Face Value (23 page)

“I missed you
too.” Lauren missed her old life. She hated keeping her distance
from her family and friends. Once she found a way to convince
Tucker they were meant to be together, she could welcome him into
her world and make him a part of her life. Him and his kids. Lauren
smiled just thinking about giving them something they probably
hadn’t even realized they’d been missing: a large extended family
that loved and supported them.

“So tell me
what’s been happening with you,” Ava said, shrugging off her
coat.

Lauren didn’t
even know where to start. She and Ava had had a few brief phone
conversations and exchanged a few text messages in the past couple
of months, but Lauren had never mentioned her relationship with
Tucker. “Well, I finished the project from hell today.”

“The one that
hot contractor was working on?” Ava grinned. “Did anything ever
happen between you two or did he keep seeing Tonya?”

“Uh no,
actually he stopped seeing her the night we ran into them
here.”

Ava pointed at
Lauren and laughed. “I knew it. He dumped her because he had a
thing for you. Am I right?”

Lauren rolled
her eyes. “Please. They had nothing in common. She was way too
young for him.”

“How about
y’all? Did you and Tucker have anything in common?” Ava wiggled her
eyebrows.

Lauren decided
to say exactly how she felt about Tucker. No more secrets or lies.
“I’m in love with him.”

Ava slapped a
hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “Shut up! You? In love?”

Lauren couldn’t
blame her friend for being surprised. She hadn’t been in love since
college and never like this. Tucker redefined the meaning of the
word for her. “Seriously. I’m crazy about him.” Admitting it aloud
made her feel better than she had in weeks. Suddenly she knew what
she wanted:
him.
She just had to figure out how to make him
see reason.

“I’m so happy
for you,” Ava squealed, squeezing Lauren’s hand.

Lauren wasn’t
surprised by Ava’s reaction. Her friend was a hopeless romantic,
which made her career choice perfect. Ava believed in soul mates,
though she didn’t seem particularly interested in finding hers just
yet.

“Don’t get too
excited. We’re not together anymore.”

Ava frowned.
“What happened?”

Lauren started
tearing her paper napkin into strips. “He doesn’t think we’re right
for each other. He thinks I want things he can’t give me.”

“What kind of
things?”

Lauren didn’t
want to betray Tucker’s confidence, but if she didn’t talk to
someone, she would go crazy. “He already has two kids.”

“Yeah? And…”
Ava said, spinning her hand in a circle. “What about it? You don’t
like the kids? They don’t like you?”

Lauren adored
Tucker’s kids. In fact, Amanda had asked Lauren if she could give
the kids her phone number because they’d asked about her so often.
They’d called several times, pleading with her to attend hockey
games and dance recitals. Lauren always promised she would try, but
she knew Tucker wouldn’t want her there, so she kept her
distance.

“No, his kids
aren’t the problem…”

Ava crumpled up
the shredded napkin and tossed it aside. “Then what the hell is the
problem? You’re killing me here.”

“Tucker had a
vasectomy.”

“And?” Ava
looked genuinely confused. “What does that have to do with
anything?”

“He knows I
want to get married and have a family someday.”

“So he doesn’t
think he’ll ever want to marry you? He doesn’t want to have any
more kids? What is it?”

“No, he said
he’d love to marry me and have a family with me, but the chances of
that happening are slim, wouldn’t you say?”

“No. If you
want to have a family with him, you can.”

“You mean
adoption?”

“Sure, but
that’s not the only option. He can have the procedure reversed, and
if that doesn’t work, there are plenty of other ways to have a
baby.” Ava rested her hand in her chin while looking at Lauren
intently. “I don’t have to tell you this, Lauren. When my parents
decided to adopt me, they changed the course of my life. I couldn’t
have asked for better parents. I love Lena, and I’m so glad she’s
in my life, but Jay and Victoria are the people meant to raise me.
I have no doubt they came into my life for a reason, and I feel
blessed every day to have them as parents.”

Lauren knew how
strong the bond was between Ava and her parents. She was their
daughter. Period. Lauren knew she would feel the same way about a
baby she and Tucker might adopt. If only she could make him believe
that.

“The question
isn’t whether you guys can have a family. You can, one way or the
other. The most important thing is whether he’s the one.”

“He is.” Lauren
didn’t even have to think about it. She just knew.

“And does he
feel the same way?”

Lauren thought
about the pain etched on his face when he told her he had to let
her go. “I think so.”

“That’s not
good enough. You have to know for sure. Go to him. Tell him how you
feel. Ask him how he feels and stop wasting time worrying about
fictitious problems.”

Lauren jumped
up. Ava was right. She knew what she had to do. “Thanks,” Lauren
said, hugging her hard. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Will wandered into
Tucker’s office without knocking.

Tucker glared
at him. “What do you want?”

“For starters,
I want to know what you’re still doing here.” Will glanced at his
watch. “It’s ten o’clock, man. Don’t you ever go home anymore?”

Tucker’s house
was big and empty and cold, and for the first time since he’d built
his dream home, he hated being there. It was a stark reminder that
he would be alone for the rest of his miserable life because if he
couldn’t have Lauren, he didn’t want anyone.

“I had some
work to catch up on.” Tucker pointed at his spreadsheet.

He didn’t care
that he’d made a huge profit that month or that he was so busy he
had to turn potential clients away. None of that mattered anymore.
The things he’d been working for, success, respect, pride,
financial security, didn’t matter without Lauren to share it with.
A few months ago, he thought those things were all he needed. Now
he knew better.

“You could have
done that at home.” Will sat down and narrowed his eye. “What’s
really going on with you?”

“Nothing.” He
hadn’t talked to anyone about what happened with Lauren, and he
knew he couldn’t. Living through it once was bad enough. Reliving
it, even with his best friend, would be torture.

“I don’t buy
that.” Will sighed when Tucker failed to respond. “I walked through
the house with Lauren earlier.”

Tucker tensed
at the sound of her name. Thank God her project was over and he
wouldn’t have to see her again. He didn’t think he could handle
that. “Was she pleased?” Her happiness was the most important thing
in the world to him, and if she wasn’t happy, he would do whatever
he had to to make things right.

“Yeah, she
thought the place looked great. She was off to hand the keys off to
her agent when she left.”

“Good.”

“Lauren said
she still hasn’t received your invoice.” Will tipped his head to
the side as he studied his friend. “What’s that all about? Rosie’s
usually on top of that stuff.”

Tucker had told
Rosie not to issue the invoice. He’d paid for the supplies and his
crew out of pocket. The profit margins on that house were tight,
and he wanted Lauren to walk away with something to show for her
hard work. “I’ll look into it.” Will was his employee, not his
business partner. He didn’t owe him an explanation.

“Mason was
great at the game on Saturday,” Will said, grinning.

“Thanks for
taking him.” Tucker had had to settle the bill for his mother’s
funeral that day. His dead-beat stepfather didn’t have the means to
pay for it. In the end, Tucker had gone to the funeral with his
kids so he wouldn’t say or do anything he might regret.

When he told
them about his mother’s passing, the kids practically begged to go.
Since he knew it would be closed casket, with framed photographs
marking various stages in her life, Tucker decided it wouldn’t be
too traumatic for them.

“It was my
pleasure. We went out for pizza afterward and had a great time.”
Will laced his hands over his stomach. “He mentioned Lauren.”

Damn it. His
kids just wouldn’t let her go. They seemed determined to see Tucker
and Lauren together. They’d even called her. He knew he would have
to discourage their behavior, but he didn’t know how. They had
every right to like her and be friends with her, but he didn’t want
them holding out hope she would one day be their stepmother. That
would never happen.

“What did he
say?”

“He said you
were miserable without her. The kid’s right, Tucker. You’re a
mess.”

“Gee,
thanks.”

“You know I
don’t bullshit you. I’ve never seen you like this, not when your
marriage was falling apart, not even when you were facing jail
time. It’s like you’ve given up on life. What the hell happened
with this chick?”

Tucker growled
at his friend’s reference. “She’s a woman, not a chick, and it’s
none of your goddamned business what happened.”

“Look, I’m just
trying to help.” Will held his hands up.

The buzzer
above the outer door chimed, indicating they had a visitor.
“Whoever that is, get rid of them. I’m not in the mood to see
anyone.”

Will stood up
and poked his head out the door. “Uh, you may change your mind when
you find out who it is, boss.”

“Not likely,”
he muttered. “Just get rid of them.”

“Hi,
Tucker.”

Her voice
obliterated the barrier keeping his feelings in check. Everything
he’d struggled with for the past few weeks rose to the surface in
an agonizing rush. He turned his chair, giving her his back. “You
need to go.”
Please, just go.

“Not until I’ve
said what I came here to say.”

Tucker turned
around in time to see Lauren look over her shoulder and treat Will
to a blinding smile.

Will had a
stupid grin on his face, and Tucker knew his best friend wasn’t
immune to his woman’s beauty.
His woman
. Damn it, she still
felt like his. “Get out, Will.”

“Sure thing.”
Will tipped his baseball cap at Lauren. “Now that this project is
over, maybe we can grab dinner sometime?”

Tucker knew his
friend was just messing with him. Will would never cross that line.
They had been through too much together. “You have ten seconds to
get out of here before I kick your ass.”

Will chuckled.
“I’m going, I’m going. Y’all have a good night.”

Lauren smiled
as Will closed the door. “He’s such a sweet guy. I’ve gotten to
know him pretty well since we started working on this project-”

“Just tell me
why you’re here.” Tucker knew he sounded brusque, but he couldn’t
help it. If he revealed how he really felt, he’d drop to his knees
and beg her for another chance.

She stepped
further into the office as she twisted her purse strap around her
fingers. “I’ve talked to your kids a few times.”

“I know. I’m
sorry they keep bothering you. I’ll talk to them about it.” He
nodded to the mini-fridge in the corner. “Would you like something
to drink?”

“No, thank
you.” She shifted from one foot to the other, looking uneasy. “I
really like your kids, Tucker. I hope you won’t ask them to stop
calling me.”

“I don’t think
it’s healthy for them to hold out hope, do you?” He would never do
anything to intentionally hurt his kids, and if it meant a little
tough love to make them realize they wouldn’t get the happily ever
after they’d hoped for, he would accept his role as the bad
guy.

She stepped up,
positioning herself directly in front of him, her backside resting
on the desk. “I don’t think it’s healthy to
give up
hope.
Without that, what do you have left?”

What the
hell was that supposed to mean?
Tucker tried to back up, but he
had nowhere to go. The wheels of his chair were already hitting the
legs of the credenza behind him. “I think you should go now.”

She edged her
bottom back on the desk and set her high-heeled boots on either
side of his thighs. “That’s not what you really want.” She slid her
tongue over her lip slowly as her eyes wandered over him. “I think
you still want me.”

He would die
wanting her, but that didn’t mean he could have her. “What’s your
point?”

She flicked a
button on the front of her shirt, and his mouth went dry.

Another button.
Oh, God, give me strength.
“Lauren, what’re you doing?”

“I’m forcing
you to admit the truth. You still want me as much as I want you.”
Her fingers flicked over one button after another until her shirt
fell open, revealing a black and red lace bra.

“Don’t do
this.” He was just trying to do what was best for her. Why couldn’t
she see that?

“I want you,”
she whispered, leaning forward. “I need you.” Her voice was lower,
huskier. “I love you, Tucker. So much. Not being with you is
killing me.”

He closed his
eyes. The sight of her beautiful face was wreaking havoc on him. He
knew why they couldn’t be together, but her pain made it ten times
more difficult to pretend walking away wasn’t the hardest thing
he’d ever had to do. “I’m the wrong guy for you, Lauren.” But he
would turn himself inside out to be the right man.

“Says who?”

“Me.” He looked
at her and instantly wished he hadn’t. Few things had the power to
break him, but the sight of the woman he loved with tears in her
eyes, tears he’d caused, topped the list.

“Do you want to
be with me?” she asked. When he didn’t respond, she climbed into
his lap. “Just answer me, please.”