Chapter 12
Ruth
Idon’t know what’s happening.
I have no interest in a relationship. Getting entangled with a man again has absolutely zero appeal to me. They lie. They cheat. They use. They manipulate.
And when they don’t get their way, they become dangerous.
So why am I sweating right now? Why is my belly doing somersaults? And why in the chicken fried fuck do I have a heartbeat between my thighs?
Unfortunately, I know exactly why. And he’s running downstairs like nothing happened. Oblivious that he has ruined my whole day by doing nothing more than helping me over the gate.
He did it without even grunting. Not a sign of strain on his face as Tucker picked me up like it was nothing and carefully set me on my feet.
As someone who grunts when they pick up their twenty-two pound toddler, that’s an impressive feat.
Combined with the rippling of his arm muscles as they flexed under his tanned skin and his hands gripping my waist, I would have been crazy not to react.
Right?
This is just a normal thing. It would happen to anyone. It doesn’t mean I find Tucker attractive in a way I would ever have any interest in acting on. More the way I would find a hot guy in a magazine attractive. Pretty to look at—and maybe lust over just a tiny bit—but that’s it. Nothing more.
I’m just managing to pull myself together when an unfamiliar male voice carries up the stairs.
“I’m just making sure you’re okay. You don’t normally take days off, and Trevor said you’ve been gone two in a row now.” He pauses, and when he starts speaking again, there’s a hint of a smile in his voice. “Plus, Mariah said you had a visitor yesterday.”
I creep toward the top of the stairs, not wanting to be seen, but desperate for a little bit of insight into how his family feels about this trick Tucker and I are playing on them.
I sort of feel bad about it. Not bad enough to call it off, though. Not when it’s what’s going to get my daughter across the country without me having to pinch every penny.
And make a few of them bleed.
“Her name is Ruth.” Tucker pauses, making me worry he’s struggling to lie straight to a family member’s face. But his voice is strong and steady when he says, “She’s my girlfriend.”
Everything goes silent. Like whichever brother he’s talking to can’t believe the words that just came out of Tucker’s mouth. But Tucker’s not done rendering people speechless, because he digs our hole deeper with his next words, upping the stakes exponentially.
“She’s already moved in here. I think I might propose.”
I’m going to pass out. Hyperventilate at the very least.
Pretending to be the first woman to make the famously single Tucker Bradshaw commit to a simple relationship was going to be hard enough. But now I have to be the kind of woman he’d consider proposing to?
A woman like that certainly would have kissed him.
Probably done more than kiss him.
I press a hand to my stomach in an attempt to smother out the strange sensation I refuse to identify in my belly.
It’s not the fluttery feel of interest or excitement.
Not genuinely anyway. I’m just reacting this way because I’m in the midst of a very long dry spell.
One that started when I discovered I was pregnant with Birdie, and will possibly never end.
Because sex isn’t worth the fallout. It’s messy and sweaty and ends in disappointment and a UTI.
Unfortunately, that opinion does nothing to explain why I would be reacting weirdly without it, so I’m just going to ignore that too.
“You’re thinking about getting married.” The brother sounds skeptical at best. “To a random woman who’s currently living with you.”
This is going south. Quickly. We haven’t even really started and already his family doesn’t believe us. I know Tucker said he would give me the money I need regardless, but in my experience men don’t love doing the things they say they’ll do.
That leaves me exactly one option—sell the hell out of our fake relationship.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I walk down the stairs, shoulders back, spine straight, hoping I look confident in all the lies that are about to come out of my mouth.
I focus solely on Tucker when I reach the entry hall, fusing my eyes to his in a way I hope communicates what I’m thinking. Because if it doesn’t…
Things are about to go from bad to worse.
I walk straight up to the man who has been so kind to me and my daughter, the smile on my face scarily genuine as I hook both arms around his neck, tug him toward me…
And plant a kiss right on his lips.
I hold my breath, hoping he doesn’t give us away by acting weird.
But Tucker must have picked up what I was putting down with my eyeball conversation, because his arms immediately circle my back, pulling me close.
One hand comes to cradle my head as his lips slant against mine in a way that has my damn belly doing another backflip.
The kiss is quick and chaste, but Tucker doesn’t let me go as he lifts his head. His eyes move over my face, a hint of a smile working onto the mouth that was just on mine. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I swallow hard, heat creeping up my neck and over my cheeks. I can feel so much of him against me, and it’s just as affecting as the easy way he hauled my body over that gate.
“Is Birdie asleep?” Tucker’s dark eyes stay on me, encouraging me to follow the conversation he’s started.
“Yeah.” A weird little laugh bubbles out of me, and I try to hide it behind a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness.”
Tucker’s hand slides from the back of my head to my cheek, the rough callous on his thumb smoothing against my skin almost like an apology.
He finally pulls his gaze away, fixing it on his brother as he turns us toward him. “Ruth, this is my oldest brother Titus. He’s Mariah’s husband and Marybeth and Mitchell’s dad.”
Taking a deep breath, I force my focus to our visitor, miraculously managing not to startle when I see his face. He’s just as handsome as Tucker, but with darker hair. He’s tall and fit with broad shoulders and an amount of muscle that’s evident even through clothing.
He also has scars covering almost half his face. The damaged skin of his right side is webbed and shiny, with deep pink tinting the areas between. It spans from his forehead down his cheek, past his jaw to his neck, disappearing beneath the neckline of his shirt.
I hold one hand out, keeping my eyes on his even though curiosity makes me want to look a little closer. “It’s nice to meet you.” My smile is genuine as I say, “Your wife is lovely and your kids are absolutely precious.”
Titus studies me for a second before his face splits into a wide grin. “They are, aren’t they?”
The pride on his face is clear as he starts telling me all about the twins and how quickly they’re growing and all the amazing ways they blow bubbles and roll around. I soak up every second of it, living vicariously through him as I silently reminisce about Birdie’s firsts.
I might not miss what goes into making a baby, but it does make me sad to think Birdie is the only one I’ll ever have. Especially since I wasn’t really able to enjoy the whole process the way I wish I could have. Not with the constant fear of being found out hanging over my head.
Titus takes a break from being a proud dad to ask, “Mariah said you have a daughter. Birdie, right?”
“Right. She’s a menace.” My smile widens. “I love it.”
“I love a woman who goes around terrorizing everyone she meets.” Titus rocks back on his heels, refocusing on Tucker. “Tucker’s the same. Didn’t have much of a choice considering who our mother is.”
The reminder sends my stomach dropping to my feet. We might actually be able to fool his brother and sister-in-law. Tricking the famous Deidre Bradshaw into believing we're not simply a couple, but one on our way to being engaged… That’s an entirely different story.
“Don’t look so terrified.” Titus gives me a wink. “She’ll love you. Especially since you come with a ready-made grandbaby for her to spoil.”
Oh God. I hadn’t even thought about that.
Not only do I have to lie to this family, but they're also going to fall in love with my daughter. Because, let’s be serious. Who wouldn’t fall in love with Birdie? She’s cute and funny and rotten in all the best ways. There’s not a single thing about her that isn’t adorable.
Outside of the finger in nose assault pattern. And maybe her number twos, but no one has adorable poops.
“Okay.” My smile is frozen on my face. Partly because I know I can’t frown, but also because I can’t seem to get rid of it.
“I guess we’ll see you guys Thursday at family dinner.” Titus tips his head in my direction. “It was great to meet you, Ruth, and I look forward to seeing you again.”
“Same.” Again, I only manage a single word. All the rest of them have somewhat escaped me as my brain races around in circles, frantic over receiving yet another dose of questionable life choices.
Tucker releases me and urges Titus to the door, slapping his brother on the back before closing him out. He takes a few beats before turning, and the pause is more than enough for me to panic even more.
I messed up. I shouldn’t have come down here. I should have stayed upstairs, let him deal with this, and—
“You did perfectly.” Tucker’s eyes move over me, this time straying from my face to trace a quick path down my body before bouncing back up. “Two down, six to go.”
“Six?” The single word is strangled as it wrenches free.
Tucker saunters toward me, lifting one hand to count off on his fingers. “My mom and dad, Toby and Brooke, Trevor and Walker.”
That’s a lot. So many people I have to fool. Not only into thinking I’m blissfully in love with Tucker, but also that I’m the sweet, friendly, outgoing person they would likely expect to be at his side.
And that’s a problem. Because I’m not sweet. Not really friendly. Definitely not outgoing.
All I bring to the table is sarcasm and a great set of tits.
I guess my ass isn’t bad either, but I doubt any of those things will impress Deidre Bradshaw.
“Hey.” Tucker comes to a stop right in front of me, bringing both his hands to cradle my face. “It’s going to be okay.”
“How is it going to be okay?” I can’t hide the outrage in my voice. “You told your brother you were thinking of proposing.”
Tucker winces a little at the sharpness of my tone. “That was sort of unavoidable.” He shakes his head. “Right when he brought you up it hit me that there’s no way I would move in with a woman I wasn’t fully committed to.”
“Except you would never fully commit to a woman, so there’s still a major flaw in your plan.” I also can’t imagine if Tucker Bradshaw were to decide to fully commit to a woman, she would be jobless, homeless, a single mother, and sort of mean.
Technically, I have a job offer, so I’m not entirely shit show material. Just mostly.
Especially when you factor in the early morning visits from yes-men out to do their boss’s bidding by threatening women and children.
“That flaw isn’t as glaring as you believe it is.” Tucker shakes his head. “I don’t think my mother has ever believed I sincerely don’t want to be in a relationship.”
It’s really starting to get to me that I don’t have any clue why Tucker is so committed to being single. But I know if I start asking him questions, he’s going to start asking me questions. And as much as I want his answers, I absolutely do not want to have to give him any of mine.
My past is yet another thing I do my best to ignore.
“I guess we’ll find out on Thursday.” I try to take a deep breath and fail. “Unless your mom shows up here before then.” One hand flies to my head, resting against my brow. “What if she comes when you’re not here?” My other hand goes to my stomach. “I can’t face her by myself.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to come to work with me.” Tucker flashes a grin. “Because I’ve got to be there the rest of the week.”
Going to work with Tucker sounds like a terrible idea, but still better than risking facing his mother on my own. “What about Birdie?”
“Birdie’s coming too.” Tucker brings one finger to rest under my chin. “She’ll have everyone there wrapped around her little finger by lunchtime.”
Before I can fully prepare, Tucker leans in and presses his lips against mine exactly the way I did to him earlier.
Thank God I was the one on the giving end, because I react in exactly the way I was scared he would, my spine going stiff, a gasp sucking through my nose, and my hands flying out at a weird angle.
Pulling back, Tucker gives me a smirk. “You might want to practice acting like you enjoy kissing me back, because that sort of reaction isn’t going to help our cause.”
“I know.” I can’t even keep the snark out of my voice.
I’m frustrated. Aggravated I’m now a potential fiancée instead of a girlfriend.
Annoyed that I can’t even kiss him right.
Worried his mother is going to take one look at me, curl her lip, and announce I’m a fraud.
And then Tucker will send me back to my apartment with nothing.
It wouldn’t be the first time a man went back on the promises he made me.
“Hey.” Tucker’s hands run up and down my arms, smoothing a path of warmth over my skin. “Don’t wor—”
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, cutting him off. I want him to keep comforting me, which is why I make myself step away, digging the cell from my pocket.
But instead of answering it, I stare at the screen, panic flaring through me—way stronger than any I’ve felt about meeting Deidre Bradshaw—when I see the name flashing across the display.
William Sheppard
I start to shake, the fear of what will happen if I can’t get Birdie safely away from him making me spiral as the world spins out around me.
“Ruth?” I barely register Tucker saying my name. It’s like he’s far away. Out of reach.
Honestly, he is. The only reason I’m here is because it benefits him. There might be someone physically at my side, but everything is the same as it’s been since my mom died.
I’m on my own. Completely. Totally. Utterly.
Alone.