Chapter Twenty-One
W hat was she going to do now? Hope Trent decided he didn’t want a baby anyway and just forgot about it? Sure, he’d said he wasn’t finished but maybe he’d rethink things and blow her off.
And maybe he’d make a big deal and claim the child and her father would find out the truth and then there’d be no reason to stay married to Liam. Except she was in love with him. Maybe she should just go ahead and cut him loose now. It would be preferable to having Trent expose the truth to the world. Still, even if she called things off with Liam, Trent could still go public.
She found Liam down at the barn, cleaning tack. “We need to talk.”
“Okay.” He continued what he was doing. “Let me just finish this saddle.” Once he finished, he washed his hands and said, “What’s up, Val? You look upset.”
“This was a mistake,” Val said. “A huge mistake.”
“What was a mistake?”
“Us. We should never have gotten married. But I was a coward, afraid to tell my father what had happened.” And now he was going to find out anyway. Furious with herself, she paced the small room.
“Val.” Liam grabbed her arm as she passed him.
“Ouch!” Damn, he’d grabbed her in the exact same place Trent had. Much more gently, of course, but it was already sore.
Liam let go of her immediately. “Damn, Val, I didn’t mean to grab you that hard.”
Rubbing her arm, she said, “You didn’t.”
“Let me see.” He pushed up her sleeve. Trent’s handprint was clearly visible. “What the hell? Did I do this?”
“No, it happened earlier today.”
His expression turned angry. “Who did this? Who hurt you?”
She might as well tell him. “Trent.”
“Where did this happen? Where is he?”
“I ran into him outside the diner. And I have no idea where he went after that.”
He grabbed his jacket off the hook he’d hung it on.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to explain to the bastard why putting his hands on you was a very bad idea.”
“Don’t. It won’t solve anything.” He looked uncertain and still angry but then he sighed and gave in.
“That’s debatable.” He hung up his jacket and waited for her to explain.
“This is why I said us getting married was a mistake.”
“Because of Trent.”
She nodded miserably. He put his other hand on her uninjured arm, and gently turned her to face him. “It wasn’t a mistake. We aren’t a mistake.”
“How can you say that? You didn’t really want to marry me. You can’t want to be responsible for another man’s child.”
“It’s your child. You said yourself he has nothing to do with anything now. And yes, I do want to be a father to your baby. Our baby.”
She believed him. If only she wasn’t afraid Trent was going to try to claim the baby. To spite her, if nothing else. And if he did, that could hurt Liam in so many ways, not the least of which was Trent’s probable attempt to cut Liam out of her and the baby’s lives. “You’re not even attracted to me. Not really.” She stopped talking for fear she’d burst into tears. Why was she having these feelings when Liam had shown her—and said—many times that he thought she was sexy and beautiful? Why was she so insecure now?
Because being with Liam, being married to him was her dream come true. And sometimes she didn’t trust that it wasn’t a dream.
“Not attracted to you? What do you think all the sex we’ve been having is about?”
“You’re a guy. We’re married and you’re too damn honorable to cheat. So of course if you want to have sex you’ll have it with me.” He was staring at her like she had two heads. “Oh, just let me go.”
Instead, he put his arms around her and pulled her close. Walked her backwards until her back was up against the door and her entire front was smashed up against him. “You think I don’t want you.”
Unable to speak, she simply nodded. Was she being stupidly insecure? Probably.
His mouth came down on hers in a hard, demanding kiss. The kind of kiss that curled her toes and made her panties get wet immediately. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, their tongues playing with each other in an edgy rhythm, making it clear what both of them wanted.
Val wrenched her head away. “Wait. Wait.”
He stopped kissing her but he didn’t let her go. One of his hands was clamped to her ass, pressing her close. The other slipped beneath her shirt and fondled her breast.
“I can’t. We can’t. Let me go, Liam. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“About Trent.”
“Yes. About him…and the baby.”
*
He let go of her and backed up a step. Damn Trent Harvey. He didn’t know what the bastard had done to make her say they were a mistake. How could everything be great last night and today she was talking mistake? “What do you need to tell me?”
She began to pace. Her hand shook as she pushed her hair back from her face. “About Trent and what happened when I saw him. You know I met Cici at the diner today.”
He nodded, even though he’d forgotten.
“When I left I ran into Trent. Literally.” Her gaze lifted and locked with his.
“Okay. That explains how you saw him. But what did he say to you that convinced you we’re a mistake?”
“I told him we were married. He got mad and said you weren’t going to raise his baby.”
“The baby he denied was his. Sounds like him.”
“Yes. I pointed that out but he wouldn’t listen. So I left. Or tried to. That’s when he grabbed me and said that he wasn’t finished. I’m afraid he’s going to try to claim the baby. What am I going to do?”
“We.” He reached out and stopped her pacing. Pulled her toward him, but gently. “We will figure it out. You’re not alone in this.”
“But he knows it’s his baby. I told him. As soon as I found out I told him.”
“So? He doesn’t have legal proof. Legally I’m the baby’s dad.”
“What if he wants me to take a paternity test? Do I have to?”
“I don’t know.” He knew absolutely nothing about child custody. “We should talk to a lawyer.”
“If this comes out there’s no reason for us to stay married.”
There sure as hell was. He was in love with her, though he hadn’t told her yet and didn’t know when he should. Because he didn’t know what she felt about him. Besides gratitude that he’d married her. And he didn’t want gratitude. “Do you want a divorce?”
“No, but you might. The whole reason you married me was to keep my father from knowing what really happened.”
“That wasn’t the only reason.” He’d just figured out he was in love with her. No way was he giving her up without a fight. “I don’t want a divorce. I like being married to you.”
“Do you?”
He drew her close. She put her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. He put his hand in her hair and kissed the top of her head. “I do. Don’t worry. We’ll work this out.”
“I hope you’re right. I’m scared, Liam.”
So was he. He didn’t want to lose either Val or the baby. But she needed him to be strong and positive. “I think we should talk to a lawyer. So we’ll be prepared in case he does something.” Like try to claim the baby as his or demand partial custody. Although Liam thought Trent was too selfish to want custody once he thought about it and got over his knee-jerk reaction because he hated Liam.
“Okay.”
He held her away from him to look into her eyes. “In the meantime, I’m sure worrying isn’t good for you or the baby.”
“I know. I’ll try not to.”
But he knew that she would. And so would he.