Amorous (The Lincoln Series Book 1) (16 page)

He rinsed the pan and dropped it into the strainer. He leaned his hands on the edge of the sink and closed his eyes. Jake hadn’t given up trying to pull them apart and he could afford to give her anything she wanted. But he never treated her like the beautiful woman she was. Warren did.

He knew what she needed, a strong man to take care of her, and he also knew he was that man. But Jake’s money made him look strong when he really wasn’t. He’d seen many women fall for Jake’s money and end up losing in the end. Hopefully she would never fall prey to Jake’s manipulations.

Marie walked into the kitchen and put her arms around his waist. She looked up at him when he spun around in her arms.

He dried his hands and tossed the towel onto the counter behind him. He held her tight to his body and let the feel of her in his arms renew his strength. After a few long moments he spoke.

“I thought you were going to look for a movie while I finished the dishes.”

“There’s nothing good on.” She rose to her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “Besides, I got lonely in there all by myself.”

He ran his hands up the back of her neck and whispered into her mouth, “Then I can finish cleaning up later.”

He kissed her hard and felt his arousal building as it pressed against her belly. He started backing her to the den and she broke the kiss.

“Not so fast, doctor. We need to finish the dishes first.” She patted his ass and walked back to the sink. “Come on. I’ll help.”

He dropped his head back and sighed.

“Christ, you’re AJ with a nice ass and a great set of tits.”

“Hey!” She swatted him with a towel. “I’m not that bad.”

“You are. It’s always business first with you. Can’t you let go, just once, and have fun first?”

“If you get the work done first then you can play the rest of the day.”

He grumbled and plunged his hands back into the soapy water. “That’s a great theory but there’s always work to do. I prefer to play while I still have enough energy to enjoy it.”

“One more dish and two glasses are hardly going to drain you of your energy, Dr. Jackson. I know what kind of stamina you have.”

He rinsed the dish and placed it in the strainer. “Then maybe I’m just tired of always giving in to you.”

She stopped drying the dish and looked at him. He watched her eyes focus on the muscle in his jaw he could feel twitching.

“What are you angry about?”

“I’m not angry,” he whispered.

“Warren, it’s just a few dishes. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

He rinsed the last glass and drained the sink. “Today it’s the dishes, yesterday it was the laundry, tomorrow you’ll probably be rearranging the furniture so you can spring clean my house.” He combed his fingers through his hair. “It’s always something with you. Every time I touch you lately you back away from me because there’s always something else to do first. And now I can’t even get within twenty feet of you at work without setting off an alarm.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The investigation surrounding you.”

“They’re investigating AJ, not me. And I thought it was over.”

“No, it’s not over.”

“But they only asked me about Dr. Carrington, not you.”

“Come on, Marie. Jameson’s not an idiot. How long do you think it’ll take before he finds out the rumors are about us? Then he’ll fire you just to get to AJ.”

“We’ve been careful lately and AJ said he would protect me.”

“How gracious of him. What’s he going to do, throw himself on the knife for you? Then what happens when he gets fired, Marie? How long do you think you can hold that precious job of yours without a boss?”

“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit?”

“No, I’m not. They interviewed me too, Marie. They asked a lot of questions I didn’t want to answer.”

“What do you mean? What questions?”

“It doesn’t matter. I protected you. The point is I have to stay away from you at work and now that we’re home you’d rather do chores than let me touch you.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is true.”

She stepped to him and put her arms around his chest. “I look forward to this. Just spending time with you is enough for me.”

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I need more from you than a list of chores to be done?”

She stepped back and leaned against the counter. “Well then, let’s just screw now so you can take me home and get on with the rest of your fun evening. I’d hate to bore you with doing the dishes or laundry.”

“Would that be home to your apartment or some big fancy house on St. August Lane?”

“That’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair, Marie, get used to it.”

“All I said was it was a beautiful house. It’s not like I can afford anything in that neighborhood anyway.”

“Neither can I.” He looked at her a moment then dropped his gaze to the floor. He hadn’t intended to point that out.

Silence stretched between them and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

“Warren, what are we really fighting about?”

“Nothing, baby, I’m sorry. I’ve just been under a lot of pressure lately.” He pulled her into a tight embrace. “Stay with me tonight. I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to go either.”

He kissed her softly and smiled. “My chores are done.”

She opened her mouth to speak and he swallowed her words with a kiss. She didn’t know if she should still be mad or not but her heart hungered for his touch. Besides, they were only arguing because he was stressed. He’d been under a lot of pressure at work and now that she found out he had been dragged into this mess with the rumors about her and AJ, it was no wonder he was edgy.

She dug her fingers into his hair and moaned when he picked her up. He headed for the stairs and her mind went blank. All that mattered was Warren. She knew exactly what he needed to relax. And she couldn’t wait for him to take it.

Marie sat at her desk staring at the monitor. She had no idea what she was looking at as the conversation with her doctor that morning kept replaying in her mind.

‘The test is positive. You’re pregnant.’

‘It can’t be. I mean, we always use a condom.’

‘Condoms aren’t guaranteed to prevent pregnancy.’

‘I know but… What if the tests are wrong?’

‘I ran them twice, Marie. They aren’t wrong. I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but sometimes things are just meant to be. Take a few days and think about it. In the meantime we’ll set up your next appointment and get you on a schedule for your prenatal care…’

She hadn’t shed a tear nor had she jumped for joy. Her new reality hadn’t sunk in yet. Her life’s plan didn’t have room for a pregnancy, not yet anyway. How was she supposed to accomplish her goals as a single mother?

Her cell phone started playing
Naughty, Naughty
by
John Parr.
Warren had sent her a text message. She couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of it. He had downloaded the song on her phone for her because she was his “naughty little girl”. She never thought of herself that way, but only naughty girls got pregnant out of wedlock, right?

She reached for her phone and knocked over her glass.

“Shit!”

She scrambled to move her keyboard and mouse when the soda ran across her desk. It pooled just before it reached the reports she had stacked next to her phone and she hurried to the break room for a towel to wipe it up.

Marie opened the cabinet and froze. Next to the dish towels was a packet of baby wipes. She used them to clean ink from her hands, but soon she’d be using them for their intended use.

Her vision blurred and she started to shake. How was she going to do this? She could barely afford to support herself right now, how was she going to take care of a baby?

She blinked her eyes and the tears fell to her cheeks. She grabbed the dish towel and headed back to her desk.

The spill had reached her reports and a faded cola color had spread across the pristine white of the paper. She covered her face with the towel and dropped back into her chair and wept.

This isn’t how her life was supposed to go. She was supposed to establish her career first then start a family, and she was supposed to get married before she started her family.

This was all wrong. It had to be a mistake. She just needed to have Dr. Matson run the tests again. She picked up her phone and hesitated.

‘I ran them twice, Marie. They aren’t wrong.’

“NO!”

Her phone chirped reminding her she had an unread message.

Hey beautiful, be ready to go at five. I need time to fix dinner when we get home.

Home. She smiled. He made it sound like it was her home too. The thought set butterflies in flight in her stomach. It had become a second home for her anyway. She had enough outfits and other personal items at his house it seemed like she already lived there.

‘Naughty, naughty, cute and horny.’
She glanced at her phone to read the text from Warren.

Only five and a half hours to go. Miss you.

Warren was working at the hospital today filling in for one of his psychologists. He didn’t know she had a doctor’s appointment. She didn’t want to say anything if it wasn’t going to be necessary.

She wondered how he would react to the news. He seemed to be happy, but what if he wasn’t ready to be a father yet?

“Of course he isn’t ready. You aren’t ready to be a mother. You should’ve had Dr. Matson put you on birth control. This mess is your fault.”

Marie didn’t want to blame herself, but she knew she could have done more to try to prevent it. Warren had used a condom every time and she had relied on him to protect them both.

“He’s going to think you planned this.”

“Planned what?”

Marie gasped and turned around. Tracy was putting her purse in her desk.

“What? Uh…nothing.”

“Oh, come on, Marie. You can trust me to keep a secret.”

Marie froze. How much had Tracy heard?

“By the look on your face it must be a juicy story. If you tell me I’ll vouch that you had nothing to do with it.”

“No…no, it’s nothing like that. My, uh, mom…she’s planning a party for my dad.”

“So?”

“Well…it’s a surprise party and my dad hates surprises.”

Tracy put her hands on her hips. “Uh, huh…and?”

“And…my mom never does anything like this so he’ll think it was all my idea.”

“You’re a terrible liar. You know that, don’t you?”

“I’m not lying.”

“Marie, you looked terrified when I came in.” She crossed her arms. “Actually, you’ve been jumpy and distracted all morning. I was half afraid to leave you alone when I went for lunch. Are you okay?”

Marie bit the inside of her cheek to hold back the tears. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

Tracy walked to her and grabbed her hand. She looked her in the eye and sighed. “Marie, I don’t know him but you seem too happy for him to be a bad guy. Talk to him.” She squeezed her hand. “Whatever happened I’m sure he’ll believe you,” she winked, “as long as you tell him the truth. You really are a terrible liar.”

Marie smiled. Laughter bubbled up and came out as a snort when she tried to suppress it. “Thanks, Tracy.”

“Anytime.” Tracy walked back to her desk and pulled a stack of papers from her inbox. “Tell Janet I said hi.”

“I will. I’ll be back by one.”

“Okay. I’m leaving early today so I might be gone before you get back.”

Marie waived goodbye and headed down to the bus stop. She wanted to walk, she needed the fresh air, but fatigue was setting in.

Maybe Tracy was right. Warren would be supportive and understanding. He loved her. That much she was sure of because they had been almost inseparable from the start. And he knew she loved him too. He hadn’t said the words yet, but neither had she. Maybe he would say them if he knew she was going to have their child.

She noticed a warm feeling spreading through her. It started deep in her heart and moved to every cell in her body. She decided her doctor was right. Some things were meant to be. This was meant to be. No matter what happened, they had each other to lean on. Warren would help her get through this.

He had given her the courage to let go of her insecurities and she’d never been happier. Even if this wasn’t how she planned her life to go, this was her new reality. She loved Warren and he loved her. Together they would love their child and she would have a fairy tale life after all.

****

Parillo’s was busy as usual. Marie spied an empty booth in the back and made her way to it while she waited for Janet. They had been planning this lunch for a week and it looked like they were finally going to get a chance to catch up.

Marie was flying high and could barely keep her feet on the ground. Warren was her soul mate and everything was going to work out great. She could feel it deep in her heart.

“Earth to Marie, I’m at Parillo’s. Where are you?” Janet smiled at her and slid into the seat across from her.

The big stupid grin that had shown up shortly after meeting Warren came out in full bloom.

“Sorry, Jan. I was just thinking.”

“Must be some damned good thoughts. You are positively glowing.” Janet leaned back and studied her. “I don’t ever remember seeing you this happy. You look absolutely goofy.”

Marie couldn’t decide whether to tell Janet about the baby now or wait until after she had told Warren. Instead, she just sat there grinning like an idiot trying hard not to start giggling hysterically.

“Don’t tell me, he popped the question?”

“No. Not yet, but maybe soon.”

“What do you mean maybe soon?”

“My, uh, situation has changed. I mean
our
situation has changed.”

“What situation?”

Marie wiggled her eyebrows.

“Oh my God! You’re pregnant! I knew you were late but.” She paused. “Does Warren know?”

“Not yet. I just found out this morning and I can’t wait to tell him.” Marie took a quick breath. “I know it doesn’t make any sense but I can’t help but feel like this is all meant to be. Dr. Matson even said so. I thought it all through this morning. You said yourself he loves me and you’ve never been wrong when it comes to men. Everything is going to work out. I mean I have no idea what to do next, but I just know we’ll figure it out somehow. I—“

“Marie, honey, slow down.” Janet reached across the table and grabbed a hold of her hand. “I know you think he’s going to think this is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to him, but you have to at least be prepared if he doesn’t.”

Janet squeezed her hand affectionately. “I’m not saying he won’t think that eventually, but he might be a little shocked at first. Some men don’t take this kind of news well. I just want you to be prepared. Okay?”

Marie sighed and her smile faded slightly. “I know. But I can’t help but feel deep down that he’s going to be excited.”

“Just take it slow, okay? I know in the end he’ll be happy I’m just not sure he’ll feel that way at first.” Janet let go of her hand. “So when are you going to tell him?”

“Tonight. We’re having dinner at his place again. He loves to cook. He’s really great at it too. Which is great since I really don’t like to cook. I mean, I can if I have to but I’d really rather not. Anyway, he’s—” Marie stopped mid-sentence when she realized Janet was giggling. “I’m babbling again. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I’ve just got a million things going on in my head right now.”

Janet listened to Marie ramble and sent a little prayer to heaven. Beneath her outward appearance, Janet could see the fear in Marie’s eyes. When the waitress reached their table, Marie couldn’t decide what to order and almost burst into tears when the young girl started tapping her foot impatiently. Janet suggested her usual and Marie nodded in agreement. She closed the menu and handed it to the waitress in silence.

The rest of lunch consisted of Marie discussing the many wonderful attributes Warren possessed and her spirits rose. But despite Marie’s attempts to convince herself she was happy, Janet couldn’t help but worry. All she knew was she would be there if Marie needed her when the walls came crashing down.

****

“Yeah, but sis, this doesn’t make any sense. It’s only been about two months and I feel like I can’t live without her. Hell, I’ve even thought about asking her to move in with me.”

Warren couldn’t understand how she had done it, but Marie had penetrated every fiber of his being. He thought about her night and day. He knew if he ever lost her he wouldn’t survive.

“It makes perfect sense. Just look at mom and dad, they got married four weeks after they met. It means you’re finally in love with a woman instead of just being in lust with her.”

“Geez, you make me sound like a pig.”

“You’re not a pig. You’re just a man, you can’t help it.”
She paused.
“So, when do I get to meet her? She sounds great.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit too soon for that?”

Warren sat back in his chair and rested his head on the soft leather. His family wasn’t the easiest to fit into. They were all so extroverted and full of energy. None of them knew how to keep their opinions to themselves and no subject was taboo, especially at the dinner table.

Sometimes he wondered why none of them had become lawyers. They could all argue their point so well that extended family and friends ran for the hills at the first sign of a disagreement. Marie would need a double shot of espresso just for a five minute visit. And he wasn’t about to let anything or anyone scare her away.

“Well, she doesn’t have to meet everyone, just me and maybe Ted. Hey! Why don’t we go out together? Just the four of us?”

“No! The last thing I need is the two of you giving her a detailed report of my past relationships.”

Warren leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. He ran his hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh.

“Look, sis, I don’t want to screw this one up, so let’s just keep it simple for now. Okay?”

“Okay, but I get to meet her first before any of our knucklehead brothers do.”

“Fine, as long as it’s just you.”

“I guess she’s the one then, huh? I never thought you’d settle down.”
She paused.
“So, tell me. Just how close have you two gotten?”

“Let’s just say we’re close and leave it at that.”

For the first time Warren couldn’t bring himself to admit to his sister he had slept with the woman he was seeing. He and Liz were the closest of their siblings and he confided in her more than anyone. She was almost 10 years older than him and she practically raised him and his brothers while their parents both worked. Then after they were killed she’d moved back home and saved him from throwing his life away. He learned to trust her with everything. But this time was different, this time he felt the need to be the protector and he wanted to protect Marie.