowly, she slid her legs over the side of the bed and stood. “Are you still here?”

  “I’m the father. I have a right to know what your plans are.”

  “But not to insult me.” Stepping around him, she picked up her weekender and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

  * * *

  He’d messed up. He should have listened to Naomi. One thing he did know about Fallon was that she had a quick temper. If she decided she didn’t want him around there was nothing he could do about it. There was only one way he could think of to watch over Fallon and his unborn child.

  It was drastic, but what else could he do? It surprised him he would go to such lengths, but he accepted it as the only way.

  The bathroom door opened. “You still here?”

  “I owe you an apology,” he said. “You were right about something else: we don’t know each other. I’m asking for the opportunity to change that.”

  She folded her arms and eyed him skeptically. “And how do you suppose to accomplish that?”

  “By getting married.”

  Her arms came to her sides. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “It makes perfect sense.” Lance thought it a brilliant idea. Marriage would give him the legal right to his child and keep Fallon with him. He wanted her and he was tired of fighting it. He didn’t have to let her know how much he cared. He wasn’t going to be vulnerable again. “I can provide the financial support and I can be there for you, just as I was last night.”

  “No.” She left the room and Lance was on her heels every step of the way. If he had mentioned anything about caring for her, she might have been tempted.

  “Why?”

  She entered the kitchen, intent on fixing herself some chicken broth so she could take her medicine. Opening a cabinet, she reached for the can.

  “I already fixed you some soup.” He pulled out a chair at the table. “Have a seat and I’ll get it for you, and then you can take your medicine.”

  Fallon sat and watched Lance go the stove, pick up a quart saucepan, and pour soup into a bowl. “I thought you said you couldn’t cook.”

  He placed the bowl of soup and more crackers in front of her. “Heating isn’t cooking. We’ll finish this discussion once you’ve eaten and taken your medication.”

  She took a bite of soup. “Eating won’t change my mind. If you want to be a part of our child’s life that’s good, but I’m not marrying just because I’m pregnant.”

  “I can’t be a part of the child’s life if you’re one place and I’m in another,” he argued.

  “Marriage is more than convenience.” She lifted the spoon to her mouth only to put it down and head for the bathroom. Finished emptying her stomach, she came out. Lance was standing there with a glass of ginger ale and her medicine.

  “Sorry. You were supposed to take it before you got out of bed.”

  “Not your fault.” She took the pill, then pulled off her shoes and lay on the bed.

  “You can’t get comfortable dressed like that. I’ll get your nightshirt.”

  She didn’t think of protesting as he helped her undress and put on the nightshirt again.

  “Should I get you something?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Lance stood there, feeling helpless. He didn’t like that he couldn’t help her feel better or take the unhappiness away. She’d wanted marriage, a family. He’d ruined that for her. At least he no longer feared she didn’t want the baby. She didn’t want him, either. He’d expected as much, but leaving didn’t enter his mind.

  Slipping off his shoes, he got into the bed on the other side and pulled her into his arms. He felt a possessiveness for the mother and child that he hadn’t expected. He’d take care of them, no matter what.

  “We’ll figure this out, but I’m not going anyplace. Just remember one thing: I want what’s best for you and the baby.”

  There was no answer. He didn’t know if she was asleep or if she had doubts about him. He’d just have to show her.

  * * *

  Fallon woke up in bed alone. She didn’t expect to feel lonely. So much for Lance promising to be there. Sitting up, she saw crackers on another plate and a glass of ginger ale in a bowl of half-melted ice. Her stomach wasn’t queasy for once. She ate and got dressed again.

  Thank goodness she had called the airline yesterday when she started having the frequent nausea and changed her flight out to Monday. Naomi had been with her when Fallon placed the call and insisted she stay at her apartment, where she’d be more comfortable than at a motel.

  Fallon had taken her up on the offer. She didn’t relish flying ill, and she wanted to be steadier on her feet when she went home. She hadn’t told her mother or Megan about her pregnancy. They’d want to hang Lance up by his thumbs and wish that marriage had come first, but they’d love the baby regardless; of that she was sure. She just wished the father loved her a little bit.

  The bedroom door opened wider. Lance stuck his head around the open door and came farther into the bedroom. She couldn’t hide her surprise.

  “You’ve been asleep for a couple of hours.” He looked at the empty plate of crackers and the half glass of ginger ale. “You feeling better?”

  “Thanks to you.”

  He nodded solemnly. “Your pregnancy was a surprise, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want what’s best for our
child. I’ll do whatever it takes for us to work things out. I don’t want you to worry about anything.”

  She believed him, but something troubled her about their earlier conversation. “You seemed frightened for the baby. Did you lose a child?”

  He stiffened. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “If you want to be a part of my life that means I’ll be a part of yours—no secrets. It’s non-negotiable,” she added when he remained silent. “How can we get to know each other better if we can’t trust each other?”

  “Come into the living room.” He waited for her to pass, then followed.

  Fallon took a seat on the edge of the sofa and watched Lance struggle to speak. He glanced at her, then faced the window.

  “I met Ashley Sims when I brokered a deal to open a new restaurant in Atlanta. She was smart, savvy, and vice president of the bank. We clicked professionally and personally. She worked hard and didn’t mind the long hours required to reach the top. She never missed a day of work or complained about her hectic schedule. Six weeks later, she moved in.”

  Fallon didn’t want to hear about another woman or that the woman had been able to get Lance to commit and she herself hadn’t. But she’d asked for an explanation.

  “Two months after she moved in, she complained of having the flu. She’d never been ill, so I took off early to go check on her. She seemed surprised that I was home and insisted I return to work. At the time I thought she just didn’t want me to see her ill. The phone rang while she was in the bathroom. It was the doctor’s office, checking on her after the procedure.”

  Fallon sensed what was coming and felt ill. “Lance, I don’t want to hear any more.”

  He continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “She aborted our baby. I confronted her. She said it was for the best. A baby would have interfered with our career plans. I lost my child before I even knew of its existence.”

  Fallon’s heart ached for him. She fought back tears. No wonder he’d been scared and accusatory. She took a step toward his rigidly held body, then stopped.

  He appeared unapproachable. She knew he wasn’t.

  Going to him, she wrapped her arms around him from behind and placed her cheek against his back. “Lance, I’m so sorry. I’ll protect our baby with everything within me. Believe me.”