Caught Between an Oops and a Hard Body (Caught Between series Book 2) (28 page)

Stephanie thought about it, then immediately discarded the idea. Because, let’s face it, the Stone's of the world ran at the first sign of impending parenthood. Although Stone hadn’t. Instead he’d presented her with a pre-nup and an engagement ring.

She snapped closed her suitcase. “Come on. We’re getting out of here.”

“What about the wedding?”

“It’s been cancelled.” Her fault, but no one needed to know that.

A commotion on the other side of the door caught her attention, and Stone’s smooth baritone tugged at her heart.

“Where is she?”

Dora said, “She doesn’t want to see you. I don’t want to see you either.”

Stone lowered his voice. “I want to hear that from her lips.”

“Trust me, I’m her mother. She only wanted one thing from you…sex. And if it’s any inclination from how often the two of you disappeared, she got that in spades.”

“Mrs. G. You can get out of my way or I swear I will physically move you. Either way, I am seeing your daughter.”

An unwanted shiver raced up Stephanie’s spine.

But before a physical fight broke out—her mom was feisty and determined, and Stone would be no match for her—Stephanie pulled open the door. Sure enough, her mom was splayed across the opening like caution tape at a murder scene, determined to protect her oldest daughter from the big bad wolf.

Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh through the tears that stung at the back of her eyes. “It’s okay, Mom. You might as well let him in because he won’t go away until you do.”

Dora lowered her arms, stepped out of the way, and as Stone stepped past, her mom hissed, “Divorce lawyer. For shame.”

Stone held the door open until Mandy departed, then closed the door, shutting out the furious and overprotective woman. “If I ever want your mom to like me, I may have to change my career.”

“She thought that an environmental lawyer in the family might be nice.” Stephanie turned her back on him and fiddled with the suitcase latch as she tried to ignore the erratic beat of her heart. “What do you want, Stone?”

She heard his soft footsteps cross the room, felt his hand capture her upper arm to tug her around to face him. She gazed up into his eyes and felt sucker punched by her love for him.

“I love you, Steph.”

As tempting as it was to jump into his arms, she was certain his declaration was just a reaction to the lie she’d told him about losing the baby. He needed time. She needed time. Shaking her arm free, she turned back to the suitcase, determined to contain her emotions until she was alone. “Thank you, but I’m sorry, I don’t love you back.”

The entire week had been like a train wreck about to happen.

In almost every relationship, one person always loved the other person more. And when things got rocky, they were the one who ended up with a broken heart.

And it wasn’t going to be her. No way. No how.

She picked up the suitcase and brushed past him, out of the bedroom, out of the cottage, out of Stone’s life. “Mom? Mandy? I’m ready to go.”

They tagged along behind her.

Dora said, “Awww, honey, I think you hurt his feelings.”

Refusing to look back, Stephanie climbed into the backseat of Mandy’s car. She’d have to deal with the rental car later, but right now, she didn’t want to be alone.

As Mandy put the car into gear and drove away, Stephanie said, “Mom, you and Dad have something special. Don’t ruin it over a little tiff.”

“Oh honey,” her mom said, a hint of laughter in her voice. “Marriage is about give and take, but sometimes we need to argue before we can come to a compromise. We’re only human We all make mistakes. But your dad and I…we’ll be just fine. There was never any doubt in my mind.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Ready for an afternoon of tests—poking, pinching, prodding—Grace pulled on one glove at a time, trying to appear calm and cool and oh-so-level-headed, when all she really wanted to do was collapse into a lump of weeping womanhood. But that had never been her style. Not as a child. Not as a young woman. Certainly not now, especially since everyone seemed to have abandoned her anyway.

The flurry of activity near the cottages caught her attention and she saw the wedding planner come out of the cottage, her mother and sister on her heels. As they reached the car, Stone came out of the cabin and stopped at the top of the stairs. And before Stephanie climbed into the car, her hand went to her stomach in a protective motion, and Grace suddenly realized that there might be a completely different reason for the young woman’s wanness.

Well now, that put a whole new spin on things.

Even from this distance, she could see her son was upset. So what was all that about? Did he know? And if so, why hadn’t he said something?

Because they didn’t have that kind of relationship.

The urge to control the outcome of the young couple’s relationship washed over her, but she pushed it away. It was none of her business. They were old enough to work things out themselves. And in good time, they’d tell her about the baby.

How lovely, she thought as she turned her attention back to the gloves. Perhaps when she returned from the hospital, she should spend some time with Mariam’s boy. What was his name again?

The front entrance door banged open. Jim burst into the foyer, the tie around his neck only half done up, wearing a suit that had been in the closet for so long, Grace nearly didn’t recognize it. The gladness she’d been feeling vanished in a heartbeat.

He headed straight toward her. “Good, I caught you.”

Grace gave a final tug on the gloves, picked up her purse, and tossed the car keys in the air. “Aren’t you supposed to be on the fifth hole right now?”

As he passed her by, he let go of the tie long enough to catch the keys in midair. “Right. I can golf tomorrow. Hell, maybe you’ll even take a break from the office and join me.”

“Jim, give me those keys,” Grace said as she followed him across the foyer. “I’m heading to town. Take the truck if you’re going somewhere.”

“Honey, the only place I’m going is with you.” He turned at the door, pulled it open with a flourish, and stared at her. “Well?”

“I…” Grace tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear. “There’s no need to come.”

“What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t see you through this?”

“It’s not as if we’re really man and wife, you know.” She turned toward a sound at the door and saw Stone standing there. The shocked look on his face told her that he’d overheard. She frowned across the room at him. “What’s with the face? You’re old enough to finally know the truth.”

And as she turned her back on her son and followed the man she loved out of the house, determined to steal the keys back and leave him behind, he turned, dropped to one knee, and said, “For the love of God, marry me, Grace. Be my friend again, my partner, the love of my life. You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted, the only woman I’ll ever want.”

Heat warmed her cheeks. “Jim, get up off your knees before you grind dirt into the material.”

He stayed right where he was. “Is that finally a yes?”

It hit her then, like a heatwave before a summer storm. He wasn’t going anywhere. They were in this for better or worse. So what if her viewers discovered the truth about her relationship—or lack of it—with the man who’d been her partner for nearly her entire adult life.

Perhaps it was time to come out of the common-law closet. They could get married on live TV. Her viewers did love weddings.

“Well?” he prodded her, which brought her full attention back to him. “I’m not twenty any more. These stones are hard on my knees.”

She reached out one hand to help him up. “Yes.”

As he clambered to his feet and swept her into his arms, she relaxed into the solid firmness of his body.

This was the beginning of the rest of her life.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Stone needed a drink…except he wanted a clear head so he could figure out a way to get Stephanie back.

He’d sat on the porch of his cottage all day and stared at the golf course through the trees, mulling over his options, still in shell shock over the fact that his mom and dad had never married.

Man, he was an idiot, plain and simple. He’d based his entire perception of relationships on their stormy partnership. And yet, that elusive emotion called love had kept them together through the rough patches, even though it would have been far easier for them to walk away from each other.

A rustle on the stone path drew his attention and he saw his cousin headed his way. Dane bounded up the porch steps, dropped onto the chair across from him, and simply said, “You’re an idiot.”

Stone didn’t even have to ask what he was talking about. “How’s she doing?”

“Mandy and Dora kept her busy all day with wedding and birthday preparations. She’s really good at pretending everything is fine, but when she thinks no one is watching her, she lets down her guard.” He shook his head. “My soon-to-be father-in-law has taken up glaring at me just because I’m your cousin. And Mandy has threatened to shut down the activity in the bedroom until I talk some sense into your thick head.”

Stone sat forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands together. “
I
didn’t leave her.
She
left me.”

Dane’s brow furrowed. “What did you do?”

All of his life, he’d been so careful not to allow a woman into his heart and his life. How had he fallen so deep, so fast?

Stone raked his hands through his hair for the umpteenth time and pushed to his feet, needing action of some sort to make him forget about how badly he’d screwed up. “All I know is that she doesn’t believe I love her. I need to figure out a way to prove to her that I do. How am I going to do that?”

This was the question he’d been asking himself ever since Stephanie had walked out of his life.

Dane stood and watched him pace. “What’s the one thing she believes you’d never do, not even for her?”

It hit him like a brick wall to the face, and the air whooshed out of his lungs. Stone grabbed Dane in a bear hug, lifted him off his feet, and spun him around. “That’s it. The perfect solution.”

“What is?”

He set his cousin back on his feet and headed into the cottage. “I know what I need to do.”

Dane followed him in. “Any way you can resolve this before Dora’s birthday party tomorrow afternoon? It would be nice if I didn’t have to sit in a corner with only myself for company.”

Stone grabbed his briefcase and retraced his steps to the front door. “I swear I’ll give it my all.”

Abandoning his cousin, he jumped onto the golf cart, then drove toward the main house at top speed, which was unfortunately considerably slower than he would have liked.

He found his mom at her desk. She looked up in surprise when he walked into her office. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be home.”

“Well, here I am.” She glanced at her watch, then pushed to her feet. “Can this wait till tomorrow? I have a date with your dad.”

“A date?” As she compressed her lips, he studied this woman who was his mother. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

She raised one perfectly formed eyebrow in his direction. “Do I have to answer it as if I’m under oath?”

“Why did you stay with Dad if you were so miserable with him?”

She appeared startled, then she cleared her expression and cleared her throat. She shrugged and studied her perfectly sculptured nails. “We weren’t always like this, you know. For the most part, our relationship worked exactly how we needed it to. But then we drifted apart and that’s when the problems began.”

“So everything is good between you now?”

She lifted her gaze to his face. “We’re going to work on it, something we’ve never really done.”

He set his briefcase on the top of her desk, sprung open the latch, and pulled out the contract she’d offered Stephanie. “Remember this?”

She glanced down at the papers, then back at his face. “Of course. She turned me down, you know, so you can shred those.”

He stayed where he was, flipped to the second page, grabbed a pen, and crossed off the stipulations. “I love her and I intend to marry her, so we need to take out the clause about falling in love, getting married, and having children. Because there is definitely going to be love, marriage, and children.”

Stone glanced up and saw the calculating look in his mother’s eyes, the same calculating look that always made him wish he could run for cover…or never come home again.

She slid the contract over to her side of the desk, studied the notations he had made, then wrote in the sidebar.

Stone tugged at his tie, suddenly nervous. “What are you adding?”

With a satisfied grin, she finished writing, then turned the papers around so he could read. “I’ll initial the changes you made, but only if you agree to the changes I’ve made.”

Reading the additions, he felt his heart thud to a stop, then start thumping in his chest. “That’s not nec—”

“I insist.”

Without further thought or hesitation, he signed his name on the document, then handed the papers back to his mom so she could initial the changes.

Because his future with Stephanie was worth any price, even if it meant he had to hand over his soul to the devil.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Stephanie wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and stood sideways so she could study the soft rounding of her belly.

A baby
.

At some point before she left, she’d have to tell her parents. And even though she knew they’d be supportive, she wasn’t looking forward to the conversation. They’d want to know who the father was, and why she wasn’t with him.

A pang of loneliness hit her right in the heart and she pushed away all thoughts of the man she loved.

First she’d tell Mandy, then after her mom’s birthday party—maybe five minutes before she left to begin the long flight back home—she’d break the news. That way they wouldn’t have a lot of time to grill her about her plans.

Because all she knew at this point was that she wanted this baby, even though the thought of being responsible for something so small frightened her.

A knock sounded on the bathroom door. “You almost done in there, kiddo? I’d like to use the bathroom and hit the sack some time before the next century.”