Wanted--Texas Daddy

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  She swiveled to face him. “Maybe that’s because the original Monroe’s, with its century of service to one community, can’t ever be duplicated,” she soothed. “Even if the two stores were identical in every way.”

  His gaze drifted thoughtfully over the dark blue knit maternity shorts and top she wore before returning to her face. “You may have a point there.”

  Her body tingling with the need to make love with him, she sauntered even closer, glad they had the evening to themselves.

  Curious, she had to ask, “Do you wish your family was going to be here tomorrow for the ribbon cutting?” The way hers had been when she’d opened The Cowgirl Chef. She searched his eyes. “Because it might not be too late to get them here, you know.”

  Nick vetoed the idea with a shake of his head. “MR was clear. No family.”

  Except mine, with their connections, Sage thought ruefully, glad Nick had never found out about that.

  Nick walked over to straighten a display of top-of-the-line boots. “She doesn’t want noncustomers taking up space that could be used for paying clientele. That’s why only she and Everett will be here tomorrow, representing the other partners.”

  Doing her best to lighten the somber mood, Sage propped a hand on her hip, adapting a saucy stance. “Are you sure I’m invited then?” She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. As he began to grin, she pushed on, “Or will it only be okay if I purchase something, too?”

  He caught her around the waist and brought her as close as her pregnant shape would allow. He curved a hand over her cheek, then cupping her chin in his hand, he gently rubbed a thumb over her lower lip.

  “You are nonnegotiable,” he told her, his voice husky with affection. “And for the record, I’m very glad you’re here to support me.” He bent to kiss her lips. “I know it can’t be easy for you, traveling in the last trimester.”

  Sage waved off the “sacrifice.”

  “It was no big deal,” she insisted cheerfully. “I know I was a little weepy there for a few days earlier in the month,” she admitted, playfully wrinkling her nose at him, “but I promise you, I’ve managed to put an end to the crying jags. In fact, I haven’t had a single one since the night of the whole Braxton Hicks episode!”

  Nick grinned as she laid her head on his shoulder, and he reached over to massage a hand down her spine. “You really have to stop feeling embarrassed about that.”

  Sage only wished she could.

  Determined, however, to make sure it never happened again, that she would never jump the gun and mistake a few semiregular “practice” contractions for the real thing, she went back to talking about the trip.

  “I know you’ve been a little nervous about me traveling with you, but there’s really nothing to worry about.” She reiterated what she had already told him, before they’d left Laramie County. “I saw the doctor this morning. He said Little One is still positioned fairly high up in my abdomen, and I’m not showing even a single sign of early labor. Which is what we’d expect, given that my due date is still another two weeks away.”

  “That’s good,” Nick interrupted, fiercely protective as ever, “because if you were any closer to delivering our baby...”

  He would have eighty-sixed her trip, for sure.

  And it would have killed her not to be here with him, on his big weekend.

  She brightened as they let themselves out the employees’ entrance and walked out into the hallway that led to the exit.

  “In any case,” she reminded him, “the drive here was only a little over two and a half hours. And we stopped three times so I could get out and stretch and walk around. Plus—” she stopped to make a comical face “—followed every precaution ever known to pregnant women and their doctors.”

  He laughed at her dramatics.

  Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he tucked her into the solid heat of his body, then leaned down to press a kiss on the top of her head. “We still need to get you to the hotel so you can have a proper dinner and rest.”

  That sounded good.

  Except...

  Sage really hated to tempt fate.

  She turned to face him as they stepped out into the heat of the Texas summer night. “Are you sure you want to return to The Mansion?” She drew an enervating breath. “I know the management promised us an amazing experience if we ever chose to return again, but...the last time didn’t work out so well.” She would hate for a repeat of their wedding night. And though she felt fine now, she was still prone to a little evening sickness, from time to time.

  “I’ve taken pains to make sure everything will be perfect for you this time,” Nick said. “Plus, it’s near the hospital your obstetrician recommended—in case of any trouble, and right down the road from the Galleria mall, as well.”

  He’d made his case.

  Sage smiled. “Then, The Mansion it is.”

  They were at the front desk, checking in, when the manager came out to speak to them.

  Guessing—correctly as it happened—that she did not want to relive the specifics of her prior humiliation, Nick suggested gently, “Why don’t you go on up to the suite with the bellman? I’ll be along in a minute.”

  It had been a very long day for her and the baby, so she quickly relented. “I’ll see you up there.” She continued across the lobby with the bellman. Turned, as they reached the elevators.

  Saw Nick’s face.

  Whatever was being said, he was definitely not happy.

  She hoped that wasn’t an omen of another bad night.

  * * *

  SAGE WAS STILL worrying when Nick walked into the hotel’s best suite a good fifteen minutes later. “Everything okay down there?” she asked.

  In the penthouse suite, it was just fine.

  Both he and the hotel staff had gone all out to ensure that their stay was incredible. Bouquets of her favorite yellow roses adorned every room. There were baskets of fresh fruit and boxes of chocolate. An assortment of beverages. Sumptuous robes and slippers. As well as a complete array of spa services, should they request them.

  He strolled toward her, confident as ever, a slow smile tilting the corners of his lips. “It’s going to be perfect,” he promised.

  As if the grim exchange had never happened.

  Sage studied him, not sure why he was suddenly shutting her out. Just knowing that he was. And it had something to do with his conversation with the hotel manager.

  Unable to help but feel a little hurt, she slid him a look. “You sure?” She splayed her hands across his chest. Aware she didn’t want him lying to her, for any reason, she savored the strong, steady beat of his heart. “’Cause you didn’t look very pleased earlier.”

  For a second, his face bore the look of a warrior about to head into battle. Then, he became inscrutable again. Wrapping his arms about her, drawing her in close against him, murmuring huskily, “I was just making sure there would be no shrimp or fish of any kind in the room service dinner they are sending up for us.”

  Her inner radar told her that while that might be true, it was also a little more than that. But then, given what had happened during the previous visit, she figured he had a right to be overly cautious. Especially since the health of their baby was also at stake.

  Not about to let the past calamity keep them from having a great time tonight, however, she snuggled against him. “I’m sure it will all be fine. But if it makes you feel better,” she teased, “I’ll let you check everything out in advance, just to be sure.”

  He tilted her face up to his. Their lips met and they kissed, soft and deep and slow, getting their evening alone off to an excellent start.

  An hour and a half later, after what had turned out to be the most wonderful dinner she’d ever had was winding down, and they walked out to the penthouse terrace overlooki
ng the city, Sage could still feel an undercurrent of something going on with Nick.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  He lounged against the brick wall, the starlit sky and sea of glittering city lights forming a romantic backdrop behind him. Crossing his arms, he flashed her a wolfish grin. “Anything.”

  Sage stationed herself opposite him, as the warm, dry summer air blew across their bodies. “Why were you so insistent we stay at a five-star hotel this evening?” she asked curiously. When it was so unlike anything he usually did for himself. “Was it because it’s a big weekend for you? Or was it because you were trying to please me? And you somehow got the idea that this was what I required in terms of luxury and comfort?”

  He sobered, confirming her worst suspicions. “You grew up with a lot of money, Sage.”

  Too much, she often thought in retrospect. “So therefore I’m above staying at the kind of modestly priced chain hotel, where you usually stay, when you’re on your own?”

  He paused, as ruggedly sexy as always. Looking deep into her eyes, he took her hand. “I want you to be happy.”

  Reveling in the strong warmth of his fingers encircling hers, she reiterated, “Money isn’t going to make me feel that way, Nick. My parents realized that, too, which is why they put most of their accumulated wealth into the family’s charitable foundation before my father died, and gifted my mother and me and my siblings all with property in Laramie County instead. So we would have a foundation to build our futures on. A future that would require each and every one of us to work and work hard for whatever we have. Just like my parents had to do.”

  He continued to hold her gaze, the corners of his mouth barely turning up. “We talked about that when we first became friends,” he reminded, a veil dropping over his emotions.

  Determined to understand him, the way a wife should, she leaned in even closer. “Then why do you think I still need to go back to the old life I had in Dallas growing up, the life where whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, was pretty much just given to me, no questions asked?”

  He lifted his broad shoulders in a careless shrug, challenging her now. “Because that kind of life is hard to leave behind.”

  “Who told you that?” she countered irritably, then blurted out before she could stop herself, “MR?”

  His manner as composed as hers was irritable, Nick inclined his head. “We had a few talks about downward mobility in general, early on. But to be honest,” he said gruffly, “I was thinking about it long before that. Worrying that I might not be able to...” He stopped abruptly, started again, “That you might not be content with less, long-term.”

  Sage thought about the relief she’d felt, when she had left her moneyed childhood existence and struck out on her own after culinary school. Her needing to not be caught up in all that was part of what’d had her chasing her ex all over the West Coast, searching for a simpler version of happiness.

  Was the opposite driving Nick now?

  Was that part of the reason he’d let those with more wealth and power obliterate his vision for a chain of Western-wear stores, and replace it with their own?

  Though he had every reason to be proud of what he had accomplished in getting the Upscale Outfitters chain started, she sensed he still felt frustrated and hemmed in. Maybe even more so than before he had signed a contract with Metro Equity Partners.

  Because then he’d still had his dreams.

  He hadn’t had to cede creative and business control of the venture for greater financial stability in the long run. Just to protect his unborn child. And possibly please her, too...?

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I want you to have everything your heart desires.”

  Then that would be you, Nick, she thought wistfully, gazing into his eyes.

  As more than friend or lover or husband-for-business-purposes-only. “I want you to have everything you ever wanted, too.” She pushed the words through the ache in her throat. “And for the record, I am very happy in Laramie.”

  She yearned to add, You could be, too, if you’d just stop chasing the almighty dollar and give it a chance.

  But wanting to support him in whatever he endeavored, she said kindly instead, “But I understand why you’d want something different from what you had growing up, too. Maybe,” she added, attempting to look at it from his point of view, “in a way, we all do.”

  * * *

  AND YET, NICK THOUGHT, as Sage slipped into the bathroom to get ready for bed, there were also plenty of things they both wanted. Friendship. An ongoing sexual relationship. This baby. And the sense of family Little One was already providing.

  Initially, that had been more than enough to make him happier and more content than he had ever been.

  That had begun to change the night they said their vows.

  Although they had yet to share space together full-time, occasionally living together as husband and wife added another layer of intimacy to their complex arrangement. Sharing the ups and downs of her pregnancy, attending her obstetrical appointments and anticipating the birth of their child brought them closer, too. She wasn’t just the wife in their for-business-reasons-only marriage, she was the wife he had always yearned to have. Sweet, loving, generous.

  Definitely worth waiting for, he thought, as the bathroom door opened, and Sage walked out.

  She was wearing one of the old-fashioned knee-length nightshirts he adored, with a band collar and a row of buttons up the front. Her face scrubbed of makeup, her cheeks a pretty pink, her just-brushed hair loose and flowing, she looked sweet and innocent, and, as she had been of late, incredibly shy about her body.

  Although not about to admit it.

  “I know.” She rested one hand on her hip, and adapted a pinup girl pose. She fluffed the ends of her hair with her free hand. “I’ve still got it.”

  Grinning, he crossed to her side, and took her in his arms. “You better believe you do, sweetheart.” He caressed the curve of her cheek with the pad of his thumb, as her lower lip trembled once again.

  Then he lowered his mouth to hers, and kissed her long and slow and deep, before dancing her toward the bed. They broke apart long enough for him to gently lay her down.

  He opened the buttons on her nightshirt, raining kisses over her face, her throat, her full, sexy breasts. She shivered as he went lower still. As his hands stroked and caressed, he kissed her in a way that let her know there would be no more holding back, no more pretending they weren’t as important to each other as life itself.

  Valiantly, Sage tried to keep her emotions out of the kiss. With absolutely no success. It didn’t matter what deal they had made, long ago. Or how she longed to give him every ounce of freedom and independence he deserved.

  When she was in Nick’s arms, all she could think about, all she could do, was surrender. To the sensations his lips and hands created. To the hardness of his body, and the tender resolve in the way he made love to her.

  She wanted to feel connected to him, not just physically, but heart and soul.

  And when sensations ran riot through her, perspiration beading her body, and they finally reached completion and catapulted into oblivion, she had never felt more blissful.

  Eventually, Sage’s racing heartbeat slowed, and her body stopped shuddering. Sweet moments passed as they clung together. She sighed with contentment. If this wasn’t true love, and she guessed it still wasn’t, at least not in the traditional sense, she did not care.

  Her relationship with Nick was everything she had ever wanted and needed. And in the end, wasn’t that all that really mattered?

  Nick smoothed a hand through her hair, down her spine.

  He pressed a kiss into her hair. “Think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?” he murmured, helping her put her sleep shirt back on and adjust the pillows, just so.
>
  “I hope so,” Sage said, yawning, as Nick shrugged on a pair of pajama bottoms and climbed in beside her.

  She really needed it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The only problem was, Sage didn’t sleep. Despite the effort Nick had made to help her relax and get comfortable, she never really did get cozy in the big, wonderful hotel bed. Long after he was sound asleep, she was still staring at the ceiling. By morning, she was not just tired, she was unbearably cranky and out of sorts, too. To the point where every single pep talk she tried to give herself failed miserably.

  And though she tried to hide it from Nick, she knew he had seen her unusually intense irascibility, too.

  Finally, he asked what they were both thinking.

  “Are you sure you want to go this morning?” He stood in the bathroom doorway. “Because I would understand if you didn’t want to endure what could very well be a madhouse, if anywhere near the expected customer traffic comes thru.”

  This is his day. It has to go well. More important still, I want to be there for him.

  “Yes, of course, I want to go.” Sage slipped on a sleeveless, knee-length black jersey maternity dress that was supposed to be slimming but in reality clung to her enormous stomach, making her look and feel like a beached whale. “I am going to go,” she repeated emphatically.

  Nick studied her reflection. Zeroing in on her frown, he asked, nonplussed, “What’s wrong?”

  Nothing and everything, Sage thought, blinking back a new round of unprecedented tears.

  She did not know why she was so crazy hormonal this morning. It was one thing to do without a little much-needed sleep. Another to cry in the shower, cry while trying to put on her makeup—to the point where she had to wash her face and do it all over again. All for no reason she could fathom!

  Didn’t she have the most wonderful man on earth by her side, waiting excitedly to welcome their baby into the world?