by L. P. Maxa
I sat down on the bed. “He did?”
She nodded. “He told me I was irresponsible and that I’d ruined my life.”
“But he adores Wyllie.”
“Of course he does.” She shrugged. “He was the first person to make it to the hospital after Wyllie was born. He held him all night, helping me change diapers and feed him until our parents could get there.”
I teared up at the thought of Brice holding a newborn.
“Brice doesn’t do well with things that make him scared for the people he loves.” She sighed, taking a big bite off a cinnamon roll. “When we were little, Dec fell out of the tree in our backyard. Instantly, we could tell his arm was broken, it was dangling at this odd angle.” She shuddered at the memory. “I went to help Dec up so we could go tell our moms, but Brice? Brice followed us into the house, yelling the whole time. He told Declan he was stupid and reckless, and that he was lucky he didn’t kill himself.” She pursed her lips. “They were ten.”
“Yeah well, there’s no one Brice loves more than himself, so I guess his reaction makes sense.” I lay back on the bed, wanting to shut the drapes and sleep through the entire damn day.
“Brice was scared for both of you.” Cassie came and sat beside me. “He was scared that the baby wasn’t his. He was scared that you’d lied to him. He was scared that you would leave. He was scared that everything was going to change.”
“Everything is going to change.” I grabbed a pillow and pulled it over my face. “I’m going to move out and grow our child while he fucks random whores in the guestroom.”
Cassie laughed and I peeked out from under my hiding place. “That’ll be a little difficult considering he torched that guest room mattress in the backyard last night.” She slapped my ass, reminding me of her brother. “Now come on, we’ve got a charity ball to get ready for.”
“I’m not going to that, Cassie.” I curled into a ball, silently wondering why Brice started a fire in the backyard. “I feel all bloated and sleepy and pukey.”
“You feel pregnant. Get used to it.” She took my hand and dragged me into a sitting position. “I have it on good authority that there is going to be an ice cream sundae bar, and I’m not missing that to sit in here and have a pity party with you.”
I pouted. “Rude.”
She shook her head. “I’m the best friend you’re ever going to have, mama, let’s go get glammed up.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Brice
I’d told Declan to fuck off when he tossed my tux on the bed and demanded I get dressed. Then he’d punched me again and told me I wasn’t allowed to let my mother down, so I’d gotten in the shower.
But being in the shower made me miss Hollie, so I’d kind of sat down and stared off into space until all the hot water ran out. When Dec found me, he’d handed me a glass of whiskey and told me to stop being such a pussy.
We were in a town car now, headed toward a charity event that I’d never wanted to go to in the first place. “Can I please go home? I need to find Hollie. I need to talk to her.” I needed to get on my knees and beg her forgiveness. I’d been texting and calling her all day, but she hadn’t answered or replied once.
“A simple apology isn’t going to make up for the things you said to that girl.” Declan took a sip of the amber liquid in his crystal glass. He was a man who travelled the world with expensive tastes. “I mean for fuck’s sake, Brice, you accused her of trapping you.” He rolled his eyes. “Like she would ever do something like that.”
“I fucked up. I know. You don’t have to keep reminding me.” I leaned my head back against the seat. “I don’t even know why I said it. I knew it wasn’t true.”
“You said it because you were scared, and when you’re scared you act like a fucking idiot.”
Uh, who the hell wouldn’t be scared when they found out the girl they’d been having nonstop mind-blowing sex with was pregnant? I think I was entitled to a small amount of fear and shock.
“You speak before thinking. It’s always been one of your many weaknesses.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Jesus, Dec, enough. I get it, okay? You’re mad at me. I’m a jackass. You told me to stay away from her and I didn’t listen. And now…and now…”
“You’re going to be a father. I get to be an uncle, and Cassie and I get to return the favor.” The car came to a stop and Declan handed me his drink. “Do you love her?”
“I already told you I did.”
He pursed his lips. “Tell me again.”
“I love her.” I smiled to myself. “I love her and I love that baby. Now please, take me home so I can find her and apologize. Let me make this right, please.”
“No can do, dickwad.” He shook his head. “A simple ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t going to cut it, not this time.”
I scoffed. “Give me more credit than that. I was going to get down on my knees and more or less beg for her forgiveness while promising Indian food and expensive baby furniture.”
“Oh, you’re going to be on your knees all right.” He held out his hand. “Give me your credit card.”
“What?” I tried to look past him to see where we were. “Why?”
“Fair is fair.” He made the universal gimmie gesture as I pulled my wallet out of my jacket pocket.
“Are you getting snacks? I’ll take some pretzels.”
He snorted out a chuckled as he exited the car and I pulled my phone out, attempting again to reach Hollie.
Brice: Baby, please, talk to me. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe the things I said to you last night.
Brice: I didn’t mean them, I swear. I need to see you. I need to apologize.
Brice: Please let me know you’re okay. I’m starting to get worried. I know you’re with Cassie, but I need to hear your voice.
I wasn’t only worried about her. I was worried about the baby. I knew from Cassie’s first pregnancy that stress wasn’t good. Last night there had been yelling and anger. There’d been plenty of stress. I hung my head, feeling so fucking low. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to either one of them.
Declan climbed back into the car, tossing a small light blue box into my lap. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “This isn’t a bag of pretzels.”
He shook his head. “No, dumb-ass, it isn’t.”
“Uh, what is it?”
He smiled like the cat that ate the canary. “It’s payback.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Holland
I was dressed to the nines, thanks to a group of experts and a personal shopper who had brought several gown options to our hotel room. Cassie didn’t strike me as the type of girl who liked the lap of luxury. When I’d said as much, she’d told me I was right, but indulging every once in a while was perfectly fine.
So indulge we did.
And although I felt good, I didn’t feel good, you know? I wanted to talk to Brice, but Cassie had taken my phone, telling me I needed a stress-free day. She told me to take the time to figure out what I wanted.
While I was getting my nails painted, I felt angry. I was pissed at what Brice had said, the things he’d accused me of. Then when they were curling my hair, I felt sad because I missed him. I wanted to see him. I wanted him to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. Luckily when they moved on to my makeup, I’d graduated from sadness and my tears had all dried up. I was back onto anger, but not necessarily anger at Brice. It was equally spread to myself. We were in a hard situation and instead of talking it out like adults, we’d both yelled and said stupid crap to each other.
Now Cassie and I were in the elevator, heading down to the ballroom where the charity was being held. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to go back to Brice’s house and figure all this out. Everything seemed so uncertain, so up in the air, and it was making me fidgety.
“I’m going to stay through dinner, that’s it, okay?” I smoothed out the front of my short red dress. Cassie told me I needed to show off my b
ody before her brother’s bigheaded baby stretched it out. “I need to see Brice.”
She smiled and handed me my cell. “He’ll be here soon.”
“He’s coming to the ball?” My jaw dropped open when I saw the dozens of missed calls and texts. “Has my phone been going off all day? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I told you, you needed some time to yourself.” She sighed, resting her palm on her bump. “And my dipshit of a brother needed to realize what was at stake if he didn’t start being honest about his feelings.”
“I kind of feel like you held me hostage.” I was scrolling through all the texts he’d sent. They started off a little cold, but then by the end of the day they were really sweet, and he was begging me to talk to him.
“Look.” Cassie turned and took a step in front of me. “Not too long ago, Declan and I were both being too stubborn to see what was right in front of us. And Brice was there.” She snorted. “He made things exponentially worse before he made them better, but his heart was in the right place.”
“So this is you returning the favor?” She could have told me all this without kidnapping me and then taking my phone like I was a prisoner. Although, was it really prison if you’d gotten a prenatal massage?
She stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened. “No, this is me paying him back for meddling.” She winked and then walked off.
I didn’t really have any choice but to follow her. I didn’t know anyone here and I was suddenly nervous to see Brice. The ballroom was enormous, and decorated to look like a really fancy carnival. There were giant clear balloons filled with confetti hovering in the air above all the tables. Everyone was carrying martini glasses with what looked like candy apples dressing the rim. Man, I wanted one.
“Holland, dear, you look beautiful.” Brice’s mom pulled me in for a hug, kissing my cheek sweetly.
Cassie looped her arm through mine, smiling brightly at the group of older yet sparkly-clad women standing with her mother. “Have you all met my brother’s girlfriend? This is Holland Baxter.” Cassie pushed me forward slightly so I could shake their hands.
Girlfriend seemed a little premature. I’d been his roommate, his friend with benefits, and now I was carrying his child. But girlfriend? We hadn’t gotten that far yet.
“Brice has a girlfriend? I never thought I’d see the day.” One of the women, the one with white hair and an even whiter dress, looked me up and down like she was sizing me up.
Cassie threw her head back, laughing in a hilariously fake way. “Neither did we.”
“He was waiting for the right girl, that’s all.” Mrs. Huntington put her arm around my shoulders. “You know, a girl who didn’t make it quite so easy for him.”
All four of the women who’d been assessing me busied themselves with their drinks, their eyes darting around the room.
“Have a lovely evening.” Mrs. Huntington steered me away with Cassie stepping into place next to her mom.
“That was fun.” She snorted and gave her mom a discreet fist bump. “Brice has slept with all their daughters, and they’ve always given Mom a hard time about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Lovely, Cassie, exactly the way I want to spend my evening. Meeting all the women the father of my child has slept with.”
Shit. Did I say that out loud? By the way Mrs. Huntington had stopped short and spilled some of her champagne, I was guessing I had. I was blaming it on the baby. This kid was making my already smart mouth even worse. It was probably a girl.
“I, uh, I meant…”
“Are you pregnant?” Brice’s mom stood in front of me, tears in her eyes. “Are you and Brice going to have a baby?”
I opened my mouth, but then closed it again. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. I was going to have Brice’s baby, that was true. But that was all I knew at this moment in time. Which was why I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t even be here.
“Yes, we are.”
I looked past his mom, to see Brice standing a few feet away, a smile on his stupid handsome face. He wore a suit well, but he wore a tux even better. Except he had dark circles under his eyes and his hair wasn’t as perfect as it usually was. For some reason, that made me glad. I’d had a bad night, and I liked knowing that he’d been miserable right along with me. It meant he cared, whether he wanted to or not.
He came forward, taking my hands and pulling me closer to him. “We are going to have a baby.” He reached down putting his palm on my stomach. “We’re going to go to doctors’ appointments and will cry happy ridiculous tears over sonogram pictures. We’re going to buy a new house, a house that holds only our memories. We’re going to argue over baby names, and what color to paint the nursery. We’re going to have a baby.”
He put his free hand on my cheek, his eyes going all soft and glassy like he was seconds away from crying. “I’m so fucking sorry, Hollie. I’ll never be able to apologize enough for the way I reacted last night. It’s unforgivable.”
I smiled sadly. “You were scared.”
He nodded. “I was fucking terrified, baby.” His thumb rubbed against my stomach. “When I saw that test, my heart stopped. I was afraid it was mine, and then I was afraid it wasn’t. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be good enough. I was afraid that everything between us would change.”
“Everything is going to change, Brice.”
He shook his head. “Not the way I feel about you, not the way I want you. Not the way I love you or the way you make me want to be a better man. You’re still you, and I’m still me, and we have the rest of our lives to figure this all out.” He dropped down on one knee, opening a little light blue box, making my jaw drop. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you. I’ve loved you since the first time you punched me in the balls.” He smiled when I started to laugh. “You’ve always had the ability to bring me to my knees, baby.” His eyes darted over to Declan before coming back to meet mine. “And I’ll spend eternity down here, worshipping you, if you’ll let me.” He took the large oval diamond out of the box, sliding it on my finger. “Marry me, Hollie baby.”
Chapter Forty
Brice
She said yes. And then Declan’s dad had hugged her with a glass of brandy in his hand and we’d had to go to the bathroom so she could throw up. She came out of the stall, coming to wash her hands in the sink I was leaning against.
“So gross.” I winked when she shot me a glare. “Still want nothing more than to bend you over this sink right now though.”
She took the bottle of water I offered her, rinsing her mouth out and then drinking a few sips. “Your kid doesn’t like brandy.”
I circled my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder, and met her eyes in the bathroom mirror. “No one likes brandy.”
She put her hands on top of mine, her massive diamond glittering in the light. Declan had paid me back all right. No doubt, her ring had cost more than the one I’d bought for Cassie with Dec’s black AmEx. But it was worth it. Hollie was worth it. “You just agreed to marry me, and you said it in front of my mom, so no take-backs.”
She snorted. “That was one hell of an apology, Mr. Huntington.”
“Wait, it gets even better.” I pulled my cell out of my pocket, showing her the burnt remains of the guest room mattress. “Did this last night when I couldn’t sleep.” I swiped the screen to the left. “And I did this on the car ride over here.” I handed her my phone and then reached over and locked the bathroom door.
“You put the house on the market?” She looked from the phone, back to me in the reflection of the glass. “Why?”
I grabbed the hem of her dress, pulling it up and over her perfect ass. “Because you and our kid deserve a better house. A house that’s only ours.” I hooked my thumbs into her thong, dragging it down her legs, pausing to kiss the backs of her thighs. “And I want to give it to you.”
“Oh yeah?” She set my cell on the edge of the sink, a wicked smile on her beautiful
face. “I’m guessing there is something else you want to give me.”
I nodded, unbuckling my pants and slipping my cock free. I reached down, sliding my fingers through her heat, making sure she was ready for me. I felt so protective, so cautious knowing she was carrying my child. I didn’t want to hurt her. I was scared to drive into her like I normally did.
She gripped the edges of the sink tighter, moving back against me. I loved how she wanted me. I loved that she was always right there with me, asking for more and more.
Slowly, I pushed inside her, watching her face in the mirror. I kept my eyes locked on hers, gliding in and out of her body at a lazy pace. She was so fucking beautiful, so fucking perfect. I let my hands trail over her hips, the smooth globes of her ass.
“Brice.” I looked up to see her reflected smiling face. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, fucking my fiancée?”
She shook her head, a laugh playing on her lips. “If you were fucking me, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I wouldn’t even be able to form a coherent sentence.” She started moving her body, slamming back against me.
Usually I was rough and demanding when I was inside Hollie. I relished in making her lose herself. I loved watching her work to catch a breath, clawing at my chest, begging me for more.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat, wrapping my hand around her body and placing my palm on her stomach.
Her eyes went soft, her hand coming to rest on mine. “You aren’t going to hurt me.”
“I don’t want to, like, fuck the baby out of you.”
She snorted, pushing back against me harder, biting her lower lip. “I don’t think that’s something that could happen.”
I slapped her ass, making her gaze shoot back up to mine. “You sure?” She nodded, silently begging me to get busy. “You’ll tell me if I need to stop?” She nodded again.
