All In: Betting on a Full House (Gambling With Love) (13 page)

"Hey, if you'd quit taking all mine, I could afford to eat them," Tyler responded with a smile.

Jonathan looked so happy, and like he had been born into their family instead of just meeting them today. God, I wished he could’ve had this growing up.

I felt the wetness on my face and wiped it away but I couldn't hold back my sniffle, which was so loud my hiding place was given up.

"Hey baby, you're awake," Tyler said, jumping up to head for me. He stopped short when he got a closer look at my face. "What's wrong? Is it the babies?" he asked, suddenly worried. I smiled and shook my head at how sweet and caring he already was when it came to our unborn children.

"I'm fine. Just allergies," I told him. He gave me a look that said he didn't believe me, but let it go. He wrapped me in his arms then pulled back to give me a quick kiss.

"Come on. We're playing poker, you want in?" he asked, leading me by the hand over to his seat.

"Oh no. I can just watch," I assured him. I thought he'd grab another chair for me but he sat down and pulled me onto his lap. I blushed, worried about what his parent's would think, but his arm was snug around me, keeping me in place.

"Reese cup?" he asked with a smile, holding one up to me from his small pile. I nodded and took it from him, unwrapping it as I watched the game go on.

Jonathan's pile of cups was the largest, and I wondered when he'd learned to play so well.

It was Tyler's turn to check, raise, or fold, and he showed me his cards. He had a pair of jacks.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Raise?" I asked.

"Alright, I'll see your two and raise you three," he told the group.

His mom folded, his dad, Nathan and Jon checked. Then it was time to show their hands.

"Shoot, he actually won a hand," Jonathan joked.

"Damn right. I've got my lucky charm on my lap now. Pay up suckers," Tyler told them, pulling in his winnings and handing me another cup from his winnings. 

Tyler was way too optimistic with his next few hands and lost some of his cups. Nathan and Tyler's dad went out, so it was just Jonathan, Tyler and his mom left in the game, with only ten minutes to go before the time we'd planned to leave for the football game.

I had been content and happy on Tyler's lap, watching them play and joke with each other. His hand teased and lightly caressed my sides, my legs, but mostly my stomach when no one was looking. Between those touches and his soft quick kisses on my neck and cheek, heat was spreading through me, filling me with need. I was almost ready to beg Tyler to stay home with me and bag the football game, but his parents seemed too excited.

"Alright, what do you say we go all in, winner takes all on his round so we can finish up?" Tyler asked. I knew why he was so eager to go all in, he had a pair of queens and three fours - a full house.

"I'm in," Jonathan agreed.

"Fine, me too," his mom exhaled, which made me thing she probably had a shitty hand.

Once everyone had added to the pot Tyler laughed and threw his cards down. "Read 'em and weep!"

"Crap," Jonathan muttered, and Tyler's mom only shook her head and smiled.

"All the cups are mine, losers!"

"Be nice, Ty," his mom chided him and everyone got up from the table except us.

"Honey, I think we're going to head on and do a little tailgating. Jonathan and Nathan, you're both welcome to come along with us if you're ready to go get some food. There's always cornhole and other games to play too." 

"Heck yeah. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Evans," Jon told Tyler's mom.

"We'll head on out with you," Tyler told her and I raised an eyebrow at him to say
why can't we stay and head back to bed for another round
.

Reading my mind, he whispered, "Baby, if I take you back to bed again, we won't come out until morning," against my ear.

"Oh good! Jess how about you ride with me and we can talk babies while the men take the other car and talk football?"

"Sure," I agreed since his mom looked so hopeful and excited.

"Great, so Tyler why don't you drive your SUV and we can take the convertible. It's so nice out we can even put the top down."

"This really okay?" Tyler asked softly and I nodded. "Okay, then we'll see you there," he said then kissed me. Not a quick kiss on the lips goodbye like I was expecting, but an open mouth, tongue seeking, scorching hot kiss.

"Ugh. At least we're not riding with them together," Jonathan said, bringing me back to where we were.

I pulled away and smiled up at Tyler, nearly melting from his sexy grin.

"It's only a fifteen minute drive, Ty. You're not being deployed, going to risk your life fighting in a foreign country," his dad laughed, and then ushered the three guys out the door.

"Alright honey, I'm ready if you are," his mom said, and I followed her to their garage. Not just any garage, but a three car warehouse that connected to their home. There was a black BMW convertible, a nice new blue SUV of some sort, and a big shiny truck. 

I climbed in the passenger seat and buckled up while his mom put down the top and opened the garage. She put on a pair of sunglasses, offered me a pair and then we pulled away from the house.

The drive was so perfect. The temperature was great, and the scenery was beautiful since all the trees were just starting to change to the fall colors. The speed limit through town was no more than thirty-five miles per hour, so the wind didn't overwhelm us.

"I've never seen Tyler so happy," his mom said when we came to a stop at a red light. "He thought he was happy with Lauren, but I knew within minutes of seeing her and Caleb together that Tyler was going to end up getting hurt."

I nodded but wasn't sure what to say.

"You've helped him move on and let go of what was never there to begin with. And now he's going to be a father."

"I've told him I don't expect anything from him. I mean, the babies were my decision."

"Oh honey, you and the babies are more than just a responsibility to him. If that's all you were he'd be miserable, and I know Tyler. He is anything but miserable."

"He might be miserable once he has two babies screaming and crying all the time."

"Having two babies is a miracle. Tyler has always said he wanted several kids after growing up an only child. But that wasn't our choice. We wanted more children. Unfortunately, when Tyler was only a few months old I had to have a hysterectomy. And just like that, the choice was taken from us."

I remember Tyler once saying he wanted at least two children, but of course he couldn't understand what it would mean to have them at the same time.

"Tyler would step up just because it was required of him, but I know that with you, he's doing it because he wants to. And I can't wait to be a grandma."

"Mr. Evans doesn't seemed quite as … thrilled," I responded.

"Oh, Rob is old school, and he's just worried that Tyler isn't married, and is so young, but he's not our little boy anymore. Watching your kids grow up and not need you anymore is tough. I'm sure your parents feel the same way."

Oh no, anything but that topic.

"How do they feel about being grandparents?" she asked with a smile.

"Actually I'm not in contact with my parents anymore."

"I'm so sorry honey. That's a shame." Oh, no it wasn't.

"I moved out with Jonathan when I was seventeen, and we've been on our own ever since."

"Goodness, that's terrible! You poor things. You must have sacrificed quite a lot to take care of your brother and yourself so young."

"Not really…it was tough at first, but it hasn't been so bad."

"Well, it's been so nice meeting you and Jonathan, and I hope you'll both come back again with Tyler, and bring our grandkids of course."

"Thank you for having us. I think Jonathan enjoys being here, and your house is beautiful and so … comfortable."

"You and Tyler are welcome here anytime, and the beach house is available whenever you'd like a weeklong or just weekend getaway."

"Thank you. I'd love to see it sometime."

"Did you know you're the first girl Tyler's ever brought home to meet us?"

"Really?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah, and I know he's dated
a lot
of girls, but none serious…well other than Lauren, and he never brought her home. Although I guess 'dated' is a generous term for his social life."

Can't get more serious than babies' mama
, I thought, instantly deflating when I realized that was the only reason I'd met his parents.

Tyler
   

We were almost to the stadium and I couldn’t stop worrying about Jess. I hoped my mom wasn't going crazy talking about weddings or anything else to freak her out. Oh shit! I should have warned my mom not to ask about her parents.

"So, are you really ready to be a father?" my dad asked after we pulled open the trunk hatch and climbed in to sit on the edge. Jon and Nathan had gone their own way to explore, in other words, to try and meet some girls.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't really have a choice."

"But you want to?"

"Yeah, I do. I didn't plan on it so soon, but hell, I want them."

"Them. You don't do anything half-assed do you?" he laughed, handing me a beer from the cooler.

"Nope, never."

"She's nice, and her brother is too."

"Yeah, Jon's cool, and Jess is …" I lost my train of thought and my breath when I saw her and my mom walking toward us.

"Everything?" he laughed.

"Everything, what?" I asked, but then she was in front of me and I needed to touch her. Taste her.

"Hey," I said before covering her lips with mine. What I intended to be a quick kiss escalated into more, just like it did every time with her. 

She pulled away first. "Hey," she said with a smile.

"Come sit up here with me," I told her, sitting down and sliding back far enough to leave room for her between my legs. She climbed up and I wrapped my arms around her waist. Once she was settled I looked up and noticed my parents were staring at us.

"What?" I asked.

"You two are just so adorable together. Our grandkids are going to be beautiful," my mom said, tearing up again.

"Carol, what is this I hear about grandkids?" a lady my mom's age approached from the crowd and asked. The two women hugged and emitted high pitched squeals, like they were teenagers.

"Judy, this is my son, Tyler, who I talk about all the time, and his girlfriend, Jess."

"Hi, nice to meet you Judy," I said, holding my hand out for her to shake.

"Oh yes, the police officer I've heard all about. And you actually are as handsome as your mom claimed, with an absolutely gorgeous girlfriend. Nice to meet you Jess."

"Judy, guess what! Tyler and Jess are expecting!"

"Oh wow! Congratulations. When are you due?"

"May twenty-fifth," Jess answered.

"Aw. Do you know what you're having yet?"

"Twins, but we don’t know the genders yet," I told her.

"Twins! Holy cow. You are going to have your hands full. My sister has twin boys and they are something, I'm telling you."

"Now don’t scare the poor kids," my mom teased.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be able to handle things just fine."

Luckily my dad went with the women to say hello to some of their other friends, and I was thankful for the reprieve.

"So I guess Jon and Nathan wandered off?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're on the hunt for girls," I told her, and she groaned.

"Oh God. I need to have 'the talk' with him again."

I laughed. "Baby, you are now a walking example of the talk. I think he knows where babies come from."

"Someone should have given us the talk a few weeks ago," she said sadly.

"Hey, please don’t tell me you still regret this."

"Of course I regret it. I grew up in hell, and have been raising my brother since I was seventeen, doing anything and everything to get by. Now that he's a few years away from graduating, I'm going to have two babies to take care of."

"Fuck, Jess. I know this isn't what you had planned for your life, but that doesn't mean it can't be a good thing."

"I've never had a chance to just be on my own, without having the responsibility of taking care of someone else, and now I never will."

"Wow. You really aren't happy about having them, are you?" I knew she'd wanted to get an abortion because of her parents and the financial stress, but I thought she'd come to terms with everything and changed her mind.

She climbed down from the back of the SUV and stood in front of me, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm going to have them, but no, I don't-"

"Don't even fucking say it," I warned her before she finished that sentence. "Did I plan on being a father at twenty-one? No, but I
want
them. They're
ours
for Christ's sake!"

"Tyler, not every family is perfect like yours. They won't ever be anything but accidents from an unplanned pregnancy. Do you want to know what it's like to be born into
that
family? Because I have seventeen years of fucked up stories from
that
family. Where your dad isn't happy to see you or proud of you, and doesn't love you. Where your mom is a crazy, worthless bitch that knows all the fucked up things your dad does to you and your little brother, but doesn't do anything to stop him because she loves him more than you. Where you watch your dad beat the shit out of your little brother for not making his bed or for getting his shoes dirty. Where your dad forces you to do disgusting things so he can make money off the pictures, and he makes even more money when he lets perverts touch you-" she stopped there with a sob, and I jumped up and wrapped my arms around her.

A million things were running through my mind. Bile rose in my throat and I felt like I was going to be sick. I'd never heard anything as disturbing as Jess's unexpected outburst. I wanted to find and kill her parents. I wanted to erase all of her and Jon's memories, and take away all of their pain. And I wanted to show her that we were so much more than that, because I cared about her. I was falling in love with her. Then there was the nagging doubt. Doubt that Jess would ever return my love, or love our babies because they'd always be a regret to her. Unwanted. It wouldn't be fair for them, and now I understood why she'd considered ending the pregnancy. She didn't want them to suffer the same way her and Jonathan had.

"Jess, God, I'm so sorry that's how you and Jonathan were treated. But I swear that I will never hurt you or our kids in any way because I already love them. I want them and I want you."

I wanted to tell her I loved her but didn't want the first time I said those words to be tainted with her past. She wouldn't believe them right now anyway.  

"But if you don’t … if you can't do this Jess, then let me have them. You can walk away and never look back, because I don’t want you to be unhappy and miserable. You don't deserve that, and you're right, our babies don't deserve that either."

If anything her sobs only grew worse. I climbed up in the back of the SUV with her so I could comfort her and give us a little more privacy from the tailgaters.

My parents walked up a few minutes later and started to ask but I shook my head. My mom hesitated, until my dad pulled her along toward the stadium.

After a while Jess fell asleep in my arms. I didn't know what to do. I was so completely and utterly fucking lost.

When Jonathan walked up with Nathan I tried to get them to go back to the game but Jonathan refused.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked, climbing up to sit beside us.

I looked down at her and tried to figure out what to tell him or not tell him.

"She freaking out about the babies?" he asked and I nodded.

"She think she's going to end up repeating our fucked up family?"

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"We were accidents. They were accidents," he explained with a shrug. "But she doesn't get that you aren't anything like our father, and she's not our mother. It won't be the same."

"Yeah."

"She'd never admit it, but she’s always wanted the fairytale happily ever after, but doesn’t think she deserves it. You know, meet prince charming, fall in love, get married, buy a house, have kids that were planned and wanted, grow old together. The end."

"I fucked it all up."

"It's not the order that matters," he said.

"It's not enough for me to love her. She's always going to think I'm only with her for them, no matter what I say. She'll never marry me because she'll never believe how I actually feel about her. I don't want her to hate us."

"It's going to take more than words to convince her, and she doesn't hate you."

"Not yet. In a few years she'll resent the hell out of me, if she even stays with me that long."

…

Jess

Nausea rolled through my stomach and my eyes flew open. I needed a toilet or trash can stat. Shit. I was in Tyler's room at his parents' house, and up and running toward the bathroom. I barely made it before the vomit erupted from me. Tears streamed down my face, my nose was running, and the heaves kept coming so fast I could hardly catch my breath.

I tried to remember how we got back to Tyler's bed, but was drawing a complete blank. I didn't remember the football game either. I remembered riding with Tyler's mom to the stadium, sitting with Tyler in the back of his SUV, then arguing with him. Oh God, and word vomiting, spilling the disturbing shit I'd never told anyone. Tyler's probably so disgusted he'll never want to touch me again. If only he knew I'd whored myself out when I first started stripping, he'd never look at me again. I remember Lauren telling me how slutty he thought her stripping was. I couldn't imagine how he'd feel about prostitution. Especially since he was a police officer, and it was definitely illegal. Shit, more retching.

I felt his hands in my hair and wanted to pull away. I didn't want his pity, or sympathy, or anything else. No, that was a lie. I wanted him to love me, and not just want to be with me because I was pregnant or because he was trying to get over Lauren.

He handed me a wet cloth and I stood up and wiped my mouth and face.

"Jess, I'm worried about you. You cried for hours, passed out for hours, and haven't had anything to eat or drink in at least twelve hours." He wasn't really worried about me. He'd said that he already loved the babies, but not me. They were his, and I … I wasn't.                 

"I'm sure the babies are fine," I assured him.

"I'm not worried about them, I'm worried about you, damn it!"

"I'm fine."

"You're not fucking fine. You're the furthest thing there is from fine. And I wish I knew what to do for you, but I don't have the slightest idea. "

"I just want to go back to bed."

He blew out a breath and rubbed his hands over his face. "Please eat something. Anything. Won't that help with the sickness?" He was right of course, but I didn't want to admit it.

"Fine."

"What do you think you can you eat?"

"Maybe some crackers and Sprite?"

"Come on, I'm sure they've got both of those things in the pantry."

"Of course they do. Your parents are like sitcom perfect."

"Yeah, they are. And they like you a lot."

"Right. They probably think I'm a slut for screwing you five minutes after we got here, and a bitch for bailing on the football game."

"They don't care about any of that."

"You didn't tell them … about earlier did you?" I thought in a panic.

"God no. You're pregnant, everything can be blamed on that. You could murder someone, blame it on the pregnancy hormones, and everyone would just touch your stomach and ask if they could get you ice cream with a side of pickles."

"Why do you have to be like this, damn it?" I asked him.

"Like what?"

"Funny and understanding and sweet and sexy as fuck."

"Oh, well I can try to be more serious, an asshole and ah, uglier if that's what you want."

"Yes, that's what I want," I told him and he laughed.

"Alright, get your ass in the kitchen, woman, and make me a sandwich," he said with a smile, and I couldn't help but laugh. "That wasn't supposed to be funny. I was being serious," he complained.  

"How are you going to accomplish the uglier part?" I asked.

"I dunno. Get some big glasses, get fat, lose my hair, and wear plaid?"

"Nope. It's going to take more than that."

"Now you're just procrastinating," he said before picking me up and cradling me against his chest. "I'll just have to carry you to the kitchen."

"You won't be able to carry me soon. I'll be too fat."

"Hush. What do you weigh now? A hundred pounds? You could gain a hundred more and I'll still be able to carry you."

My arms went around his neck but since he wasn't wearing a shirt I got distracted by his incredible biceps, and ran my hands over them, then down his sculpted chest.

"Hold on," I told him and he shook his head as he strode across the room.

"Nope."

"Please. I need to brush my teeth and get rid of the acid."