Ripe: A Stepbrother Pregnancy Romance (22 page)

When Jesse realized that Elise was sitting motionless in her car, he walked over to see what the holdup was and noticed her inspecting the front of the house with a look of disbelief. When she didn’t notice him watching her, he walked over to her door and opened it.

“Something wrong?” Jesse questioned, sounding fearful that she might be having second thoughts.

“Oh, no,” Elise said, glancing up at him. “It’s just…your house…it’s really nice. You sort of…downplayed it.”

If that wasn’t an understatement, Elise wasn’t sure what was. She had come expecting a house, but what she got instead was far more comparable to a mansion. She couldn’t imagine how much money Jesse had dropped on the place, but she could only assume based on its close proximity to the water that it was somewhere in the high seven figures.

Jesse studied Elise’s face for a long while, attempting to decipher her thoughts based on her expression. He couldn’t tell if she was registering how nice the home was as a good thing or a bad thing, and the last thing he wanted her to feel like was some sort of charity case.

“Can I see my room?” Isaiah questioned from the backseat, breaking his father’s train of thought. It wasn’t clear if he was talking to him or Elise. “Pleaaase?”

Jesse glanced over at Elise once more, figuring he’d give her the tour the same time as Isaiah, but she didn’t bite.

“You two go ahead.” Elise waved a hand in the air. “I’m going to start unpacking the car and then I’ll be right in.”

Elise stayed put as Jesse proceeded to help Isaiah out of the car, leading him up the grass towards the large home. When they were finally inside, she exhaled a deep breath and looked down at her hands. They wouldn’t stop shaking. She tried to calm down by telling herself that she’d made the best decision for Isaiah by coming here, even if her rusted out Toyota did look wildly out of place in a neighborhood of mansions, but it was a lot easier said than done.

After regaining some of her composure, Elise forced herself out of the car and pulled out a couple of boxes. Not so surprisingly, the inside of the house was just as nice as the outside. As soon as Jesse heard her enter the foyer, he came downstairs to show her to where her room would be.

Elise was relieved when she noted that her and Isaiah’s bedrooms were on the other end of the hall from Jesse’s.

“Elise,” Jesse spoke up, sensing that something was on her mind. “Is everything alright? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“No, of course not,” Elise stated. On the contrary, as she took in her lavish surroundings, she was actually starting to become a whole lot more comfortable with the decision that she’d made.

“Mommy!” Isaiah called out, bounding down the hall towards his parents. He pulled at Elise’s shirt with a breathless sense of urgency. “Come see my room! There’s a wall with Superman on it!”

Elise wasn’t following, but as soon as she walked into Isaiah’s bedroom, she understood what he was referring to. The wall to the left of her did indeed have one of those peel away decals on it.

“Wow,” Elise spoke up, turning to Jesse. The look on her face gave way to the fact that she was impressed. “You did this?”

Jesse nodded, smiling widely. “I didn’t forget how much Isaiah loves him. I guess I thought it might help him adjust to living here.”

“Well, I think he’s going to be just fine,” Elise said with a smile, watching as Isaiah began to drag a box of his action figures into the room.

“Want to help me unload his furniture?”

Elise nodded and followed Jesse out to the truck to help him with Isaiah’s bed and dresser. The child-sized furniture looked all the more small in the large truck, which was barren from its lack of items.

After setting up Isaiah’s room, Elise finished unloading her car, keeping all her valuables boxed away in her bedroom closet. Nervous energy propelled her as she worked at unpacking all of the boxes in Isaiah’s room, and a growling stomach was the only thing that eventually slowed her down. When Isaiah began to complain about being hungry as well, she knew it was about time to call it quits.

“Hang on honey. I have to unpack some of our food,” Elise said as she entered the kitchen. Stainless steel appliances greeted her in every corner, and it had to be about the size of her entire apartment. It was almost ridiculous. Why would anyone ever need a kitchen this big?

Elise yawned as she went to work. She was exhausted, and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to the staggering task of going through all the boxes to find the few non-perishable food items she’d packed, but she didn’t want Jesse to feel the need to buy takeout.

As though on cue, he sauntered into the kitchen.

“Should I order a pizza?” Jesse questioned, eyeing Elise as she unpacked the last box of canned goods.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Elise reassured him. “Isaiah is getting cranky. I just want to get something in his belly so I can get him off to bed. Are there pots in the kitchen, or do I need to unpack mine?”

“Of course,” Jesse said, reaching around Elise to pull one out of the cabinet she was standing in front of. When he did, his fingers brushed fleeting against her back, causing her to tense. The brief contact felt nice, she couldn’t deny that, but she still wouldn’t allow herself to revel in the moment.

Jesse pulled away from Elise a few seconds later and made his way upstairs to check in on Isaiah. He’d been playing quietly for so long that it was becoming a little too good to be true. When he passed Elise’s bedroom, the stacked boxes in her closet caught his eye and he lingered in her doorway. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had any intention on ever unpacking them.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Isaiah wheeled around the kitchen on his scooter, pulling at his mother’s clothing as she prepared a can of chicken noodle soup for him. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do until she ran to the store.

“Isaiah, you really shouldn’t be doing that,” Elise scolded, eyeing the band-aids that accentuated his knees. “Remember what happened last time?”

“I was just going to ask about that,” Jesse said as he walked into the kitchen, catching the tail end of what Elise was saying.

“Oh, well, it wasn’t anything too serious.” Elise waved a hand in the air as if to downplay the whole scenario. The last thing she needed was an accusation of unfit parenting from Jesse. “He had a tumble outside Deanna’s house the other day.”

“Ouch,” Jesse exclaimed. He held his arms out to Isaiah, who promptly abandoned his scooter to jump into them. “Are you okay buddy?”

Isaiah melted into his father’s embrace, allowing Jesse to kiss each one of his kneecaps.

Elise stared at the display before her in disbelief. She’d never seen Isaiah behave so passively, at least not with her. When Jesse looked up and caught her staring at him, he smiled at her, but she was quick to look away.

“Can I go outside?” Isaiah questioned. He grabbed for his scooter and looked at Jesse instead of his mother. It was already clear that he had a sense of who was more lenient.

“Sure buddy.”

“Not until after you eat,” Elise spoke up, directly contradicting Jesse’s words.

Isaiah looked confused as he glanced back and fourth between them both, appearing unsure of what direction he was supposed to take.

“Your moms right buddy,” Jesse agreed. “You should get something in your belly first. It’s been a long day.”

“But I wanna go outside!” Isaiah whined, slamming his foot against the marble flooring. “He’s gonna be gone by then!”

Elise and Jesse followed Isaiah’s gaze to see just who ‘he’ was. Sure enough, a little boy about Isaiah’s age was pedaling down the sidewalk on a scooter of his own. As he rode by, he turned and looked towards their house, signaling that he was well aware of the fact that a new playmate awaited him inside.

“I guess there wouldn’t be any harm in letting him go out just to say hi,” Jesse spoke up, turning to Elise. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Elise sighed and reluctantly gave in. “No,” she agreed, glancing at her son. “That’s fine, but no whining when I call you back in for dinner, alright?”

Isaiah eagerly agreed, running out ahead of Jesse as Elise relegated herself to watching from the window. She saw the neighbors from earlier come across the street to talk to Jesse, but she remained still, taking the opportunity to watch the ordeal unfold from afar.

Jesse looked so at peace as he introduced himself and Isaiah to the family. He gestured towards the house, and Elise couldn’t help but wonder what he was saying.

After growing tired of watching, Elise took the opportunity to explore her surroundings without Jesse lingering over her shoulder for a reaction. She went upstairs and opened each door, halfway hoping to find something that might tell her she’d made the wrong decision by moving in.

The joyful boom of Isaiah’s voice alerted Elise to the fact that he was back inside, and she rushed to exit Jesse’s bedroom before he caught her snooping. She made it out into the hallway just as he rounded the corner.

“Oh, there you are,” Jesse noted, appearing somewhat surprised to find her upstairs. “There are some neighbors who want to meet you…”

A sense of dread overcame Elise as she looked down at the tattered clothing she was wearing. It didn’t seem to make sense to wear her Sunday best on moving day, but now she wished she had.

“Don’t worry,” Jesse clarified. “I don’t mean
now
, but soon. The wife, Erica, said she’d come by sometime this week to welcome you to the neighborhood. She’s an interior designer. She offered to give us a quote on sprucing the place up.”

Elise nodded, feeling instantly overcome by relief. She didn’t tell him, however, that she didn’t think the place was in any need of sprucing up. “I was just taking a tour,” she explained, waving her hand down the hall.

“Oh, well why don’t you let me do the honors?” Jesse offered, taking the lead before she could decline.

Elise followed him through the house, and she almost wept with joy when they entered a laundry room where a stacked washer and dryer were located. That meant no more stressful trips to the Laundromat with Isaiah at her feet begging to go somewhere more fun.

Just as Elise was taking it all in, an alarm went off on Jesse’s phone. He pulled it from his pocket and turned it off, looking over at her apologetically. “I meant to tell you that I couldn’t get the entire day off. I have to go in later tonight to train a few people on the graveyard shift, so I’d better get to bed.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure Isaiah stays quiet,” Elise promised.

“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Jesse said as he started to make his way upstairs. “It’s a big house, after all.”

Elise was exhausted by the time the evening came to a close, and Isaiah gave her no problem when it came to settling down to sleep in his new room. She’d just settled into bed herself when there was a soft knock on her door.

“I’m about to take off,” Jesse said. “I just texted you the code for the security system. Do you need a quick run through on how it works?”

“I think I can figure it out,” Elise told him. “What time are you off? Just so I can know when to expect the alarm to sound.”

“Oh, no worries.” Jesse swallowed hard when he caught a glimpse of the skimpy nightgown Elise was wearing through the darkness. His breath hitched in his throat, but he was quick to regain his composure. “I’ll just disable it before I come inside…”

“Oh, okay.” Elise fidgeted with her hands as Jesse’s warm gaze swallowed her whole. He knew she couldn’t handle it when he looked at her that way.

“Well, goodnight then,” Jesse finally spoke up, pushing away from the doorframe.

As the days came and went, it began to slowly dawn on Elise just how much easier her life had become since the move. It seemed like with every passing day, she had more time where she could simply breathe, and it was all thanks to Jesse. It had been years since she’d been able to wake up to something other than an alarm or Isaiah’s whining, and she couldn’t help but bask in every delicious moment of it.