Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
AVERY
“Are you crazy?” she squealed, taking my impromptu proposal better than I’d thought. Her hands went from resting alongside mine to smacking my forearm with each word spoken. “Seriously? Has your sanity completely abandoned you? What would your parents say? Oh my God. What would my parents say?”
Her palm kept striking the same spot, and I suppressed a laugh before stalling her next rant by grasping her hand. Smooth, warm skin met mine, and I threaded our fingers together, then tightened my grip with the hand still around her waist.
I’d postulated infinite scenarios since seeing that life-altering calendar appointment, and this response fell somewhere between her hurling a paperweight at my face and cupping her stomach before bending over and laughing hysterically.
“Really, Avery? Have you lost your mind? How can you honestly think that marriage is a good idea? Not five minutes ago, you referred to this baby as an inconvenience, and now you think marriage is the way forward?”
She tried to maneuver out of my grip, but I let go of her hand and dug my thumbs into the base of her spine. She arched her back, moaning as the tight muscles twitched under my fingers. I knew she’d been uncomfortable, but with how she melted into my touch, I had no clue she’d been this stressed.
“I said a mild inconvenience, gorgeous, but now that I’ve had time to adjust, I couldn’t be happier with this turn of events and want assurances you’ll stay with me.”
I should have known something was wrong weeks ago, but her constant rejection had bruised my ego, so I neglected to suss out the issue.
“Assurances? What if I say no, Avery? What then?”
I sighed as my fingers kept their trek along her back, working the knots and then biting my lip to keep a grin from spreading across my face with her whimpers of relief under my ministrations. What we had built together—a foundation of trust and shared experience—was too precious to throw away, and I was determined to show her we were worth fighting for.
Perhaps using the word assurance was wrong, but how could I fully explain the depth of my devotion without making her run for the hills? I’d noticed how her gaze lingered on mine longer than what could be professional, but what did I expect after we slept together? Cool indifference? Casual acceptance? No—we were more than that.
I should have been there from the beginning, but using empty words like assurances wasn’t the way to win her over.
Fuck. I never should have let her go after that night.
“I think marriage is a great idea,” I said, loving the delectable shade of pink her collarbone turned as she tilted her head and mulled over my words. I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her hair further to the side and nuzzling my nose against her neck. She pressed her body harder against mine, forcing me to still my hands so I wouldn’t grind myself on her delectable ass.
“And actually, if memory serves me correctly, I technically should have proposed to you months ago.”
“That’s beside the point?—”
I knew she remembered our pact—silencing the rest of her statement by doubling down on a knot below her shoulder that made her bend forward and brace her hands on the corner of the desk.
Fuck, she looked good like this, giving in to my touches so sweetly.
She probably had a list of reasons why she could raise our baby herself, backed up with a PowerPoint presentation and annotated notes, but now my goal revolved around showing her how good we were together.
Jordan had always been a strong, beautiful, capable woman, but that was irrelevant—I wanted, no, needed, to be involved. This wasn’t some grand scheme where I had ulterior motives or used our promise as teenagers to fulfill an obligation.
No. This was a way to grab everything I wanted with both hands and create a life I’d only dreamed about.
I’d been reluctant to bring up that silly promise because of the indifferent way she carried herself as of late—always acting like she had so many other essential things to do with her time than spend it with me. But her casualness hadn’t deterred me from the one motive I’d had from the moment she hired me—getting closer. The life we created had sped up my timeline, but expecting things to always go your way was a one-way ticket to disappointment.
Jordan had been on my mind more and more the nearer we got to the end of our pact—not that I ever expected her to remember it. Her success was beautiful to behold and something I’d followed closely—starting a publishing company straight out of grad school that solely focused on self-published authors. She hand-picked her team, knowing her unrelenting standards would remain uncompromised.
Her clientele had grown from less than a dozen to almost a hundred, with more manuscripts arriving each day. From fantasy, to romance, to prehistoric terror, she didn’t discriminate based on the genre. She had authors who were working on their first book, and others well past their twentieth. Her age be damned, as well as her experience. Instead, she took her love of reading to the next level and dedicated her career to publishing.
It’d made me desperate to find a place I’d fit into her life. When I strutted into her office—cocky and arrogant—and saw her standing beside her desk in a navy blue pinstriped suit with red high heels, I was dumbstruck.
She was no longer Bryan’s little sister. She was Jordan Fucking Bailey, the woman I’d carried a torch for since that summer we were in high school. An incoming freshman and a senior who were ready to get the hell out of South Carolina. The friendship seemed doomed to fail, right? But it didn’t—instead it bloomed into something I cherished, and the longer I spent in her presence, the clearer it became that friendship wasn’t enough.
Fifteen years later, when I remembered our pact, I knew I couldn’t just march into her office with a ring and a smirk, demanding to know if she was married or engaged. I used my career indecision as the perfect excuse to beg my best friend, who happened to be her brother, for a favor. A favor that would set my life on a path I didn’t know I needed, but now couldn’t imagine myself without.
“So, you’re completely serious about this, Ave?” she asked, using a nickname I hadn’t heard in a decade. It filled me with the sweet nostalgia of warm summer nights, shared kisses on carnival rides, and sticky caramel apples. “I won’t have you asking out of pity, obligation, or assurances.”
She pushed against my body, and I reluctantly let go, taking one last whiff of her sweet smelling, lavender hair. One step away from me became two before she spun and faced me, clutching her hands by her side.
Her baby bump was barely visible, but the urge to touch it was overwhelming. I longed to feel the product of our night together. To nuzzle my nose along her flesh and press my ear to her stomach, hoping to feel a flutter of movement. And her body—fuck. The desire to peel off each article of clothing until she was bare had seeped into my consciousness, and I knew it would remain at the forefront of my mind until I made it happen.
“Yes. I’m serious about marrying you. And about being involved. I want to give you everything, Jordan. You and our child.” I stepped forward, pulling her close before running my fingers down her side to grip her waist. The other hand trailed up her body until I reached her face, tilting her head so she’d see the sincerity in my gaze.
Instead of giving in to the contact I craved, she stepped away and leaned on the edge of her desk, hunching her shoulders and crossing her arms over her chest.
I moved closer and stared, taking in the light sheen of sweat over her features and the purple smudges under her eyes. I traced my fingers down her jaw and over her lips, focusing on the vulnerability, and knowing it matched my own.
Someone needed to take the first step and jump headfirst into this craziness, grasping it with both hands, and wrangling it into submission. I was perfectly fine doing that if it meant she’d agree to let me make her happy for as long as we both shall live.
After the shock wore off with the realization she was pregnant, and the aforementioned drunken escapades where I called a buddy of mine in a gin-induced stupor and blubbered like an infant about the unfairness of my life, he made the not-so-subtle point of reminding me that I begged him to set me up with Jordan before the opportunity of working under her fell into my lap.
So, we skipped a few steps—past the first comes love, then comes marriage, and fell headfirst into the baby in a baby carriage part. There were worse things in life than finding myself in a predicament with a woman I’d wanted since we were kids.
“But why? People co-parent all the time. Why would you want to settle when all you’ve talked about these last months is finding an international publishing house to study under after your contract is up?”
Oh. The realization startled me, and I removed my hands from her body and moved back, wishing there was a chair behind me that I could sink into. Throughout our conversation, I’d yet to reassure her. I’d yet to drop to my knees and tell her of my elated joy that we were expecting.
“Oh, sweet girl,” I whispered, running a hand through my hair. “The first thing I should have said was how happy I am. How enthralled I am with how your body is changing. And how excited I am to share this with you.”
Her eyes turned glassy, and she put one hand over her mouth while her shoulders shook. I couldn’t resist pulling her into my arms as she sucked in a ragged breath and gave in to the swirling tornado of emotions that surrounded her. I shushed her as she cried, rubbing her back and praising her for being so strong and so beautiful. Reminding her I was here and wanted to be involved. Hell, I murmured that I’d change all the diapers if she’d only agree to let me in.
“How can you ask me why, Jordan? Do you forget about our pact? Or that half the DNA in your belly is from me? Why wouldn’t I do everything in my power to keep you by my side?”
Her face fell, losing the last trace of that beautiful, pink blush from our verbal sparring match as her eyes drifted down to her stomach. She caressed the bump, and before I could stop myself, I placed one hand over hers, feeling the slight swell that held the life we created.
Damn. I was a sappy fuck.
I saw her love with how she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention, knowing it was the same way I’d looked at her since I walked into her office for my interview. We broke apart slowly, as I continued to rub small circles along her back.
I knew this wasn’t the best time to enact the next phase of my plan, and although the timing wasn’t the best, I’d already asked her to marry me. The time had come to seal the deal—to show her that this wasn’t something I’d asked without thinking through the implications. She deserved to know that I’d put her and our baby first—always.
“You’re going to need this,” I said, reaching into my pocket and taking out a black velvet box.
I placed it on her desk beside her and pushed it forward with my finger, arching my eyebrow. She was intrigued—I could see it in the subtle movement of her eyes and the way her lips twitched because she was biting the inside of her cheek—or maybe because she was afraid the box was suddenly going to sprout a pair of fangs and sink them into the soft skin of her wrist, poisoning her.
“Avery. I?—”
She tore her hands away and put one over her mouth, eyes darting between me and the box. The emotions were clear on her face—fear, excitement, happiness—all flitting across her features faster than I could process. I wanted to grasp her fingers again, fitting them against mine before sliding the ring into place, but instead, one hand drifted back to her belly, feeling the rounded bump that brought us together.
My palm was hot, touching her like this—being so close. I could feel her trembling like a frightened doe, ready to bolt at the smallest noise.
“Don’t you want to open it?” I prompted, pushing the box a centimeter closer and gliding my fingers over her belly.
Maybe I was selfish, but I wanted her to open the box. I wanted to find a reason to tell her why I’d become her assistant—one that wouldn’t have me looking like a manipulative tosser. Sure, I played the odds a little in my favor by asking Bryan to get me the initial interview, but my intentions were honorable. I knew how Jordan’s mind worked. She’d roll those baby blues and write me off in under three seconds if I waltzed into her office with finger guns and a wink.
“I don’t know what I want,” she whispered, closing her eyes and sinking back into her chair. She scooted it back until she rested against the tall windows overlooking the steel bridge and glittering water. I moved closer, pressing our foreheads together while she considered my offer.
Perhaps she thought we’d marry in name only. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be required to like me, talk to me, or even snuggle with me like we had the morning after our liaison. I wouldn’t make her tea, and she wouldn’t complain that my coffee was too fancy. We wouldn’t argue over who would read the paper first and what channel morning news we’d watch.
Would she think I felt obligated to propose?
“Yes, you do. You know me, Jordan. I never decide on a course of action without fully weighing my options. If I had any doubt about this, I’d tell you. Now, tell me what you want,” I pushed.
She had the best part of us growing inside her, and I’d do anything to show her my sincerity. The fava bean-shaped lifeform in her belly was just a bonus to the entire situation. An unexpected bonus that had scared the absolute shit out of me until I swallowed the panic, sobered up, and embraced the unbridled joy at the realization that I was going to be a father.
Me.
I could see the gears spinning in her head—how she started the morning with the pregnancy weighing heavily on her mind as she considered her options and the few extra pounds she carried. Hopefully, she would concede that this was not a terrible option and check this day off as productive.
“I should think about it,” she murmured, licking her lips and closing her eyes. I leaned into her space, touching her forehead to mine and feeling her breath puff against my face. “It seems like running this publishing house and keeping my breakfast down are the only things I have time for these days.”
I chuckled, removing my forehead from hers but reaching out and placing a steadying hand on her stomach. The stress, the nervousness—I could take it all away if only she’d let me. One rogue sperm should not condemn her to a lifetime with me if she didn’t desire it, but I wouldn’t give up if there was even a 1 percent chance I could keep her forever.
She leaned to the side, but not out of my grasp, and ran her fingers over the black velvet box. “I’m sure it’s beautiful.”
“It was my grandmother’s, actually.”
Her eyebrows rose, and she stared, mouth open but not speaking. I took the silence as an opportunity to share more of my soul in the hopes she’d see the honesty.
“Yesterday, I spent the day driving through the city, looking for the perfect ring, but nothing measured up—until I remembered the box my grandmother gave me about a month before she passed. She told me it wasn’t just for anybody. It was for someone I could see forever with. Someone who would treasure the ring and the life we’d share. Someone who would see it as more than a symbol of love.”
I paused and gauged her expression. From her eyes to the crinkle of her brows, I took it all in, hoping for some sign that my words spoke to her heart.
Her breathing was shallow, and her mouth open, giving me a tantalizing peek at her tongue—a tongue I knew could do very dirty things under the right circumstances.
“She said to give this ring to someone I wanted to start a family with—someone who would one day pass it down to the next generation. That’s you, baby. This ring was always destined for you. All you have to do is open the box and say yes.”
The intensity of her gaze sent a liquid heat through my limbs as she looked at the box again and opened it, pulling the ring from the cushion and slipping it over the top of her ring finger.
Watching her come to the same conclusion I’d already made was intoxicating.
“It’s breathtaking, Avery,” she said, holding the ring closer to the light on her desk beside the daisies. She slipped the ring over the first knuckle of her finger, then pulled it off just as quickly and sat it down on her desk.
I stayed still, except for the grinding tension in my jaw. She closed her eyes, and I traced the contours of her face with the tips of my fingers. The distance between us was overwhelming when placed alongside everything else we’d faced today.
The fingers of my other hand stayed on her belly, before she opened her eyes. I changed positions, dropping to one knee and positioning the chair so she’d be in front of me.
“Marry me, Jordan.”
The words forced the breath from my lungs, and a vibrating tension filled the surrounding air, soaking into the base of my spine and zipping toward my head. It tingled where my thumb rubbed across her knuckles and her glassy eyes held me trapped.
She nodded and gave me a shaky smile as I inhaled, sucking in the sweet oxygen that existed in a world where she’d agreed to be mine.
My fingers trailed across hers as I slipped the ring onto her finger, but she wasn’t looking at the motion. She was looking at me. I held her hand in mine, the weight of the platinum band like a warm blanket, enveloping us in its embrace and loosening the knot of worry in my chest.
When she tore her eyes from mine, she rewarded me with a full wattage smile that made every facet of her face glow.
“Avery?” she asked, her voice suddenly filled with anxiousness. “I’m in love with you?”
Nervous energy pulsed through my body as I stood and tugged her up from the chair, pressing a kiss to both sides of her lips before claiming them. She wrapped her arms around my neck and threw one leg over mine, sucking my bottom lip between her teeth and nibbling on the tender flesh until a groan slipped past my mouth. I moved the hand caressing her belly to her back and pulled her flush against me, letting my tongue dance with hers.
Never one to be left speechless, I searched my mind for the right words, but nothing fit, even with millions at my disposal. Instead, I kissed her fiercely, tangling my hands in her hair and tilting her head exactly where I needed it. She whimpered in my mouth, fisting my Oxford to pull me closer as our chests smashed together, and I felt her belly press into me.
I sucked in a breath, pulling away from her and dropping back to my knees to lift her dress to her waist. I ran my fingers along the bump as a possessive, caveman energy roared in my ears like a freight train.
Mine.
I nuzzled my nose against her belly, letting my tongue dart out to run over her skin and groaning when her sweet scent enveloped my taste buds.
Candy, summer, and everything missing from my life fell into place as I caressed her stomach, imprinting myself on every millimeter of skin I could touch. The sweetest sounds filled her office as she giggled, running her fingers through my hair and scratching my scalp.
I purred under her touch, the sounds reverberating from deep within my chest as she moved her hands to my forearms and tugged so I’d stand back up. Then she placed both hands on my face and pulled me toward her. My eyes went wide, and my fingers clenched around her waist as she surged forward, kissing me so intently that I stumbled back into the chair she’d stood from. A Cheshire cat grin spread across her face as she stalked forward, hitching her dress toward her waist and straddling me.
One hand went to her neck, swiping her dark hair away so I could latch on to her pulse point, and the other snaked back under her dress, cupping her stomach before traveling toward her breasts. I trailed my fingers over the lace cup, and she sucked in a strangled gasp, pushing herself into my hands.
Fuck.
“They’re so sensitive.” She moaned, dragging her lower lip between her teeth. That gorgeous pink blush had crept down her neck, making me want to chase it with my lips and teeth.
“Yeah,” I said, gently squeezing one before moving to the other. “Is this okay?”
She nodded, throwing her head back and whimpering with the contact as I struggled not to press my rapidly hardening cock to her core. “Yes. More. Please. Avery. Touch me.”
I growled— growled , like a primitive beast, wanting nothing more than to reduce her to our baser instincts of lust and claiming her so every single person knew who she belonged to.
“Like this?” I prompted, pulling the dress over her head and cupping both breasts in my hands. How had I not noticed how much bigger they were? Perfectly round, like two ripe cantaloupes waiting for me to sink my teeth into. I trailed my tongue between them, pulling the lace cups down until I exposed her pale pink nipples. They puckered as I blew against them, and she fisted my hair, holding me to her chest as I positioned my mouth over the left one and sucked.
Her hips began steadily rocking against my cock, and I trailed one hand to her waist to guide her movements as she chased her pleasure.
“Can I make you come, Jordan? Make you squirm and soak my pants with your pretty little pussy?”
“Oh, Ave,” she whimpered, moving on my cock so perfectly I struggled to form a coherent thought and could only internally curse the infernal pants that stood in the way of feeling her sweet body pressed against mine. “Please. Let me feel you. Make me come.”
My hips took on a mind of their own, rubbing against her core in a way I knew would make me finish in my pants like a damn teenager if we didn’t slow down.
Luck, perhaps, was—or was not on my side because a shrill ring filled the space over our labored breathing, and she pulled away, pressing a hand to her chest. I reached around her, nuzzling her cheek with my nose as I turned off her phone alarm, smirking at the reminder that it was for her to take prenatal vitamins.
“Let’s get you out of here so we can continue this.” I chuckled, turning off her phone screen and running my hands along her back.
“But I still have so much to do.”
Her eyes moved toward the stack of unread manuscripts on her desk, and she puffed her cheeks to steady her breathing before leaning down to lay her head on my shoulder—a gesture far more intimate than anything we’d experienced and something I was desperate to savor.
“Good thing I manage your schedule, isn’t it? Why don’t you take a personal day, and as your dutiful assistant, I’ll carry all this home and help you review them from bed? After I rub your feet, beg you to tell me everything you already know about our baby, and give you at least three orgasms.”
“You’d do that for me?”
Her voice took on an unexpected tenderness, making me grip her waist with one hand and use the other to grab a handful of hair, tilting her head to look at me so she’d see and understand the depth of my devotion.
“I’d do anything for you.”
There was nothing romantic about where we were, but my words were sincere, as was the kiss I placed on her pillow-soft lips. This wasn’t a room filled with rose petals or a swanky restaurant with linen napkins—it was just the two of us in our little bubble of happiness. The setting didn’t make a bit of difference, as long as we remained together.
I wanted to spread her out and feast on her body—to show her with my teeth and tongue how much she meant to me and how lucky I was. She deserved everything, and I’d spend as long as she let me giving her exactly that.
“Okay. Then take me home. A personal day sounds like exactly what I need,” she said, smiling so wide an adorable dimple appeared on her left cheek.
I helped her from my lap, retrieving her discarded dress before adjusting my cock and smoothing the wrinkles from my shirt. She gathered the materials needed to work from home while I shut down her computer, the two of us working in tandem like it was something we’d done for years before grasping hands and walking toward the door.
“Oh, and Avery?” she said, tugging on my wrist so I’d let go of the doorknob and face her, unable to keep the smile from my face. “I’m on the fence about taking your name. We still need to discuss that.”
I laughed, pressing a kiss on her palm before turning back toward the door, ready to leave the office and get her somewhere I could properly show her why she made the right decision choosing me. “As you wish.”