Chapter Nineteen #3
Bebe bowed her head, and I could tell she was petrified. As a woman who struggled with infertility, I had no idea what to say. Be grateful you get to risk your life for a baby? That seemed incredibly wrong. I thought about what I’d want someone to say to me if I was feeling overwhelmed and afraid.
“Bebe, I know we only met a few weeks ago, but here’s what I’ve learned about you so far,” I said.
I gave her a half hug, resting my head on hers.
“You have a huge heart, just look at how you love Luke and Frank.” I felt her nod beneath my cheek so I kept going.
“You are brave, so brave. Choosing to be a mother is one of the most courageous decisions a woman can make. And you are strong.” I squeezed her muscled bicep.
“You’ve been training for this your whole life.
You were born to do this. You know it, I know it, Luke knows it, and your baby knows it. Now go get it done!”
To my surprise and delight, Bebe hugged me hard and then rose to her feet. “You’re right. I am a badass. I can totally do this.” She reached down and pulled Luke to his feet. She cupped his face and kissed him quick. “Let’s go meet our baby.”
Luke sagged with relief. He glanced over Bebe’s head and mouthed the words, “Thank you.”
“We’ll lock up the house and take Frank to the cottage,” Simon said as we followed them to their car, watching as Luke opened the door for Bebe. Simon handed Luke his phone. “Give me your cell number, then you can call or text us if you need anything.”
Luke typed his number into Simon’s phone and shot him a thumbs-up. He hurried around to the driver’s side. With a blast of his horn, they were hospital bound.
I watched them go, waving as their car disappeared. Feeling Simon move to stand beside me, I turned to share the exhilarating-yet-anxious moment with him and found him watching me with a tenderness that made my throat tight.
“Bebe’s going to be okay,” Simon said. “You heard Luke. She has an excellent doctor and you gave her a hell of a pep talk.”
“It was the least I could do. It’s not like a woman can change her mind once her water breaks,” I said.
“Still, it can’t have been easy for you to rally her after what you’ve been through.” He pulled me into his side and kissed the top of my head in a gesture that was genuinely comforting. I felt seen and understood in a way I never had before.
“A few years ago, it would have been a challenge,” I admitted. “But I’ve made peace with it and I’m grateful for the amazing life I’ve been given, which apparently includes a house in the Outer Banks.”
“An attitude of gratitude. You are something, Spencer.”
He turned me into his arms and I went. The immediate heat that flared up between us was just as intense as it had been the night before.
His gaze was locked on mine as if he was trying to decide whether to kiss me or not, as if he was worried it wouldn’t be received well.
I didn’t let him overthink it. I just stepped over the line.
We hadn’t really discussed the whole fling thing since being interrupted by Roland earlier, but I’d made my decision, and I felt the best way to tell him was to show him.
I twined my arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to mine at the same time I rose up on my toes to meet him. His lips were soft but his mouth was firm, taking control of the kiss as soon as we touched.
This was not like the exploratory kisses of our previous encounters, this was a reigniting of the need and desire that had been cut short the night before.
I had regretted leaving him the second I climbed off his lap and started upstairs, but my pride had refused to allow me to turn around.
But now I had a second chance to let my attraction for this man consume me and I wasn’t going to walk away this time.
I dug my fingers into his wavy hair and parted my lips as he deepened the kiss, licking my lower lip and slowly sliding his tongue into my mouth as if knowing that the slow siege would cause me to surrender completely.
His mouth moved from mine to trace a path along my jaw and down the side of my neck to nestle in the sweet spot he’d discovered the night before. I tipped my head back to give him better access and I could feel him smile against my skin.
I could have stood there and kissed him all day, but a woof interrupted and I pulled away to see Dude barking in the direction of the road. There was Frank, hauling ass as if he was reveling in his first taste of freedom.
“Oh, shit, we have a runner!” I cried.
“I got him, you lock up!” Simon ordered, and he took off running with Dude at his side.
Frank only got past the neighbor’s house before Simon scooped him up and I sagged with relief. I locked the door and jogged down the driveway to meet them.
Simon cradled Frank with one arm in a football hold and then put his other hand on the small of my back as if he just needed to maintain contact. I didn’t move away. If anything, I leaned into his touch.
I knew this was a dangerous game. We owned a house together and big decisions needed to be made. Simon O’Malley with his sweet smile, sharp wit, and stupefying good looks was definitely not a man I should be playing with…and yet, I simply couldn’t resist him.
As we walked back to our house, I assured myself I could handle him. In fact, I couldn’t wait to get started.
It was amazing how sorting everything from the attic on the front lawn was a clarion call to the entire street.
The Fisks and their children showed up, keeping Frank and Dude busy chasing the littles around the backyard.
Roland and Zach helped haul the last of the items down from the attic while everyone else helped us sort what was of value and what could be donated.
I suspected the entire street needed something to do while we waited for news from Luke about Bebe.
“You all right, Spencer?” Simon asked as he caught me staring down the street at Bebe and Luke’s house.
“Worried,” I admitted.
“You’re not alone,” Simon said. I studied his face and saw the tightness in the line of his mouth.
He gestured to our neighbors and said, “Every conversation is a variation on why we haven’t heard anything yet.
I think Stephanie and Monica are going to drive to the hospital if we don’t get some news soon. ”
“I’ll go with them. Heck, I can fit most of us in Buttercup and drive everyone myself,” I said.
“That’s a picture,” Simon said. “We’d have to double up and I’d likely end up with Roland on my lap.”
I grinned at the mental picture, and chided myself for even thinking of volunteering to sit in his lap. I was determined to behave myself and focus on the task at hand, which was the sea of items still to be sorted.
Simon ruined it however, as he leaned in close and said, “I desperately want to kiss you again but I’ll settle for getting you to go for a ride on the tandem bike with me.”
He pointed to where Roland had the bike propped upside down while he and Zach fitted wheels to it.
“No way,” I said.
“Way,” he countered. “Come on, let’s take it for a spin.”
“Fine, but I’m the stoker.” I realized as soon as I said it that it sounded like a sexy innuendo so I went with it and winked at him.
Simon hissed out a breath and his gaze dropped to my mouth. “Indeed.”
“Just to clarify, I call the back seat.”
“Is that so you can relax while I do all the work?”
I feigned an innocent look and fluttered my eyelashes. “I have no idea what you mean. I’m trying to be true to our grandfathers and keep a Spencer in the rear.” Did that sound sexy, too? Or was it this man who had just kissed me stupid who made everything seem like a proposition?
“Is that so?” The heat in his gaze could melt ice.
“Stop that.” I fanned my face with my hand.
“Stop what?”
“You know.”
His chuckle was low and deep and I felt it vibrate right down my spine. We strolled across the lawn, stopping by Stephanie, where she was sorting a box of baking tins.
“Hannah, Simon, you have some real treasures here. You could sell these online and make a nice profit,” she said. She was holding a stack of Bundt pans of varying sizes.
“Or the owner of the local bakery could take them off our hands for free?” I glanced at Simon and he confirmed the offer with a small nod.
Stephanie hugged the pans to her chest. Her gray bob was held back from her face by a wide pink headband and the sleeves of her white chef’s coat were rolled up to her elbows, revealing muscled forearms. I suspected it came from years of kneading the bread…er…buns that her bakery was known for.
“You have to let me pay you,” she insisted.
Simon shook his head. “Gramps and Pops wouldn’t hear of it and neither will we.”
With a grin, she turned and shouted at her husband, Mike. “Hon, look what I scored!”
He answered with an enthusiastic, “That’s my girl!”
I felt a bubble of happiness float up in my chest. “I see why the grandfathers loved it here so much. I haven’t felt a part of a neighborhood in years, since I was a kid, in fact.”
Simon was studying the neighbors with a thoughtful gaze. “They were lucky to find this place.”
“And each other,” I added.
“Yeah.” Simon tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and I got the feeling he wasn’t talking about our grandfathers anymore.
“She’s finished!” Roland approached us, wheeling the tandem bike beside him. “You ready to take her for a spin? Davis is watching the kids and dogs in the backyard. Zach went back there to make sure Frank stays put.”
“Thanks.” Simon took the front handlebars and held the bike steady.
“Oh, and don’t leave without these.” Roland handed us two dark blue bike helmets. Simon made a face but Roland said, “Your grandfathers always wore them.”
“Fine.” Simon strapped his on and I did the same. He gestured for me to climb on, so I lifted my leg over the middle bar and stood on my tiptoes while Simon did the same.
“Now what?” I asked.