Bad Boy's Lust (Firemen in Love Book 1) (26 page)

“I'll tell you everything. Soon. I promise.”

I felt the ring on my finger, then rested my hand on my belly and smiled. I imagined that the three of us were a family.

I didn't want a fake marriage anymore. I wanted a real one – with him.

And I never wanted it to end.

Chapter 19 - Jayce

Twenty grand was a lot of money – to me, anyway. Debbie had left me a nice chunk of change when she passed. Shady Acres needed a lot of fixing up, though, and it wouldn't be near enough to get done everything we needed to.

Heather knocked on my door and welcomed herself in. She watched me as I stuffed the neat stacks of bills back into the safe.

“You've changed, Jayce.”

“Yeah? According to dad, I'm still as big a failure as I ever was.”

She gave me a hug. Been a while since she did that.

“He's an asshole. You seriously can't believe a thing he says.”

“Ain't that the truth.”

“You're not the selfish, lazy jerk you were a few months back. You're spending the money Debbie gave you to fix up the property instead of buying hookers, drugs, and booze with it. I'm impressed. Everybody here is.”

I shut the safe and locked it. Why would I be paying hookers and out getting drunk when I had Elle? She was better than that. She was actually
good
for me.

“And that's not all.” Her voice softened. “You're growing up. Staying with one woman. Starting to settle down – even if it's because Debbie's will is forcing you to.”

“Her will didn't force anything. This is what
I
want.”

I gazed at the marriage license pinned to my bulletin board. It came in the mail last week. All we had to do to make things official was head on down to the courthouse.

So why did I hesitate?

“This marriage thing, it's not just in order to keep the property. Is it?”

“Maybe not.”

“Elle really cares about you. I honestly don't know what she sees in you, but she does.” She laughed. “Point is, I don't think this is 'fake' to her. I think she wants to marry you for real.”

Fear tinged my thoughts even though my rational brain knew better. Deep down, knowing I would be stuck with one girl forever – or at least for years – unable to sleep with anyone else or do as I pleased again, that terrified me.

Even though I cared for Elle more than I ever thought I could care for anyone. She made me
want
to settle down and be a good man for her.

Didn't stop me from being petrified, though.

I knew that if we got hitched, I wouldn't be able to leave her. How could I divorce her so easily? That would mean admitting that our marriage was one of convenience and necessity rather than love.

Was
this love, anyway? I had serious experience in the bedroom, but when it came to knowing what love was, I failed miserably.

“Say you go through with this,” Heather said slowly. “Once the year is over, and Shady Acres is legally yours, what then? You can split up from her. You'd have no reason to stay together anymore.”

“Plenty of reasons.”

“I'm just saying... Would you? Would you stay with her and try to make it work?”

“Haven't thought that far ahead.”

She groaned. “This is marriage you're talking about. Not a game. You'd have to be a Boy Scout all the time. No partying, no screwing around. You would have to make sacrifices and learn to work as partners, not just lovers.”

“Since when did you become an expert on marital crap?”

She proudly flashed her left hand. A diamond ring sparkled on her finger.

“Maybe I'm not yet, but I guess I will be soon.”

My jaw fell. “Zach proposed?”

“Yeah. He said we'd been dating since high school, and it was time to start a family. He
really
wants kids – at least four, he told me.”

“Well, congrats, sis.” I winked. “Although four children sounds awfully ambitious. I doubt I could even handle one of the little rugrats.”

Her smiled faded. “You never know. One day, you just might change your mind.”

“Nah. I like my solitude too much.”

We headed downstairs to find Elle. It was almost noon, and Shady Acres' first monthly cookout and pool party would be starting soon. Knowing her, she was already out there stressing herself out over every small detail.

“So, Angie and your dad are having their wedding in a few days.”

I grunted as the elevator doors opened. “The prick had the nerve to say I'd better be there – after I smashed his face in and he called me... what was it, now? A major disappointment and a useless screw-up of a son.”

“Are you going to go?”

I'd rather eat broken glass, but Elle was gonna be there. Said if she didn't attend, her mother would disown her.

I seriously
hoped that when we got married, we didn't turn out as dysfunctional as those two did.

“Got no choice. Elle needs me there for moral support.”

She nudged me. “I think you need her, too, just as much.”

“Maybe you're right.”

The sounds of splashing water and screaming, laughing kids distracted me. Outside in the picnic area, I found Elle pacing and cracking her knuckles loudly. She only did that when she was
really
anxious, so this couldn't be good.

Heather left me to hang out with Zach. I gave the dude a thumbs-up to congratulate him on the successful proposal.

“You'd better take good care of my sister, man.”

Heather stuck her tongue out at me. He grinned widely.

“Of course I will. I'll give her a big house in the country, a couple of horses, and all the kiddos she could ever ask for.”

She kissed his cheek. “Have you ever met a guy so romantic?”

The old Jayce would have gagged at the sappy display of affection. Now, it made me feel fuzzy inside. I liked it.

And I had Elle to thank for it.

She was muttering to herself, still pacing, while poor Lisa fiddled with the grill. She'd filled the thing with charcoal briquettes and was now dousing them with enough lighter fluid to start an epic bonfire.

I put my arm around Elle and pulled her in for a kiss. “Hey, Lisa. You keep on with that and you're gonna set the whole building on fire. Now, I'm pretty good at putting 'em out, but I don't happen to have a massive hose at the ready.”

“But it won't start!”

Elle nodded. “Not only that, but we got a bigger turnout than I expected. Look at all these people. We didn't buy nearly enough food.”

I surveyed the picnic area. All the tables – the new fiberglass ones I'd bought with my own money – were full of hungry families. The pool had so many kids in it that they couldn't swim three feet without bumping into another one.

“You should be happy. This is what you wanted, right? We got both residents and potential new tenants, and they're excited to be here.”

Lisa finally smiled. “Oh, yeah. We already have two families signed up for a tour this week. They said they really like the sense of caring and community we're building here.”

Now
I
was excited, for both me and Elle. “This is amazing news,” I told her. We only lost a couple of tenants this month. If we get more to move in, we're golden.”

“I don't know. The will said occupancy had to rise to 80 percent of the total building.” She chewed her lip. “Right now, we're hovering around 69 percent.”

I whispered in her ear so nobody but her could hear me. “Mm. I happen to think 69 is a
very
nice number.”

“Damn it, Jayce!” She shoved me. “Is sex all you ever think about?”

Pretty much – especially when it came to her fine ass that I couldn't get enough of.

“Of course not, but c'mon. You can't expect me to change
that
much.”

Okay, time to be an adult for a minute. I had to get a handle on this situation before Elle had a nervous breakdown.

There was some good music playing on the radio, and a bunch of people drunkenly dancing to it. Others stood around the keg to get their free cup of beer, one per person. Can't say I wasn't tempted to stick my mouth under the tap and let 'er rip...

“Jayce, what are we supposed to do?” Lisa dropped another match into the grill. “I can't get the stupid fire going.”

I looked in, and the problem was immediately apparent.

“These briquettes are all mostly gray. They've been used.”

Lisa was dumbfounded. Elle sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“Lisa, where did you get these?”

“Uh... They were already in there when I came outside this morning.”

“Do we have any fresh ones?”

“No,” she squeaked. “I didn't even think about it. This is the first time I ever started a grill.”

And probably the last time Elle put her in charge of it, I'd wager. The poor woman would have a panic attack if I didn't do something.

“Take it easy, ladies. I'm gonna take care of everything.”

Elle looked doubtful. I offered her a reassuring quick hug and went back inside. Well, time to dip into my savings again, I guess.

After getting some cash out of the safe – hope the tenants didn't mind the cheapo store-brand hot dogs – I jogged down the hall to the elevator. A couple of guys were standing there punching buttons, clearly annoyed.

“Damn thing's stuck again. This place sucks.”

“They never fix anything when you ask them to, ya know?”

I did a 180 and sprinted for the stairs. The elevator could wait until later; right now, I had to be a hero for my damsel in distress.

Hey, I kind of liked the thought of swooping in to rescue the girl. I was used to saving people from burning buildings. Nice to be a hero in some other, saner way for once.

“Oh,
you.
Always saying the sweetest things to me.”

I stopped in my tracks on the second-floor landing. That was Angie's voice; I'd know her high-pitched, bird-like screech anywhere. Who was she talking to?

I peered around the corner. There she was, standing in front of her apartment with a guy. Not my dad, though. Who was he?

Then I saw something I wished I hadn't.

She threw her chubby arms around his neck and kissed him square on the lips. He didn't fight it. It was clear they'd been intimate for some time.

“What the fuck?” I whispered. She was cheating on dad!

Now, my father was an asshole who pretty much deserved whatever he got. But even this was too much. They were supposed to be getting married in days, and here she was, kissing all over some other guy?

Operating on instinct, I whipped out my phone and recorded the make-out session. When they finally pulled apart, the man smiled.

“I miss that.” He stroked her cheek. “If only I'd come back to town sooner.”

“It's all right, sweetie pie. The man I'm getting hitched to has plenty of money. Once I get my hands on some, you won't need to worry about that debt anymore.”

This psycho woman
was
marrying dad for his money; I knew it!

Too bad the poor old fool wouldn't believe it, especially coming from me. When he saw this video, though, how could he deny it?

“But it's you I want, honey. I want us to try again.”

“Just because I'm married doesn't mean we can't have some fun together, right?” She giggled. “And he's not making me sign a prenup. When we split up, I'll get a hefty reward check out of it for the rest of my life.”

“
Our
lives.”

“Yes, sweetie. Both of us.”

I stormed out of there before I did something violent that I would surely regret. Elle had to see this. She had to know what her mother was doing. Maybe she could talk some sense into her.

Sense? Yeah right. A woman like this couldn't be made to see reason. I'd known Angie most of my life, and she'd always been this way. Found it hard to believe she and Debbie were sisters.

Off I sped to the grocery store, where I picked up ten packs of hot dogs and buns, fresh charcoal, and another bottle of lighter fluid. Grand total: under $50 thanks to the mystery meat dogs, which were made of exactly who knew what.

Elle was busy chatting with the guests when I got back. She took one look at all the groceries and sighed. She was happy, but she wouldn't be for long.

“Thank you so much, Jayce. You're a lifesaver.”

“We gotta talk. I saw something... Well, you're not gonna believe it.”

She frowned, nodded, and went to help Lisa get the grill going for real this time. Everyone cheered when the flames leaped from the coals.

With that done, I took her aside. She kept clutching her belly, like she'd been doing a lot these past few weeks. That, and puking. I felt like throwing up right about now, too.