Chapter 2
Chapter Two
J ust looking at Ace made every part of Maggie light up and quiver.
Damn him for looking so good—sexy, edgy, with a smile made to seduce.
But that smile wasn’t evident right now.
Her belly filled with flutters. Of course, she’d find him snuggled up with a cute, curvy blonde. The complete opposite of Maggie. She swallowed past the rock in her throat.
And now, she’d just blurted out the secret that she’d been holding onto for a week. She felt a bit sick.
He blinked. The man had ridiculously long lashes.
“What?” he said.
“I’m pregnant, Ace.”
He cocked his head like he didn’t quite trust his hearing. “You’re fucking with me.”
Anger spurted through her. She grabbed onto it—it was a safer emotion than any of the others. “No, Ace. We fucked. Repeatedly. Sometimes there are consequences.”
He let her go and stepped back, sucking in a sharp breath.
It hurt. It hurt so much. There was disbelief in his eyes, and it was like a knife to her chest.
“We used condoms,” he said carefully.
“We did, eventually. And as you should know, they’re not one hundred percent. Besides, you didn’t at first.”
No, that first time had been a flash of passion in a dark hall at the gala. He’d thrust inside her bare, neither of them caring for a second. Then he’d recovered enough to suit up.
Apparently, too late.
His chest heaved. “Are you sure it’s mine?”
Maggie gasped. The hurt arrowed so deep that she doubled over. Damn him . How could he hurt her so much?
He cursed and reached for her.
She stepped back, evading his hand.
“Maggie—” His tone changed, filled with regret.
“Don’t touch me,” she whispered, fighting back tears. God . “You’re an asshole.”
He put his hands on his hips, confusion and frustration on his handsome face. “Look—”
“I don’t need anything from you.” She lifted her chin. “You had a right to know, now you do. Stay away from me.”
“Maggie.” His voice firmed and he lunged for her.
She jerked back. “I said don’t touch me.”
“Everything okay?”
The dark, deep voice cut through the tension like a sword.
Maggie looked up to find Vander watching them like a hawk.
“Everything’s fine.” She needed to get away.
She turned, pushing through some people standing outside the bar, then ran back inside. She spotted the sign to the ladies’ room, and dashed toward it.
She slammed into the restroom to find it mercifully empty.
Maggie splashed water on her face and pressed a hand to the sink. That had not gone well. Dios mío .
She felt tears again, but sucked them back. What good would tears do?
She’d learned that as a teenager, trying desperately to get her father’s approval. She looked in the mirror, and saw the misery in her eyes.
What the hell was she going to do?
What you’ve always done. Take care of yourself. Prove everyone wrong and do what needed to be done.
The door opened, and she straightened like she’d been slapped.
Gia Norcross—petite, curvy, with waves of dark-brown curls, and a bossy look in her eyes— strode in, followed by Harlow, Sofie, and Haven.
Ambush. Damn you, Vander.
“Are you all right, Maggie?” Gia asked.
Maggie put on her trademark grin. “It’s a party, of course I’m fine.”
Gia sniffed. “I smell trouble. And I grew up with three brothers who could find trouble without even trying. Ladies, what do you think?”
“Man trouble,” Harlow said.
“Hot, sexy guy trouble,” Sofie said in her crisp, polished accent.
Damn . Maggie smoothed a hand over her hair. “Ace and I had a silly fight. Everything is fine. Nothing a gin and tonic won’t fix.” Maybe she could bribe the bartender to do a G and T without the G.
Haven stepped forward. “Maggie, all of us have recently been through some tough times. And also dealt with men who turned our worlds upside down.”
“And inside out,” Gia said dryly.
Maggie released a shuddering breath.
“We’re here, Maggie.” Harlow grabbed her hand. “I…detected something between you and Ace when I first met you.”
“He’s certainly very easy to look at,” Sofie said with a small smile.
“He and I have always been friends,” Maggie said. “He’s Brazilian, my dad is Latino. We tease each other about the similarities and differences between Portuguese and Spanish.”
Harlow cleared her throat. “He calls her gatinha . Kitten.”
The women all made ooh sounds.
“He doesn’t look at you like a friend,” Harlow added.
“Really?” Maggie hated the catch in her chest.
Harlow nodded. “Really.”
“I’ve had a thing for him for ages.” Maggie shook her head. “I tried to talk myself out of it. He’s very happy being an unattached man who’s free to sample.”
Gia tossed her head back. “That pretty much applied to all our men.”
Maggie wrapped her arms around herself. “It doesn’t matter. Everything is messed up.”
“Honey.” Harlow slid an arm around Maggie’s waist. “You can tell us. We’ll help.”
“I’m pregnant.” The words flew out of her.
There were several gasps of shocked surprise.
“Oh my,” Sofie murmured.
“You’re pregnant?” Gia said. “With Ace’s baby?”
She nodded.
“And you just told him,” Haven added.
Maggie gave a miserable nod. “I’d worked it all out in my head, but seeing him—” she swallowed “—I just blurted it out.”
Gia took her hands and squeezed. “And I’m guessing he didn’t take it very well. What did he say?”
“Was I sure it was his.”
Now she got enraged gasps.
“He what?” Harlow snapped.
“What was he thinking?” Gia squeezed Maggie’s fingers again.
Haven hugged her. Then they were all hugging her.
Tears pricked her eyes. Maggie had always been a tomboy, and then she’d joined the Navy. She was used to being around guys and having guys as friends. Not girlfriends.
The female solidarity surrounding her felt nice. She’d felt so alone the last few weeks. She hadn’t even told her parents about the baby. They’d be supportive, but disappointed. She knew she wouldn’t be able to face her father’s repeated “I told you sos” just yet.
Gia patted her back. “That man.”
Maggie saw Gia plotting.
“Now, not to defend him,” Sofie said. “But it was probably a shock.”
Haven’s nose wrinkled. “How long have you known, Maggie?”
“A week.”
“You’ve had some time to process and adjust,” Haven said quietly.
“Have you seen a doctor yet?” Sofie asked.
Maggie nodded. “She confirmed I’m pregnant and took some blood. She gave me a prenatal vitamin.”
“Give Ace some time.” Gia hugged Maggie. “Now, I’m going to get Saxon to drive you home.”
“No, I—”
“Yes. No arguments.”
Gia Norcross wasn’t a woman to take no for an answer.
Maggie gave in and let them take care of her.
* * *
Fuck. Fuck .
Ace ran his hands through his hair, tearing the band loose.
Maggie was pregnant .
His mind shied away from the thought. He paced the dark corner of the bar. Part of him wanted to find her.
The hurt on her face had slayed him. He’d opened his mouth before his brain had taken a chance to compute.
Fuck .
“Ace?”
Easton appeared. The man’s face was serious and worried.
Ace’s heart thumped. “You know?”
“I know something went down. Harlow asked me to check on you.”
Ace blew out a breath. “I need to talk to Maggie.”
“Saxon and Gia are dropping her off at home.”
“Dammit.” He spun, trying to work through everything. He couldn’t breathe.
“Come on.” Easton jerked his head. “I’ll buy you a drink.”
With nothing else to do, Ace followed Easton.
The oldest Norcross brother ordered two scotches on the rocks. Ace leaned against the bar and took a hefty gulp.
Across the room, Vander was talking with a few clients. He glanced over a few times, his brow creased.
Shit . Ace would have to tell Vander, and his boss would be pissed. He treated Maggie like a sister. All the guys did.
Except Ace had never looked at Maggie like a sister. He’d tried to and failed.
He took another gulp of his drink. He felt Easton’s gaze.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Shit, Easton.” Ace set the glass on the bar. “Maggie’s pregnant.”
Easton’s brows shot up. He took a slow sip of his own drink. “And you’re the father?”
Father . How the hell could he be a father? He’d never wanted kids. He came from a shitty gene pool, and the one time he’d been left in charge of someone… Rodrigo had never been the same again.
Guilt washed over Ace—hot, sticky, all-too-familiar. He hadn’t protected his brother.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it. What was in his blood was far, far worse.
How the hell could he protect and care for a child?
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
“Ace, Jesus.” Easton dragged in a breath. “What are you planning to do?”
“I don’t know. Maggie just told me, and I reacted badly.”
“Ah.”
“I fucked up, Easton.”
“Well you better un-fuck it, or Vander will make you regret it.”
Ace blew out a breath. “God, I’ve really screwed up. Maggie’s young. In her twenties. And I’ve got no business being anyone’s father. Fuck .”
“Hey.” Easton gripped Ace’s shoulder. “There are two of you in this, and Maggie is not a child.”
“I… Need some time, and I need to talk to Maggie.”
Easton nodded. “Take the night. This is big news.”
Ace slipped out of the party and pulled out his phone. He thumbed the button. He’d saved her under gatinha , his nickname for her.
Kitten. Because she liked birds, albeit large, metal ones with rotors.
The phone rang. And rang.
“Leave a message,” Maggie’s cheerful voice said.
“Maggie… Fuck, I’m sorry. You shocked me. I… We need to talk. Call me, gatinha . Please.”
After he’d finished his drink, Ace slipped out of the bar and ordered an Uber. He headed back to his place in Buena Vista.
He’d owned an apartment in the city for a few years, but a year ago, he’d sold it and made a tidy profit. He’d decided it was time to buy a house.
He thanked the Uber driver and walked up the steps to his front door. Lights clicked on automatically. He thumbed his phone and turned off his alarm system.
Damn, he really wanted to see Maggie. He wanted to rewind and start again.
Hell, she was pregnant.
He stood in the entry of his house, staring at the wall. He didn’t see the painting hanging there, his thoughts all turned inward.
They’d made a baby.
He felt faint prickles of panic. He headed up the stairs, assaulted by the memory of fucking Maggie on them.
His cock hardened.
He stomped into the living room.
She was right. The first time he’d had her, pinned against the wall at the gala, he’d been too far gone, too lost in his need for her. In a desperate hurry, he’d done something he’d never done in his entire life, and thrust into her bare.
Idiot . They’d both groaned, both felt how good it was.
It had brought him to his senses and he’d taken a second to get a condom out of his wallet and fucked her until she cried out. He captured her scream with his mouth.
Deus . He closed his eyes and dropped onto the couch. He’d fucked up. They needed to talk and sort things out. Merda.
He scraped a hand through his hair.
He and Maggie had made a baby. He stared out the huge windows. He had a kickass view of Corona Heights Park and the southern sprawl of San Francisco, although at night, it was just a spread of lights.
He tried to imagine a child fitting into their lives, but couldn’t.
He pulled out his phone to text Maggie.
I’m thinking of you. We need to talk. I’m here for you.
He had no idea how he’d fall asleep. Instead, he went into his kitchen and pulled out his bottle of cachaca. He didn’t bother with a glass. He sat, drank, and watched the lights of the city deep into the night.