Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
T wo weeks later, we were at a girls’ night at Morticia’s house. Her apartment had white walls with black furniture and accent pieces. Tonight’s snacks were properly displayed tapas on classic dove-gray plates. She didn’t have color anywhere, which made the brightly colored foods even more appetizing. We’d tried to add a bit of color to her life with gifts, but then we stopped trying to make her into something she wasn’t. She enjoyed a simple, minimalist pallet.
And books, of course.
Books were everywhere. Her free time was spent with us, or reading, or in her online book clubs. For once, I was the first one there. I picked up a half-read copy of Oliver King’s latest thriller.
“Don’t lose my place!” she hollered from the kitchen.
I carefully set the book down. “No worries, doll. I’ve got your back.”
“I have book club online later tonight, and we’re discussing that book. There’s this guy in my online group, Collin Quin, who drives me crazy. He acts like he knows Oliver King better than I do.” She snorted. “Not likely. I am most definitely his biggest fan, and I intend to prove that tonight.”
Zoe walked in. “Hey, ladies, sorry I’m late. Mrs. Bee took forever to come over to watch the kids. Chaz got called in to perform an emergency C-section on one of his expectant mothers.” She glanced at me. “Sorry, hon. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m not scared,” I lied, but even I had felt the blood drain from my face.
Harmony came barreling through the door. “Pour me a beer, babe. I’m finally here, and I could definitely use a drink.”
“Here you go.” Morti handed her a tall one.
“Why, what’s wrong?” Zoe asked, as Morti handed her a glass of chardonnay and took the seat beside her.
I joined them at the kitchen table and sat in front of the bottle of sparkling water Morti had placed at my setting.
“What’s wrong?” Harm snorted as she plopped down beside me and drained half the pint. “My mother, that’s what. She used to set me up on blind dates all the time, but they never worked out. It drove me crazy, so I told her to stop, and she did.”
“And that’s wrong how…?” Morti arched a jet-black eyebrow high.
“She picks now to start listening to me?” Harm huffed out a breath. “If I don’t get laid soon, I’m going to explode.”
Zoe spit her chardonnay all over the table. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Morti.” She dabbed at the table with a napkin.
“You’re fine. At least you don’t drink red wine.” Morti got up to grab more towels, black of course.
“I’m just so frustrated with her. She’s either pimping me out or telling me I’m acting like a hooker.” Harm threw her hands up. “Then she got mad when I corrected her and said like a slut, not a hooker, because I was willing to give it away for free.”
“Good lord, doll, you’re going to give your mother a heart attack.” I nibbled on some cheese from the gorgeous charcuterie board filled with a selection of cured meats, an assortment of cheeses, crackers and bread, olives and pickles, fruit, nuts, dips and spreads. Morti had done a great job.
“All I know is that none of the decent men in town will even give me a chance. I’m getting desperate enough to give it a try with one of the freakshows she tries to fix me up with, but now she’s put the kibosh on that. First, she thinks I don’t like men, and now she thinks I’m a nymphomaniac. I can’t win. Mayflower is a small town. At this point, the men in town just flat-out think I’m crazy. Am I really that scary?”
We all hesitated.
“Don’t answer that.” Harm downed the rest of her beer.
“You’re not crazy,” I said gently, “you’re just misunderstood.”
“Aren’t we all.” Morti grunted.
“You just haven’t found the right man, hon,” Zoe added. “When you do, you’ll know it. He’ll love you for you and all of your quirks, just like we do.”
“That’s right, girl.” Morti raised a glass of diet cola. “To Harmony Jones. You’re the best.” She clinked her glass with all of ours.
“Thanks, babes. You girls are awesome. I seriously couldn’t do any of this without you, nor would I want to.”
“I’d drink to that if I could,” I said, then sipped my water.
“So, how are you doing, really?” Zoe looked at me with concern. “Chaz has been keeping me updated on your concussion.”
“I’m getting better every day, and the Sasquatch cubs are fine.” I patted my twenty-two-week belly. “Thanks for asking, doll.”
“What about your spa?” Harmony scowled. “I hope Matt found the dipshit and ripped him a new shamrock.”
“You and me both, but unfortunately, Bud knows how to hide when he wants to.” I sighed. “Thankfully the fire department put the fire out rather quickly. Only my supply room and supplies were damaged from the fire and smoke. The rest of the place had water damage, but that’s all being fixed as we speak.”
“Does it affect your bottom line?” Morticia took a sip of diet cola.
“I had to move everyone’s appointments out a month, and Trixy is dealing with the water damage upstairs in the apartment, but she’s been very understanding. Obviously, I won’t charge her rent until it’s fixed.”
“I just don’t get why Bud would do something like that?” Zoe shook her head as she popped an olive into her mouth, looking off pensively. “He’s already suing you for more alimony because of your grandmother’s inheritance. What’s the purpose of trying to burn your place of business down?”
“To get back at her for having such kick-ass lawyers.” Harm chugged her second beer straight from the bottle then set it on the table, making a loud clunk.
“Or to collect on the insurance money.” Morti eyed Harm with brows drawn together in disapproval, then slid a coaster in her direction.
“Or just to be an ass,” I admitted. “The man is not happy unless he wins, and he hasn’t won yet. His ego can’t handle being a constant loser. Ladies, Bud has succeeded in getting on the one nerve I have left. I need to find a way to prove he’s been faking everything for years. He’s taking things too far, and someone could have gotten seriously hurt.”
“ You got seriously hurt,” Zoe pointed out. “Not to mention, now he’s hurting you financially.”
“How’s Matt taking it all?” Harm tilted her head and studied me.
“Not well.” I shook my head slowly, looking around the table until I met each of their eyes. “I’m afraid he’s going to do something he might regret.”
“Like what?” Morti wrinkled her brow.
“I honestly don’t know.” Memories of the look he had given when he found out Bud was behind the fire flooded my mind. “You should have seen his face. It was downright scary.” I rubbed my arms. “We live together, but I’ve barely seen him. He hasn’t been around much in the past two weeks.”
“What do you think he’s been doing?” Zoe grabbed a throw from the couch and draped it around my shoulders.
“Thanks.” I smiled at her, but then my smile slipped as I thought about her question. “All I know is Matt said he was going to make Bud stop harassing me, once and for all. What if he gets arrested? I admit I’ve dated bad boys before, but I’ve never had children with them. I can’t have my baby daddy behind bars.”
“Matt’s a smart guy.” Harm lifted one shoulder. “Family means too much to him. Not just his sons, but his uncle and the family who work for him. He’s not going to let them down by getting arrested.”
“I sure hope not.” I thought about her words. “Speaking of sons, I still can’t believe I’m having two boys. Do you know what that means?”
“That you’re worried they’ll be huge like their daddy?” Morticia asked.
“Yes, there is that, but that’s not my biggest worry.”
“If you’re worried they’ll be wild and crazy, the answer is they will . I have two,” Zoe said, adding, “but with girls come tears and drama. It all evens out in the end. You’ll be fine. In fact, I think you’ll surprise yourself and be a wonderful mother.”
“Thank you for that, but that’s not it, either.”
Harmony’s eyes twinkled. “You’re worried they’ll be recruited as Children of the Clover.”
“Exactly!” I said. “I have to up my game if I’m ever going to rest easy. I need to know once and for all if the legend is true. Did Matt tattoo his penis with a four-leaf clover because of a stupid cult, and will he try to make his boys follow in his footsteps?”
“I really do think you’re being paranoid and overreacting because of some silly book,” Zoe said.
“Silly or not,” I said with determination, “no one is laying a finger on any part of my babies if I have anything to say about it.”
Late that evening, I heard Matt come home.
It was becoming less and less strange to consider the ranch that Matt and I shared as home. We’d been living together for six weeks now. It felt like a lot longer than that, especially when he had been glued to my side right up until the past two weeks. Of course, he still made sure I was eating right and taking my vitamins. He either cooked or brought food home before I even had a chance to try making another meal.
But I still hadn’t given up on my lessons from Zoe.
I rolled out of bed…yes rolled , because it was getting more and more difficult to use my core. I had to pee constantly during the middle of the night. I used the master bathroom which was attached to my bedroom in my hallway of the house. One other bedroom was in this hallway. Then Matt’s hallway had two bedrooms and a full bath.
After I was finished, I didn’t go back to bed. I crept down the hall until I reached the living room. Matt had gone down his hallway. I could hear the shower come on in his bathroom and folk music come on. Inspiration struck. Grabbing cleaning supplies from the walk-in pantry, I made my way down his hallway and prayed he hadn’t locked the door.
He hadn’t.
It was my lucky day, and I was hoping I was lucky enough to see that damned fourth leaf. I quietly opened the door, but the room was filled with steam. Who knew Matthew McGinnis liked a long, hot shower? I would have to tell him that hot water wasn’t good for his skin. I shook my head to focus.
Holding my cleaning spray in one hand, I squirted the glass shower door and began to wipe, straining to see anything. Darnit! The steam was on the inside of the glass door. His hip suddenly brushed the glass, wiping a section clear. A flesh-colored image began to emerge, and I held my breath, squinting, then blew out a big puff of air almost immediately.
Another side-effect of turning forty…
I suddenly needed glasses.
Double Darnit!
I started rubbing harder, when the shower door flew open, blasting me in the face with steam and water. I shrieked and fell forward, grabbing onto him around the waist.
“Tiffany?” he sputtered.
“In the flesh,” I said, then corrected, “er, at least you are, I mean.” Even if I pulled away, I wouldn’t be able to see the fourth leaf unless he grew hard.
Wonder of wonders, I felt a stirring against my chest.
I bit my bottom lip and started to lean back, but in the time it took me to blink the water from my eyes, Matt had whisked me into his arms and marched me out of the bathroom. Buck naked and dripping wet, he barreled down the hall, through the living room, down my hall, and into my bedroom.
Good thing it was the middle of the night, or he might have scared the neighbors through our curtainless living room windows. He could have given poor Mrs. Cartright a heart attack…or palpitations of another kind. Speaking of palpitations, of course, the lights were out in my room.
Darnit!
I could see his shadow looming over me. His fully erect shadow. Damn, my mouth watered. He was one impressive, godlike man, even in the dark. I could understand why women would want him to spread his seed.
He was magnificent!
“Holy Mary Mother of God, what in the name of Saint Monica be ye doing in me bathroom?” he finally spoke, apparently praying for Monica’s patience.
“Sorry, um, I was sleepwalking?” I laughed nervously over my question-like response. “I think they call it nesting.”
“Chapter Eighteen.” He nodded, inhaling a few deep breaths. “I think it best if ye clean yer own nest next time, preferably in nighties that aren’t see-through, or I can’t be held accountable fer what might happen.”
“What if I want to nest in your bed?” I bit my bottom lip hopefully. “I mean, not like birds that mate for life, or anything. I just want to mate.” I laughed over how ridiculous I sounded even to my own ears. “Second trimester still, remember?”
“Aye, how in the hell could I forget?” He scrubbed a hand over his wet hair. “Not tonight, love,” he said firmly, obviously in no mood for games. “Not tonight. It’s been a helluva couple of weeks. All I want is to sleep for a week. Can ye grant me that, lass?”
“Only if ye come clean with me over what yer about on the morrow, savvy?” I blinked. Sleep deprivation and its effect on the brain was no joke.
“What accent, pray tell, is that?”
“An Irish pirate?” I laughed. “I have no clue. But what I do know is that you’ve been keeping something from me for a couple of weeks now. Where have you been going?”
“I’ll fill ye in on everything, I promise. In the meantime, take care of me bairns and get some sleep… savvy ?” I could just make out his smile.
“Deal.”
He leaned down like he always did when he kissed me on the forehead. Only, this time his lips landed on mine, and I forgot to breathe. He didn’t touch me anywhere else. Just his full lips moving sensually over my mouth, but then he slipped his thick tongue inside to dance with mine.
Stars swam behind my eyes, and liquid heat pooled between my legs.
He tasted like Guinness, thyme, and bay leaves, with a touch of something uniquely Matt. I was drowning and loving every minute of it. Who was I fooling? I didn’t want to just mate. I wanted this man to be my mate, but that scared the hell out of me. I had to have been giving him so many mixed signals.
We’d done everything backwards.
He pulled slowly away, his shadow more magnificently erect than ever. “Goodnight, love.”
I swallowed hard, unable to speak. All I knew for certain was that I was in a whole lot of trouble.