Take Me Back (Vegas Bad Boys #2)

by C. Morgan

  “It looks good. You’re going to spoil me doing all of this.”

  “If you’d let me, I’d spoil you rotten. So rotten, no one could stand you.” And then I’d have her all to myself.

  “Why haven’t you changed clothes?” She made a face. “Is it because I told you how hot you were in them yesterday.”

  “Did you tell me that?” I teased. “It’s actually because that box of clothes didn’t have anything else in it but boxer shorts, socks, and a few muscle shirts. And unless I was to get funny looks, I better just wear this. I’m going home soon to change. I just wanted to make sure I helped you out before I left.”

  “You did more than help. The house looks great and smells good too. I saw you found the diffuser.”

  “Yeah, I put in some grapefruit and lemongrass. Your favorites.” I wanted her to know there were things I’d always remembered about her.

  She looked at the stove. “Yeah, so you’re not going to eat with me?”

  “I can if you want. I figured you’d prefer I not stick around all day, though, and I should get out of your hair. I know that what happened was another in the moment kind of thing. And I’m okay with that. Anything that makes you happy.”

  I served her breakfast at the table as she put Jack in his high chair beside her. “I made an extra slice for Jack. I thought he could eat it.”

  “Yeah, he’d probably like it if I mashed it up.” She took his plate and put it on the table beside hers. “Thanks. You thought of everything. I’m going to hate to see you leave.”

  I knew she only meant because of the work I’d done, but it felt good all the same.

  I went to the skillet to cook myself a couple of slices. “You know, it could be this way all of the time if you let me move back in.” I glanced over my shoulder, where her smile had grown wide.

  “Is that a fact?” she asked, earning a nod. Then she pegged me with a hard stare. “Don’t push your luck.”

  I laughed. “Hey, after that terrific sex last night, it was worth mentioning. You know, we could have that all of the time too.”

  “Clay.” I was ready for her to tell me to knock it off, but instead, her smile didn’t fade. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I slept so well.”

  “Anytime.” For once, I felt like she wasn’t angry with me, and that was progress. I put my plate on the table and then pulled up a seat beside her as she fed Jack some of the mashed toast.

  It was the first family morning we’d spent together in far too long, and I felt like if I kept things on track, maybe I was closer to getting her back than I knew.

  We ate and made small talk, mostly about Jack. “Still no word on the surgery?”

  Beth shrugged. “They are supposed to call me back to confirm, but he said as soon as possible. The waiting is hard. I was hoping they’d have told us by now, but I’m sure we’ll hear something tomorrow.”

  “Let’s hope.” I took a big bite of my toast. “Wow, this is really good stuff. You should keep that man around.” I gave her a teasing grin.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Your argument is valid, but it’s taken a lot to dismantle us, Clay. It’s going to take a little time—”

  “To put us back together?” I didn’t know what she was thinking, but maybe I was getting through to her.

  She gave me a hopeful look. “To even start to do that. I’m still not completely convinced it’s the smartest option for either of us.”

  “I know. With time, I suppose. And more sex?” I wanted her so badly. If our son hadn’t been in the room, I’d have wiped the table and fucked her right across the damned thing.

  “Let’s just not overthink it. It’s like I said. We have enough to worry about.”

  I could agree with that, but I had other ideas. “It could be a nice distraction if you think about it.”

  “True,” she said, her cheeks turning red. “But we have to be parents, Clay. Jack needs us more than we need each other.”

  I wasn’t sure I could agree with that. “I haven’t made you blush in a long time,” I said to tease her. “And Jack needs us both happy and not stressed. And honestly, I think he needs to see us together.”

  Beth fed Jack another piece of his toast as I finished up mine. And as we kept exchanging looks, Beth’s cheeks only got redder.

  Chapter 30

  Beth

  I waited all day on Monday while I was at work for the doctor’s office to call me. With the doctor needing such a quick decision, it sure was taking a long time for his office to call me back with the date of Jack’s surgery.

  By lunchtime, I couldn’t wait anymore. I left work to go see Jack at Della’s and decided to call the office. Candy answered the phone. “Fam MD, this is Candy.”

  “Candy. This is Beth Whitmore. I was wondering when we might hear about the surgery for Jack.”

  “I know the doctor has a note to call you, but he’s with a patient.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s okay. He can call me back.”

  “Okay, just as soon as he’s done, I’m sure he will.” Her voice was just as sweet as if she had been in high school.

  “Thanks.” I ended the call, wishing I’d never bothered. Now the anticipation was really going to kill me until he called me back.

  I arrived at Della’s, and she met me at the door with Jack in her arms. “Look, there’s your mama!” she said with a happy voice as she bounced him on her hip. “Lunch is ready if you’re hungry. It’s chicken salad sandwiches, so nothing fancy.”

  “Sorry for the last-minute notice about lunch. I just couldn’t stand another minute waiting to hear from the doctor. If I’m this anxious just waiting on the surgery to be scheduled, can you imagine how bad I’ll be by the time it happens? I’ll be a basket case.”

  “You’ll be fine,” said Della as my phone rang.

  I glanced at it. “That’s him!” I answered the phone as I followed her inside. “Hello?”

  “This is Dr. Lenz. Is this Beth Whitmore?”

  “Yes, doctor. Did you get to schedule Jack’s surgery?” I closed my eyes and prayed for the best news possible.

  “Do you think you could be ready for Wednesday at seven p.m.?” he asked.

  It took me a moment to process. “This Wednesday?” Surely, he meant the next. I glanced at my son, and my heart dropped.

  Dr. Lenz cleared his throat. “Yes, it’s a bit sudden, but Dr. Elmer and I had to coordinate our schedules. This was the best we could do, and I convinced him to work a late hour, which was no small miracle.”

  “Of course. No, I understand. Sure, we’ll be ready. Is there anything I should do? Does he need to fast for the procedure?” I wanted to make sure we did everything right.

  “It would be good if he avoided drinking anything but water or eating for at least six hours before the procedure, but that’s about it. As long as he hasn’t been sick or running a fever, then we’re set to go.”

  “Thank you. And you don’t think there will be a problem with him going under? He’s so little.”

  “We have to do it all the time, Beth. But he’ll be okay. If I thought there was any risk of harm, I wouldn’t be in favor of the surgery. But I have a lot of faith that this is going to be life changing in a great way for your son.”

  “Thank you, doctor.” I ended the call and let out a breath.

  “This Wednesday? Like two days from now?” Della couldn’t believe it either. She stood in the kitchen with her mouth hanging open, making two chicken salad sandwiches.

  I sat at the table and tried to let it sink in. “Yeah. They said they wanted to do it as soon as possible. He’s at the right stage for success, and Dr. Lenz thinks it’s all going to be okay.”

  “Well, that’s something to be relieved about. It’s going to be okay.” She gave me a positive look and then placed the sandwich and a bag of chips in front of me.

  “Yeah, but I’m still nervous.” I got up and took him from Della. “I need to hold him.”
<
br />   Della passed him over. “It’s natural for a mother to worry. And I’ll be there if you need me. I’ll ask to be off.”

  “It’s at seven at night if you want to come, but Clay will be there.” It felt good knowing I didn’t have to go through it alone, and I needed to call him and tell him the news.

  “Are you sure he will?” Della didn’t want me to get my hopes up only to have my heart broken again.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about our weekend.

  Della gave me a suspicious look. “Was that smile perfectly timed with the mention of your soon-to-be ex-husband a mere coincidence?”

  I smiled even bigger, and just thinking about it put me at ease. “We spent some time together this weekend.” I didn’t want to just blurt it out, but I felt like I could.

  She grinned. “You bad girl. You slept with him again, didn’t you?”

  “A little.” I shrugged, playing coy.

  “I’ve seen Clay, and I have a feeling you’ve never slept with him just a little. What happened? I thought you weren’t going to give in again.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it. In fact, I was against it.”

  “Whose fault was it this time?” she asked, giving me a pointed look as she fixed her own sandwich. Last time, I’d taken the credit.

  “Mine. I kind of seduced him.” Okay, maybe I was the one with the problem.

  “Kind of,” she said with a laugh. “Do you still love him, or are you just hot for him?”

  I took a deep breath and could feel my nerves jumping under my skin. “I think I’m falling for him again.”

  “What?” She seemed really shocked to hear it. “Is this a dream or something?”

  “You heard me. It happened at the waterpark.”

  “You went to the waterpark with him? Is that where you—”

  “No!” I couldn’t believe she thought I’d do that. “He took Jack and me. It was a nice family day, and it got tense, and we argued a bit, and then I broke the ice by going on the super slide.”

  “You went on the super slide, and that turned him on? I need some better tactics.”

  “We took turns watching Jack while the other went. It was fun. And then we spent a lot of time together playing in the kiddie pool with Jack.”

  “Aww, that’s so sweet. I wish I had a family to do that stuff with. I haven’t been to a waterpark in ages.”

  “I swear, Del, I felt like a kid again. And he looked so hot in his shorts. I don’t know. When we got back to the house, I just wasn’t ready for him to go home. And yesterday, when I woke up, he had cleaned the house, done my laundry, and taken care of Jack.”

  “Wow, he must really want to come home.”

  I sank back in my seat, holding Jack’s hands away from my food so I could give him a bite of the mushy salad. “Yeah, I think he does want to. He hinted at it a lot. But I’m not sure. I’ve already made this grand gesture and talked all big and bad with the divorce and custody. I’m already gone. Do I want to go back?”

  When I left him, I had been bound and determined that it was over, but now I wasn’t so sure.

  “It sounds like you need to give it more time, but there’s nothing saying you can’t get kinky with him in the meantime.” She opened the bag of chips and popped one into her mouth.

  “Is it fair to him? You know, to give him what he wants and then take it away again? Especially when he’s worked so hard?” I didn’t want to hurt him. “Maybe I’m just acting selfish.”

  “Just make sure you both know the consequences. Set some ground rules.”

  “He told me he thinks Jack needs to see us as a couple. I’ve suggested co-parenting, but let’s face it. That’s just not going to always work out for us. He said something that kind of got to me.”

  “Clay? He cracked into your soul, didn’t he?” She dumped some of the chips on the plate next to her sandwich, and I stole one off of her plate.

  “He said that he’s not going to sit around and watch some man replace him. And all I could think about was some other woman replacing me.”

  “I told you. It’s just a matter of time. But do you care? I mean, is it that you don’t want Jack to have another mother, or Clay to have another lover?”

  I thought about it long and hard and knew I didn’t want either. “Maybe both bother me. It’s my family. And I wonder if I should be fighting for it as hard as Clay instead of trying to dismantle it. I feel like I’m the bad guy. I didn’t leave because I stopped caring. I left to protect Jack, and he needs Clay. Clay loves him. Who else can replace that?”

  “It took two people to dismantle it. Clay wasn’t a saint, remember? Or you wouldn’t be here now. But do you feel he’s changed?” She reached over and put her hand on my arm. “Search deep.”

  I surprised myself by nodding. “Yeah, I think he has. I just don’t want to be so quick to admit it. I guess I fear giving him any credit because I don’t want to be let down again.” I picked at my sandwich. Between Jack’s surgery being only a couple of days away and my confusion over Clay, I just felt so tired all of a sudden and my appetite was out the window.

  “I think I’m going to cancel the appointments and go home.” I had a lot to do before the surgery, and I still had to tell Clay.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I will be. I just need to figure out what I want.”

  “Take it slow. You left in a hurry, and now you regret it. Don’t go back to the way things were without giving it a little time. Trust me. You don’t want to go back now and undo all that you’ve done.”

  “I’m not. I’m going to take it slow and make sure before I agree to anything.” I forced myself to take a bite of the sandwich to be polite. Thankfully, it kicked my hunger into overdrive, and I managed to polish it off.

  We ate in silence for a few minutes, and then Della eased back in her chair and smiled. “So, was it all you remembered and more?”

  I couldn’t believe she’d brought the conversation around full circle. “Yes.”

  “Better than before you left?” She wagged her brows.

  “Kind of. It’s like make-up sex hot. You know, when you’re desperate and hungry for the other person and want to show them how you feel and prove things to them.”

  “Did Clay have a lot to prove?” she asked with a wicked laugh that had Jack’s eyes widening.

  “Yeah, I think you could say that. But then, so did I. I wore a bikini.”

  “You dirty birdie. You knew what you were doing when you left the house.”

  “Not exactly. I didn’t think that far ahead. I just wanted him to see me and know what he was missing.”

  “My guess? In your bikini, he wasn’t missing much.”

  “I had a T-shirt on with it most of the time, so it’s not like I was parading around in it all day.”

  “Well, whatever you’re up to, be careful, but be happy. That’s all I wanted to say, and I won’t say any more.” She put her pinky up to swear it, but I had a feeling, she was only going to get worse.

  Chapter 31

  Clay

  I sat at LeRoy’s bar, having a drink and waiting for Beth to call with word about the surgery, but so far, she hadn’t. Sure, I could have called her myself, but since things were going so well between us, I didn’t want to crowd her or upset her with my anxiety.

  I checked my phone again, hoping this time there would be a message I missed, only to find nothing like the hundred times before.

  LeRoy approached. “How are you?” he asked as I put it away. “I hope things are looking up.”

  “So far, it’s okay. I’ve been spending more time with Beth and Jack than ever since we agreed to Jack’s surgery, but we’re waiting on the doctor to give us a date. I feel like I’m waiting for the end of the world.”

  “Oh, that’s tough, man. I’m sure you’ll hear something soon. Those doctors want their money like anyone else.”

  “Yeah, that’s the part I’m afraid of. We have insu
rance, but Beth doesn’t think it will cover much, and then we still have a high deductible.”

  “Yeah, insurance is a joke. But if you stick with Lloyd, he’ll fix you up.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I needed a miracle.

  “Well, I guess we’ll see.” He gestured to the door where Lloyd came in, and when I turned around to say something to LeRoy, he was over by the piano bench, preparing to play.

  I waited to see what Lloyd was up to. He stood at the door, and when I thought he was going to turn around and leave, Hawk came in with him.

  I was surprised to see the man with Lloyd in LeRoy’s bar. But just as expected, they came over and sat beside me.

  “I thought we might find you here,” said Lloyd.

  “If you’re looking for me, you can always call. I promise this isn’t a habit.” I glanced down at the drink and took a swig. Then I offered Mr. Hawk my hand. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Hawk.”

  “Call me Ezra,” he said. “I didn’t count on your reputation being so colorful.”

  My heart sank. “Oh, I guess you’ve heard how fragile some of these establishments are.”

  “Well, I can promise you that if you let your past become your present or future, you’ll never play another gig if I have anything to do with it. And I don’t just mean for Hawk Entertainment, but for anyone else.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.” I turned my attention to Lloyd. “You said that LeRoy mentioned I was troubled in my past, so I thought you knew all about it. I mean, I wasn’t hiding it.” It wasn’t like everyone in the damned town didn’t know about it.

  Hawk ordered a drink and took a seat beside me. “Clay, I’m here to give you a clean slate.”

  “I’ll be at the interview. If you’ll still have me.” I couldn’t read Ezra Hawk’s expression.

  “That’s all changed.” He took a sip of his drink.

  My pulse began to race as my heart landed at my feet. “What? Because of my past?” I’d fucked up again.

  “No, it’s not that. While I wasn’t pleased to hear about your troubles, I’ve decided to give you a chance. And I have a private gig for you. You can consider it your audition.”