Fall for Me (9 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Nick and Beth drove straight to work from her doctor’s appointment. The drive gave her some time to adjust to the shock of learning she was pregnant with twins.

Nick had been the loving partner that women dream of. When they met with her doctor, who was a very nice middle-aged woman who instantly made Beth feel comfortable, he had asked most of the questions. Since Beth was pregnant with twins, she would need to be more closely monitored as her pregnancy advanced. Nick had been intensely interested in everything the doctor had said. At one point, Beth found her head going back and forth just trying to follow the conversation between them. She had started to remind them that she was in the room, too. Dr. Winters clearly was charmed by Nick and thought Beth a lucky girl.

Ella was standing in the lobby of Danvers when she and Nick came in the front entrance. Beth gave him a quick kiss good-bye and walked over to join her friend. “Hey, Ella, are you just getting in, too?” Ella continued to stare across the room and Beth followed her gaze, curious as to what was holding her friend’s attention. Across the lobby stood Declan with a striking blond woman who looked about Beth’s own age and a very handsome man, wearing what Beth was sure was an expensive suit. Turning back to Ella she asked, “Who are those people with Declan?”

“I don’t know,” Ella whispered. “She’s really pretty and she has her arm through Declan’s. Do you think she’s his girlfriend?”

Beth heard the note of despair in Ella’s voice and wondered again what her relationship with Declan was. She had walked in on them talking frequently. Actually, Ella seemed to be the only one with whom Declan made small talk. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen either of them around here before, but this is a big place so it could be a customer.” As they continued to stand and stare, Claire walked through the door with Starbucks cups in hand. When she spotted them, she walked over with a smile on her face.

“Hey, you two. I was just bringing Jason some coffee. I’ll admit he’s getting pretty spoiled from me dropping in. Thank God Louise is back and was over to get her Chrissy fix early this morning.” Finally noticing that they were looking across the room, Claire turned to look as well. “Hey, Ava and Brant are here. I better hurry up and deliver this coffee. I think they have a meeting with Jason soon.”

Claire now had Beth and Ella’s complete attention. “Who are they?” Beth asked.

“Oh, that’s Declan’s sister, Ava, and his brother, Brant. They own a company that makes one of the components that we use here.” Then, lowering her voice, Claire continued. “Jason is interested in buying their company and bringing them on board. They’re headquartered near Charlotte, North Carolina.”

“Does Declan own part of their company?” Beth asked curiously.

“Yeah, from what I gather, it was left to them by their father when he passed away. Ava and Brant run the day-to-day operations and Declan handles the troubleshooting. It’s a very successful business and I know Jason would like to bring it into the Danvers family. Just as we did with Mericom and Gray and Nick, Ava and Brant would relocate to Myrtle Beach and work from the corporate office.”

Beth saw Declan looking at Ella inquiringly. “It looks like they’ve caught us staring; maybe we should go over and introduce ourselves.”

“You’re right,” Claire agreed. “We don’t want to take off like we are guilty of talking about them—even though we are.”

Ella reluctantly followed them as they walked across the lobby to greet Declan and his family. Claire stepped forward first and graciously offered a hand to each sibling. Beth followed her lead and then all eyes turned to Ella expectantly. Beth could see the slight flush on her friend’s cheeks as she squared her shoulders and introduced herself to Ava and Brant. When she came to a stop at Declan, he gave her a soft smile and, if it was possible, she flushed even more.

Again, Beth wondered how Declan felt about Ella. She was sure that Ella had a crush on him. Maybe he was just being nice to her, but something in his eyes made Beth pause. She suspected there was something more than polite friendliness when he looked at Ella. Beth wanted to tell her to start running and never stop because Declan was more than Ella could handle. She needed a nice, dependable guy who would worship the ground she walked on. Declan would shake the very foundation under her, and Beth seriously doubted if Ella would ever recover. Nick might be a bad boy in the ladies’ man sense, but Declan was just a bad boy, period.

They all loaded onto the elevator and Claire exited several floors later with the Stone family.
Oh God. Ella just checked out Declan’s ass as he left the elevator. I need to have a serious talk with her soon, even if I’m not the best one to give advice. After all, I did get accidentally pregnant with Nick’s babies. Maybe I should send Suzy to have a chat with her. It might scare the hell out of Ella, but she wasn’t likely to soon forget it.

Beth parted ways with Ella at the reception desk and continued on to her office. She needed a few moments to come to grips with her doctor’s appointment before she had to face Suzy. But just as she finished the thought, the door burst open and her sister strode in. She carefully bit back the groan before it escaped her lips. Suzy perched on the corner of her desk and leaned in closer to Beth.

“So when did you get in?” Suzy asked.

“A few minutes ago. I was just coming to your office,” Beth lied.

“So, um, what happened at the baby doctor? Is it in the right place and all?”

Beth smiled at Suzy’s obvious discomfort talking about the pregnancy. You would think after Claire’s pregnancy that she would be used to it, but she still looked nauseous whenever babies were mentioned. “Yeah, they are just as they should be.”

Smiling, Suzy said, “Oh, well, good, glad to hear it.” Suddenly her head jerked up and she asked, “They? Shit, please tell me you didn’t say that word.”

Beth buried her face in her hands and mumbled, “You heard me right. I’m having twins; can you believe it?”

“Holy shit, how did this happen!”

Beth couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s question. “The usual way, I guess.”

Suzy stood up from the corner of the desk and slumped backward in the chair behind her. “My God, what are you doing to do? I mean—
two
babies? Hell, just one freaks me out. I’m not going to babysit, but I will at least pay for a babysitter on a regular basis for you, how about that?”

Beth chuckled. “Thanks, sis. It hasn’t really sunk in yet so I don’t know what we will do. I just need some time to think.”

Suzy jumped up and said, “Hey, I know just what you need: a distraction!”

This can’t be good.
“What kind of distraction?”

“I need you to help me plan this wedding thingy. Apparently, Gray isn’t going to settle for living together forever. He wants to make it official. I told him it would be something simple. I am not walking down the aisle in a church in a gown bigger than I am.”

Beth clapped her hands in excitement. This was exactly what she needed to take her mind off her own problems. Of course, Suzy would probably give the term
bridezilla
new meaning, but it sounded like fun. Suddenly, another thought had Beth frowning.
Unless we can pull this wedding together in a month, I’m going to look like a whale. Poor Beth, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

While Beth was pondering that depressing thought, Suzy dropped another bombshell. “The parents are coming for dinner Friday night. I told them you would be there.”

“What! Have you lost your mind? I can’t see them now; they’ll know.”

“No, they won’t. I’m doing you a favor. We’ll get the dog-and-pony show out of the way before you start showing and if they decide to skip the wedding, we probably won’t see them again until after the babies are born. If it’s any consolation to you, Gray is sweating bullets. I tried to tell him that our parents aren’t the type to come in and try to defend their little girl’s virtue. As long as he has a good IQ, they will be thrilled.”

Beth snickered. “How will we know? Their facial expressions never change. If I didn’t know better, I would swear they got Botox. So, should I bring Nick with me?”

With an evil smile, Suzy said, “Oh, yeah, he’s not getting out of this. Gray probably needs the moral support, too. He thought we should meet them at a restaurant so we could all go our separate ways afterward, but I insisted they come to the house.”

Beth had to wonder where her sister’s head was. “Did you really think that through? Of course Nick and I can just go home after dinner, but you and Gray will be stuck with them until they decide to leave.”

With a grimace, Suzy said, “Shit, I didn’t think of that. If I get desperate, I’ll have to turn on the television and find one of the comedies. You know how much they hate meaningless shows. I blocked the science channel long ago, so we should be safe.”

Beth laughed as Suzy stood to leave. Just as she opened the door, Suzy said, “Hey, I loved the picture of you and Nick passed out on the couch after your night of babysitting. It looked brutal. You guys are in so much trouble—you know that, right?”

Beth flipped one of her sister’s favorite hand gestures back at her. Were there no secrets anymore? She didn’t think they had done too badly watching Chrissy. No one had to go to the emergency room and they had managed not to panic . . . much.
Suzy is right; we are in trouble.

* * *

Nick sat in his office chair staring out the window. He was proud of how well he had held it together through the doctor’s appointment and the drive to work. Now that the shock was wearing off, panic was setting in.
Twins? Dear Lord, what were they going to do? He could think of only one answer to the question. Mom, help! His mother always had an answer for everything and he sincerely hoped she would have some advice on fatherhood.

With that thought, he remembered the conversation he and his father had had when Gray thought he had fathered a child with Reva. His father had lectured him about safe sex and promised to revisit the conversation if he did something stupid. Now his father would have to break out that lecture again.
How about not one grandchild but two? Oh, yeah, I have been a busy boy.

He had talked nonstop on the way to the office to fill the silence. He wasn’t ready to have an intense conversation with Beth over their future, and he always talked a lot when he was nervous. But now that he was gathering his wits about him, he realized that not much had changed. Sure, there was another baby now, but he was still in it for the long haul. Seeing the heartbeats on the ultrasound had made it feel so real. Beth was carrying his babies inside her. Babies they had created together. He was both scared to death and strangely excited. He was going to be a father, something he had never imagined.

He was jerked from his thoughts when Gray walked in unannounced and raised an eyebrow at his expression. He imagined he looked like he was in shock. “Everything okay?”

Clearing his throat, Nick said, “Yeah, it’s fine. Beth had her first doctor’s appointment this morning and, would you believe, we’re having twins?”

Gray rocked back on his heels, visibly taken aback by the news. “Damn. I mean congratulations. Wow, that is some news. How are you two handling all of this?”

Nick laughed at his brother’s attempt to sound excited. “We haven’t had time to talk about it. We came straight to work. I thought I would piss my pants at first, but now I’m down to just the slight urge to pass out. I think Beth is still reeling, too.” Then, looking his brother in the eye, he added, “I’m with her, though. She won’t do this alone. Those are my babies and I’ll never leave them. She might try to force me away, but it’s not happening.”

“Do you love her?” Gray asked quietly.

“Love? Hell, I don’t even know what that is. I care about her. I can’t keep my hands off her and I want to be with her. I don’t need to label it. It is what it is and I’m happy with that.”

“What if that’s not enough for Beth? Don’t you think she deserves the whole package? Plenty of people raise children that aren’t together.”

Jumping up from his chair, Nick walked over to his brother, snapping, “What do you know about us? Your romance hasn’t been too smooth, either, so I don’t think we need any advice from you.”

Instead of being mad at his harsh statement, Gray clapped him on the back and smiled. “Good answer. I think you two will be just fine.”

Without another word, Gray walked out the door and left him baffled.

It’s official, the Merimon brothers have lost their minds.

Chapter Fifteen

Later that day, back at home, Beth shifted around uncomfortably and wondered if she was going to have to resort to “barbecuing alone” as Nick called it.
Why am I so horny?
Even though they had slept together less than twenty-four hours ago, she felt like it had been years. If she had hit one more pothole in the road on the way home, she would have probably had an orgasm from the bump.

As soon as Nick walked in the door, she wrapped herself around him. He probably didn’t even know what hit him. He had barely dropped his briefcase on the floor before she was thrusting her hands in his hair and pulling his mouth down to hers. She groaned as the heat of his mouth met hers. You had to give the guy credit; he didn’t ask her any questions. Buttons were flying, hands were grabbing and mouths were clinging. She couldn’t remember ever being this desperate to have a man inside her.
This
man.

Her hands wrestled with his belt and then the button at the waistband of his slacks. Finally, she had her hand inside his briefs and his erection swelled in her hand. She moaned low in her throat, desperate for his possession.

Nick grabbed the cheeks of her ass and squeezed them while his tongue nipped and sucked at her bottom lip and her tongue. Beth pushed him backward, aiming for the chair, but his feet got tangled in his pants and they ended up in a startled heap on the floor. Her breath left her in a whoosh and she could only imagine how Nick must be faring with the weight of her body pushing against his. As she started to shift to the side, he gripped her hips and whispered softly, “Oh no, baby, finish what you started.”

That was all the encouragement she needed. She quickly pushed his briefs down and released his cock to her hungry gaze. Instead of raising herself to lower her panties, she slid them to the side. Circling her hand around his length, she raised herself above him and then lowered onto him slowly, inch by inch. She couldn’t remember anything ever feeling better than the slide of his body into hers.

Nick groaned and raised his hips to meet hers. She threw her head back in ecstasy as he caught her newly sensitive breasts in his hands and rubbed the nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She felt a lightning bolt directly to her core as he continued to rub and tweak her nipples almost to the point of pain. With his next tug, she felt her body convulse around his as spasms of pleasure rippled through her body.

His hands moved from her breasts to her ass as he ground into her while she rode the crest of her orgasm. When the ripples subsided, Beth realized that he was still hard inside her. Looking down into his handsome, flushed face, she felt desire start to build in her again. Nick circled his hand around and palmed her mound. One of his fingers slid past her slit and flicked her tightly budded clit. Beth moaned as pleasure coursed anew through her body. She rocked her hips against him trying to rub against his hand while pulling him deeper inside her.

She heard his breathing and shouts grow hoarse as they both strained for release. His fingers were relentless, drawing out a tidal wave of pleasure like she had never known, which washed over her. A scream loud enough to jolt the neighbors ripped from her throat, followed by a shout of release as Nick exploded inside her.

Still joined together, she wilted on top of him as stars continued to dance in front of her eyes. Sweat dripped off them as they gasped for breath.

She felt Nick’s chest rumble against her own as he gently played with her hair. “I could get used to this, princess.” Then wincing, he continued, “I have something sticking me in the ass that’s killing me.”

Gently separating from him, she got shakily to her feet so he could roll over. She was horrified when she saw his cell phone lying under him. Nick started laughing when he saw the phone. Grabbing it, he looked at the display and groaned. “Oh no, baby, we butt dialed my mom while you were riding me.”

“What? Oh, my God, no!” Beth felt all the blood draining from her face. “Did she answer?”

Nick looked over his phone muttering, “Yeah, looks like the call lasted for a couple of minutes.” Giving her a hopeful expression he said, “She probably couldn’t hear anything with the phone being under my butt.”

Beth cringed as she imagined his mother hearing her yelling, “Oh, Nick, harder, oh yeahhh.” She dropped to the couch in mortification. “I can never face your mother now, you know that, right? You will have to take the kids over there by yourself. I’m sure she would rather not have to face the slut that was doing her son while he called her.”

Nick laughed, not looking the least bit concerned. “Don’t get all worked up over it. I’m sure she had no idea what was going on. Hell, I can’t hear half the time on the damn thing when it’s directly against my ear.” At that moment, his phone rang and he winced. “It’s my mother. Just stay quiet and I’ll tell her I’m somewhere else.”

Beth slumped in a nearby chair, her face flushed with embarrassment. With a smile of reassurance, Nick answered the call. “Hey, Mom, what’s up?” He was silent for a moment, apparently listening to her talk. “Oh, sorry about that. I just left the gym. I had my phone in my back pocket and I probably butt dialed you by accident.” With an evil grin, he added, “They had the music on pretty loud, that’s probably what you heard. A porn flick—I wish. What kind of gym are you going to?” he teased. He changed the subject on that note and Beth breathed a sigh of relief when he ended the call.

“Oh, God, why did you say porn flick?”

Nick chuckled. “She said my gym sounded like the soundtrack of a porn flick.” Wiggling his eyebrows he laughed. “That’s pretty accurate, huh?” She tossed a pillow at him that landed against the side of his head. Still grinning he said, “Speaking of porn, thanks for the mighty fine welcome home, princess.”

She was surprised that she could still blush around him, but she felt her cheeks heat even more. “Blame it on the babies. My hormones are going crazy and you are the lucky beneficiary.”

Suddenly looking alarmed he asked, “Should we be doing that? I’m not going to hit them, am I?”

Beth threw back her head and laughed. “Kind of flattering yourself there, aren’t you?”

“Ha-ha, you know what I mean. This is safe, right?”

“The doctor said it was fine, remember? Of course, if you want to wait for nine months, I’ll understand,” she teased.

“If my welcome home was any indication, I don’t think you could make it, princess.” Rising from the floor, he held a hand out to her, giving her that signature grin she couldn’t resist. “Let’s go shower off and have dinner. If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you wash my front.”

She could have played hard to get, but why bother? They both knew that she would love to do his front, and she knew he would return the favor. It was a win-win for everyone.

* * *

Around four in the morning, she woke up feeling sick once again. Couldn’t she have the normal morning sickness that happened after she actually got up? She lay in bed trying to fight off the waves of nausea consuming her. Finally, when she could delay no longer, she jumped from the bed and bolted to her second home: the toilet. She felt Nick’s hand on her back soon after and sagged against him weakly. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes; he just pulled back her hair and rubbed her back in between bouts.

When she had nothing left inside her, he picked her up as he usually did and sat her on the bathroom counter. She was surprised when he opened a new toothbrush for her. Seeing her questioning look, he said, “I bought you a dozen of these. I know you don’t want to use the same toothbrush after being sick.”

Beth was surprised at how his small act of kindness moved her. His thinking of something so small touched her more than she could say. She gave him a smile of gratitude and quickly brushed her teeth. He wiped her face with a wet cloth and then carried her back to bed. They had developed a routine in the last week. He supported her while she was sick, cleaned her up, and tucked her back into bed. He then curved his body around hers, gently stroking her until she drifted to sleep. He made the sickness bearable and, during those times, she felt cherished.

When she awoke a few hours later, Nick was already up and drinking a cup of coffee. She quickly showered and walked to her closet to pull out a pair of slacks. When she attempted to button them, something happened that almost stopped her heart: they wouldn’t zip. She felt the blood drain from her face as she noticed how tight the pants were. For someone terrified of gaining extra weight back, this was a nightmare come true. Nick walked in the bedroom as she was staring at herself in the mirror. He noticed her look of panic and came to a sudden halt. Alarmed, he took her arm and asked, “Princess, what’s wrong? Are you sick again?”

As tears started to roll down her cheeks, she shook her head no. Still looking worried, he asked, “Why are you crying then? Um, is this a hormone thing?” With another shake of her head, she pointed to the opening of her pants.

“I don’t have a clue what you are trying to tell me. Do you need me to zip your pants?”

“They won’t zip,” she wailed. “I can’t even pull them all the way together.”

A man to the core, Nick said, “Well, just pick another pair. You probably haven’t worn those in a while.”

The tears flowed harder and Beth gasped out, “I wore them a few weeks ago! I’m barely pregnant and can’t wear my clothes anymore. I might as well invest in some big dresses because regular pants aren’t going to cover this ass for long.”

Stepping up behind her, Nick playfully cupped the cheeks of her butt in his hands before saying, “You have one fine ass, princess, and a few extra pounds isn’t going to change that.” When she whirled around and threw her hands on her hips, she could tell he knew he had said the wrong thing.

“So now I’m carrying some extra pounds? Well, thanks so much for pointing that out. I thought maybe my body was just changing from the pregnancy, but now, thanks to you, I know that I’m just overweight!”

Nick threw his hands in the air as if trying to ward her off. “Princess . . . I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to say that you are beautiful no matter what size you are.”

“Get out, you big jerk!” Taking off the pants that wouldn’t zip, she hit him dead center in the back as he practically ran from the room.

When he reached the door, he risked a quick glance over his shoulder. “Are you riding to the office with me?”

My God, could he be more clueless?
Did he honestly think she would get in the car with him this morning after all of his stupid comments? Deep down inside, she knew he had just been trying to make her feel better, but he had seriously botched it. Still, she needed some space. If she rode to work with him, she would probably force him to take her to McDonald’s and watch her while she ate her way through the breakfast menu. Luckily, she was saved from replying as he took her silence as no and mumbled that he would see her later.

Returning to her closet in disgust, she pulled on a soft jersey dress, which was both comfortable and flattering. She didn’t have the heart to try another pair of slacks. She took a few deep breaths, trying to fight the panic that had been with her since she tried to zip the pants earlier. No one who had never been seriously overweight could understand her paranoia over weight gain. She had worked so hard to get where she was today and being powerless to stop the pounds from piling on was enough to make her feel faint. Maybe she just needed to double her effort to watch what she ate. She wouldn’t let pregnancy be a reason to let herself go. She couldn’t go back to where she was before—she wouldn’t.