Chapter Thirty-One
Adam
She put Conor, who was fast asleep, in his car seat, and I loaded the diaper bag and a Tupperware container of lasagna into the trunk of Lainey’s Honda Civic, while Hugh and Teresa watched from the porch with their arms around each other.
I thought my eye was going to start twitching when Lainey got in the driver’s seat, leaving me to get in the passenger side.
I didn’t consider myself sexist, but riding shotgun while a girl drove had every XY chromosome in my body on edge.
Still, I got in without complaint, same as I had when we’d driven the short distance there.
Maybe I gave off discontented vibes, because Lainey commented as she backed out of the driveway, “I would have let you drive, but I think that might have given off the wrong impression.”
Ah, that makes sense.
“I think you’re right. Granny was probably watching from the window, and we don’t need to provide more fuel to the rumor mill.”
“Definitely not. That furnace is stoked and firing.”
“No kidding.”
She glanced over at me as she turned onto Main Street. “That’s life in a small town.”
“Does it bother you? I mean, I’ll do everything I can to quash the rumors, and I’ll enlist Brian’s help…”
Lainey shook her head. “Being gossip fodder is nothing new. First, I showed up pregnant to the military funeral of my boyfriend who hadn’t known he had a baby on the way.
A man whose Irish family is devoutly Catholic and had high hopes for their golden boy marrying a nice Irish-Catholic girl; of which I am neither. ”
“And yet, you treat his family with such kindness and grace.”
“Because that’s how they’ve treated me. Well, except Granny O’Brien. She has a thing about Protestants. Shawn said she has family in Ireland and the clash between the religions used to get violent. I think a cousin or something of hers ended up in the hospital.”
I felt a scowl form on my face.
“So? Like that has anything to do with you.”
“You know it, and I know it, and even Hugh and Teresa seem to know it. But Granny is set in her ways, and I’m the enemy.”
“Maybe she wrote the letter,” I mused with a laugh.
“Nah, not her style. She prefers the direct, confrontational approach.”
“Well, she’s got that down.”
“Indeed.” She continued, “And now, Shawn’s Marine friend is in town and gets assaulted after he slept at my apartment, and now he’s staying with me again?
If that doesn’t scream juicy gossip, I don’t know what does.
But just in case, now that I’m pumping, I have to go on birth control.
So filling that prescription at the pharmacy is going to be fun. ”
I didn’t know what to say, other than, “I’m sorry I’ve made you a topic of conversation again.”
She shrugged as she pulled the car into a parking spot next to the staircase behind the bakery’s building. “It’ll blow over soon enough. I just hope it doesn’t affect my business until it does.”
“Whatever you need me to do, I will.”
“I think once you’re in uniform and out talking to people, that will help.”
“I’ll call Dr. Williams first thing in the morning about getting an appointment so I can get cleared to start work.
I also needed to call in a favor from my big brother. There was no way I was leaving Lainey and Conor alone, but I really wanted my stuff. Hopefully he’d be able to take a few days off and drive my Bronco and boxes to South Carolina.
“Maybe I can get Dr. Williams to give me some condoms at my appointment.”
“Yeah, definitely don’t buy them in town. Order them online if you have to.”
“Good to know.”
Ah, life in a small town.
****
Lainey
It was nice having help getting in and out of the car. When I was by myself, my arms were usually loaded down with bags and a baby, or I had to make two or more trips up and down the wooden stairs.
I’m sure it was only to get harder as Conor got heavier.
“Thanks for your help,” I remarked as we walked through the apartment door.
“Of course. That’s why I’m here.”
“Well, technically it’s to keep us safe…”
“And to help you out.”
I couldn’t help feeling like a charity case, but I wasn’t too proud to accept the help anyway. Who knew how long Adam would be around; I’d take the assistance while I had it.
Along with the sex.
Because that had been outstanding.
I didn’t know when I’d be getting laid again once he moved out.
All the more reason to take advantage of the time I had with him.
I laid Conor in his crib, then went into the living room and sat next to Adam on the couch where he was watching TV. Right next to him.
“Well, hello there,” he said as he put his arm around me.
I rested my head against his shoulder and whispered, “Hi.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a big sigh. “But I have to go down to the bakery and bake for tomorrow.”
“You need some help?”
“I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
What I could only describe as a pirate’s grin spread across his face, and he replied, “Feed me a croissant, and you can have your way with me, baby girl.”
****
Adam
If I thought we were going to fool around once we got downstairs to the bakery, I was sorely mistaken.
She tossed a hairnet at me, and I tilted my neck and pointed to my head. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You have to wear one no matter how short your hair is,” she replied as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, then snapped one on her own head. “Health code requirements.”
I followed suit, convinced I looked ridiculous. Maybe it was for the best. We wouldn’t be sidelined playing grabass.
Except I couldn’t help myself. Her bossiness and self-assuredness as we worked was a fucking turn-on. I’d been walking around the kitchen with a chub for the past twenty minutes.
The second we got the first batches of croissants in the ovens, I came up behind her, wrapped my arms around her middle, glanced at the timer she’d set, and murmured in her ear, “What should we do for fifteen minutes?”
Lainey turned around in my arms and raised up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on my cheek, then patted my shoulder and stepped back.
“We’re going to prep the tarts.”
“My god, you’re worse than a drill instructor.” I did my best impression of Sergeant Laramie, who I frequently saw yelling at recruits around the base when I was in San Diego. “No breaks! You’ll get a break when you’ve earned it, recruit!”
She rolled her eyes and replied, “Look at it this way, the sooner we get done, the sooner we can go back upstairs and kill some time before Conor wakes up.”
“Say no more. Tell me what to do next.”
~~~~
My ass was dragging when we finally did make it back upstairs, and I collapsed on the couch.
“You do that every night, and get up at the crack of dawn to serve customers all day?”
“Good lord, you sound like Granny O’Brien. The only time I’ll be up at the crack of dawn is in the wintertime when the sun doesn’t come up until after seven. And I only have to do it six evenings a week.”
“Not the point.”
And she took care of a newborn between all of that.
With a devilish smile, she stood before me with her hands behind her back, then produced a fresh croissant.
“You said if I fed you a croissant, I could have my way with you.”
I was off the couch and standing in front of her before she even finished the sentence.
Plucking the pastry from her hand, I carefully laid it on the kitchen counter—I was having that later for a midnight snack—and scooped her up in a bridal carry.
“Adam! I’m too heavy,” she protested with her arms around my neck as I walked down the hall toward her bedroom.
“I’m going to smack your ass if you say that again. You’re not too heavy. You’re fucking perfect.”
Lainey leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “I’m too heavy.”
“Baby girl, if you want a spanking, all you have to do is ask.”